The Transalp Challenge

Day 8 - the finish line

2006-07-25T22:13:00.000+01:00

More than a little bit late...

Everybody was in high spirits for the start of the final stage knowing that there was the prospect of chilling out at lake garda to soothe aching bodies, some more than others!

The day started with a 47km neutralised transfer which involved freewheeling at up to 60kph down into the valley behing a pace car.... easy you might think but there were many not used to riding in such a big group and it was to Cookie and Paul's horror that someone crashed right in front of them leaving them nowhere to go but into him! cookies wheels were trashed in the process and he ended up using the other guys bike to finish the stage. After that carnage a steep 800 meter climb pushed our tired legs and had us walking in several places. the steep singletrack that awaited us on hte descent left us frustrated as there was a large queue due to so many walking down it.... aargh! we were then into the lash climb of the translap which fortunataly was paved road till almost the top and wasnt too steep, however it was 14km long... We were in for a big shock at during the descent though, theres no such thing as an easy roll into the finish line on the transalp! This was definately the hardest descent of the race on the famous Tremalzo trail dropping 1800 metres 1200 in hte final 5km alone! It consisted of rocky switchbacks and large coblestone path of ridiculous steepness that had hands aching from the effort of braking and caused my rear brake to boil forcing me to stop for 2 minutes and frantically try to cool it down! On the way to the way we passed through Limone town hall gardens before ending up on the glorious beach and finish line to be greeted by a large crowd and recieve our medals.

What a day!

Day 7

2006-07-21T20:43:00.000+01:00

Supposedly the easiest day of the raceat 47km long it still took us over 4.5 hours as it included 2700 metres of climbing at gradients of up to 22%! Our tired legs forced us to walk for several sections and my feet were already suffering after yesterdays hike... thank god for compeed. I had my first puncture today at the start of the descent and im glad it was on a slow corner as many have come a cropper as we are hitting very high speeds on the descents!

Tomorrow is the last day and we will both be glad to give our shattered bodies a rest and be able to lie in till midday and then soak up some sun and beer. The start of the last stage includes 47km of "neutralised transfer" basically following the pace car and having a yarn with the lads and soaking up the atmosphere... Then the final two climbs bring us onto the famous tremmlazo trail with its rocky technical descent, i will try and keep the red mist in check!

we are staying in Riva till Tuesday and then return to our normal lives in Norn Iron and bore everyone with photos and exagerated stories of the transalp!

Day 6

2006-07-20T20:43:00.000+01:00

Today was billed as the hardest day of the race!! Following on from the 125 km yesterday we were face with a mere 85km today but the sting in the tail came in the 3400 metres of climbing. For those of you who are unsure of how high this actually is - it is almost 7 times the height of Slieve Martin in Rostrevor or 10 times the height of Cavehill in Belfast. Enough said.

We started out with a switchback 1500 metre climb which took us to 2000 metres above our starting point of Naturns before a dusty descent which lasted for almost 15kms. This was steep and technical in places and the already tired brakes and arms took a further battering. From here we started the final savage climb of the day. It started with a nice (??) road climb in the sweltering heat which, after 15km turned to gravel trail and then back to road before the final bit on which we had to push our bikes for almost 6km up 700 metres which took almost one hour and then the fun began.

First was a very dusty technical trail which had most people walking but we were able to ride the thing despite Simon's brakes cooking and my front fork loosing a fair bit of oil. Then was a road descent where we jostled for places with two other teams at speeds of almost 70km per hour. The final spin into Male was mostly forest trail and then over the cobbles and past the finish line to complete another day.

Day 7 tomorrow and the talk of beer is increasing.

Thanks to all those who have posted and to the lurkers who haven't - please post - we don't bite!!!

Team Ireland 1, 2 and 3

2006-07-19T21:36:00.000+01:00

Howdy folks back home.....

Here is the second instalment in the Team Ireland progress report.

The lads continue to push their way over the Alps with Kookie now being the fastest man over an Alp with his arm tied to his Camelbak!! Paul continues to push up the hills and he was seen giving a farmer a hand to milk some cows whilst he waited on his partner....

