A Week Of Rest (With Some Riding Thrown In For Good Measure. Of Course!)

After Cape Epic, I was back on my bike much sooner than I had planned. Tuesday morning, just two days after the race, gave me the opportunity to head out to a new riding area with Sarah and John. Tokai mountain bike park is part of a larger, multi-use park on the side of Table Mountain. By and large, the climbs were pretty mellow and there were some fun, technical singletrack descents to be had. We even rode with a family of baboons!

My legs struggled with any degree of effort. I was pretty smashed from the race. I must admit it kind of annoyed me that John seemed fresh as a daisy. One of the many frustrations of having a stronger teammate! In any case, it was a fun morning out. Having a bit of local knowledge to ride with is always a bonus and Sarah took us onto a semi-used trail (apparently generally a walking trail) that traversed the side of Table Mountain from underneath the "Elephants Eye" to further along the ridge along a cliff-side trail with stunning vistas.

The other thing about cliff-side trails, of course, is that they are narrow, exposed, and a little scary on your bike. We edged along the trail quite gingerly, dismounting for any obstacles that could potentially send us tumbling down the dropoff which snaked it's way along the trail less than a foot to the right of our wheel. It probably didn't help that I was having a bit of a low-confidence day on the bike, too. Sundays accident was still firmly etched in my memory and every still-aching injury was a constant reminder and made me a little more cautious than usual. It was an exhilarating ride, nonetheless, and absolutely worth the extra danger factor and the hike-a-bike to get up to the trail. Absolutely stunning.

I put my bike in for a full service at the end of the day, and got her back two days later and 3900 rand poorer. Who would have thought that after 781km and 16300m of climbing, I would require a new chain, new cassette, new brake pads, shock service and new seals along with all the other general lube work that comes with a full race service. It probably wasn't too bad value in reality. In the meantime, I had developed post-race illness. I had long forgotten about this. It had been quite some time since I had done such a huge race (about a year and a half). It's not unusual after a huge race like the Epic to get sick, but I was hoping I would avoid the inevitable. For days I struggled with a dizzy head, sore throat, runny nose and aching muscles which prevented me from doing much more than lying in bed reading. Especially with 24 hour solo world champs coming up, all I wanted to do was get on the bike and get my legs moving. It has been incredibly frustrating.

Easter weekend was spent with Sarah and Gav at Sarah's parents place in Scarborough, a sleepy little coastal town on the Western Cape. My brain was still mush from the race the week before and my little post-race flu still hanging around. No sooner was a wine placed in my hand than I was slunk in a chair on the verandah, soaking up a Western Cape sunset watching the embers on the charcoal braai die down long after our steak and potatoes had finished cooking. I hadn't been on my bike since Tuesday. That was a long time for me... I guess this is the sort of holiday "normal" people engage in. I didn't have any trouble getting to sleep that night. The wine and food had made me sleepy and I left the window ajar so my mind could be engulfed with the sound of the waves crashing on the beach as I slept.

Easter Saturday, as forecast, the weather was pretty average. My bike was in the car ready to go, but I wasn't keen on taking it out in the rain when I had just had everything replaced. My head was still cloudy, too, so I spent the day watching the sports channel with Gav and Sarah, snoozing, writing, reading and listening to music... How I survived a full day indoors, I'll never know, but I'm sure it did me a world of good. Heaven back in the bike saddle can't be too far away now. We did, however, get a small window of opportunity when the clouds parted for half an hour to go and check out Scarborough beach, a photogenic little slice of heaven a mere 50m from where we were staying where the waves rolled in over rocks with the jagged hillside in the background and the menacing clouds hanging over the ocean. Signs reminded us of the dangers of baboons and I scoured the hillsides with my eyes in search of some hiking trails I could maybe make use of to get out of the house.

We watched a lot of rugby, movies and sport on TV over the weekend... To be honest, it drove me a little stir crazy but was probably exactly the forced rest that I needed! Sundays weather didn't improve much, but we returned to Cape Town in time to sit in a little cafe and watch Paris-Roubaix. Seeing Tom Boonen annihalate the field in a breakaway 50km out from the finish was some pretty inspiring viewing... What a machine!

Easter Monday the weather fined up nicely for a trip to Aquila Private Game Reserve for a little safari. The bus ride, asides from being an hour late to pick me up (apparently this is pretty standard here) was quite pleasant. We headed out towards Robertson, where the Epic had begun, through the Huguenot Tunnel. My eyes strayed to the peaks that we would have been climbing just over a week ago... I had so much more respect for this terrain now... This time, I think my legs were grateful for the bus ride instead, and I enjoyed the scenery without the pressure of the race upon me, which was very relaxing.

