I'm in, Meteora, here I come
lodro
Posts: 982 Member
Last november I entered an application in the Transcontinental Race, an ultra endurance race across Europe, from Belgium to Meteora, near Thesaloniki in Greece. It's about 3800 km and my goal is to ride it in 15 days. Last year's winner rode a similar distance in 8 days, but he's from outer space.
Anyhow. About two years ago I switched to a ketogenic diet, and I've kept this up, also in ultra cycling, and I'll be on keto during the race too. Yesterday another participating hopeful and myself met up. Tall, heavy guy who cycled to Barcelona last summer. Oh, he said, after a while I just lived on Haribo candy. One of the advantages I have, I suspect, is that regarding food I have far greater freedom, because I don't have to refuel every hour. Last year's race reports were mostly about the quest for food. I think keto will come out on top. Of course that leaves me having to come out the other side, at the finish.
The race can be followd from july 28 onwards. Wish me luck training and racing
http://www.transcontinental.cc/
Anyhow. About two years ago I switched to a ketogenic diet, and I've kept this up, also in ultra cycling, and I'll be on keto during the race too. Yesterday another participating hopeful and myself met up. Tall, heavy guy who cycled to Barcelona last summer. Oh, he said, after a while I just lived on Haribo candy. One of the advantages I have, I suspect, is that regarding food I have far greater freedom, because I don't have to refuel every hour. Last year's race reports were mostly about the quest for food. I think keto will come out on top. Of course that leaves me having to come out the other side, at the finish.
The race can be followd from july 28 onwards. Wish me luck training and racing
http://www.transcontinental.cc/
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Replies
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Good luck training and racing!!!!
You can DO IT!! *high five*0 -
@lodro Sending you fabulous thoughts!0
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What an amazing endeavour!! Best of luck! Looking forward to hearing your experiences and how keto works out. I agree that there are many positives as to why keto should come out on top!!0
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Wow that's incredible! Good luck and let us know how it goes0
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What an accomplishment, and I just mean signing up! Keep us posted, this sounds amazing.0
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Haha. Two thoughts immediately after receiving confirmation
1. Hurrah! Cool!
2. Oh no, what have I done?
Anyway, the weather is beastly in Europe, so I'm doing mostly virtual spinning at the moment.
On to route planning
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Wow! I had to convert the km to miles and found that is ~2,361 miles.
Putting that into perspective: darn close to pedaling from the US Atlantic East Coast (Wilmington, North Carolina where I-40 begins), traveling completely across the United States via Interstate 40 to the Pacific West Coast (where I-40 ends) in Barstow, California.
15 Days! Woohooo! Good Luck to you, @ladro.0 -
That's so awesome! Wishing you nothing but success!!!0
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Amazing adventure !!! Would love to hear about your training as you progress !! I think you have by far, the biggest advantage being fully fat adapted- the quest for fuel may be further down the list of priorities as you race. It will come down to your mental fortitude, strength and endurance in the seat! Best of luck to you !0
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Wow! I had to convert the km to miles and found that is ~2,361 miles.
Putting that into perspective: darn close to pedaling from the US Atlantic East Coast (Wilmington, North Carolina where I-40 begins), traveling completely across the United States via Interstate 40 to the Pacific West Coast (where I-40 ends) in Barstow, California.
15 Days! Woohooo! Good Luck to you, @ladro.
It's the European equivalent of Race Across America (RAAM) only unsupported. Grin.3 -
Amazing adventure !!! Would love to hear about your training as you progress !! I think you have by far, the biggest advantage being fully fat adapted- the quest for fuel may be further down the list of priorities as you race. It will come down to your mental fortitude, strength and endurance in the seat! Best of luck to you !
I totally agree with the advantage I might have. But I'm also a rookie and have no long race experience (done 1000 km audaxes, but that's no comparison).
Greatest key to even making it to the start: not get injured in the training stage.3 -
Things that really motivate me: the fact that this year the route is so fascinating, with a beautiful Alpine climb (Monte Grappa), cycling through Central Europe, the amazing Transfagarasan Highway and of course finishing at Meteora
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It is a great European adventure.
Not quite sure whether I'll maintain a blog about all this, but in any case, the ride can be followed quite closely through the GPS trackers.3 -
Things that really motivate me: the fact that this year the route is so fascinating, with a beautiful Alpine climb (Monte Grappa), cycling through Central Europe, the amazing Transfagarasan Highway and of course finishing at Meteora.
It is a great European adventure.
Not quite sure whether I'll maintain a blog about all this, but in any case, the ride can be followed quite closely through the GPS trackers.
What a fantastic experience. Can't stop thinking about how cool it would be!
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No doubt I'll be cursing myself many, many times, but it's a great race community too. And preparing is a lot of fun too. For instance, during the winter spell we're having, I'm doing virtual spin classes. LOL2
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So, here I am, in the conditioning phase, which I do on the spinbike, because the weather is too cold and miserable to venture out of doors almost every day. Also, the days are still short and I have an intense work schedule at the moment, lots of traveling to Brussels and back (I'm on loan to an EU project)
I do need to make sure that I don't lose too much though: I weighed myself yesterday, and found out I lost 1 kg since November, and then I was up 3 kg after having been on a ship where my food choices were limited and I had to fast a lot. Then I was 52kg, I upped that to 55kg, which is my ideal weight, but I dipped beneath that. Need to keep watching that.
As to keto and the type of training I do now (endurance, intervals, muscle conditioning) love it: less lactic acid build up, and good endurance, so I'm continuing.
Meanwhile, I'm turning my thoughts to some gear I need to have: spottracker, need to have a look at camping gear, clothing choices and need to get around to the last things I need to change on the bike. New wheels, with a dynamo for the electronics I'll be running and the largest cog I can find (40t) at the back for climbing.
I've planned a training holiday in Palermo and want to hit Nice for a few days in the Alpes Maritimes.
Route planning: I'm putting that off, it spooks me to be spending my evenings researching supermarkets and petrol stations among the route variations.
So, that's it so far. I'm taking january to get the basic conditioning slightly right, then branch out the riding in february.
Thanks for the support, people!2
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