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Traveling is expensive, the entry is not cheap, insurance and doctors note and all that, but all in all it hasn't been incredibly expensive for me. I've done my two previous TCRs on a Surly Steamroller with a good and reliable parts bin setup and big part of my gear has been second hand or ortherwise cheap. In all of those three TCRs together I've only once paid to sleep indoors. I often buy food from shops as it's pretty fast, selection convenient and it's cheap if you're not in Switzerland. I did buy a new bike last year and have upgraded some gear, mostly as they wear out, and try to buy good where I can, but it's not about the gear really, if it just works. The weather is mostly pretty nice and you don't need a lot of gadgets.
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Allmost there! He's enjoyed a nice downhill there too, here's the profile for the finish parcours:
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There's often luxurious bus stops and all kinds of rest stop shelters especially in the mountains and around small villages and in front of churches and possibly abandoned houses etc. if it looks like it might rain. And usually it doesn't rain that much.
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Yeah that's what I have but all black.
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Interesting. Can you use that as the official tracker instead of Spot in these races?
I have the Trace as that was needed for NCT and it was handy for my ride accross Finland too.
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But as I use all this gear for other rides, camping and life too, can't really count it all as race expense. And you have to eat at home too. So it's mostly just the race entry, flights, hotels. And indeed I mostly sleep out.
Taking my bike on the flight to Burgas cost 119€ and now for the train I'm in, I had to put the bike in a box and still the conductor is saying it's not allowed and I should pay a fine of 50€.
My thin packable rain jacket is now done and I sould buy something new. Maybe a new one of the same or maybe a Rab Downpour or something.
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Tracker service plans are so expensive there's no point in bying one if you can rent from the organiser. I think the cheapest Spot Trace was 100€ and the basic service plan has to be bought for a year or more and that's something like 180€ with taxes.
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The trousers are made by Craft, made for riding as they have a reinforced ass and pack small as it's only one layer of fabric. But they were a bit wide and flappy so I had them narrowed and long velcro openings added so they're easy to get on with shoes on. Don't know what model they are, it only says Craft on them. They are fine. They were fine before the modifications too.
I like to use the merino base shirt for sleeping in too. And I don't like arm warmers.
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Mikko's sleep strategy is to struggle two nights with short not that great sleep and then a hotel for the third night. And then repeat.
I mostly sleep outdoors with a regular rhythm. I had a half sleepingbag and down jacket but no bivy. I had rain trousers and waterproof shoecovers which many probably didn't. A long sleeve merino baselayer instead of armwarmers, as I've had before. Rather personal choices indeed.
Congrats!