I thought we’d like to know some more about what Brian is doing…. i.e. The Trans Am Bike Race.
It is a self-supported, 4300 mile cycle race across 10 states of America with more than 165,000 feet of ascent that starts on June 3rd. The route uses the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail from the Pacific coast in Astoria, Oregon to the Atlantic coast in Yorktown, Virginia. The first race was in 2014, which 25 people completed with the fastest of whom took less than 18 days.
Unlike the Tour de France it is not a stage race and the clock never stops from the moment the riders leave the start to when they cross the finish line. So Brian chooses how much time to spend riding, resting, and eating each day.
Riders are self-supported and drafting is not allowed, receiving any form of support from other racers, friends, or family is not allowed; all food, accommodation, repairs, etc., must be purchased from shops, hotels etc.
Riders are expected to aim for a race time of around 35 days and anything over 40 days is regarded as touring,….
Brian set off for America today to acclimatise to for a couple of days before the start with his bike in a cardboard box purchased from Swissport at 20CHF. Just to make things more entertaining, Brian has to change planes in Iceland to get to America…. at least he’s not flying British Airways out of Heathrow or he’d miss the start….
Brian’s exploits as he races the Transam can be followed on this blog, whilst he can be tracked here
http://trackleaders.com/transam17f.php (it becomes oddly fascinating….)
We will also let people know when Brian has an American phone number and although texts may not get answered they are all read and the motivation they provide is huge!
Brian can be contacted through the normal routes (messenger, whatsapp ) some of the time depending on when he’s pedalling, sleeping and there is wifi.
The race site itself is here https://transambikerace.com/