Despite bike probems at the start of the week Andy and Tommy are going well as are Eddie and Brendan. Eddie is having to use any available means of getting his GPS charged and it was last reported that he had some sort of dynamo rigged up to the bike in the evening with Brendan spinning at 200 rpm to get the thing charged for the next day.

More tomorrow as I think the woman in the hotel is annoyed at us using her office for the last hour!!

Day 5

2006-07-19T21:10:00.000+01:00

A stage that would have given a mountain goat vertigo!

Today was the longest stage of the race at 120km long and also the highest starting at 1800m in Livigno and reaching 2768m. It was not just the height but also the steepness of the trails that were scary... one foot wrong and it would have been your last! I was able to take some amazing photos today and will be able to post them up when i get home. It was a difficult stage today and took us 7h 55m and we are both very tired and sore tonight... but over 300 teams took over 10h to complete the course and must be feeling much worse than us. We pushed hard today and have moved up from 187th to 164th overall in the mens category.

No rest for the wicked though as tomorrow we have the toughest stage with 2 huge very steep climbs, hopefully we will sleep well tonight and feel better tomorrow.

Day 4

2006-07-18T21:07:00.000+01:00

Scuol to Livignio in Italy today. We started off with a great climb along a river up to Pass de Costinas at 2200 meters which was then followed by some amazing descending by Sinon with me having to hang on his wheel the whole way down. After that most of the day morphs into one but it was followed with some steeper climbs and some amazing trails as we approached Livigno. The lakes around Liigno are amazing nd by the time we reached the town we had seen evry one of them!! Instead of allowing us to go straight into the town we had to do a loop of the place which took us about 200 metres above the place before some hairy descents to the finish line. Great day, both going well but tired. 5 hours 30 mins today, 13.3km per hour average, 167th place today, 184th overall. Correct me if i'm wrong as this is being written in a haze of tiredness!!

Anyone got sudocream for Simon????

Part of 38 nations competing....

2006-07-18T06:38:00.000+01:00

We have been added to the transalp homepage...
http://www.transalpchallenge.com/news/index.php?lang=en&id=38

Day 3

2006-07-17T20:17:00.000+01:00

A difficult start to the day with a 1400m climb up to bring us up to 2700m, but we were rewarded with an amazing panoramic view of the alps. The descent was equally fantastic with speeds hitting 70kph on the tarmac. A smaller climb lead us into a lovely section of technical singletrack with nobody in front of us to spoil the fun. The last 23km was a gentle climb the whole way but we were were drafting in a group and flew along.

No real problems today apart from a bent link in my chain and someone trying to run me off the road at the border into switzerland....

Temperatures were well into the 30s today with a maximum of 37c apparently we are going to get a heatwave in the next few days so things are going to be very uncomfortable by the time we hit northern Italy.

Progress Report on Team Ireland 1, 2 and 3

2006-07-16T20:41:00.000+01:00

The other lads have asked me to post here to let all their better halves know they are all flying but are missing the home cooking something serious!! For someone that wasnt going well before he came out here Kookie is flying as is the Yankee, come Irish man, Paul. Eddie and Brendan are as steady as ever and Andy is giving Tommy a great introduction to the Alps. No problems on the first two days apart from a bit of nappy rash but i´m told that the partners who are coming out to Riva will be able to sort that out ........

A wee climb of 1400 metres in the morning and after that it´s all downhill!!

More to follow.

Rowan

Day two

2006-07-16T20:28:00.000+01:00

annother sunny day today with temperatures hitting 35C at times, plenty of water has been drunk and sweated out so far! 3200 metres of climbing today and we finished after 6 1/2 hours a good bit higher and further into the Austrian alps.

We were 193rd today for an overall position of 189th out of 560 teams.... not too shaby.

Race..... Day One

2006-07-15T20:18:00.000+01:00

Where did I get him from?? - He travels with a medicine cabinet and rides hills that only motorbikes can ride up!! My 2006 Transalp Team partner is a savage!!

We set off from Fussen at 11.00am this morning for the journey to Imst - beautiful weather, great trails and one savage climb towards the end. I had very bad cramp on the last climb and both legs were in uncontrollable spasms for a long time. I was thinking of getting the plane home until we corossed the top of the hill and started the amazing descent to Imst. So at this stage I am feeling a lot better and raring for tomorrows stage.

