Cape Argus Pick and Pay Road Race

The Argus has been a big event on my calendar the last three years now, you can’t help but get caught up in the whole atmosphere in what is dubbed South African’s World Champs.  Your not a real cyclist until you have done the Argus and the question that always follows ‘have you done it?’ is ‘what was your time?’ As a racing cyclist this one is always a funny one, I don’t think I have ever done a bike race and stopped my watch as I cross the line.

This year though my whole focus since January has been the Cape Epic and training for an 8 day race of distances over 100km has left me with my ‘base’ legs.  Despite mixing the long rides off road with intervals the speed on the road has been a bit of an issue, especially up climbs, and I wasn’t even sure I would finish this Argus in a contending group.

Race day started early and as we drove to the start I noticed the temperature already 22 degrees, at 5am this was a little concerning and I was thankful for the 6.30 kick off.  The excitement at the start gets me every time, hundreds of cyclists milling around in the dark, dance music blasting out and, to add to it, seeing my parents and friends there after nearly two months away from home. 

Once we got going the group was pretty edgy and I stayed near the front out of trouble.  The climbs were rode at tempo so no real accelerations until round mid way where you turn back in land.  Over the top I was just off the front group and we chased back on.  Once the pace eased at the front so more riders tagged back on and so started the fight to stay near the front again.  It was the same up Chapman’s Peak and the final climb up Suikerbossie during which I was so thankful for some electrolyte from Annriette as my calves and quads were threatening to cramp.

Towards the finish I never left the top 10, keeping a close eye on Ashleigh when she was in front but also just watching the guys as a few were trying to escape early and I thought how nice it would be to get away and ‘solo’ into a victory!  However that wasn’t to be and instead there was a stampede to the line.  I stayed right, in the wind but not boxed in as the group was too twitchy.  About 300m to go I saw Ashleigh go off to my left so I went too.  Not on anyone’s wheel I had no one to hide behind and expected a herd of riders to come past.  Instead I heard a big crash so just kept going and came over the line 2^nd woman with Ashleigh taking the win and Lynette Burger taking 3^rd.

One by one the injured riders came through the finish which is always a terrible sight.  Out of the Bizhub girls Marissa broke a finger and Annriette looked like she’s been tattooed with chain rings.  There were a few nasty accidents in the Toyota team and I heard a few guys had broken collarbones.  I guess that’s the danger in road cycling and I hope everyone recovers 100%. 

After the disappointment at the Nationals for Bizhub-FCF I was pleased to get our kit on the podium.  Two second places in both the Road and MTB Argus’ in two weeks and two matching bottles of bubbly that were easily polished off a few days after on my 30^th Birthday.  

Cape Argus Pick and Pay Mountain Bike race

It was hard enough getting up at 5am in Stellenbosh after 6 hours sleep and after a road race up in Nelspruit 24 hours earlier without the sound of rain splattering on the roof and eating another force fed bowl if muesli, Leana and myself both wondered if the race was even going to go ahead. 

Heading down there Leana’s tyre burped off the rim and we were left standing in the dark in a puddle of sealant wondering what to do.  Plan quickly in place I rode on in the dark without a clue where I was heading and Leana headed back home to drive down and see if Conrad could work some miracle without a compression pump.  Luckily Nicci saved the day lending her her wheel while I followed a trail of cars down the road and by 7am we were on the start line, the sun now up and the rain over with.

