Having had 3 weeks of family time with Rob
and reminding the cat of her mother I was back to the sun of South Africa. Though Spring should have arrived in
the UK the temperature barely got over 10 degrees and at times my training
rides were pretty grim with the lambs and myself looking at each other in
pity. However its always good to
be home especially after the Epic where I was in need of some TLC and some home
cooked food and I returned fresh and ready for the next stage race, Joberg2c: a
9 day journey from Johannesburg to Scottsburgh, some 900km away where hopefully
we would arrive in one piece all be it looking worn out, windswept and
generally pretty rugged.
Day
One
Karen
Beef (near Heidelberg) to Frankfort 113km
We turned up relaxed and excited as the day
was a ‘none race’ day, perfect for us both. Ischen, my partner (for her sins) is on the way back from a
broken wrist and I had spent 3 weeks on the road back home so my skills are
pretty rusty. The race splits
straight away with two choices down some lovely single track. We close the left and discovered it a
lot longer than the right but more interesting. Re grouping at the bottom we were able to catch up with
friends and generally have a relaxing ride while at the same time flying along
at a good pace due to the fantastic tail wind Wappo had organized for us. A slight mechanical problem with
Ischen’s chain was fixed down at the boat crossing by Nevel from Botswana who
was our ‘mechanic on the road’ last year too! Rowing across the river (or pretending in Ischen’s case) we
crossed into the Freestate and into a nasty bumpy grassy head/side wind until
the third feed station. Described
as a mirage on the horizon by some and a Deli by others the stop was amazing:
millie, chicken, sausage, slices, and sweets. I alternated between millie and chocolate slices, an odd but
tasty combination though I complained at the lack of toothpicks for the whole
ride on to Frankfort, our first home!
Day
Two
Frankfort
– Reitz 93km
The race begins…
After a rather rushed breakfast and getting
the bags on the truck we rode away from Frankfort behind the huge Massey
Ferguson. It was a pretty cold
start but the arm warmers were soon yanked down as the race got underway along
dusty tracks by the river into the blinding sun. Once we settled down we found
ourselves with Carel and Leana, our Bizhub mixed team and rode in a small
group. Ischen’s chain jammed again
and we lost the group. Riding on
our own from there was fine with another tail wind and eventually we
regrouped. The scenery was pretty
average but the sun was out and the wind was mainly behind so no complaints
even in the flat lands! We
finished on a high, having passed right through a wolf sanctuary following a
fantastic single-track descent. We were 1st woman and somewhere in
the 20s overall
Day
Three
Reize
- Sterkfontein dam 123km
It was freezing this morning and only
warmed to 7 degrees when we rolled out slowly behind the tractor. The groups split up fairly early and as
we rode through one of many fields of the day we again found ourselves with
Carel and Leana. Eventually our group was around 8 strong, a sociable bunch and
feeling strong I was happy sharing the pulling at the front. Wappo had done an amazing job through
the year and there was so much more single track and fields to ride
through. In fact we never rode on
tar once which was a shame as my whole body felt battered from so many bumps, I
imagine it must have been pretty tough on Ischen’s wrist so I couldn’t really
complain!
Again the wind blew mainly from the back
and we finished in 4 hours 58, an hour quicker than what we thought. The scenery today was pretty
impressive, riding in the middle of nowhere through these millie fields with no
sign of any civilization and the mountains just next to us.
I’m afraid I was to blame for losing the
back half of our group the last 15km… riding over more bumpy fields I just
wanted to be done with and hearing the other Bizhub crew on my wheel I rode
hard leaving the men to fend for themselves. My main motive I had to admit wasn’t about increasing our
lead, rather I’d remembered the fantastic camp with huge tables full of cakes,
biscuits, kooksisters and more, not to mention the bath, real toilets, sinks
and soap, pure luxury!!
Day
Four
Sterkfontein
Dam – Winterton 124km
The biggest day on paper and we were both
looking forward to it. Last year
was filled with mechanical problems and we spent the single track stuck in long
queues. Instead today we had the
descent to ourselves and enjoyed every bit! The route climbs and winds round the edge of the escarpment
along ‘Great Wall My China’ with fantastic views down over the Zulu
Kingdom. The wind was blowing like
it does on the Yorkshire Moors and towards the edge, which was a little
nerve-racking. Ischen led down the
single track not even hesitating at the easy or hard route and I did wonder if
she was hanging on to the bars as much as I was.
Following the descent the route continued
on and off flowing single track, some through fields with steep edges which
caused a few incidents, other bits were down fantastic descents, especially
after the climb up Spioenkop, all in all the whole route was interesting,
varied and one of the best days in the saddle.
We finished the day in around 6 hours, in
30th so pretty consistent.
After yesterday’s food I am getting tired of eating now and happily gave
the huge slabs of steak and donuts a miss though was pleased to see some real
tea and rusks.
