Previously: TABR: Day 2
Looking back at my TABR ride now, I realize the many, many ways I could have done things better, and I believe the experience will hold me in good stead for my future rides. Back then however, it was hard not to get overwhelmed; I was afraid of getting into a state of panic, so I often overcorrected, and was perhaps a bit too relaxed. On a ride like TABR, it’s important to keep stops short, and even a few minutes saved makes a difference, as it all adds up. My Day 3 of TABR 2017 started at a quarter to two A.M (0145 hrs). I rose, packed my bivvy, whose liner was quite damp, after two consecutive nights of bivvying, and knocked on the fireman’s quarters door, to ask to use the restroom.
TABR 2017 Day 3: Coburg to Redmond
September 7, 2017
TABR 2017 Day 2: Salmon River Hwy to Coburg
August 27, 2017
I woke up at 0330 hrs, in the park, determined to try and have a better day than the previous one. The GPS said the temperature was 5°C. I was shivering a bit, as I rolled up the bivvy, and tightened up the saddlebag. I’d stopped before it got dark the previous evening, so the lights were flicked on for the first time, and I noted that they were aimed too high. Stopped, adjusted them a bit, and was off. My rig has a Shutter Precision PD-8x dynamo hub which powers an Axa Blueline 50 front lamp and a Busch + Müller Toplight View Plus rear light. When the lights are not being used, the dynamo powers my Cinq Plug III converter, which supplies a USB outlet to feed electrons to my phone, GPS etc, and on this cold and pitch dark morning, the Axa lit up the road quite brilliantly, and I was rolling down the Salmon River Highway quite confidently, at speeds near 40 kmph. I could have easily gone faster, but was afraid there might not be much time to react and avoid, if there were potholes or any other debris on the road, but my fears were largely unfounded; the surface was truly beautiful.