With a descent start I found myself at the back of a small group including Arien.  With the hard efforts the day before I didn’t seem to mind the quick pace and the only thing I struggled with were the constant sprints out of each loose corner. Arien was clearly tired from The Grape Escape even though she was still pulling hard at the front of the group while I hung on at the back, pleased to be on a 29er which seems much faster on the flat tracks.  I did edge ahead on a couple of climbs but then lost contact when I dropped my chain so chased hard again to get back.  Later on the words of advice I have heard so often about ending up where you look were clearly practiced as I focused unintentionally on a large rock on a climb and rode straight into it.  The one thing I do find hard with the bigger wheels is controlling where they go!!  From then we turned into some technical single track with a few rutted sections and damp roots and I never saw Arien again.  Still feeling strong and now with a 2^nd caffeine jel kicking in I started to catch some guys in front only to lose the chain again and stop to put it back before I snapped it.  The course then flattened out and with a few river crossing, sandy sections and rocky tracks there was plenty to focus on and having just sucked another jel packet dry I was surprised to hear the commentator and see the finish line ahead. 

Coming in 2^nd to a World class athlete was good enough for me even if she was tired and I was so pleased to then see a run of Bizhub jerseys take 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th.  

Garden Route Rocky Mountain 300

After a two day road trip in our new luxury van and a feast as always at Yolandi’s grandparents we arrived in Knysna ready for the stage race the following morning and with time for a tourist spin round to the Heads and onto the Island.

We couldn’t have had closer accommodation, within sight of the marquee near the centre it was a matter of rolling round to the start and having a descent warm up from there without any worry of traveling and parking.  I was pleased for the warm up as me and Yolandi set off at a descent pace and had a clear run up the first single track through the forest.  After only 15km or so I was surprised to see all the teams in front standing around.  First thoughts were that everyone was enjoying the first feed stop before realizing that we were all lost!  Eventually we backtracked and joined the single track again, this time behind a whole load more riders who had taken the right route.  We played catch up after then found our own pace and rode alone for most of the day.  The route was fantastic, plenty of single track in Harkerville Forest which popped out on the cliff side at one point and I felt pretty chuffed at riding so much more than I did last year.  In fact poor Yolandi who was in front had to get used to me saying ‘careful, there’s a drop off soon’ ‘watch out for the tricky crossing’ etc when really there was nothing to worry about (apart from the wide handlebars which nearly caught me out a few times!!)

We kept a good pace, which we reckoned was just out of our comfort zone until the last few km where, with a huge caffeine boost from Conrad’s coke and a near miss down a steep sandy descent, my adrenalin kicked in and we raced home fast in 1^st place with our teammates comfortably in 2^nd. 

Day 2

We knew it was going to be long at 115km and tough with around 2000m of climbing but I wasn’t prepared for the amount of sand kicking round and another wrong turn in the beginning.  After a scary warm up over the rail crossing (where I discovered my fear of heights is getting worse!) we started in Brenton.  With the sun just coming up the ride across was beautiful with a different view of the Heads and town.  The start was fast again, straight up and along a ridge before a fast drop back down to the sea… and a deadend!  We were about the last to get right to the bottom, those behind must have found the right track and we had to get back up and start way back in the field for the second time.  It was slow going for a long while after that, lots of sandy climbs that were so congested we walked a lot.  Eventually it cleared and gradually we worked our way back through the field.  The sand was crazy but our new Scott 29ers rode over a lot easier and it was quite fun sliding around keeping balance and not been too worried about a soft fall.  The fun wore off eventually and I was glad to get on a series of long open gravel roads.  Once we caught the other girls we all rode together and put in some ‘Epic’ pace hills.  It certainly was like a stage from the Epic and was perfect training for it.  With such a long day it was a blessing that we all found ourselves in a big group and for a change we had nice stops for real food instead of jels and bars.  I’m pretty sure that won’t be happening in the Epic so was worth making full use of! The other team took the victory and we held onto our overall lead after 5hours 40 in the saddle (well maybe 5 hours 30 and 10 minutes stuffing our faces!!)

