Race Results

We finished 40th out of 215 teams. Not bad for novices!!! Many teams did not complete the race at all. Some finished with one rider.  I suppose the useful information that we received on day 2 of the race was correct. The irony is that the guy who gave it to us crashed and broke his collar bone. 

Day 9 of 9 - 76km from Jolivet to Scottburgh

The rain held up for us today and the riding conditions were near perfect except for the odd muddy bend which needed to be navigated with caution.

I found this stage to be really tough. The climbs in the cane fields were incredibly steep although shorter than what we had experienced over the past 8 days. My knees were killing me during the first 15km's and the pain in my butt just wouldn't go away. We also took a wrong turn. I'm not sure how we missed it but it added about 3 minutes to our time.

The change in scenery over the 8 days has been astounding. Today was no exception. This stage took us through forests, nature reserves and cane fields.

We finished in about 3h30.  I’m not sure what position we finished today in and I have no idea about final overall position. In the greater scheme of things, that’s not all that important. We are finished! … and in one piece.

This is certainly not a race for the faint hearted but with the correct training and race strategy it's an absolute blast. We met some great characters along the way and hope to catch up with them during some of our weekend rides.

Tonight we rest and I'm sure we’ll be discussing our next challenge over dinner :-)  I’ll keep you posted. We just need to warm our families to the idea first! Cheers for now



7am start at Jolivet. Yes that is the front of the

field just ahead of us. We certainly earned our place

in the 'A' batch for the start of day 9

Climbing towards Vernon Crooks

Another push of a hill. By this stage the pissing contest was over and we

no longer found it a challenge to get to the top without walking.

Valley of a Thousand Hills

Vernon Crooks Nature Reserve

Our first sighting of the sea with about 10-15km to go.

You can see by the mud on my face who was

sucking whos wheel today.

 

Finished at last! Total time 45h and 40th overall.
That's a wopping average of 5 hours of riding
per day for 9 days on the trot.

Day 8 of 9 - 97km from Mckenzie’s club to Jolivet in Ixopo

It was a 7am  'A' batch start again this morning. The advantage of being so close to the front at the start was that the single track ahead of us was clear. And what a day it was to have clear track ahead of us.  We couldn't have asked for better weather. 

We finished todays stage in 49th position in a time of 5h27min but interestingly now lie 40th overall.

‘Eish wena!’ Don’t let anyone tell you that the last 3 days of the Joberg 2C are the easiest! I haven’t yet had an easy day. Today was no exception. In fact I would probably say it is up there as one of the toughest. Possibly because we have now been on our bikes for 8 days and have ridden over 800km's

The route into the Umkomaas Valley is completely different from the Sani2c in previous years. The descent was amazing, but we had to keep our heads and wits about us. If ‘Average Joe” had to race down this pass he’d probably come off second best. My advice is to rather ride it and enjoy it than to race it.  The guy behind us crashed and cracked his ankle, and the guy a few teams ahead us broke his hip! The final climb out of the valley was incredibly tough and the incessant burning sensation on my right butt cheek didn’t help matters and I soon developed tendonitis in my right knee.

Stephen was as solid as ever and we really pushed the pace during the last 30km.

Todays stage is over and it's raining now for the first time in 8 days and it looks like it will continue tomorrow. A bit of a pity as a dry final day would have been a great climax to an incredible race. None the less we will continue to stick to our strategy. It's paying off big time now as people seriously begin to tire.

 

'A' batch seeding for day 8. Hmmm, that means a fast start

and I not sure I'm up to that.

 

Until next time. Thanks Mckenzies club for being great hosts.

Sunrise day 8 - Mckenzies club

Heading towards Murrays Meander

Heading towards the famous Nicks Pass

The big sweat, heading up out of the Umkomaas valley.

Strangely, I didn,t remember this from previous years rides.

The second watering table just never seemed to arrive.