It never ceases to amaze me how embarrassing tourists can be. I thought I was bad with my camera and happy-snapping, but I seriously had nothing over some of these clowns. I suppose ignorance is bliss, but I believe you only have the right to call it bliss if you can recognise in the first place that you are a little ignorant to what is going on... I found it highly amusing how many of these tourists were talking about how an area "looked like" something else... "Oh, this looks like Scotland, or this looks like Arizona"... I was so tempted to turn around and say, "actually, it looks like South Africa"... For some reason, I decided to humour them, but it was a good reminder of why I like to travel off the beaten track and ride my bike everywhere! When we arrived at Aquila, it was cold... Bitterly cold, actually. I must admit even I was surprised. I was glad I took my jacket!


The reserve was quite spectacular. It had this harsh, barren beauty that was quite striking. The line on the horizon was sharp and unblurred by trees or buildings. It was also perfect for spotting animals, and we were lucky to have two playful elephants lumber in front of us nearly as soon as we entered the reserve in our troupie. We also spotted hippos, rhinos, springboks, ostriches and got up close to some zebras (so cool!). The lions, cheetahs and leopards were in their own fenced off areas, but still in a fairly open environment. It was really cool to see them in their natural habitat, but I must admit, it still really felt like they were in captivity. I guess that's the benefit of going to the larger reserves up north where they have much more space and the animals are actually free-roaming in the area. Because Cape Town generally doesn't get these animals here, they are all imported into the park and kept in the reserve. Still, a very cool experience, and I would have felt I had missed out on a "must do" if I hadn't gone.

The trip home in the warm, sunny bus sent me to sleep, along with the wine that we tasted at the wine farm on the way home (i still find it amusing that they call them "wine farms" and not wineries). When I got back to Cape Town, I went out for a little spin on the Ninja up on Table Mountain just as dusk was setting in. It was a lovely evening... One that really needed to be shared with a bicycle. It was great to be atop my steed again, and the legs are feeling quite good after a week of rest. Once I get to Europe next week, I will take them out for a bit of an "opener" to see how they are feeling at pace. Looking forward to that!

Cape Epic Day 8 - Stage 7... An Eventful End to an Eventful Week

So yesterday afternoon, John and I finished the 2012 Cape Epic. Our final stage was 63km into our final finishing point at Lorensford, and after a pretty crazy week, our last day wasn't devoid of it's own drama. We had a late start, although it appears our 5am bagpipe guy didn't get the memo and still tried to wake us all up at 5am (annoying... at least itmade me get up and go to the toilet so I didn't have to queue!). Lined up on the start line ready for our last stage just before 8.30am, we were treated to a spectacular flight aerobatics display (very cool) and then we were off.



My legs felt better than the day before, but still not amazing... Enough to get me through one more day! John did some towing at the start to help me up a couple of early hills and towards the end would run next to me helping push me up the steeper climbs. Our first climb of the day was a gentle reminder from Dr Evil (the course setter) that we weren't quite finished yet. The day was spent rolling through lovely singletrack and "wine farms" (that's what they call vineyards here). As we rode along, there was a huge amount of support along the side of the trail. I remember distinctly riding past one guy who yelled out "well done. You shoould be very proud of yourselves". It was such a lovely thing for a stranger to say and I must admit it made me choke up just a bit. It was a beautiful day and the hot spot climb for the day was a lovely, slightly technical climb up to a saddle in a world heritage area. The trail that went down the other side was a compulsory portage down this lovely bedrock trail which would have been much better enjoyed riding our bikes down it, and, ironically, probably would have caused less damage to the trail than us clunking down it in our metal-studded mountain bike shoes (it's always interesting the perception some groups have of the sort of damage mountain bikes do to trails). The view was amazing though, right across the mountains to the coast.



Just after the portage, we had some more singletrack which opened out onto a fairly smooth, fast fire trail descent. This was where our first challenge for the day arose. I bombed down this road at some ludicrous speed, blissfully unaware of the two huge holes that had rutted their way across the road during the rain earlier in the week. I was following John's line, but being a heavier dude, he was a little less likely to get stuck in one of the holes. I didn't see the first one until I was right on top of it. It was about a foot wide and just as deep and at the speed I was going, bunny-hopping it wasn't a problem. The problem was that probably about a metre or two later, there was another similar hole, and my bunny-hop basically landed my front wheel right in it, catapaulting me over the bars at speed. It all happened so quickly and must have looked spectacular from behind. I remember lying on the side of the trail yelling out the "F" word numerous times in agony at the top of my lungs. I was sure I had done some damage. Other riders had seen the crash and stopped and John turned around and came back. It hurt, but everything on me and the bike (amazingly) still seemed moving and functional. I got up and went to get back on my bike to be confronted by one of the marshalls, who tried to stop me riding before he had checked me out. I pushed past him and got back on the bike. I was pretty angry about it... The whole race, the course markers had put triple-arrow "caution signs" on some of the most mundane and tame terrain, but there was no marking whatsoever on this one, on a fast, flat descent, with the potential for some very serious accidents. I felt angry about it for the next half hour or so. Apparently, after we had moved on, another guy crashed in the same spot and broke his arm. I still can't believe I rode away from both accidents... Think I have run out of "get out of jail free" cards now!