Day 3

After a long warm up both Yolandi and me were keen to go out hard and see what we could do for the shorter 80km day.  Things went well upto all of 3km in when I punctured on the flat tar road!  Avoiding any collisions I stopped and straight away had the TV camera at my side.  Not knowing what had caused the sudden flat I tried to bomb it but that failed as it was flat as a pancake so in the end, once Yolandi had rode back we put a tube in and continued in dead last place.  Climbing up Phantom’s Pass we overtook dozens of riders all shouting encouragement then on the tar road raced from one group to the next.  Back into the forest my wheel was going flat again, obviously a puncture on the rough rocks.  I tried to bomb it but it went flat again.  Luckily Conrad was at the first feed and he quickly put a tube in.  We were now way back in the field again and were re passing the same riders again.  What struck us was how supportive everyone was like they personally knew us though I did quickly learn how popular Yolandi is!!  We rode well with no more problems right up until 10km out when Yolandi had a front wheel flat.  We think the tyre came off the rim and it was on such a fast descent I was just relieved that she held it upright.  With no tubes left she finally got one and from then on we just rode to the finish, hugely disappointed but with the consolation that it was our teammates Nicci and Leana who took the win with us in 2^nd.

After three tough days for a change we stayed put that evening and had a nice night out on the Waterfront followed by a blissful recovery ride in what I think is one of the nicest places in the World.  A huge thanks to Bizhub FCF who continue to enter me into such amazing races, to the organizers who put on a great 3 days again, and to everyone who helped us on that 3^rd day.  

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!! 

Double Century Road Team Time Trial

After a brief visit up to Joburg for the 94.7 I was glad to fly out of there for one last trip down south.  My last race of the season was the Double Century, down at Swellendam before heading back to a few months of British winter.  Flying down to PE I stayed with Kev and Lindi and the next morning met the rest of Team Scribante for the 6 hour drive.  

From the moment we set off I knew we were in for an entertaining weekend. I won’t comment on some of the subjects Silvia, Dan and Nick threw back and forth just to say it did get a little milder after we picked Ischen up from George but already my sides were sore from laughing so much.

Once we arrived and signed on we all went for a quick spin before tucking into some lovely homemade lasagna in our bed and breakfast, just outside town on an ostrich farm with some fantastic views of the mountains around us.  After dinner the preparations began making bottles for the freezer, wrapping foil snack parcels for our huge numbered bags and generally taking over the kitchen.  I think some of the guys were packing food for a multi day expedition into the wilderness with smoked chicken and cheese sandwiches, a pot of boiled potatoes, stacks of bread, marmite, jam, fruit loaves and the dreaded whiff of peanut butter!  

The next morning we got down to the start with plenty of time to get into our pens for our 6.38 start.  The Double Century is such a unique idea I’d never seen anything like it.  Teams of 12 set off and 6 have to finish, in our case 3 guys and all 3 girls, as we were a mixed team.  Two teams set off every minute until all 200 teams are on the roads.  That’s 2400 riders, 200 support vehicles and, to add to the chaos, no closed roads.  Within a few minutes we were catching and passing teams, some of which took up half the road, others spread out over a few hundred meters and some that tagged on once we’d passed.  The long pass started after 20 or so km after a good start of rolling through and off in a pretty organized way.  Any concerns about us girls hanging on for grim death were nicely put to rest once we were on the climb.  The 3 of us rode up comfortably and were able to take in the fantastic scenery and the snaking line of riders ahead.  Over the top we tagged onto another mixed team and hung on as a guy in Sky kit dragged them along.  I thought it strange the whole team was in the same kit all except one guy at the front who obviously preferred his off the shelf sky kit until we reached the end and I heard it was Chris Froome.  No wonder they were hard to hang onto!  They weren’t too happy about us tagging on so we tried to do a turn only to be overtook again by them with some of the girls singing songs about beating us while been pushed along by the guys… wait till I get in touch with Dave Miller for next year!!

Mark the main man had the idea we’d attack on the next steep climb where they’d struggle to push the girls, a good plan in theory but didn’t quite work out and by the time we’d crested the top they were half way down the other side.  At least we’d dropped the team behind us. 

At 90km we had our first stop.  Lindi and me made our own enclosed toilet area with a jersey and instructed the guys to focus on their food bags!  We were riding well with all 12 of us still present and more importantly us 3 girls sitting comfortably. 

