Race report continued

After finishing the stage we started with our post race admin, not keen on washing the bikes or carrying our boxes, but really looking forward to a shower and (late) lunch. Luckily some porters helped us with our boxes, and as usual the showers were piping hot. They use huge water tanks that they make fire underneath for the hot water. Like a "donkey" on the old farms. Luxury.

Showers and lunch sped by in a tired blur, and we didn't have time for a siesta, so we finished up and headed back toward the food tent for dinner and the nights festivities. Dinner was steak. Luuks! Apparently they had a bakkie load of meat to braai, but they handled it with aplomb. We were entertained by a new MC who had some kind of an issue with Cape Town, must be a Durban boy, and we watched more videos of the day's action. Bigshot Media really did great with the videos, made me want to ride, no matter how sore I was.

Even with all the snoring and farting and ladies chatter in the tents around us, I fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

The next morning it was less cold, but still rather inconvenient to get up. Until we handed in our boxes and filled up our camelbaks, that had us raring to go and had me like a racehorse chomping at the bit to bring some pain. I felt strong, stronger than any of the previous days, Alicia reckons I need to get tired before I start showing form, she might have a point. We set off down the road after the mayor of Jolivet cancelled another clay pigeon with his shotgun (apparently he has never missed a shot on any of the Sani events, I don't want to date his daughter...) I set off at the front of the pack, and pretty soon Werner had to remind me to fall back a bit with our code word "Hoss." He at one stage asked me if I'm wearing my racing snake underpants (I don't wear jocks when riding.) Pretty soon we got into a lekker rhythm, with me breaking the wind and Werner sitting slip, and talking crap on the flat sections. This day was fast, with lots of cane road descents (think: very smooth gravel road.) We reached the Vernon Crookes game reserve and remembered that Cherie Vale (friendly photographer lady) warned us that there was a big technical climb. Once again we put our pride before common sense and soldiered on into the technical climb! It looked like a war zone with all the people getting off and pushing (well in my head at least.) We made it up the climb and then promptly stopped for a rest (obviously, climbing like that is hard work) and a chat. Resuming the descent we saw a team that fell. I stopped, but they quickly told us that they were fine (I guess relatively) and that the chopper was on it's way. I chatted to the guy's teammate later, he broke his collarbone. That sent chills down my spine, one mishap and it could all be over. But nevertheless we sped on, and in the next singletrack it was my turn. We were chasing through a forest going like the clappers, and I looked down to check my speedo and saw that we were doing 45km/h, and then overshot the next corner because I was going in way too fast, followed into the bush by Werner. Werner had another incident a little bit further on when a dude fell in front of him and he also went down, but luckily both escaped unscathed. More downhill followed by flat roads and then we hit the last climbs. Little Heartrate and Heartrate. Both not too long, but long enough to remind you that it is day 3 and some work has been done. At the top of Heartrate at the waterpoint we saw the sea. And when the marshall told us that there was only a little hill left and the all downhill to the finish we set off at a blistering pace, climbing with new found legs (could have been the donut overdose) and slamming it down on the downhill. More fast cane roads and gravel roads followed until we reached the bottom of the hills and the flat roads. Here I couldn't wait anymore and told Werner to sit in my slip and hang on. We put the hammer down, passing quite a bit of teams until we reached the last forested bit of singletrack that spat us out on the beach. We cruised over the pallets and scaffolding bridge over the lagoon, and then realized that we still had to go up to the school on the hill. Oh joy!
We ate some cement and hardened up and went up the hill, passing the last couple of teams for good measure (by this stage Werner didn't have a lot of gears left to play with, so he took it like a man and cranked it up.) This hill sucked, it was seriously inconvenient.
When we reached the school and crossed the line we couldn't believe it. We had done it. And it was over. Melancholy.
So we did what all touristy types should do and snapped some pics, even got one with Farmer Glen (lekker oke) who by that time had a serious tan going after posing with everyone. We went from about 326th team overall to finishing day 3 134th position. Pretty good day I'd say. Rest of the afternoon was spent finishing up the race admin (got our Sani2C jerseys sorted out,) taking a cold shower and just lazing around.

