#TCRNo5: The Story of Cap 225 (part 4)

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September, 2014. A year after I started road cycling. I just came home after riding the GO-Classic. A tour in the region where I live. I did a total of 178km that day. “Never again”, I promised myself staring at the ceiling laying on my back on the floor. August 30th, 2015. I set myself a goal: riding the Transcontinental Race in 2017. A few weeks later I complete my first 200km brevet. July, 2017. I am in Geraardsbergen at the start of the race I dreamed of riding for 2 years. This is “The Story of Cap 225”.

If you missed previous parts, you can find them here:
The Story of Cap 225 (part 1)
The Story of Cap 225 (part 2)
The Story of Cap 225 (part 3)

Early in the morning. The sky slowly turned blue again. I get out of my sleeping bag and start to pack my stuff. It was cold night. I was in need of coffee. I noticed a building wat looked like a hotel or a restaurant and walked towards it. It was closed. A woman was also wandering around it. I told her I was looking for coffee and a place where I could charge my iPhone. “Are you riding the Transcontinental Race?“, she asked. “Yes I am“, I replied with a smile on my face. It appeared she and her partner were cyclists too and she tried to follow the race. She offered me her power bank and I charged my iPhone for a few percent. Enough to take a photo on top of Transfăgărășan as proof I have been there (I totally forgot my ride was tracked by a spot tracker), I took a selfie together with her. Moments later I got back to my bike and start riding again. I didn’t get much of the climb up there, but as soon as I came out of the tunnel a beautiful scenery was unfolded in front of me.

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#TCRNo5: The Story of Cap 225 (part 3)

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September, 2014. A year after I started road cycling. I just came home after riding the GO-Classic. A tour in the region where I live. I did a total of 178km that day. “Never again”, I promised myself staring at the ceiling laying on my back on the floor. August 30th, 2015. I set myself a goal: riding the Transcontinental Race in 2017. A few weeks later I complete my first 200km brevet. July, 2017. I am in Geraardsbergen at the start of the race I dreamed of riding for 2 years. This is “The Story of Cap 225”.

If you missed previous parts, you can find them here:
The Story of Cap 225 (part 1)
The Story of Cap 225 (part 2)

After getting a stamp on my brevet card and some coffee, I went down the CP 3 parcours again. Horrible road surface. Reaching the main road, it was full speed. Long way down towards Poprad. I passed Julie and Angela. After a long day, where I completely screwed my route and got lost, I was looking for a good place to sleep. I found a hotel pretty soon. As I walked in the bathroom to take a shower, I got a really nice surprise: my room had a bath! I hurried down and got me a bottle of beer. Sitting in a bathtub with beer. I felt like a queen.

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#TCRNo5: The Story of Cap 225 (part 2)

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September, 2014. A year after I started road cycling. I just came home after riding the GO-Classic. A tour in the region where I live. I did a total of 178km that day. “Never again”, I promised myself staring at the ceiling laying on my back on the floor. August 30th, 2015. I set myself a goal: riding the Transcontinental Race in 2017. A few weeks later I complete my first 200km brevet. July, 2017. I am in Geraardsbergen at the start of the race I dreamed of riding for 2 years. This is “The Story of Cap 225”.

If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here: The Story of Cap 225 (part 1)

I slept some hours at Check Point 2. It is just past midnight when I prepared my bicycle to continue. It is still very warm. My Wahoo ELEMNT records 28C. Next stop is Monte Grappa. A 19km climb, average gradient 8.1%. On the tracker I see two riders riding in front of me. Would be nice if I could catch up with them. The first part of the climb was going pretty good. A section with a lot of hairpins. Occasionally a car was passing by, but it was a quiet and dark climb. The valley filled with lights, breathtaking view. The second part of the climb was horrible. Steep sections and I didn’t have the right gearing on my bike. That means I had to walk. Early in the morning I reached the top of Monte Grappa. It took me about 6 hours (including some naps).

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#TCRNo5: The Story of Cap 225 (part 1)

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September, 2014. A year after I started road cycling. I just came home after riding the GO-Classic. A tour in the region where I live. I did a total of 178km that day. “Never again”, I promised myself staring at the ceiling laying on my back on the floor. August 30th, 2015. I set myself a goal: riding the Transcontinental Race in 2017. A few weeks later I complete my first 200km brevet. July, 2017. I am in Geraardsbergen at the start of the race I dreamed of riding for 2 years. This is “The Story of Cap 225”.

After moments remembering Mike Hall, the Transcontinental Race starts. We are riding a local neutralized round and are delivered at the Muur. It is the first time I climb the Muur. A lot of people are cheering the riders. Some supporters are shouting my name. A few minutes later I pass the top. Is that it? That wasn’t very hard. Into the night we go. I pass some riders and a lot pass me. Most of them are flying. After 20km I decide to ride my own tempo. No problems with my route so far. Accidentally you meet other riders. Meteora is still far away.

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Where to follow me during #TCRno5?

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Where to follow me during #TCRno5? On Friday, July 28th 2017, the Transcontinental Race no.5 will start in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. At 10:00pm CET all riders will climb “De Muur” and make their way across Europe to Meteora, Greece.

If you want to follow me on my adventure, please keep in mind that there are some rules:

The Transcontinental Race is an unsupported event. Which means that the racers, like me, cannot get help other than what they find along the way. So if I post something on social media like “I have to find a place to sleep, I am tired!“, do not reply mentioning hotels with available rooms in the neighborhood. That will get me disqualified. An appropriate answer could be “You tired? Keep on cycling baby!“

If I would cross your neighborhood, it is ok to ride along with me, but do not ride in front of me. Drafting isn’t allowed. Giving me food and water bottles isn’t allowed too. Just some small talk is enough and enjoyable. However I probably would stare at you and wonder from which planet you came before you landed on Earth.

There is a rumor in town, that I will hug you for beer. I love weissbeer!

Below you will find all ways to follow me:

My website (You are here!)
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Trackleaders or Free Route (GPS location)
Meet me at one of the check points

Official Transcontinental Race accounts:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

And last but not least:

If you want to sent me personal messages, love letters or just want to say how much you hate me because I left you home, while I am gone to explore the world on my bike, use WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal or Facebook Messenger. I will always answer it, but sometimes it can take a while. I am pretty busy doing badass stuff!