The distance for me flew by.  I felt strong from all the mountain biking and was really enjoying the rolling hills, fantastic scenery and flying past loads of unseeded teams, half of them members of the Ischen fan club I’m sure. 

By the second feed we had lost Andrew whose spoke had broken but other than that we were all together and those that could work were rolling round at the front while those that couldn’t dealt with the demons just to hang on.  It was far from team TT Tour de France style but considering our heights varied from my 5ft 4 to Mark who was well over 6ft, our age ranged over 25 years and sporting backgrounds ranged from Ischen the pure bred mountain biker, Mike the triathlete, Dan, the ex rugby player, and Silvia a race car driver back in the day we were riding pretty well. 

The second feed was another ‘picnic’ and it was a good three minutes before we left leaving behind a trail of empty coke cans for Kev, who was doing a fantastic supporting job.  After that we turned into a head wind and the hills became tough long drags.  Nick punctured which was a welcome ease up but was soon back with us.  Been one of the strongest we couldn’t leave him behind.  Every time Kev stopped ahead of us more heads would appear in the van as their jobs were done. Lindi went though a bad patch which lasted all of 5 minutes before appearing on the front again in her annoying stripy arm warmers while the rest of us dripped with sweat and Ischen also looked liked she’d been on the road bike years, the endurance from the Pioneer having its effect. 

The wind was relentless as were the hills especially the three after Greg had promised we’d gone over the last, though I was still feeling good and finding them easier than the flats and descents in the wind.  With a few km left we lost our 7^th rider Mike who later had us in stitches telling us how he’d cramped so bad he’d half hobbled, half ran up the last hill much to the amusement of the passing teams!!

We finished in 6hr 3miniutes and after 6hr and 5 minutes Lindi had a cold beer in her hand!  Initially we were all gutted to hear we’d come 4^th by less than 1 minute especially as were sure the other teams in the running hadn’t adhered to the no feed from the car rule as our ‘ride’ time was 5hr 58mins.  We didn’t go to the presentation, which was a shame as the next day the official results had us in 3^rd, 10 minutes ahead of the next team.  However, even without knowing that it didn’t dampener the evenings entertainment what with Dan’s nudity on the sofa (thankfully out of sight), Mike’s magic massage, Earl’s hilarious stories, Silvia’s quality wine which amazingly came without hangover and, as usual in this country, a very tasty braai.  What a great weekend and the perfect way to end the year, it certainly was the most enjoyable time trial I’ve ever done and ever will do I’m sure!! 

Wine 2 Whales Stage Race

11 – 13^th November

Having traveled across the Garden Route, camping and roughing it out in the forests I wasn’t exactly overly keen about heading back into the tents for W2W.  Luckily Ischen let us take over her house and washing machine for a few days and with a couple of nights under a thick comfortable duvet with a real bathroom and some delicious home cooked grub I was ready to get back to basics. 

Day One 70km

Starting from the beautiful Lourensford wine estate with the sun shining everyone seemed overly excited and the start was crazy, especially as we were straight into a 10km climb.  Trying to keep the lead Contego girls in sight I let Ischen set the pace while I desperately tried to hang on.  We passed the girls but then lost them on the singletrack descent.  I was pretty rusty going down there and ended up stuck behind an even rustier guy!  After the first feed (sped right through glancing across at the table and hoping I wasn’t missing too many nice treats!), we caught and past the other girls and continued on our own catching a fair few of the overly excited guys who gave us grief early on.  The climbs were tough to our liking and the views over the vineyards were amazing.  We even saw a bit of history going up an old ox – wagon trail.  With some technical but not life threatening tracks we finished shattered but happy and even happier after the Contego girls didn’t come in for 19 minutes, just in front of the Develop team of Yolandi and Catlin.  The campsite in Grabouw Country Club was idyllic, very much like the Lake District at home and a cool breeze that made it comfortable to chill out in.  Where the Pioneer will be remembered for the ostrich, W2W wins hands down for the yogurt and chocolate moose… it was a good job the race was only 3 days long. 

