Europe is connected by land and you can go anywhere by car.
Athletes travel long distances by plane, but in some teams, TT3 and others often travel until they arrive. About 600km by car doesn't bother me so much in Europe where the speed is fast.
Mechanics and massers move by car with equipment, so basically 100% of the movement is by car.
The Swiss team consisted of two vehicles, one trailer and one 3t truck, but the 3t truck ran surprisingly well and was able to cruise 160km, so it was useful for long-distance travel. The trailer runs at 80km, so the required time is halved.
In order to enter (or leave) France from Switzerland, we had to cross the border, but on the Geneva side, there were generally no problems, and it was easy to get through because there were staff members who knew each other. The Italian border in the south is quite erratic and always stopped. show me inside
Even though the car is clearly marked as a professional cycling machine, what is it carrying?
Generally speaking, in such cases, when someone says, "I'm going to Italy to race," it's common to ask, "Don't you have a souvenir?" He suddenly smiled and sent me off. It's definitely Italian, but I also feel that it's more rational than a country that is noisy with a ladle ruler. Germany was solid on that point! Bad things are definitely bad. It's interesting to see the strong national character.
There is a currency exchange near the border where you can change your money. The cheapest way to exchange money is at a bank in Switzerland or at an exchange office at an airport, so it is a good idea to exchange money in advance. In the case of general roads, there are cafes nearby, but there are many places with a somewhat suspicious atmosphere, so I didn't rest in such places. When I was still there, there was no euro, and Italian currency exchange was full of lira bills, so at first it was hard to count.
At highway tollgates in any country, people say “Hello (Bonjour)” and when they hand over money, they say “Goodbye” (Auboire), but sometimes there are people who like cycling, and they ask me which race it is, and the bicycle culture. feel the difference. Also, I think exchanging greetings at this time is a good habit to take a breather when driving alone for a long time.
Movement basically moves to arrive at the hotel around noon.
After moving, you can carry your luggage and set the truck (camion).
When I run all day, I eat on the way, but unlike Japan, restaurants on the highway are not everywhere, so when traveling at high speed, I decide to make a certain amount of time to stop. Since other teams stop at roughly the same restaurant, we will meet again here to some extent. In France, meals other than restaurants were poor, and sandwiches were not very delicious.
Compared to France, there are many places where you can eat light meals in Italy, and there are also paninis and focaccias, so I was able to move by car immediately after buying them. Even so, I remember that “Otogrill” on the highway in Italy was delicious everywhere.
On general roads, there is a small restaurant along the national highway, and it is good to check where trucks are stopping when passing the same route several times. Once I ordered a lunch set meal along the national highway in the Pomerol district of Bordeaux (famous for wine), and it was about 1,000 yen with all-you-can-drink wine (Pomerol because it's a local sake) and dessert. It was a pity that I could not drink much because it was a car.
When you go to Spain, there is a cafe along the highway (there are many highway sections in the west that are free), and it is a hotel restaurant that also serves as a hotel. Everywhere is crowded at lunch time, but the seasoning is similar to that of Japanese people. Long-distance drivers seem to relax with meals and naps.
Food is interesting because it symbolizes the local culture.
The average speed in Europe is 160km! Calculations are fine. Unlike in Japan, guidance on highways is good, because there are no cars driving slowly in the overtaking lane, so fast cars can drive safely at high speeds.
On the autobahns of Italy and Germany, it will approach you at a very fast speed, so if you don't look carefully at the left mirror, it will approach you in no time.
In particular, Italy does not slow down, so I feel like I'm going to be rear-ended. However, I once thought that the feeling of speed was innately different because it passed through the side with a speed difference of 50km or more.
But they haven't slowed down. I really feel that in Italy, the fast people have the highest priority in the overtaking lane. If it is clear so far, it becomes common sense to quickly overtake and return to the driving lane when finished. I think it's good practice.
Traveling 1,000km in a day is not uncommon, and teams with no money travel 6,000km overnight. And so are the players. The “professionals” in Japan are only superlatives like US Postal and Quickstep, but in reality, about 80% of the teams travel by car together with the players, managers, masseurs, and mechanics. The staff alone is tiring, so sometimes the athletes also drive back to their home countries. I always travel by car, and when I get home and open up the map, I'm surprised at the distance traveled.
I once ran a part of the earth that was round in one day.
I had looked at a map and wondered if it might be possible to drive from Europe through Russia to Hong Kong.
The move is also the beginning of the race.