While waiting at our shuttle we met Ben and Righard, two really cool dudes who were also on our shuttle. Man I laughed like mad at these two. The bus trip back was long and cramped, but laughing and chatting in the bus helped. The loo break next to the road also helped. Maybe I shouldn't have had that Black Label, but Sani2C without brown Fanta is just not the same.

Righard and Ben eventually also stayed the might at the same backpackers as we were after deciding just outside of Underberg that they didn't feel like driving that night. We didn't complain at all.

The next morning after breakfast when we eventually greeted each other and left I realized that the people I met was as much of a highlight on the trip as the riding itself.

Driving home was a long and tiresome process. We stayed the night on Grahamstown, but to get there we had to go through the Transkei. Lovely beautiful area, but crappy roads and even worse drivers. We made it in one piece. Just as Ben phoned me to make sure we were safe, they passed the scene of the accident where 2Sani2C trail riders died in a collision. Sobering thought.

We spent the night in luxury at my Aunt and Uncle, eating like kings and sleeping in real beds and using real fluffy towels (not our quick drying chamois jobs) and sleeping on a pillow that I didn't inflate it myself. Like I said, luxury.

Saturday morning we hit the road again, but this time it went a lot quicker. Open N2 magic. We stopped for lunch in Heidelberg at Alicia's parentals. Tannie Eliza makes a mean mac and cheese, and spoilt us with some lemon meringue as well. I really should marry her daughter soon. Lovely family that.

We reached Somerset West at about 6pm. It was a long trip, and I was glad to be home. To top it off Alicia came and surprised me at my parents. Troumateriaal.

It was a great week. It was awesome sharing it with Werner, such a cool dude, the riding was brilliant, the views breathtaking, and the people we met on the way were amazing.

All in all I'd do it all in a heartbeat. Maybe just drive up in something other than my tiny Corsa bakkie (although she handled everything we threw at her, comfort was not a big factor.)

Photo's to follow when I get to a real internet connection and not a crackberry.

Last but not least, the bike is still in Somerset West for a wash and lube at the LBS. I was just too lazy. But this weekend we're heading to Hermanus, and if I do recall correctly the singletrack in the Hemel en Aarde Valley needs to be tamed.

Happy trails everyone

Peace
Philip
Maak jou oë toe en jou hart oop

Sani2C Report

Okay, so I'm home. back from a 3000km road trip, and a 280km MTB trip that changed my life and my view of riding.

Saturday-sunday
So the story started a week ago when Werner and I hit the road at 9'o'clock saturday night heading to Underberg (about 1400km,) the drive was cra
p. From getting the police to wake up sleeping petrol attendants to watching the sun rise somewhere near Molteno to eating breakfast at KFC in Maclear to dealing with taxi's in the Transkei.

We arrived in Underberg at about lunchtime, checked in at the backpackers (Under-the-Berg backpackers, lekker place,) and passed out. Had a monster afternoon nap, found a coffee place that had pizza, smashed two pizzas super fast and went back and slept some more.

Monday.
We woke up to the realization that it is REALLY cold in Underberg. We had to layer up to near polar bear levels, only to shed all of it as the day progressed. Registration was quick as we went early and then we repacked everything we needed for the next 3days into the boxes provided by the organizers. These would be shipped to the race villages for us, while we cruised  on our trusty steeds to the beach. Lekker man. How hard could it be? We trained and had enough horse steroids to power the Durban July.
That night the rain started...


Tuesday. Day 1 Underberg to Mackenzie

It was cold. Really cold. So we layered up again. This time we swapped the trusty corsa for our MTB's and headed off to the start line. Armed to the teeth with camelbak, Gu's, energy bars, biltong and even some banana bread (thanks Alicia) we were ready.