Day Two  64km

With little climbing and 60% single track Ischen and I both knew it would be a hard one to win.  We were also racing blind (not literally thankfully) but in that we were the only girls in A batch.  That was nice in a way, as with 19 minutes lead we knew the other girls would have to catch us and still put 10 minutes into us.  The course was amazing, so much flowing single track it was one of those days that you smile and ride!  Ischen had a couple of small falls but nothing serious and we finished 6 minutes ahead of the Contego girls who took the stage with us 2^nd, our lead now 16 minutes.  Yolandi and Catlin came in 4^th, Yolandi been chased as usual by the male species, this time a young bok… lucky for them both they were only small things as it could have made another u tube hit!! The evening was highly entertaining and we were presented with a 1.5 liter bottle of wine which, without a screw top will obviously have to be finished in one go, fairly easy for Ischen and Pete, slightly harder I imagine for me and Rob!

Day Three

Woke up loads in the night expecting the tent to collapse any minute in the wind and highly aware of the draft coming through the tents broken zip.  At least it was dry as I was about to get up at five.  Spoke too soon, by the time I made it to breakfast I was a drowned rat and it was only 8 degrees!  Warm up was done with some balm in the Caddy with the heater on when we heard the start was delayed an hour.  An hour later it was cancelled.  At first we were relieved but soon hugely disappointed.  The route I remember from last year was the most scenic yet and the last mountain bike race of the year ended up as a hollow victory, though I’ve got to say 8 degrees and raining would not have made the day so pleasant!  There was even snow on the mountains… snow!!  Its not even snowing in England and its our winter!!  By the afternoon the sun was out and I think the race was cancelled a little too quickly but I guess there was 1000 riders who had to get through the day and the risk was maybe a little to great.  The beach finish in Hermanus will have to wait another year. 

Mondo Addo Mountain Bike Race

30/10/11

As a good start and introduction to South Africa me and my husband, Rob raced the Addo Elephant Park Mountain Bike Race.  We arrived the morning before and set up camp on the polo field and found the first thorns underfoot which were enough to puncture my crocs never mind the bike tyres!  After an easy spin around, a few café stops and an early night we woke to nice cool temperatures and little wind. 

I set off first in the 85km race.  Not too sure how the legs would react to a hard race I just rode around the front of the group and found the pace quite steady.  We soon split up on the first climb and I found myself in a chatty group with three or four other guys.  They didn’t contest me for the QOM as long as I lead them out for the finish that I thought was fair enough!  After that climb came a steep one, wet from recent rain and pretty unridable.  The views from the top over the Elephant Park were amazing though there wasn’t an elephant in sight.  I stopped looking at the scenery on the descent.  We were told to walk the first section, which I happily did and watched a guy go straight over the handlebars.  After that I was alone unable to hang onto the guys on the tricky single-track descent.  There were so many ‘Cautious’ signs, which I took too literally and at the bottom it took me an age to catch back up to the guys.  Feeling quite strong by then I followed a 98kg guy on a 29er down hill (couldn’t have planned that better if I’d tried!!)  We (well him really) then caught a rider I’d be racing the Double Century with and we rode together quite nicely through the lion reserve. 

Having dropped the 29er and later a young development rider who wasn’t working with us, me and my DC ‘team mate’ worked our way to 4^th and 5^th overall.  We had caught one other guy up and I was happy to let them fight for 3^rd place happy that I was comfortably first woman and was also one of the very few riders that didn’t go through a packet of bombs!

Riding into the finish funnel I was a few places behind Rob who had completed and loved the 65km despite losing 45 minutes fixing punctures.

6 bombs down, 2 tubes and 4 pretty knackered tyres later we left Addo for our trip along the Garden Route, next stop, a bike shop!!??