Tag: cycling

BeMoreMike, cycling, Rides, TCRNo5, Transcontinental No. 51 Comment

TCR No.5 – Start to CP1

Matt Falconer

I was buzzing after rolling over the top of the Muur. Feeling some of the heat from the blazing torches and people cheering is an amazing experience. It’s not long before you’re following red blinking dots down the road. It is kind of surreal. I managed to make it over the top of the Muur in around 20th position. That wasn’t really that important in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly helped narrow the focus and get on with the job, but most importantly allowed me to navigate the Muur without holdups. As I picked up my route and settled things calmed down really … Continue reading TCR No.5 – Start to CP1

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TCR No 5 Training Update – Feb to May

Matt Falconer

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted, and there’s a lot that has happened in that time. I thought I would share some of the things I’ve been up to as part of training for the TCR (aka just having fun riding my bike… mostly), and then give an overview of where I am in my training and preparation. The Curve Belgie Spirit The first thing to mention is I managed to build up my ‘adventure’ bike at the end of February. I’d trained an awful lot over winter on a fabulous Colnago aluminium CX bike, clocking up over 4,000 km since December, but it … Continue reading TCR No 5 Training Update – Feb to May

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TCR No. 4 Part 7: The Final Push to Çanakkale – Part 2

Matt Falconer

Greece: Shortly after as dawn was breaking I made it to the border. I was starting to flag a bit, but there was a certain euphoria at having made it through the night and into Greece. This started to catch up with me and in the early morning sun, and I began to nod off. I decided enough was enough and pulled into a field to sit down for a short snooze to shake the fatigue. A dog barking in the distance snapped me back into waking, realising that it could be a TCR rider approaching. Time to hop on and push on. The short cat … Continue reading TCR No. 4 Part 7: The Final Push to Çanakkale – Part 2

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TCR No. 4 Part 6: The Final Push to Çanakkale – Part 1

Matt Falconer

While resting at CP4 on the Sunday afternoon, checking Facebook when I saw some from family indicating that sadly, my Nan had passed away over the weekend. This was a bit of a shock. My gran was a vibrant character, even at 95 years of age was very active. I made some calls home to see how my mum and sister were doing, and came away lost in thought, but also with some added determination to get to the finish for my Nan. Before the race she had been really interested in all the training and the riding I had been doing and had sent a good luck … Continue reading TCR No. 4 Part 6: The Final Push to Çanakkale – Part 1

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TCR No. 4 Part 5: Storms and CP4

Matt Falconer

I finally plucked up the energy to push on. A few km’s down the road before Sinj, I found a grocery store and loaded up on food and water. I was fairly baked from the last couple of days and a really bad night so refreshed my water and food reserves, enjoying the ‘delights’ of 7 day croissants yet again. Once I sorted myself out, it was time to push on in a break in the weather. This break didn’t last that long as the rain and storms kept escalating. At one point I swerved off the road and took shelter under someone’s porch in a … Continue reading TCR No. 4 Part 5: Storms and CP4

cycling, Mini Adventures, Rides, Transcontinental 20167 Comments

TCR Training Ride

Matt Falconer

So, are we ready? Well, in many respects, I think I’m on the right track, however after a small tester of a trip I’ve realised that there is still much work to be done! It’s quite handy then that there is still 4 months left to prepare… So far, I’ve spent many hours and days planning my route for the TCR, researching equipment and pulling together my bikepacking kit, bike, and methods for getting from A to B. So what was this training ride about? The plan: cycle from my home in Thames Ditton to my mums in my home city, St. David’s in Pembrokeshire in Wales. 436km. … Continue reading TCR Training Ride

cycling, Transcontinental 20162 Comments

Transcontinental 2016 Entry

Matt Falconer

So over the last 5 years since taking up cycling, I’ve come a very long way (in many ways). People who knew the 18.5 stone couch potato recognise how far this really is, and the 13 stone shadow of my former self is testament to how much cycling has taken over and enhanced my life. In 2015 I was able to achieve some pretty cool things on the bike, and in the process raise a fair amount of cash for the charity Action for Kids. Some more on this here. Throughout the year, I was constantly looking towards the future and what more I could do. I … Continue reading Transcontinental 2016 Entry