17 – 22nd October
A lot of pain, a lot of laughs and a whole lot of ostrich, leather wallet and all!!
107km Oudtshoorn – Calitzdorp
Ascent: 2161m
From the ostridge capital of the world (quite appropriate looking back at how much of those birds we ate), a nervous bunch rode out from the high school. Soon the race split on jeep tracks over some steep climbs and me and Ischen found ourselves with Nevelle from Botswana whom we’d met at JBurg2C earlier in the year. We rode hard and, as the tracks got steeper we moved through the field. With 5km to go and on tar road we just got our heads down and out popped a snake coming up between us… nothing like a bit of adrenalin after 5 hours in the saddle and we probably recorded one of the fastest finishes! With no idea where the next woman’s team was we were so relieved to not see them for 30 minutes, it had been a hard day but was worth it to get a nice cushion going into the next stage. A delicious ostrich steak, a very amusing video of the day and the presentation before retiring to the tents at 8.30pm
5hr10 1st woman, 12th overall
128km Calitzdorp – Riversdale
Ascent: 2576m
Was awake by 4.30 despite the 7.30 start to guys mixing energy drink which is never a good thing with a full bladder and tangled in a sleeping bag! With the sun already out and with our pink, thick leaders jerseys on I was baking by the time we reached the Rooiberg Mountain Pass. Luckily the pace in the group we found ourselves in was pretty steady and with a nasty headwind we let some of the big guys on 29ers do the pulling. Every time I went near the front some guy would complain that they got no shelter so I left them to it! After the second water point we turned up into the Langerberg Mountain Range. The climbs were so loose and steep they were impossible to ride far on and the descents were as bad. Even the top guys hiked a lot and around 2 hours and about 15km later me and Ischen rode out with a complete loss of humor. After the last feed we put in a massive sprint to tag onto 2 guys from Cyclelab Pretoria whom I’d met at the Epic. We both blew 50 meters behind them and I shouted for them to hang on in such a desperate voice they did. Once glued to their wheels the 10km downhill home was fantastic.. tar road with a 6ft, 98kg time trialist sat in front, doesn’t get much better!
6hr40min, 1st woman, 16th overall
With our massage slot at 2.45 it was a quick shower and food later. Lunch by Scooters (a cold pizza or soggy pasta) then became a bit of a social event as I dined with about 6 different people and by the time I left there was only 1 hour to dinner!
106km Riversdale – Albertinia
Ascent: 2379m
Woke to that comforting sound of rain when your snug and warm in bed before realizing that it was actually time to get up and ride for 6 hours in it! Carrying a gillet was a good option as I whipped it off before the hills and fun technical bits started unlike poor Ischen who lost a gallon of sweat in the first few hours in her jacket until the first waterpoint. We’d found ourselves in a fast moving group but with a strong tail wind it was tough going to hang on and impossible to stop and take layers off. The race then went into the Langerberg Mountains, all ridable even though we did find ourselves in a heap together at one point! On the last technical descent down I heard a loud noise coming from the back wheel that only stopped when I peddled so ended up riding the last 40km as if I was on a fixie! (Dodgy wheel bearing apparently that was soon fixed by our awesome mechanic, Conrad) With 20km to go we swung round and the strong tail wind turned into a head wind with some horizontal rain to add to the touch. In the last 10km we definitely lost our humor again and finishing cold and wet at Albertinia High School my mood wasn’t lifted. The poor kids had been spending all morning holding onto the tents until they gave up and laid our mattresses out in the classrooms instead. Luckily we arranged a girl’s only room and with only 3 of us in there I had the best sleep of the week
5 hours 16, 1st woman, 16th overall
Dinner: Ostrich number 2 in the form of a burnt stew
95km Albertinia – Mossel Bay
Ascent: 1579m
A ‘recovery day’… I’m afraid my legs needed more than ‘only’ a 95km stage to recover! The race was its usual ‘hectic’ start over sand, across rivers and up some vertical climbs before emerging out onto a long gravel section. With some strong guys pulling the group along the pace was hard and even my bribe to slow down with a nice Kooksister from my back pocket wasn’t accepted (yes a bit sticky and not really recommended but to much sugar to consume in one go, from past experience I’ve named it the Kooksister Bonk). Eventually we turned into a nature park with lions in! Luckily we were with some big meaty looking guys so didn’t really feel too worried and in the end the only sign of wildlife were some huge piles of elephant dung! On leaving the reserve we had a laugh at the guy ticking off the riders, just in case….!
Riding on our own I struggled along the coastal path, scenic it was but with the narrow path, spiky bushes and sandy tracks I struggled to ride a lot of it and was pleased to find Conrad with coke at the feed followed by a nice downhill ‘home’ on tar!
4 hours 51, 1st woman and 16th overall.
125km Mossel Bay – George
Ascent 2999m
After a neutral zone through town we came to the edge of the beach and 200 cyclists legged it down the dunes, paths and through bushes to get to the sea. What a sight it must have looked for anyone out walking their dogs on a quiet morning! Hugging the sea for 6 or so kms was also comical, especially seeing a wave in front nearly wipe out half the group! It was sticky going though and a relief to get off. Soon we were on long gravel climbs into the Outeniqua Mountain range and on our own from the first water point we were able to ride at our own pace. The route was so scenic and parts very English like through woods and along fields though the temperature was a few degrees warmer! There was a nice amount of climbing to keep it interesting, some good but not too scary technical descents and some lovely flowing single track near George, which we’d practiced the week before. The thought of a real bed at Ischen’s and Pete’s kept our spirits high and finishing in 6 hours 30 in 11th place was probably our best and most enjoyable day. Tonight’s dinner: Ostrich pie, delicious!
95km George – Oudtshoorn
Ascent 1594m
It was hard to get motivated this morning waking in a real bed it would have been very easy to role over and sleep the rest of the day! The ‘easy’ last day first went over Montagu Pass before some tricky rocky sections mid way, slow going and far from straight forward. We both took the descents steady, no one wants to crash on the last day and with a lead of around 2 hours we had no pressure. The two girls from Display Mania – Sludge Ladies caught us and we were happy for some female company. They were having a great last stage and trying very hard to pull back the 12-minute deficit to the European Mountain Heros team. We didn’t contest the finish riding in 2nd, 11th overall on GC and very excited to win another major stage race for Bizhub.
After a relaxing afternoon in Oudtshoorn we enjoyed a fair bit of red wine, the best ostrich steak so far and was even awarded a tacky ostrich wallet and pen. Our endurance finally ran out at 11pm and we failed the final ‘stage’ after race party… the lure of a bed all too great!
1st Bizhub Ladies: 32 hours 39
2nd Mountain Heroes: 34 hours 36
3rd Display Mania – Sludge Ladies: 34 hours 32
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