The route is everything people said it is. We had super sweet singletrack, rivalling some of the best sections I've done in the Western Cape. and there was dual singletrack, so we switched between left and right a couple of times to pass the slower people in singletrack nd generally whizzing through the mud and slippery roads, not knowing that we were going out a bit too fast (cocky over confidence) but we were having fun. whooping like school kids and shouting at each other in the singletrack.
Pretty soon we reached the dam with the floating bridge. While Werner changed the card on his GoPro a helicopter landed next to us. I couldn't resist the temptation to walk under the rotor blades and warm my hands at it's exhaust (did I mention it was cold?) with the camera man. he filmed me doing his (apparently I was on TV, really should convince my dad to invest in a PVR...) Hands warmed up and gopro rolling we hit the bridge, with the cheering crowd there I naturally wheelied my way down the bank onto the bridge. there I quickly put the wheel down, not taking too much unnecessary chances. The bridge was easy but lank fun. we soon reached the water point at Pevensey. This immediately humbled me, as we were served by mentally disabled people, and they helped us with smiles and all the warmth their hearts could give. I'm writing this with tears in my eyes as I remember the old lady coming up to me, asking me if she could clean my glasses. putting her hands under the cold water to make sure she could get all the dirt off. We have so much to be thankful of.We were served donuts, bananas, oranges, Powerade, coke and even potatoes. this would set the bar for all the water points of the race, and none beat the feeling off love and welcoming we were received with here at Pevensey. I'll do this race again just to pass by that water point again. The rest of the day's riding hurt. we had started out o fast and nailed ourselves in the singletrack and the mud wasn't making for easy going, and now we were paying for it.I remember praying that we didn't cramp, and by grace we didn't, even though we were both experiencing muscle twitches by the end. We dragged ourselves over the finish line in about 5hrs. after finishing we washed our bikes and parked them in the bike pound. the rest of the afternoon is a blur of shower (lots of naked men, but at least it was warm) lunch and siesta. That evening we were treated to an amazing dinner (I gained weight, the food was that good and that many) and an inspiring video of the next day's riding. Here we also met Stewart and Emma, a couple from Cape Town who kicked our asses. Luckily they are pretty cool and we'll ride with them in the Cape Colony again, so I might save some face on the singletrack.

Tuesday Day2 Mckenzie-Jolivet
This was the monster day.100km and 1700km of climbing, with us dropping into the legendary Umkomaas Valley. We've been hearing legendary stories about this day's riding. it all proved to be true. Wow. Minstrels should be writing stories and singing sonnets in ode of this trail.
We dropped back in our seeding and pretty soon got stuck behind some slower people in the singletrack. our strategy for this day was not to push it ad try to pass people. thus we saved alot of energy over the 40km singletrack that was mostly downhill, we actually enjoyed the views (I'm left speechless at that view, nuff said) and not focus on the next corner and 5metres in front of my wheel. I also spent most of the time fooling around on my back and front wheels and generally showing off in front of Werner who was recording the entire descent down the Umkomaas Valley. 40km's later we got sat out at the bottom of the valley and reached WP1. More donuts and lubing off chains (trail was still very muddy) later and we started climbing. it felt like forever, but we slowly made our way up the other side of the valley. we got told that all the water crossings were ride able, so we smashed into most of them splashing ourselves, and drenching the bikes, some of the crossings were rather deep, so I'll have to strip the bike this week, and service EVERYTHING. a lot of climbing later we reached WP2, but only after suffering a bit of a sense of humour failure after seeing countless Nando's boards, and false summits, but eventually we made. pretty shattered. after wolfing down 2 Nando's and countless donuts again we set out again, dropping into a very fast rough downhill and passing countless people again (open plea to the slower guys, I promise to train harder and get stronger, if you promise to do a bit more technical riding in your training. Deal?) after this downhill we reached Push of a climb, and we decided to see how far we could go up before dismounting to push. we actually made it up all the way, but only because we were stubborn, and the people who were pushing their bikes made way for us giving us the choice lines going up and encouraging us to keep going. the camaraderie between the riders is unmatched. some more climbing and flat roads followed before we reached the Sappi plantation and the legendary singletrack. This wasn't dual track, but we decided to gun it anyway and pass people where we could. This was also a very cool stretch, rivalling Oak Valley in terms of fun. after a blast of singletrack and fast flat roads we reached the last waterpoint at Highflats Church, knowing that most of the climbing is over. some more donutty goodness followed before we set off again. We reached more rough downhill, where we promptly passed everyone on the left (I really hope the footage looks as cool as it does in my head,) and they then passed us on the climbs. this cat and mouse game continued until a couple of km's before the end, until we reached Charlies Cat Walk. Here we knew we were almost home, and here I told Werner to just sit in my slip while I ground it out till the end at about a 11 on the 1-10pain scale. I couldn't care less. we were almost home, and we knew that the worst was over, so I gunned it in the red. There is something glorious in gunning it past the point where it feels like your eyes are bleeding and your lungs are clapping hands, but you don't show any pain and just sit and WORK. I love that feeling, and the sense of accomplishment when it is done and you know you gave it everything. That is how I felt when e crossed the line. 7hrs and 22mins. I don't care how slow that is, I loved day 2!
Rest of report on next post.

