Day 7 // Wild-Ocean Born

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Words by Stuart Downie

Photos by Liz Seabrook, Jordi Rulló and Tomás Montes

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It’s half past two in the morning. Robin Reinsch (030), who finished a couple of hours earlier, has just been taken under the wing of TCR veteran Stuart ‘Hippie’ Byrne, renowned for his routing choices – Hippie has been out for the evening, and passing Eat Sleep Cycle at an opportune moment, he offers Robin a hot shower and the floor – so long as Robin doesn’t mind the fact that Stu has had a skinful. They’re both finishing journeys, and beginning new ones, two travellers crossing paths on the open waves.

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At 03:02 am, Katharina Wirth (027) arrives, still with energy to burn. We could turn her around and send her back to the Atlantic; she’d be game. She apologises (unnecessarily) for not stopping to talk on the Pailhères yesterday, then tells us she missed her first day of university for this race. What’s she studying? Midwifery. Turning to Race Director Andrew Phillips, she suggests it’s a lot like his job here – guiding people through a transformative time, delivering individuals into a new phase of their life, whether they’re ready or not. I wasn't prepared for this level of philosophical insight this early in the morning. Leaving us to ruminate, Katharina gets set to rest in the same store cupboard where TPRNo4 winner Robin Gemperle slept on a broken-down cardboard box before emerging in the early morning wrapped in a sleeping bag. Unforgettable moments abound in the wee small hours.

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Jump, My Jollies!

Later, Race Coordinator David Ayre finds TPR veteran Rob Gardiner (014) down by the river in Seix. Rob has been taking it easy – as much as one can take a race like TPR easy. As he points out, there is no easy pace at TPR. Things have conspired against Rob – things being saddle sores. This could be his last outing in the Pyrenees, having ridden the race now in both directions, and he wants to finish it, but not to the tune of so much discomfort. We’re wondering what exactly that sounds like – presumably different for different people (Ed Sheeran, anyone?).

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Mike Drummond (049) has been through the dishwasher, partly his own doing. After reproofing his jacket, the rain (in France, not Spain) has fallen mainly on Michael and washed the proofer out – it had one job. Grace Pyne (108) has realised that this race is endless up and down, but it’s all good. Yesterday on Tourmalet she was screaming that she’d quit, but now she’s on the Col de la Cour feeling fresh in mind and body after finding a washing machine in her accommodation last night, and looking ahead to the infamous golden arches at Tarrascon. With the change in the weather, formerly salty Scandis Jorgen Mellem (152a) and Henrik Fiskådal (152b) have presumably had a wash. NOT SO CRUSTY ANYMORE! They shout as they pass Control Team 2. Freshly laundered, like Mike’s jacket and Grace’s kit, they’re now back in black as they work their way through the Raid.

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Robert Mueller (003) is taking it easy, making plans to visit the beach tomorrow. He spots Brandon McNulty, the new men’s road world champion. Not long after, Robert is excited to see Pierre Bischoff (035) arrive aboard his belt-drive internal-hub-geared bike, which weighs 12kg unloaded. A bit of an experiment for the former Race Across America winner, better known this year perhaps as Robert’s guardian angel, providing the bike and kit for TPRNo6’s most unusual effort. Incidentally – Robert’s bike went missing because he packed it in a fireworks box, perhaps answering Balotelli’s riddle: why always me?

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Unavoidable Circumstances

After riding 1725.57 km, Nicholas Runtsch (141) is not looking forward to retrieving his bike bag and dragging it to his new hotel. Instead, Nick puts it off by chatting with Robert and Katharina (who has slept two hours in the store cupboard) about training – Katharina wants to get quicker (look out, ultra world) and I suggest Robert might have some tips. Criteriums, he says. Nick is a little more digital (read modern?) and doesn’t mind getting on the turbo to knock out the hard yards, but Robert is old school, using a crit series to get sharp for TCR.

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At lunch, we see Charlie Bratt (148), who is now firmly in holiday mode and enjoying wearing fresh kit. Later in the evening we see him again – he’s had double breakfast, double lunch, double dinner. Good lad. Proud of his ride, and rightly so, there’s a relief in finally being sure that he has what it takes to finish – and in eighth place amongst a very strong field.

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After a very fast ride, I manage to catch up with Anna Richter (004) before dinner in the Old Town of Girona. I’ve brought a bottle of Vichy which explodes as I open it, an impromptu podium moment. As measured as I’ve come to expect, I learn that while Anna loves riding, they don’t love route planning. I ask about the Raid – although Anna intended to take the off-road shortcut descent, they couldn’t find it in the dark, opting instead to turn around and descend on the road. I ask about the unusual routing choice here, taking a less direct route, and Anna is almost blissfully unaware – saying that they will sometimes look at the tracker after and find out in retrospect what happened. It seems there’s no real interest in amending this – with bikepacking trips in their past, the adventure is part of the appeal. So, this year’s learning is singular: rim brakes and carbon wheels were a bad choice.

In the Contemplative Evening

Returning rider Cyril Thibault (149) is pleased to arrive in Girona for lunch. Having ridden the gravel edition of TPR, which he says was harder overall, he admits that this ride was tough purely because he knew what was coming, making it hard to keep the head up and, at times, to put it down. Later, Cyril returns to the finish to stop himself from going to bed too early, greeting riders, comparing notes, chatting. When Mathias Ulrich (090) – who arrived early in the morning – turns up, looking very fresh, the pair go to find some late dinner together.

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Before the day is out, Jaimi Wilson (007) arrives. If Katharina was pseudo-philosophical, Jaimi is the real deal. Soon we’re talking about vipassana, a non-sectarian meditative method that runs in tandem with Buddhism but doesn't require you to practice. Inspired by Yuval Noah Harari, Jaimi undertook a 10-day retreat where you spend time cultivating your awareness – in silence. By comparison, Trans Pyrenees has taken a mere 6 days, 15 hours, and 47 minutes (that’s 6.66 days, if you’re looking for further symbolism), and there’s no requirement for silence, which is just as well if you’re fond of turning the air blue.

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Done With All This Weary Roving

Only two from Thursday: the ever-insightful Juan Miri (048), and Samantha Saskia Dugon (011), dealt an irreparable mechanical – fortunately, Sam’s now enjoying some pistachio pancakes before meandering back to Girona.

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