Farawayistan does Trans Balkan Race

It is almost race day. Our very first ultra bikepacking race, the Trans Balkan Race starts June 3rd at 8am sharp. We will cross four former Yugoslavian countries and cover 1.356 kilometres and 26.680 meters of elevation in the short period of 10 days. 

We have trained for months, studied every meter of the route meticulously and dialled in the bikes to fit our setup to the millimetre. Emotional support to get us through this unfathomable challenge will mean the world to us. You can reach out to us throughout the race on our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farawayistan/. We will do our best to share some snippets from the road as we are racing!

Dotwatcher: see our live location

Dotwatcher covers the race with race reports and a GPS map with the live location for all riders here: https://dotwatcher.cc/race/trans-balkan-race-2022. 

Sabina Knezevic – cap numer 42

https://www.instagram.com/sabina.knezevic/

Robin Patijn – cap number 64

https://www.instagram.com/robinpatijn/

For first time Dotwatchers

Find a short guide how to dotwatch here: https://dotwatcher.cc/how-to-dotwatch. Below you find some additional wisdom when following off-road and remote ultra races. There are a number of circumstances that could affect the race and how our dot is moving. So, no need to panic when our dots stop moving.

Tracker/Battery issues: first of all the trackers need to be recharged from time to time. So if our dot shows a red light, it could possibly mean that it ran out of battery.

Tiredness: second, sometimes we might just be tired and in need of a long stop to rest and refuel. Look at our dot history to understand if a long stop could be expected (midday sleep is not at all uncommon).

Mechanical/puncture: lastly, remember that mechanicals are always lurking and some may require a bit of time (and engineering) to solve.

To better monitor our dots, try some useful techniques such as studying the surrounding dots. Has the general riding peace slowed down? It’s highly possible we’re on a rough uphill section or in a very demanding weather condition. Satellite mode is also a good trick to spot a pause in a hotel/restaurant.

Follow all our adventures on Instagram.