Sani2C countdown.

Right now it is only three nights before Werner and I leave for Underberg and our Sani2C trip.

 

Most of the preparations are done, we pretty much only need to pack the bakkie and leave.

 

But in the meantime there is a wedding to attend to.

On Saturday morning Alicia and I will shoot through to Tulbagh for a wedding. We'll join the festivities, celebrate like champions and then head back to Somerset West.

 

Here I'll pick up Werner, and then our journey begins. We'll head out Saturday evening and drive through the night so that we don't have to drive through the Transkei in die dark.

 

Our route is up via N1 to Graaff Reinett, and then via Country roads skirting below Lesotho to Underberg. This will be rough, as we'll sleep Friday evening, and then take turns to nap in my bakkie (Corsa-tiny inside) and only catch a dos on Sunday again.

 

We do this so that we have a chance to rest and explore underberg on Monday and get everything in oder for the race that starts on Tuesday. Tuesday to Thursday we'll be zipping through forests, valleys, sugar cane fields, riding over water (minus the Peter aspect, they build bridges) and generally do what mountainbikers love most. Ride. When we reach the sea at Scottsburgh we'll cycle along the beach to get the beach effect, and then we'll go up to the local high school and into the history books as legends (well in my head anyway.)

 

We then catch a lift back to Underberg where we spend another night in the backpackers before going home.

 

Coming back we'll cruise through the Transkei. Sleep in Grahamstown, cruise home again on the N2, maybe stop in Harkerville for more trails, and then zip home via Heidelberg (and hopefully some of Alicia's mom's amazing food.)

 

I'll do most of the packing tonight, and then recheck and repack everything on Friday again. I'm only taking one box and one large duffel bag for my baggage. That means I'll need to pack creatively to get everything in. but I don't really need half the stuff that I usually pack, so I should be fine. Werner sorted himself out with some ammo boxes (engineer.) I'll remove the bike rack and sail and just put the bikes upright and our baggage in the middle like we did when I just got the bakkie. Fuel consumption is a bit of a pain with the bikes on the rack, and on a 3000km every bit helps.

 

I might update the blog while on the trip, but to be honest I think a decent story  afterwards will be better. Maybe I'll post something on the vleisbroek or twatter along the way, but the best bet is probably to callor msg me if you want to stay in the loop (don't worry mom and Alicia, I'll call you.)  Werner acquired a Gopro video camera that we'll take along, so there will be footage, and if we feel creative we might just put a lekker video together afterwards.

 

I honestly can't explain how excited I am.

 

Only three more sleeps...

Maak jou oë toe en jou hart oop