In the days, weeks, and months after completing the TAW, numerous reflections, thoughts, and conclusions came to mind. I’ve tried to capture them as best I can, and although it’s taken me over 8-months to complete this account, my perception on the race has changed substantially. In the immediate weeks after the race, I said never again would I do something like that. I was physically wrecked, not just my muscles, but my joints, nether regions, fingers and toes were all battered. Jack and I only regained feelings in both our left hand pinky and ring fingers about 6-months after the event. The outside of my big toes are still tingling 8-months later (this is mainly due to my pedalling technique, toes down, which squishes your toes a lot). I also lost 4kg over the race (half a kilo a day!) and had lost my love handles as a result, but I was going to a close friend’s wedding in Madrid the week after the race finished, so I’d soon regain them (plus my Aunt gave us a royal feast the day after the race which was the indescribably tasty after nine days of snacking). But as all these ailments faded, I’ve found a renewed sense of adventure, at first saying I’d maybe do another ultra-endurance race at some point in my life, to now being keen on doing another race as soon as possible. I’m under no illusions it would just be as tough as before, but since the race, I’ve forgotten how bad the bad moments were, and instead remember just how good the good moments were. I’ve recently purchased a new gravel/adventure bike and have been taking on numerous trips and am already planning on how I could modify it for an ultra-endurance event.
Jack and I also got to see so much of Ireland which I had never seen before (and Jack had certainly never seen before), I had never been to the Northern or Southern coastlines, but now having ridden them and written this account, I get the impression that I know them intricately. The friendliness of the Irish people was also fantastic to experience, I know we have a friendly reputation, but it really is a legitimate reputation. This appreciation of Ireland was significantly boosted thanks to the weather. We had uncharacteristically good weather, borderline unheard of, for the race. The fact we had swollen hands from sunburns and the sharpest tan lines ever seen is a testament to the weather. I only put on my rain jacket seven times in the whole race, which is farcical, and I only woke up shivering three times over the eight nights. Had it been raining, or had we had less favourable winds, perhaps our appreciation of the country might have been dimmed somewhat.
Our equipment choices had been spot on for the race. The Bromptons performed admirably, with no mechanicals at all, apart from both our front light bracket mounts snapping, and not a single puncture to be dealt with. Everyone was in disbelief about it, they’d all presume something would go wrong on the bikes and it’s a testament to the quality of the bikes that they made it through in one piece, which can’t be said for the riders. It made it rather satisfying to have completed it on our somewhat inefficient Bromptons, not only just making it, but actually doing well against the other riders. Of the nine pairs that started, only three completed the long route, of which Jack and I were third, so we were delighted that we had performed so well. Our clothing choice had been just right, with neither too little nor too much clothing being brought. We had the right amount when the going got cold, and not too much gear to carry when the going got hot. The sleeping setup we went for allowed us to sleep out every night of the race, which we were both chuffed about. Granted, the weather allowed us to setup in the dry every night, and the mid-race dry out of all our sleeping gear was crucial, but to never have to rely on accommodation was particularly brag-worthy.
Looking over data from the race shown in the table above, there are some interesting points. Evidently, we were flying on the first day and, with hindsight, pushing too hard too early, given the substantial drop in average speed, and moving time. Our moving time percentage (how much of the ride we were actually pedalling versus being stopped either for food, pee breaks, rests, etc), was fairly consistent across the race at roughly 75%, so for every three hours we rode, we were stopped for one hour. We weren’t really sure if this was typical for ultra-endurance racers, but with some research afterwards, the racers who are winning the TCR are at a moving time percentage of 85-90%, are riding for longer and faster too generally. While some days during the race it felt like we were getting nowhere near our pre-race goal of 300km per day, at the end we had an average distance of 261km, which isn’t far off, but over several days, but all those 40kms will add up and will add an extra day’s riding overall compared to our initial aim. The climbing shows what we knew before the race, that the first few days and last few days in Donegal and Kerry, respectively, were hilly days, and the middle section was lighter on the climbing metres, having said that, with an average of almost 3,000 meters climbing every day, there weren’t really any “flatter” days! With an average daily ride time of 17 hours and 20 minutes (so from starting off in the morning until stopping for the night), we can try to estimate the average amount of sleep we got. With 6 hours and 40 minutes to play with, we had to setup our sleeping equipment and take it all down and pack it away, which is roughly 1 hour, add in an extra 40 mins of faff time, and we were looking at an average of 5 hours sleep per night throughout the whole race. Finally, the calories. 5,500 calories per day is no mean feat, there was no way we were eating enough food throughout the day to meet that demand, which showed with the 4kgs lost by the end.
Over the race we knew that a lot of people were following our GPS trackers on the internet to constantly see where we were, and I spoke to a lot of people afterwards who kept telling me that they had been following us closely, which I didn’t really think about during the race, particularly at times when you were feeling lonely or isolated. I did try to stay in contact with friends and family throughout the race, but it was difficult to try and keep the pace up and message everybody at once. Generally, I’d send an update to everyone at the end of the day once I’d gotten into bed, but this was often the last thing I wanted to do as I was so shattered.
Jack and I had received a lot of attention before, during, and after the race. Most people were shocked at somebody attempting this race on a Brompton, and we were continually peppered with questions as to why and how, but mainly WHY?! While we were content to chat and talk to anyone who did have any questions, it did become a bit tedious at times. We were asked to speak at a Brompton All-Hands meeting in front of our whole company and partake in a panel discussion at the launch of the Explore Special Edition Brompton, which we had rode on for the TAW.
There’s a number of people that need to be thanked that helped/aided/advised us in some shape or form to complete the TAW. My parents for their support, but particularly my Mum for being the Logistics Manager for us, first driving from Belgium to pick up our gear in London and bringing it to Dublin, hanging around while Jack and I raced, then coming to pick us up at the finish in Kinsale and drive back to Dublin into the early hours of the morning. And let’s also not forget about the sandwiches! My cousin Arabella needs to be thanked for always being on hand to help us with any medical questions we had over the race, and for general encouragement. Jack and I would like to thank Brompton for giving us a few days annual leave to help us have enough days to do the race and to lending us the modified Brompton bikes for the race. Another company that we were grateful for assistance from was Alpkit who sponsored us with carry bags, air mats and sleeping bags. To the organiser of the race Adrian O’Sullivan and all the race staff and photographers, a huge congratulation and thanks is in order for a fantastic event that I will most certainly be doing again in the future. I’d like to thank my girlfriend Amy not only for accommodating my desire to do this race, but also her encouragement during it. The preparation required for the race meant a lot of weekends away training, constant mindfulness of my lifestyle, and a lot of distraction as the race approached. During the actual race, I was away for almost two weeks and was in limited contact with Amy as generally I was focussed at the task at hand of surviving. Lastly to my riding partner Jack, we went through a lot of highs and lows together, not only during the race, but before it as well during our preparation. The fact we didn’t try to kill each other was a testament to our friendship. I know we’ll always look back on this race as a pinnacle of our lives.
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