Jack Flash

First ride I've got is the braunton150 at the end of March. 150 mtb tt across exmoor. My main focus will be another attempt at the transcontinental race. A bit shorter this year at around 4000 km but also hillier with some estimates saying over 50000m of climbing. Training is a bit hampered at the moment though after a tumble on the ice resulted in a broken arm.

A quick update from our transcontinental adventure. Starting at midnight in Belgium on cobbles with 200 others, was an experience not to be forgotten. Over the next few days we rode south through France to the first checkpoint, the summit of mt ventoux . Climbing this with a laden bike in 35° was a bit of a challenge. Don't forget we we're carrying all our luggage including tent , sleeping bag, spare clothes and tools. The next checkpoint needed a ride up to Briancon, then up the balcony road to the col de montgenevre. A long drop before the climb up to Sestriere to sign in. The next part involved going over the colle dell finestre, which was the gravel road on this year's giro d'italia. Next was the flat lands of northern italy. The worst riding I've ever done. Boring straight roads, poor road surfaces and mental driving, we were very glad to get to Slovenia. From here we rode east through croatia to vukovar on the banks of the danube with Serbia on the other side. After a night at the hotel that was control 3 we headed south east into Bosnia Herzegovina. The traffic here was horrendous, and we had a bad day as our morale took a beating. A night in a very unfriendly hotel and more bad traffic the next day broke us. We got to Sarajevo and decided to call it a day and get a flight home. It's a decision I really regret. The heat ,tiredness and weariness of concentrating on traffic made us make a poor decision. We should have given it a bit longer as the next section looked a bit quieter. We still did nearly 2000 miles in 14 days which is pretty god going, but still feel a bit sad how it finished. Overall only half of the starters finished. I'm already planning how to do better next time! The experience gained here would stand me in good stead .

Hopefully will be able to update strava when we find some free WiFi. Really looking forward to getting going but am also really apprehensive as it's way more than I've ever done before.

Me and partner are soon to take part in the transcontinental race. We're petetallboy and loo loo on Strava for those that use it. Starting in Geraadsbergen in Belgium at midnight on the 24/25 of July with the finish on the banks of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Theres no set route and absolutely no support, you have to find your own way and fend for yourself. There are 4 checkpoints you have to visit on the way though. No1 is at the summit of mt ventoux, 2 the strada dell'assietta (the gravel road on this years giro) 3 is the town of Vukovar and 4 is the top of mt Lovcen in Montenegro. This will mean traveling through 11 countries, Belgium,France,Italy,Slovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania,Macedonia,Greece and finally Turkey. Total distance is about 2600 miles and we're both pretty nervous about it. If anyone is interested and on Twitter I'll be doing updates when I can . Twitter names @petetallboymtb @milliethedog Wish us luck!

@buckssaint. I usually ride around West Berkshire, but the trails are a bog at the moment. Also do some racing, such as the Gorricks and things like bonty 24/12 and mountain mayhem.

Hi everyone. I'm a long time lurker on saints Web but this is my first post. I can't be bothered to get involved in the arguments on the main board. I'm on the strava club as petetallboy and bucks Saint will be pleased to hear that I'm predominantly a mtber! Having said that most of my riding at the moment is on the road. Anyone else do any racing or anything of that sort?