Day 7 of 9 - 87km from Underberg to McKenzie’s club near Donnybrook

Todays stage was the first of the race to have a batch start. We started in A batch, admittedly at the back of A batch. No pressure!  We completed the stage in 4h03. We were both particularly strong today but unfortunately Stephen rode over a porcupine quill and landed up with a puncture about 10km from the finish.
After a speedy repair job, we managed to claw a few positions back and finished in 58th place.

For the Sani2C riders, the route is very different, and much better than previous years. The riding conditions up until this stage have been perfect. The track is compact, with very little mud.

We continue to nurse our sore bottoms. Nothing seems to help anymore! Fortunately, we have had very little bike admin, which has made for great riding.

Tomorrows ride is 93km to Jolivet. I believe a whole lot more single track has been added in the Umkomaas valley. Sounds like fun! Update to follow.

 7am 'A' batch start.

The Salomon boys slightly ahead of us... again.

I think that's how they finished as well.



Mckenzies Club bike wash. It was always a good sign

to see only a few bikes at the end of the ride.

Day 6 of 9 - 88km from Glengarry to Underberg

Today we finished 44th in 4 hours 59 minutes. We are now lying 47th overall.

No one mentioned how much of a stinker day 6 would be. Both Stephen and I are suffering with a serious case of bum rash! I’m sure this discomfort will eventually pass. Stephen tells me he has never experienced such steep climbs before. Our 80% strategy continues to pay off.

Tomorrow the ‘girl’s race’ starts. Day 1 of the Sani2c :-) Well that’s what some wise guy once said to me. He clearly didn’t race it but chose rather to doddle along.
Having completed 5 pervious Sani2c's, I feel confident.

I must tell you I'm am seriously concerned about the condition of my backside. I can barely sit on my saddle. Hopefully by tomorrow the pain will have eased somewhat.

A misty cold start at Glengarry

Watering point after the last big climb of the day 

 

Hazeldean - Underberg finish. We knew we were now

on the Sani2c route as we had to for the first time in 

7 days of riding, wash our own bikes and carry our own bags. 

This really wasn't a problem as my ever faithful partner,

Stephen carried my bag to our tent... by mistake of course.

Did I mention it weighed in at just under 30 kg as I was

carring all the spares, tools and medical aid kit.  

Thank goodness for Gert from Complete Cyclist.

The bike mechanics worked their butts off, often until after

midnight and had to be up at the crack of dawn again.

All in all I replaced my rear cassette, chain, gear cables

and had a my big ring panel beated.

The beautiful race village at Hazeldean.

View from our tent.

Day 5 of 9 - 97km from Winterton to Glengarry.

We finished in 47th place in a time of 5 h01. Our overall position over the 5 days is now 49th.

Stephen and I kind of lost each other at the start this morning. It's hard to believe when you start right at the back. Of course this didn’t help us in our pursuit of glory! Our strategy now is to wake up a little earlier, and at least start halfway down the field. I’m sure that will help.

It’s a funny race, a real roller coaster of emotions and physical ability. Thank goodness Stephen was feeling really strong today and pulled me along, as I wasn’t in as good form as yesterday. Some of the climbs were really nasty. Real spirit breakers! I don't think I have ever experienced such tough climbs. Thankfully we are riding in May and not any earlier in the year as the heat and steep ascents would have only made matters worse.

Races within the race have already started hotting up. Our final push to the finish resulted in a spectacular sprint that didn't quite have the desired result but it was fun anyway and I'm sure will play havoc with our legs during tomorrows stage. I have noticed how people eagerly await the provisional and final results each evening and either ignore us or look over towards us with a lingering grin.

From a beautiful Glengarry in Kamberg, it’s time to get some sleep. I think tomorrow is going to be a really tough climbing stage

Day 4 of 9 - 124km from Sterkfontein Dam to Winterton

We completed todays stage in 5 hours 57 minutes. We survived some really hardcore mountain biking today, with some crazy descents down the escarpment and managed to finish in 42nd place. We really have been working at improving our position in the line up at the start, but seem to get no better than around 10th from the back. I suppose it’s one way to get to know the other competitors, some of whom finished today’s leg in 11 hours 15 minutes.