Day
Five
Winterton
– Kamberg 102km
Warm up now consists of a hot cuppa from
Seattle Coffee Company, very much needed with these 5am wake ups! Today the pace at the start was pretty
slow for a change- I think it was the scrambled egg and bacon the guys were
chowing down. Eventually we split up over some single track and re grouping
after that we formed a nice big, civilized bunch, stopping at the feed and
riding at a steady pace along the open road. After a good chat we turned up into a reserve and in between
looking at bok we climbed high up to the 2nd feed. We rode alone from there then worked
hard to tag back onto part of our splintered group for the road down to
Kamberg. With a tent overlooking
the river, a cooling dip with our racing friends followed by a massage and an
afternoon on a beanie chatting about the day with some good coffee and cake the
day will take some beating. The
atmosphere at Joberg2C is incredible.. not only do you make great friends but
also the support from the communities is unbeatable. In this camp we not only had a leaflet telling us where
everything was and table mats hand drawn by the kids, but also some witty guy
had pitched a tent all on its own over the river with a sign saying ‘Snorers’
and on the hill opposite stood a box high up with a sigh saying
‘Complaints’. Funny how little
things amuse the most!
Day
6
Kamberg
– Hazeldean Farm 93km
This morning there was no cold start as the
race hit the hills as soon as the tractor pulled off the route, well actually
fell off the route as it toppled into a ditch! There was no need to kill ourselves to stay with the big
group up front as there was a tail wind and I was happy to take the pace as we
rode alone. After 40km or so we
hit Snow Mountain, a long climb with legendary fruitcake at the top! After that
was a fast descent, a wade through the river followed by endless climbs and
descents all the way to the camp.
The views were amazing and something we’d missed last year in the
mist. It was like a scene out
of ‘Never Ending Story’, the one
with the dinosaurs I seem to remember! As we got closer to camp we were both
happy to see the lovely autumn colors on Hazeldean Farm near Underberg. Again we were 1st woman 32nd
overall and now 22nd in GC.
I did seem to be plagued with bad luck
after the finish.... My bag was in the truck that broke down meaning extra
chammy time, the showers ran out of water just as I got there, and then the
electricity went off as I was in the coffee queue. Added to that, despite the beautiful surroundings, there
were no sinks to wash in, only portaloos and a long queue for beef stew for
dinner (not been a fan of cow unless its in a spag bol I’ve been drewling over
Ishen’s vegetarian option and sending her back for seconds on numerous occasions!!)
Day
7
Hazeldean
Farm – Mackenzie Club 85km
Today was the start of the Sani2c route and
a short, pretty flat stage with some fun flowing single track. We were led out of the farm by 4 horses
from the polo club (not sure if the tractor is still stuck!!) before the
frantic race through nearby farmlands.
It ended up been one of my favorite days, with the laugh of going across
the floating bridge, and some duel single track which we raced down with our
TransAct friends through the forest which was like doing a slalom course
dodging the trees! It was almost a
shame to finish and it was a long hot afternoon spent mainly on our mattresses
in the shade chatting with Eric, Ariene, Leana and Jennie while happy in the
knowledge our bikes were getting the best TCL by Conrad. Leana and Carel were now comfortably in
3rd place, riding well together and enjoying the week as much as we
were.
Day
8
Mackenzie
Club - Jolivet 96km
It was a little easier to get out of the
sleeping bag this morning, as it was lovely and warm. However after a noisy night of snorers I could easily have
rolled over and slept another 6 hours.
Once off we were soon into the famous single track that makes Sani2c so
popular. We went left which was
congestion free and then thankfully had no one behind me down the
mountainside. With the mist in the
Unkomaas valley the descent was spectacular, I only wished I had the skill to
fly down the single track like the guys.
Once down we wove our way along the valley then started the many river
crossings. Some were fine, some
you got half way over and realized how deep they got, and others we didn’t even
attempt! Near where the second
water point should have been was a concerned couple from Search and Rescue
telling us the feed wasn’t there and here was some lube and half a bottle of
water to get us through the next 20km. It was hot and I felt for those slower
guys but just round the corner up the hill was the feed so there was no panic
after all. After a whole load more climbing we eventually entered the forest
and enjoyed the fast descent all the way down with some fun bits of single
track in the trees. The last few
Km’s Farmer Glen and his team had managed to dig a whole track by the side of
the main road in the last few weeks making it not only safer for us riders but
also for the community for many years to come. Today we finished 1st
woman, 29th overall in 4 hr45
The evening’s entertainment was hilarious
with two very funny ‘Wipeouts of the Day’ stories, one from Aiden, the ‘in
house’ comedian plus a ‘Behind the Scenes’ video including cuts from
SuperCycling, which was shown daily.
With only one day left there was a real relaxed atmosphere and it was a
late night… 9.30 before my torch went out!!
Day
9
Jolivet
- Scottburgh 75km
A stomach bug hit the camp, which
unfortunately caught me too, and after a restless night I warned Ischen the day
would be a slow one. She also felt
pretty unwell so it was a good job we had no pressure. I had no energy at all but worse was
the lack of co ordination. I lost
the group we were with on every bend, eventually getting dropped on a
climb. It is a great route so was
a shame not to enjoy it so much.
Ischen was patient and I didn’t want to cause any more damage by pushing
it so we rode steady and managed to get a free ride down to the sea behind some
strong guys. I was more than
relieved to see the sea and coming over the boards and up to the finish line
our 9-day journey was over. We
were 40th today and dropped to 23rd on GC but I can live
with that. Carel and Leana were 3rd
in the Mixed so there was a good Bizhub presence at the presentation.
I’d like to say we finished off with an all
night party in Scottburgh to show our true endurance but after crashing out for
3 hours that afternoon in a real bed I then managed another 10 hours that night
before dozing half the way back to Joberg with the post race blues already
hitting home!!
No comments:
Post a Comment