The Pale One Returns To The Sun!

Stepping off the plane in Johannesburg and switching straight away into my shorts I was suddenly very self consciece about how white I had turned in the 3 months I had been home, skin tucked away behind layers and layers of thermals and fleeces!  Nothing to worry about though, a few training rides and I’d soon burn to a crisp and set the base for a temporary tan again. 

110km Ride for Sight Road Race, Boksburg

Arriving on the Thursday our first race was on Sunday.  Without really getting into a descent sleep routine the 4am start on Sunday wasn’t particually welcome and the race was more of a struggle round than I would have liked.  Training at home had gone so well but I found the long intervals didn’t prepare me for the stop, start race we had. Without any guys setting a descent pace we had a hard start following the attacks by Toyota but then the pace dropped and we could have stopped for a coffee and still got back on.  A group caught us and we yo yo’d for ages, us racing up the hills and them catching us on the downhills.  No one could split the pack with that many guyts around and eventually we neutralized ourselves until there was a descent gap.  A break went up a long drag and while I struggled to hang on to the chasing pack, the break rode off.  A few of us got to the front to chase but with no success and we sprinted in for 4^th place.  I took 7^th, enjoying very little apart form that last sprint and the feeling of going quite fast after the slow winter slogs at home. 

Maybe it was a hasty descision but with a list of road races on the calendar, a new 29er to get used to, and the all important Epic only a month away I flew myself down to Cape Town and stayed in Paarl with Catherine and her family who kindly put me up for the week.  I knew I’d made a good call when out riding that evening in the cool evening air round some fantastic granite outcrops on the mountain side.  The next morning I rode with Hendrick from the bike shop for a 3-4 hours steady ride… 5 hours and 1900m ascent later I got back to the house and flaked out on the floor!  Not feeling 100% when we left I struggled up the climbs and never felt that comfortable on the bike.  The scenery was amazing and the route on any normal day would have been perfect.  We headed up the mountains, into some wooded single track than dropped down to Wellington and into a whole warren of single tracks.  The 29er was quite good fun on the single track though I got through the steep descents and bends on a wim and a prayer slidding out the back wheel and somehow staying upright (on all but 2 occassionas anyway!). 

The rest of the week I continued to discover some lovely trails and even though I wasn’t well I enjoyed every ride and did a lot of hours nicely topping up the tan while at it!  Relaxing in Elma’s beautiful house and enjoying the family atmoshere made the week very memorable and it was sad to leave for the race on Saturday. 

Tulbagh MTN Mounatin Bike Marathon 70km

I planned to ride the race at my own pace and not to push it, racing such a tough event the way I felt may have set me back weeks and only 10km in my plan was put into play as I dropped off the group.  As I settled in I started to pull a few girls back but no sooner as I started feeling ok, my cleats started coming loose and it became a huge mission to clip out.  Without knowing they were loose I just kept falling over then yanking my foot out or waiting for some guy to help before getting up and repeating the senario.  With a collection of briuises gathering I evtually gave up, sat down and looked at my shoes and set about with my allen keys.  The course was more technical than last year and was a good practice on the 29er until again the other cleat started comoing loose and I rode most of the scary bits on top of the pedals.  Eventually on the flat I knew it was loose but it looked like we were over the technical climbs so felt safe enough locked in, until my gears jammed and I again fell over once my track stand ability went!!  The only way out of that one was to twist my foot enough to leave the cleat in the pedal and ride the rest on the top… I vital lesson learned – always check cleats before the start of a race, and if it does come loose stop and tighten straight away!!

The race was not one to remember either for Ischen who had 2 flats then went the wrong way, or for Leana whos rear mech broke 10km in, or for Catherine who also went the wrong way on her 40km race.  Oh well, such is life!!