Big day looms tomorrow with 3,200 metres of climbing. I'm off to raid Simons medicine cabinet and fill the tubes of his bike with lead.

More tomorrow if I get to Ischgl in one piece.......

Travel.... day two

2006-07-14T21:00:00.000+01:00

Early start, left Munich on hte 8.52 train for Fussen. Went through some fantastic secenery on annother scorching day.

Registered for the transalp and collected team numbers and bags ready for tomorrow. We have checked into a lovely hotel and then checked out the transalp camp aka the "fartbarn" which is the others accomodation e.g. tango and cash... snigger. had our briefing and pasta party tonight and now off to bed ready for annother early start tomorrow.

hopefully we will be able to upload our pictures so far tomorrow.

Travel...... day one

2006-07-13T20:55:00.000+01:00

Left the house at 10.30 this morning to head to dublin and check the bikes in early to get a 3.30 flight to Munich along with Tango and cash. We have checked into a hotel next to the train station in the seedy area of town, next to a strip club!

We have an early start to get the train to Fussen at 9.00

Time To Go

2006-07-13T09:30:00.000+01:00

After months of training, around the Mournes, The Cooleys and anywhere else where I could find a hill, in the wind, rain and the odd bit of sun, the time has come to depart these shores for the 2006 Transalp Challenge. My cycling training finished up last Sunday and this week’s exercise consisted mainly of pushing my daughter around in her pram!

Hopefully at this stage of the game our bodies are prepared for the 22,000 vertical metres of climbing and the 700km cycling that lies ahead of us from the 15th to the 22nd July. One thing for sure is that the trails and the views will be the best we have ever experienced as mountain bikers and no doubt we will be boring everyone with Transalp stories for the foreseeable months!!

All I left to do at this stage is a massive thanks to my wife Annemarie and my daughter Jenna for putting up with the endless hours of training that I have been doing over the last 6 - 7 months for this and other events, to Sean Mac for so many days off work, to the “Bike Doctor” Sky for the constant maintenance on the Blur and to all my training buddies at Not The Sunday Run (www.notthesundayrun.com) – I’m starting to sound like an Oscar winner now so I’ll sign off and go catch the plane.

Adios

Rowan

P.S Remember to keep a constant check here for daily (hopefully!!) updates throughout the week.

Packing

2006-07-12T22:10:00.000+01:00

Take one unsuspecting bike

cover in pipe insulation

trust me there is a bike under there

place in padded bag and pray that the baggage handlers play nice tomorrow!

15 days off work!

2006-07-11T22:39:00.000+01:00

Today was my last day of work before the transalp, im off for the next 15 days... heaven! There is just the small matter of cycling 7ookm over some mountains...

Bought yet more stuff today and my checklist gets ever longer. Going to spend most of tomorrow packing and then chilling out before the adventure starts!

Had a quick 1 hour spin tonight and felt a little tired but im pretty certain thats due to Oxegen festival related lask of sleep

9 days and counting...

2006-07-06T23:07:00.000+01:00

The start is getting ever closer and this time next week we will be in Munich. All out accommodation has been booked and sent to the organisers for baggage transfer so thats one less thing to worry about! Im just running about getting last minute spares and general crap that i think i will need during the race.... hopefully i wont forget something.

Im supposed to be resting but im off to the Oxegen festival this weekend and if the previous years are anything to go by there wont be much sleeping to be had!

The "Others"

2006-07-02T21:59:00.000+01:00

We are not the only ones heading to the Transalp this year - there are some other local teams making the journey with us. Three more teams from the Newry area and one from further up north - Antrim area - I think!!

They are as follows
Andy Ruck & Tommy Brown
Eddie O'Hagan & Brendan O'Hagan
Kookie O'Hagan & Paul Le Blanc
Rick McKee & David Creighton

While you are checking on our progress make sure to check on the other lads progress too and feel free to post messages of support for them here also.

We all hope to meet up in Munich and travel down to Fussen together - maybe we'll even get a night together on the beer when the week is over. Beer??? What's that???

Last Big Day's Training

2006-07-02T21:53:00.000+01:00

Early start just before 7.30am today for the last big session on the hills before the Alps. I took in most of the big climbs locally and by 11.30am I knew it was time to go home! Above is a picture from the top of Pierce's Castle / Castle Bog after this morning's first climb. Great morning, lovely weather, roll on Fussen ........