The climb up Spion kop was crazy. Stephen decided it would be faster walking the final stretch and he was not far wrong. I managed to just edge ahead of him in my granny gear. God only knows how motor cars get up this hill. No wonder the famous battle was won by the guys at the top an not the advancing army coming from the bottom.

It was so tempting on numerous occasions to chase after over taking teams when the ride became flatter and faster but we stuck to our 80% rule and spat these teams out shortly after they passed us. It was a wonderful feeling.

Day 5 is 97km from Winterton to Kamberg. Sounds simple enough :-)

Great Wall My China!

Last watering point Wappo - in green.

Not Gary - that would be wierd.

Day 3 of 9 - 123km from Reitz to Sterkfontein Dam

We completed the 123km from Reitz to Sterkfontein Dam in 6h01 and individually used up a total of 4500 kilo calories. The day started off on the chilly side at around 5 degrees but warmed up to be a perfect day for mountain biking.

Both Stephen and I managed to improve on our starting position of about 8 teams from the back on day 1 and 2 to around the 20th team from the back. Unfortunately all the hard work of getting to the starting line a little earlier was in vain as I had to stop 100m from the start and do a quick repair job on my skew handlebars. At least I now had an explanation as to why I had developed such an incredible pain in my neck on the previous days ride. I apologise to the entire medical crew, all the support vehicles, roaming mechanics and medical personnel who had to wait for me to complete the repair job before being able to continue. Thank you for your patience.

The day was very long and our strategy of trying not to exceed 80% of our maximum heart rate for sustained periods seemed to pay off towards the end of the days stage. Once again Stephen finished off very strongly. I found myself having to rein him in on numerous occasions over the last few km’s.

We finished the day in 54th place with our overall position over the 3 days standing at 50.

Tomorrows ride is about 124km from Sterkfontein to Winterton. It is supposed to be our toughest day. So with tired legs and painful butts it's off to bed to hopefully repair ourselves for another fantastic day in the saddle.

7am Start from Reitz showground race village. 123km to go!

Making our way up through the middle of the field 



Sterkfontein dam in the distant ditance. A very welcome sight!!

BTW we beat the guys ahead of us

 

Sterkfontein Dam wall.

The largest earth dam wall in the world. Damn wall seemed to never end.

soooo close

Hariston Prep hosted us at the very cosy Sterkfontein Race village.

Day 2 of 9 - 93km from Frankfort to Reitz

After todays stage we are lying 52nd out of 215 teams.

Both Stephen and I felt great, but I think our butts are going to take strain over the next week!

We ended up riding with some seasoned Epic riders who kept saying “Just keep a constant pace and heart rate under 80% of max to get through the 9 days”.

Stephen is a machine and is busy brushing up on his bike mechanic skills. He somehow, out of a group of 10, managed to rake up some of the surrounding shrubbery, so we had to stop during the ride. Which was a blessing in disguise and allowed us to set our own pace to the end.
The grub at the watering points is amazing. Koeksisters, boerewors, salted potatoes, … Oh, and Seattle Coffee on tap, in the race village.
Tomorrow is a long 123km stage and we expect to finish in a time between 6 and 7 hours. The stage is from Reitz to Winterton.

We struggled at first to establish the pecking order in our tent.

Waking up on day 2 next Stephen was no laughing matter.

 Anyway, our bikes seemed to be getting on with each other.

With 3 minutes to the start Stephen decided he needed to

go to the loo. We couldn't have found ourselves further back from the front.



Spectacular scenery in the Free State, well... at

least in it's own kind of Free State way. The last time we did the

Frankfort Reitz route was in February. The training subsequent to that

seemed to be paying off. Maybe the fact that it was not raining this

time round made the world of difference.  

Fresh finishers and ready for more pain tomorrow.

View from Reitz Showground race village.