Photo: Signing on.

After my last blog entry where we had to call the police then 999 seems appropriate.

The 999 Tuscany Grand Rando was always going to be a big challenge at 1,200km and over 15,000m of climbing but it’s significance grew with the burglary and our impending departure from Italy.

It was the last piece of the jigsaw. The jigsaw being the L’Italia del Grand Tour (IGT). A collection of Italy’s longest Audaxes. I’d completed five of the six rides needed to complete the Tour:

2021 1001Miglia, 1,600km ✅
2022 Sicilia No Stop 1,000km ✅
2022 Alpi4000, 1,400km ✅
2023 6+6 Sardegna, 1,200km ✅
2023 Transalp Rando 1,200km ✅

Just the 999 to do.

The burglary had robbed me of vital training time so my main preparation was a 300km non stop night ride from the house:

That was it. I would have to ride using my experience and mental capacity to make up for the lack of physical preparation.

On Wednesday 4th June Gabriel and I started at 17:18. By 17:20 I was riding alone.

“Shit, I’ve lost power”. 200 metres into 1,200 km Gabriel’s electronic gear changing system had no power. No power no gear changes. Decision time. Stay with Gabriel or press on. I have never used electronic gear changers so have I have no knowledge of them. I concluded I really couldn’t help and that Gabriel was more than capable of catching me up. I pressed on.

The night before three of us had dinner together and shared an apartment. We had a hotel booked for the three of us for the second night. Our plan was to arrive at the hotel together then see how we went for the rest of the route. The three were Gabriel, Giuseppe (who I was riding with on the night of the burglary) and me.

Giuseppe’s start time was 30 minutes after ours so we’d see eachother on the road at some point.

The cycling gods smiled on me in the form of a fastish group that I could keep up with and take a turn on the front from time to time. Then our group were swamped by a much bigger, and faster, group that we hung on to until the first control.

The first control at San Marcello Pistoiese (89km / 1,141m) set the tone. Check in via the QR code. Ignore the huge queues at the bar. Ride 50m to the next, empty bar. Double espresso, back on the bike into the dark alone. No faff. The secret to this event was to maximise the riding time.

The second control at Cavallina (166km / 2,489m ) was much the same. QR code, pasta prepared by the volunteers, double espresso, thank the volunteers, then head off. Not so fast. Giuseppe arrived as I was preparing to leave. I was ahead of my schedule so I decided to wait and we’d ride together.

Riding through the night on your own is a special experience. The darkness, the noises, alone with your thoughts until the light begins to change then the joy of the first sight of the sun. If you’ve not done it then give it a go. It’s worth it. It’s also good to have company. The hours pass quicker, the dawn comes sooner. It’s also helps to stop for a while to admire the view:

I kept thinking about the time limit. We had 95 hours and 12 minutes to complete the ride (16:28 on Sunday) and for me, to complete the IGT. I didn’t care if I finished in 95 hours 11 minutes but 95 hours and 13 minutes or more would have been a disaster. I’d have to wait four years for another chance.

As we rode during Thursday the time I’d put in the bank to get ahead of my schedule slowly seeped away. We were also distracted by the Tuscan scenery.

We were focussed on getting to Ponte d’Arbia, the first bag drop (406km). We were now back to three. Gabriel had caught us up during the day. At the start he had to go to a bike shop where he and a mechanic took his Di2 gear changer apart, spot the fact that the battery had rubbed away at the power cable and cut it. Two hours later he started alone. A long night for him slowly catching riders to get back in the pack.

Giuseppe had booked a hotel for the three of us 40km after Ponte d’Arbia. As we approached the control I was really struggling. Struggling to stay awake. My lack of training was taking it’s toll. I knew I’d have to sleep at the control and skip the hotel. We’d ridden 406km, climbed 6,448m in just under 25 hours with no sleep. I was done. Kudos to them for making it to the hotel.

I had to sleep even though it would put me behind my plan. I’d included 9 hours contingency. As the majority of the climbing was in the first half then I could afford to make a withdrawal from the time bank. I knew I was about to take on the two most difficult stages of the event. They were both 73km long but over 3,000m of climbing between them.

I passed the hotel where Gabriel and Giuseppe were sleeping. It confirmed that I made the right decision to stop and sleep. I may not have made it at all to the hotel. Sleep deprived audaxers can easily fall asleep on the bike. That never ends well. The climbing to the summit at Monteluco (479km / 7,998m) was a solo grind. That’s when they leapfrogged me as I slept again for an hour.

“Ting, ting, ting”. What was that? It was the straps of my bags pinging against the spokes. Fatigue means you make mistakes. I’d forgotten to clip the straps back on my bag. I was 200m down the steep descent when I stopped to clip them back in. Then I noticed I had no water bottle. I’d left it at the control. Climbing back up was not what I needed but one mistake revealed another. Thankfully.

