Transcontinental Race No. 10 // recap // day 10

The entire route is compiled in a collection on Komoot. You can also find the individual stages of the race on Strava!

https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/2943976/-the-transcontinental-no-10-an-ultracycling-race-across-europe-from-france-to-turkey

Komoot: Joschka Völkel Strava: Joschka Völkel Instagram: @joschka_voelkel

My alarm rings at 3:30 am. I turn it off and think to myself I can stay in bed for just five more minutes. The next time I open my eyes, it’s already 7:30 am. I’ve overslept for four hours. In a panic, I throw my things together and rush out of my accommodation. What a huge mistake. The day isn’t off to a good start at all. I have breakfast while riding, hoping to make up some of the lost time.

On a busy road out of Skopje, my worst fear comes true – a small bus hits me with its mirror on my arm and the mirror falls off. I stumble and almost lose my balance, but I get away with a shock. That could have turned out really badly. Later, I cross the border into Greece under the burning midday sun. The route is flat, and I’m making good process. Then the race organizers send out an message: there are forest fires on the route, so we’ll need to take a detour.

I haven’t arranged any accommodation for tonight, hoping to cover some distance. Around 21:15 pm, I suddenly feel air escaping from my front tire. I’d ridden through thorns earlier, and now it’s clear that many of them are still in my tire. Carefully, I pull them all out, replace the inner tube, and start to reinflate the tire – but no air is coming through. My pump has broken. What seemed like a small problem has turned into a major issue.

From the only house around for miles, a family comes out and offers to help. They even have an air pump, but I have to politely refuse – this is an unsupported race. No outside assistance that isn’t available to everyone is allowed. So, I decide to walk to the next gas station, more than five kilometers, hoping it’s open and has an air pump. As I make my way there, two flashing lights approach from behind. It’s two riders riding together in the pair category. They also offer me their pump but remind me that it would mean disqualification. I thank them but decline, and they ride on.

When I finally reach the gas station, my worst fears are confirmed – it’s closed, and there’s no compressor outside. What worries me most is that I don’t even know if it will be open tomorrow. The place looks completely abandoned. I spend two hours trying to patch up my pump with tape and even chewing gum, like MacGyver, but nothing works. I simply can’t get air into the tire. By 2:00 am, I realised that I wouldn't be able to solve the problem today. I set my alarm for 6:00 am and sleep at the gas station, hoping it will open in the morning so I can finally get the help I need.

distance // 226 km
elevation // 1.301 m
moving time // 10:17 h
break time // 3:41 h
sleep duration night before // 7:30 h
location // hotel
highlight // only problems today
problems // overslept my alarm for 4h, got hit by a car, got a flat tire and broke my pump … spend the night in front of a petroil station