My new Bike!

2006-07-01T16:00:00.000+01:00

Just got my new Commencal Meta4 built up last night ready for the transalp. Got out for a 4 hour 'test ride' today and im really impressed.... why didnt i do it sooner!

The wheels on the bike go round and round ......

2006-06-28T13:52:00.000+01:00

Out last night again for more savagery! I don't have the benefit of an altimeter but my legs were telling me that I was doing a lot of climbing. For those who know Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor I had two laps of the following: Ulster Way, Yellow Water, Red Bog, Ulster Way, Cloghmor Stone, Killowen, Giants Path. Light was fading so I knew it was time to go home!

Met some of the DH'ers off the MTBRider forum and ended up fixing Paddy's snapped gear cable with a spare I had in the Camelbak - must remember to replace it before the Transalp.

No rest for me this evening - back out to the local patch for more pain ........

Never ending climbing!

2006-06-27T23:23:00.000+01:00

Got out for nearly 5 hours tonight completing 6 laps of Cavehill, Belfast's local downhill spot for a total of 1560 metres of climbing. Its still a long way short of the transalp's average of 3000 metres a day though...... I'm looking forward to a well earned rest tomorrow.

Hello Everyone

2006-06-27T14:53:00.000+01:00

I’m the other half of Team MTBRider and even I am tired after reading Simon’s training schedule for this week!! I too have competed in a few long distance events and multi-sport events over the years and train 3 or 4 times per week (family permitting) pretty much all year round.

The months leading up to May were taken up with preparation for the Irish Adventure Challenge and from then it has all been about the Transalp. I have been combining long road spins with long days on the mountain bike trying to build on whatever strength and endurance I have! Now with three weeks to go I will put in a “hard” week this week and then slacken off somewhat which will allow me some time to go over all I need to get sorted for the event, get the bags packed and spend a few more hours with my wife and daughter before jetting off to Munich on the 13 July.

I don’t know if it is an advantage but I have done the Transalp before (in 2004) and I must say for organisation, scenery and out and out mountain bike trails it is the best event that I have ever taken part in. Some of the climbs are killers but you will be guaranteed that there are some amazing trails on the way down the other side – dusty, deserted roads, endless singletrack through forests in Austria, Switzerland and North Italy and super fast road descents – the Transalp has it all.

This day three weeks we will be on our third day and on our way to Scuol in Switzerland – we’ll keep you posted as we go.

Good luck for now ………….. Rowan

Training 26th June

2006-06-26T23:14:00.000+01:00

Another 4 hours of training tonight! My legs felt grand but i was pretty tired and hungry by 9pm. After a shower and a big feed im feeling much better, time for sleep!

This is the last big week of training before the event

2 hour race last Saturday
3 1/2 hours in the Mournes with Rowan on Sunday
4 hours tonight
hopefully 4-5 hours tomorrow.....

Training to date

2006-06-26T22:59:00.000+01:00

Ive done a few long distance MTB races over the last two years and have trained fairly constantly over that time but ive had my sights on the transalp since we were confirmed entry at the end of January this year.

Generally ive been getting out on the bike 4-5 times a week for anything from 1-5 hours usually short rides weekdays after work and a long spin at the weekend.

Plenty of painful hours have been spent in the saddle getting ready for the event but im sure nothing can really prepare you for it!

Transalp Challenge 15th - 22nd July 2006

2006-06-26T11:53:00.000+01:00

Ok, this is the first post in our blog as we prepare for the transalp challenge!

"15th till 22nd of July 2006, the BIKE Transalp Challenge, toughest and best known MTB long distance race in the world will be held for its 9th consecutive time.

Many of the best, many of those seeking adventure and many more very courageous will come to challenge the alps on an easterly route in categories men, women, masters and mixed to eventually become a finisher of this race!

700 kilometres and 22.000 meters of altitude may be considered as a real challenge."

We are Simon and Rowan and together we are team "MTBrider", Rowan has completed it once already in 2004 but this will be my first experience of the transalp challenge. There's only 18 days left till the race starts and everything else is left behind...