The descent was bitterly cold in the early hours but a relief that one of the two big climbing stages was over. Then a blow to our little team.

As a vascular surgeon Gabriel knows more than anyone not to take chances with your heart. I felt for him. It was a long way to come from London to have to retire not even half way round, especially after such a tough start.

Gabriel’s news made me more determined to finish. To do that I had to complete the Queen’s stage. Long climbs up to the highest point of the route at 1,100m above sea level. It was hard. Especially riding solo. A good test of mental strength. At last the final section through the woods appeared on my way to the Santuario della Verna (552km / 9,508m). A quick refuel and a 20 minute sleep at the table. I wasn’t the only one.

Stage 9 was familiar. I’d ridden most of it two weeks previously on my overnight training run. This time I saw the bizarre knight in armour at Caprese Michelangelo during the day.

The rest of the day I rode alone, including back to Ponte d’Arbia (702km / 10,885m) for food, shower and a kip before heading into the penultimate night.

At stupid o’clock on Saturday morning I’d had a 20 minute kip on a park bench. That stop meant that a rider came up behind me and asked if I minded riding together. Of course not. He was faster than me but said he’d rather go slower with company than ride alone. He was a Dutchman, living in Los Angeles called Marco. We chatted so easily that the first time we realised we were on a 5km climb was when we were at the summit. This is one of the joys of audaxing, you never know who you might meet. It was a joy to ride with Marco and the kms flew by. Thank you.

We arrived at Pomonte (827km / 13,080m) together. I needed sleep, Marco didn’t. After we parted it was a long haul against the wind towards the coast and the final big climb of the 999. It seemed to many of us it was a completely unecessary diversion just to get more climbing done but the view from the top was worth it. Maybe.

The control at the summit was a van at the side of the road so a quick descent to Porto Santo Stefano for a proper reward:

With the majority of the climbing done the rest of the afternoon was a solo ride along the coast to Grosetto (988km 14,484m). My original plan was to leave the control by 18:30. As I arrived at 16:38 then I could afford a couple of hours sleep and take my time.

When I left another Giuseppe approached and asked to ride together. Having been solo all day I was happy to have some company as the light began to fade. It was a long straight busy rode so we took it in turns on the front. After an hour or so we approached a short, but 15% climb. Giuseppe just flew up it whilst I ground my way to the top. That’s when I discovered he was on an e-bike! His bike looked much like all the others but a much wider down tube to store the battery. He was legitimately registered for the event but but wouldn’t be homologated as that’s only for those of us relying on muscle power alone.

At 01:00 on Sunday morning, at the top of a climb we came across Sampsa, a Finnish rider that I’d seen from time to time. He was exhausted and wanted to find somewhere to sleep. As it was cold, even for a Finn, at the summit I suggested he followed our wheels to get him back down to the coast where it would be a lot warmer and we’d find him somewhere to sleep.

On the front riding along the sea front I started looking for somewhere for Sampsa to rest. Bus shelters, shop door ways, anywhere covered. Audax hotels we call them. He said he’d like to keep going a little further now that he had company and felt better. A little further turned out to be the next control La California (1,117km / 15,241m) at 03:20.

The finish was a tantalising 78km away. Do we push on through the night and finish or do we sleep and finish in the daylight. We slept.

We had until the afternoon to finish so we stopped for breakfast and just relished the final kilometres.

Gabriel was there to greet us and film the final metres… and buy me a beer. Cheers Gabriel.

My overwhelming emotion after getting off the bike was relief. Relief I got round safely. Relief I finsihed with 5 hours to spare. Relief that I’d completed the L’Italia del Grand Tour. Relief I wouldn’t have to wait another 4 years to attempt it. Relief I’d be back with Jan soon. Following the burglary she couldn’t stay in the house alone overnight so she was staying with friends.

I felt proud to have finished.

But even prouder to receive this message from Olli, a friend of mine and Sampsa’s:

It’s always nice to repay the help we get along the way by helping someone else. I don’t think I saved Sampsa, I just gave a helping hand.

A huge thank you to the staff of Bike Rando and all the volunteers across Tuscany who made the event possible. Many worked through the nights making food, serving, cleaning up and helping us at the controls.

Thank you to all my fellow riders who kept me company and helped me along the way.

Grazie mille tutti.

With two weeks to go before returning to the UK I could tick off the final challenge of the L’Italia del Grand Tour. A fitting end to our Italian adventure.

2021 1001Miglia, 1,600km ✅
2022 Sicilia No Stop 1,000km ✅
2022 Alpi4000, 1,400km ✅
2023 6+6 Sardegna, 1,200km ✅
2023 Transalp Rando 1,200km ✅
2025 999 Tuscany Grand Rando 1,200 km ✅

The final thank you is to Jan for supporting me during this 5 year challenge.

Especially for the home made flap jacks made with our own olive oil.