Pro Prologue -- Before the beginning

What is the TABR? ... took me a week to even use the correct acronym. The TABR is a 4300 mile race across 10 states in the USA from Astoria OR to Yorkton VA, It's unassisted and you must follow a set route. Basically that's it. I caught wind that my friends Jimmy and Janie were going to bike the Trans American Bike Race in 2016. So I decided to watch the DOT. For the next three-four weeks, I had my iPad open to the race sight none stop. It was crazy how addictive DOT watching is. (Make sure you have a support group to help you get through it.) I was beyond hooked. My wife, who would be instrumental in my successful completion of TABR, could see that there was something not quite right about me psychologically. My brain, my body was craving this experience. But really folks, I had no idea what the experience would be, having never biked more than a century here and there and never even two days in a row. But wait -- I'm getting ahead of myself.

Jimmy and Jannie are athletes. They kick ass at everything they do. I met them 18 years ago in Cyprus.

I completed my first disaster of a triathlon with them. No nicer people will you ever meet. Janie was 9th in the TABR in 2016 and 3rd in 2017, by the way. Jimmy, being closer to my age, had a strategy of having a good nights' sleep during his successful 2016 attempt -- more similar to my plan. What is a "plan" but just the start point to adapting and overcoming change. Jimmy and Janie would be very helpful in my prep for TABR.

ALL THE STUFF

But first I need a new bike...right, And a Garmin, GoPro, fancy 960 lumen lights, a Spot gen 3, Maps, a Dynamo thing for my Hub to charge my devises, lightweight $$ outdoor kit, battery pack, best tires out there, bike shoes... and the list does get long. You must remember that this stuff has to last the equivalent of several years of riding in one go. I still have trouble saying 4300 miles with a straight face.

THAT'S THE BIKE FOR ME, I think...

I bought a Trek Domane SL6, 17.7 pounds with micro vibration absorption front and back. The bike was very nice for my standards.

I would add 22 pounds with all my kit. I had read in various TABR journey logs including Janie's, how hands and fingers would lose sensitivity or stop working. The hills on the course force you to make 10s of thousands of brake and shift changes -- I'm probably low balling here. Some people had a D2 shifter assist. It needs power and appeared to fail many bikers especially when slow climbing those hills. I work a lot with my hands and felt that I had enough strength to not complicate myself with this feature. And it turned out that my local bike shop couldn't figure out how to get a Dynamo Hub to fit my new model bike. So I would have to ride with battery packs. I purchased last minute a small solar panel to help recharge. Works pretty well when you have sun. In the coming days I will have a story to tell for each item mentioned above. Not always good. Being a Newbie, I learned so much but, still feel that I'm barely half way there in knowing anything. Such is life.

TRAINING WHAT TRAINING?

More to show you my stupidity than my toughness, I rode only one century (128 miles to be exact) in the months leading to TABR. A couple of 60-80miles and a few other smaller things. What was I thinking by Coalemus!!! Let me explain, we had recently purchased a second home on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake and I wanted it to be ready for the summer season. We are both Triathletes and Rock Hall, MD is a perfect place to swim, bike, run. Janie, castigated me on occasion on my lapse in priorities. I would pay, on many fronts, this terrible lapse of judgement. The house looks great, by the way, and is ready for this years' Triathlon season. Bring it on.

WHOM AM I

I'm a retired (31 years in the Canadian Air Force) guy that picked up marathons at 39 and has since progressed to triathlons, including two Ironmans. Show off. I like tough things and am very goal orientated. Boring. It seems I'm always on the footsteps of Jimmy and Janie, eh!

My goal is to share relevant information about the TABR for those that might seek to tackle it. Also, with humour, I hope to share the story of the bike ride with my fellow travelers. We had a good bunch of eight or so riders in the 26-29 day block that I will always remember. Im very excited about finally having some time to write this down. The memories of TABR 2017 swirl through my head daily, and I have to get it out. Hence here we are.

Happy reading... I hope not to bore you incessantly.

Jean-Jacques (JJ) Simon

Cap 58