IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN – (to the Transcontinental Race across) Europe.

HA! Try and get that song out of your head now! #sorrynotsorry

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So, it’s not long to go now until I set off for Geraardsbergen to embark on Transcontinental Race No4. As I write, there are 5 days left and, without blowing my own trumpet, I’m feeling pretty well organised (famous last words).

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As D Day has drawn closer, people have been asking me more and more about the race (translation: I’ve been talking to people a lot about the race). I’ve been grilled quite a bit by concerned co-workers/family members/friends about the nature of the race. “But you’ll have support vehicles with water and stuff, you know, like in the Tour de France, yeah?”. Nope. it’s totally unsupported; I’ll carry everything myself. “But you’ll meet up at a hotel every evening, so you won’t be a single woman all by yourself, yeah?”. Nah, I’ll be sleeping rough mostly and have no idea how often/if I’ll see the other racers. “Won’t you get lonely?”. Not really; I really enjoy being alone and processing things. I don’t think we do that enough. “OK, well at least there’s a planned course for you to follow to Çanakkale, so that’s good”. Yeah, no. There are four checkpoints, which we have to go through, but, other than that, we have to navigate our own route.

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“WTF?!!” is the general response to each and all of my answers. But I’m sort of confused why so many find this such an odd thing to sign up to. I find the thought of having a baby right now 1000x more intimidating than enduring a couple of weeks of sisyphean hill climbs. Maybe I am odd, who knows. All I know is that I’m anxious to get started and excited to see what I will learn from the experience.

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I’m not sure what it is that concerns people most about my doing the Transcontinental race. My family seem genuinely concerned for my overall safety and, I think, will be gobsmacked if I actually manage to get past the French Alps. My brother asked me “So, when are you planning to scratch from the race?”, which was a really confusing question for me to answer because, although it’s a possibility I might scratch, it’s not a thought I’m looking to entertain. I want to finish. I’m not concerned about how long it takes me, or whether I look good doing it (I’m wearing a jersey with a giant cat’s face on it, so looking professional is impossible), I just want to finish. If something happens that makes it impossible for me to reach the finish line (and there are multiple factors at play that will prevent many of the racers from finishing), then so be it. I will not be pulling out because I’m finding it “a bit hard” though. I’ll prepare for the worst, but I am hell bent on finishing this not just for myself, but for my family friend Anda who died last year. I will be cycling in memory of her and will do my absolute best to do her and the Baily family proud. (You can donate to Muscular Dystrophy UK via my Just Giving page).

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Some people have expressed their concern for me being alone, female, and tired in the middle of Europe and I guess that’s a vague concern of mine too, but I’ve decided not to worry too much about that because, chances are, I’ll be bigger than most people who accost me (and I’ll be stinking to HIGH HEAVEN, which, experience tells me, is a pretty good weirdo repellent).

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No one seems that concerned about the navigation side of things, which is actually the thing that intimidates me most. Anyone who’s ever cycled with me will tell you that I struggle cycling across London using google maps on a good day, so Ford help me fumble my way through Europe. Still, thanks to my wonderful friend, Ellie Perkins (AKA @bicyclexplorers), I now have a second hand Garmin, so I should be alright.

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In terms of “stuff”, I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything (thanks mainly to Jon, Barry, Dai and co. at Putney Cycles). I did a kit check yesterday (see the rank Cat jersey below) and am now all packed and ready to rumble.

I’ve tried to pack as light as possible and will buy anything else I find I need on the ride.  I decided against panniers and am just using a handlebar bag, frame bag, and seat post bag. I’ve got a little bit of space left, which I’m reserving for food.

Here is a fully loaded Shirley the Surly (named, not only because it rhymes, but also in order to provide a fleeting moment of humour when I get a puncture and I shout “SHIRLEY, YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS?!”).

Excuse the poor image quality/flat mess!

I’ll give my legs a couple of days off before I leave; I think I’ll thank myself for that once I get going in Belgium.

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So, that’s it from me for a while! I’ll try and update my progress during the race on Instagram and/or Facebook as and when I have internet. I’m racer #109 and you can follow me here (this will go live once the race starts on Friday at 22:00 CET).

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See you on the other side (of ALL THE MOUNTAIN RANGES)!

Product Review: COSINE Women’s Endurance Saddle

Having recently had my Bike (aka Cybil the Ribble or Magic Mike, the Ladies’ Bike) stolen, I’ve had to painstakingly re-buy everything. Now, I don’t know if you know me, but I don’t have that much change to throw; I’m a proud bargain hunter (hence buying from Ribble, which arguably manufacture the best value for money road bikes in the UK).

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Historically, I’ve found it quite difficult to be miserly with cycling stuff. I’ve found out (the hard way) that you generally get what you pay for. Not only that, it’s hard to find women’s cycling products that fit me full stop (I’m 6’3’’ on a good day), let alone that fit and are a reasonable price. When combining all of the above with the need to buy a super comfy saddle, which is specifically designed for long-distance cycling, I suddenly had a pretty big issue on my hands.

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I simply didn’t have the budget for another £120+ Brooks saddle after having had 2 brand new ones stolen, so that option went straight out the window.  I then found myself struggling to find a saddle that a) was under £50, b) wasn’t called something patronising like “Gel Diva” with pink stitching on it (trust me, see below, it exists) and/or c) was a women’s saddle that was endurance-specific – not a bloody Bobbin or a TT saddle; apparently women aren’t meant for budget endurance cycling?

Determined to find a comfortable, sexless (in appearance) endurance saddle on a budget, I put up with a sweaty plastic saddle on my new bike for a week or two until, unlike Bono, I finally found what I was looking for…

The COSINE Women’s Endurance Saddle was almost definitely designed exclusively for me; the description reads that it is has “long range comfort and pressure relief for distance orientated cyclists. The COSINE Women’s saddle features a convex profile, deep pressure relief channel and cut-out zone for targeted support and comfort on high mileage rides”.

The price tag of £18.99 is unbelievable and I wondered if it was too good to be true. I purchased one from Wiggle.co.uk with the assumption that I might need to return it, but it is awesome. It’s comfy at the back and slimline at the front, it’s monochrome, which is always nice, and it’s a bargain.

The only thing that I have noticed to be an issue with the saddle is the shiny black band towards the front, which can cling onto and adjust your lycra/clothing if it’s not totally skin tight. Considering all the great things about this saddle though, I can forgive it giving me a cheeky wedgie every once in a while.

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To summarise:

The Pros – comfy af, not “girly”, the a-symmetrical design looks pretty sweet, minimal thigh chafeage (even with thunder thighs), SO CHEAP

The Cons – The Shiny black band on the front end can catch on lycra and I need to readjust sometimes.

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If you happen to be a miserly female who likes cycling, then BUY THIS!

P.S. COSINE also make men’s saddles!