Registration: “Quale numero?” I had no idea. I didn’t know that ride numbers had been issued.

Colin: “Non so, il mio nome è Fisher”

Registration: “Fisher, Colin,…….. numero uno!” Rider number one. It has never happened before and unlikely to happen again

Colin: “Grazie mille, un grande onore” (Thank you very much, a great honour)

Registration: “Devi essere stato il primo a iscriverti” (You must have been the first to subscribe). I thought I had been specially selected for the honour but obviously not. That brought me back down to earth.

Nonetheless I was proud to carry the race plate with number 1 on it, as well as my bag drops.

It was the TransAlp Rando, a 1,200km audax from Verona in the Veneto region, climbing north into Austria, then descending to the Slovenian capital Ljubljana and back again along a mostly different route (Wednesday 24th – Sunday 28th May 2023).

This audax was part of the Italian Grand Tour (IGT) that I have been doing since 2021. To qualify for inclusion in the IGT I had to return within 110 hours but to get additional recognition for my attempt at the International Super Randonneur 1,000 series I had to finish within 90 hours. For me it was all about the 90 hours.

If I had no idea about my number, my cluelessness continued. At the start I bumped into Lee, from Coventry. We went for a coffee together then joined the growing crowd of riders ready for the send off by the mayor of Verona. We stood next to Donato Agostini, the current Audax Randonneur Italia points champion. I told Lee how impressed I was that Donato had ridden 10,930 audax km in 2022 for the title. I had absolutely no idea that I was talking to Lee Killestein, the Audax UK 2019 points champion. I looked it up. He rode 21,100 audax km to get the title!

At 19:30 on Wednesday we were off on our three country alpine adventure.

Thirty minutes in everything changed. Up to then it was warm and dry with a good pace along a cycle path. In a few minutes it transformed into a biblical thunder and lightning storm. We looked like a failed military convey, riders stopped all along the path putting on whatever rain protection they had. It didn’t matter much what you put on. We all got wet. Skin soaked wet. Lightening lit up the whole sky like a photographic studio. I wondered what we were doing here as we crossed a high sided metal bridge with lightning overhead. Unlike the Giro d’Italia riders we had no option to cut short the stage. We either carried on or dropped out. I later found out that a few riders did indeed drop out after the first night. Face stinging rain, ‘lakes’ along the cycle path, riders falling on the slippery wooden bridges. It was not pleasant.

Endurance riding is in the head, not the legs. My strategy was to accept that it would be like this throughout the night, then we’d dry out on Thursday. The good news was that it was warm. At about 16° it wasn’t a problem. Wet and warmish is ok. Wet and cold is not.

Three hours in our first climb. It was under a tree canopy so we had some relief from the rain for the first time. When we emerged from the trees the rain had eased. I say eased. It was no longer the worst rain I’d ever ridden in but just rain. The paths were a series of waterways to navigate. It slowed us down a lot.

The first control was madness. Only 46km from the start the café was overwhelmed by riders trying to get their brevet card stamped, something to eat and try to dry out. I decided to skip the queues, just get my brevet card stamped and continue my solo ride.

The organisers told us most of the ride would be on cycle paths. Free from traffic and generally a good surface you’d think it was cycling heaven. At night they are not ideal. There is nothing to see, they are soporific. They take you away from the towns and villages that make night riding more interesting. No late night revellers cheering you on. No late night cafes or shops to get a coffee. No stunning Italian piazzas to admire when nobody is around.

I think it’s fantastic that so many people are now using eBikes for recreation use. Our challenge was that during the day we had to navigate so many inexperienced cyclists along the paths that it slowed us down and was dangerous at times. They were on holiday having a great time, we were trying to complete a timed sporting event. Not an ideal mix.

The rain and the cycle paths took their toll. After 231km riding solo through the night I asked the owner of the bike shop being used as a control for breakfast if I could sleep a little. 15 minutes kip on the floor of his bike fitting room did the trick.

I hooked up with Rosanna Idini (four times Italian Audax Champion) and her group for my first grupetto riding. During our time together we stopped to clean our bikes of all the shite the storm had left on them.

Having a hiatus hernia I struggle with digestion during these long rides. The best thing to settle my stomach seems to be dairy, so I go for yoghurt, cheese, milk and of course…..

Back on my own after the ice cream, the other way to distract me was to admire the views along the way:

I rode alone for the rest of the day, looking forward to some sleep at the dormitory checkpoint in Fusine (480km). Arriving at 23:00 we had the luxury of rooms with 4 beds in each, a shower and a bag drop (thanks to the volunteers putting them in numerical order mine was right at the front) with a change of kit. I was roughly on schedule but I really needed to sleep. After Covid in 2022 I find I need more sleep than I used to on these big rides (and of course I might be getting older).

I knew Friday would be a big day. My plan was to try and get to Ljubljana and climb back up to the dormitory and bag drop control at Villabassa 411km away. It was an ambitious plan as it included the three toughest stages of the ride.

“Good morning Colin”. It was Lee. Over breakfast we decided to try riding together to the Slovenian capital. Shortly after 05:00 we enjoyed the downhill of the Radovna Valley. We slowed after a deer ran across our path just in case there were others. I know from experience what damage a deer can do to a car, I didn’t fancy hitting one on a bike.

