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Devon TRF Group Open Forum -> Non-TRF Events -> Romania to Gibraltar Race 2018
Post Info TOPIC: Romania to Gibraltar Race 2018
deci


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Romania to Gibraltar Race 2018
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This race covers about 6000km in 16 days over roads and tracks. One of our members, Nick Fell from Merrivale has entered and with a bit of luck will give us a talk later.

The race began on 22 June and progress can be seen on the Gibraltar Race website and also the Devonport Trials Club Facebook page. 

Nick is rider.no 70 on an Africa Twin

David 



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Tribey


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deci wrote:

 progress can be seen on the Gibraltar Race website see here  http://www.gibraltarrace.com/en/ 

Nick is rider.no 70 on an Africa Twin 

Map-2018 TRANSYLVANIA GIBRALTAR.jpg

GibRaceStage1positions1.jpg 

currently in 36th position. Good luck Nick

 

edited to add route map



-- Edited by Tribey on Tuesday 26th of June 2018 08:16:03 PM

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Tribey


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Day3 Stage3 today, finishing in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia

GibRaceStage2Class1.jpg  GibRaceStage2overall.jpg

9th in class, 36th overall. Great going Nick



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Tribey


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End of day 3, staying at The Albino Armani Vinery just outside of Dolce, Italy, not far from Lake Garda.

Currently 31st overall, 9th in class.

His navigation training in The Pyrennes is paying off!



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youaintseenme


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Is this closed course sections with road liason to connect the sections, or a flat out blast on public roads, like the cannonball run ?

The route looks pretty straight on the map, apart from a few nasty bends in Spain (-;

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youaintseenme wrote:

Is this closed course sections with road liason to connect the sections, or a flat out blast on public roads, like the cannonball run ?

The route looks pretty straight on the map, apart from a few nasty bends in Spain (-;

I'm not really sure of the route make-up, and when I spoke to Nick in May, he didn't really know either!

The route map is just a basic idea, as they do not tell the competitors the route in advance, but hand them their GPS in the morning of each day.

Here are the short daily videos produced by the organisers to give you some idea of the terrain.

Day 1 Romania the Prologue

Day 2 Stage 1 in Romania Stage 1 

Day 3 Stage 2 Romania to Hungary 

Day 4 Stage 3 Hungary to Slovenia 

Day 5 Stage 4 Slovenia to Italy 

 

Stage 4 rankings not listed yet, but Nicks GPS shows he's made it to the overnight stop at the winter ski resort of Pragelato, Italy.

 

 



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crumbles


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I enjoyed watching those videos,
looks like its a navigation off road nightmare,...

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deci


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Nick placed 29th after Day 6. Had some minor probs to overcome including a cracked engine case after an "off", repaired with plastic metal and seems to be holding ..... GPS navigation seems to be improving but still monster mileages each day on surfaced and unsurfaced roads/tracks.

He will be half way tonight at Lourdes, perhaps taking the waters will help get through the next half and reach the end ??????

Ably backed up by Jon Stafford and Nick's wife Doreen in the van.   Terrific achievement so far by all !!



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NeilM


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I am just glad to hear Doreen is not alone!

Nick fall offconfuse, that does not happen often!



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deci


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Nick in 28th position at the half way point, exhausted by all accounts, which is probably why he came off ! Or he could have been looking too closely at the GPS, that is his weak point having only gone to GPS a short while before the event........



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Tribey


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Stage 6

Stage 7

Day off 

Nick is currently 27th overall, and 11th in class.



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deci


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Stage 8 was not a good day, after crossing the Pyrenees, 100 spot fine for allegedly overtaking in the wrong place and then being knocked off the bike by a driver pulling out in front of him !!!  It would be sexist to comment on the gender of the driver ...... 

Damaged bike required being taken to the bivouac by 10.45pm with late night repairs to a cracked engine casing (again) To bed at 1 am ready for wake up call at 6 am and prepare to ride again !

Nick was pleased to recognise some trails we rode in 2014 near Jaca

here's hoping for a better day on Stage 9



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deci


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Finally Nick finished the race to Gibraltar but not without mishap. His final position was 22nd overall out of 80 or so riders, with 20 DNF. He was 10th in class 1 and best Africa Twin beating many younger, fitter and more experienced riders and as an unsupported rider in an international event is some achievement.

The Honda was running "like a mouse in carpet slippers" after 4000 miles at the end with the tyres replaced on day 12 and only suffering from rider abuse wink

Hopefully he will give a presentation of his experience one Club night.

Will he do it again ?   Will any other Devon TRF members take up the challenge ??



-- Edited by deci on Sunday 8th of July 2018 04:36:08 PM

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Tribey


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Well done Nick.



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youaintseenme


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Stage 6 Italy - France absolutely fantastic ! dream riding.
Looks like an area that would be well worth a visit with a bike ....


Thank you for posting and well done Nick for finishing.

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Not stealing Nicks thunder, and hopefully not ruining his November presentation!

Finally the Race movie on Youtube, with plenty of coverage of Nick.



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Pete


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Enjoyed that

Interesting to see at 02.24 the West of England Motor Club 2017 Moor to Sea long distance trial sticker on the petrol tank next to the Gibraltar race one

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deci


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I'm sure Nick will be able to fill in the gaps .... biggrin



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deci


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Don't forget Nick's presentation of his experience at The Dolphin, 8pm, 13th November - all welcome 



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