After climbing out of Mojstrana we zoomed down what was one of the most beautiful descents I’ve ever ridden. It was such a shame it was so cold. Too cold for photos. We agreed we’d have to return one day and descend in the warm. The road was good and went through stunning woodland and clearings with fabulous views on our way to Lake Bled.

I was honoured to ride with Lee, an Audax UK champion, and really enjoyed our chat. We stopped for our obligatory photo in the centre of Ljubljana before heading to the control in Tivoli Park (586km). We were half way there.

Lee needed to rest, but I felt fine so I set off alone to take on the next three stages totalling 305km and 4,665m of climbing to the next bag drop and dormitory. It was just after 11:00, a couple of hours behind my original schedule so it would be tough to get to get that far without sleeping. No plan survives contact with the tarmac so I’d have to be flexible.

I had the morale boost of passing riders still on their way to Ljubljana and the chance to take some photos of stunning Slovenia.

Back at the Fusine control (692km) where we’d left that morning “Ti piacerebbe pedalare con noi?” (Would you like to ride with us?) Giuseppe (from Rimini) and Ivan asked. I readily agreed. I’d seen them on and off riding together and was glad to join the team. I was feeling good so made my contributions on the front and kept up with them in the climbs. Their company really helping. As the day faded I realised there was no way we would get to the dormitory control that night. The good news was that Giuseppe and Ivan had booked a room at the Timau control (791km) which happened to be a hotel. They kindly offered for me to join them.

It turned out we’d been changed to a room with two beds as so many other riders had wanted a room at short notice. Ivan and I shared the double bed. Me wrapped in a towel, him in a blanket! I was so grateful for the shower and three hours sleep in a proper bed. Even better news was that the fixed price of the room was shared between the three of us rather than two. Worth every euro of the €30 it cost me. Thank you guys.

It was now 04:00 Saturday morning. We had until 13:30 on Sunday to finish within the 90 hours that we all wanted. We had 417km to go and 4,154m to climb so all being well we should make it.

Except all wasn’t well. Straight out of the hotel we started a 9km climb to the Austrian border. I felt terrible. I had pushed it a little too hard the day before and was paying the price. Giuseppe had knee pain so Ivan left us behind and waited for us in another country! At least Giuseppe had a good reason. I discovered he was one of the riders that fell on the slippery bridges during the first night thunderstorm. We ground our way up to the Passo di Monte Croce Cornice / Plöckenpass (1,357m asl).

The descent was dangerous. Potholes all over the place. We didn’t understand it. This was Austria, where the roads are generally so good. I can’t tell you how glad I was I stayed in the hotel the night before and didn’t have to descend in the dark. I think I might not have stayed upright. Fortunately the roads improved after the descent.

We still had to climb the highest peak of the audax. Still feeling bad it was a hard slog and the time was ticking away. At least we had some downhill to look forward before the run to the next control.

At the Villabassa control it was time to recover and take stock. Over lunch we discussed our plan to get us to the finish in time. It was 11:00 on Saturday. We had 317km to go with 2,238m of climbing. If we left at midday we’d have 25.5 hours to make it back to Verona. We felt confident we could do that. Our plan was to keep riding to the finish, stopping at the controls and sleeping only as much as we needed to.

I can confirm the restorative effect of minestrone soup, yoghurt, a body wash and a change of kit. Heading out at midday I felt so much better. Armed with our strategy of “keep going unless we couldn’t” we progressed well.

My “unless we couldn’t” moment came after the fast descent from Cortina d’Ampezzo when I needed 15 minutes kip. My friend Salvatore Pepe arrived at the Tai di Cadore control (957 km) and decided to capture the moment.

We passed on the opportunity to sleep in the dormitory at Feltre (1,044 km). We could feel the finish line. We pushed on. Salvatore joined us for the final two stages.

With 90km to go a guy stepped into the road to flag us down. Aha, I thought, a secret control. But no, it was Andrea, one of the volunteers, who’d set up an impromptu rest point with food, water, beer and even a couple of camp beds in the back of his van for anyone needing a kip. We feasted on the salami and cheese. Grazie mille Andrea.

At the penultimate control, Creazzo (1,148 km) we decide to grab an hour before the final stage. I said we should treat the run like the Tour de France and ride to the finish on the last day nice and easy with champagne and Ivan in a yellow jersey. Unfortunately the route planners weren’t done with us yet. Two short but steep climbs to do before the finish meant some serious effort with the finish line only 20km away.

We cruised the last 10 km finishing in 84 hours 20 minutes (5 hours and 40 minutes to spare). Out of 300 starters we were amongst the the first 30 something to finish.

My Bianchi Infinito had served me well. No mechanicals and no punctures. Bless her.

I am indebted to my fellow riders, Rosanna Idini and her crew, Lee Killestein, Giuseppe and Ivan. I am particularly grateful to G&I for helping me complete the last 500km. I trust I helped them with my contributions. I think we made a great team, but I’ll let them be the judge of that.

The biggest thanks go to Sport Verona ASD and all the volunteers. Our sport would not exist without armies of volunteers, often experienced audaxers, giving up their time to make it such an experience for us.

When audaxing it’s often a difficult balance between stopping for photos or keep going to maintain your rhythm. I did try to capture some of the beauty around me but at other times I just rode, taking it all in, with a huge smile on my face.