That was about half way through the stage and a was very very cautious after that. It was a really brutal reminder that we hadn't finished the race yet and shouldn't assume that we were going to until we were safely across the finish line. We continued on, probably at a pace that encouraged more self-preservation than before. About 15km out fro the finish, John's forks crapped themselves, forcing him to have to lock them out for the rocky trails and singletrack for the rest of the race. Having said that, other than that, the bikes have been amazing and haven't skipped a beat. They dealt with the terrain and harsh conditions really well, and I have been surprised at how well my bike withstood the two crashes I had... Definately a bloody good choice for the event! I was so stoked to see the 5km marker for the finish, and then even more stoked to see the 1km marker. When we finally crossed the finish line, we took our place in the queue to be presented with our finishers medals from Burry Stander, Christoph Sauser and the two Bulls riders, which was a nice touch. It's funny, but I had imagined that crossing the finish line, I would break down in tears, and although there were a few sniffles of joy as John and I hugged each other, it felt like a little bit of an anti-climax... It was probably a lot to do with how tired we were. My brain certainly didn't have much to say on the topic and my body was pretty battered and bruised. We were finally done!



The atmosphere at the finish line was amazing. We picked up some finishers jerseys (with finisher spelled "finnisher"??? WTF? Terrible typo!) and then Gavin and Sarah whisked us away backed to Cape Town and before we knew it, we were sitting in a cafe gorging ourselves on whatever we felt like eating. It was nice to be back to some sort of civilisation. It was nice not to have to crawl into a tent and sleep on a thin matress in a sleeping bag that night. It was nice to use a real toilet and running water from a tap and not a truck. It was nice to just be able to sit there and stare blankly instead of having to prepare our bottles and bikes for the next day and force ourselves to eat when we didn't want to. This morning, I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus. I now have matching elbows, chewed up by South Africa, trails, my right thigh is completely bruised and swollen right down to my foot and in behind my knee is also bruised. My neck is also stiff from where my head hit the ground (ALWAYS wear a helmet!). It was difficult finding a comfortable position to sleep in last night! But the bruises and swelling and scabs will fade... The experience of this last eight days won't. People who have done every Cape Epic up until now swear this was the most difficult, and I would certainly believe it! Over the next week or so, I'll put together a bit of a wrap-up with highlights and low lights and feelings once I have the mental capacity to process it all!



Final results we came 13th in the mixed category and 202nd overall in the entire field. Thanks to John for being a weapon teammate. And thanks to everyone who showed their support over the last 8 days. Your words of encourangement have really helped me through and I've looked forward to reading your comments each night after each stage. For now, there will be some rest and recovery and healing time, then I will start preparing for 24 hour solo world champs in a month and a bit in Italy!

Cape Epic Day 7 - Stage 6... A Stunning Day With Toast For Legs

It was bitterly cold this morning, but that was because there had been no cloud cover overnight. The day, in contrast to yesterday, was looking to be an absolute stunner. I felt ok and had managed to down some breakfast, but my legs were absolute toast... Probably a combination of the effects of yesterdays cold on them and the effects of six days of hard riding. John, on the other hand, had legs of steel, and he towed me everywhere today. We got another 10th placing for the stage and we owe that in full to John, because any hills longer than ten seconds were filling my weary legs with lactic acid and relegating me to the granny ring and the dish on the rear. The photos taken from the trail are also from John... He was able to get to the top of the hills well before me, which was actually kind of a blessing in disguise... It was an incredible day and our climb to the highest peak on the course, at 1100m, gave us the opportunity for some stunning views.



There were a few big climbs today... And they weren't pitched with breaks as you climbed... They just went straight up, and my poor legs weren't handling it well at all. Our biggest climb of the day, at 600m, unfortunately wasn't suitable for towing, so I whacked it in the granny ring and grovelled my way up... On the way, John got a photo of me riding past a cemetary... How poetic! The views were absolutely amazing and when we finally got to the top, the descent was crazy fun! All this loose bedrock with lovely lines through it... The frustrating thing we have noticed over the course of the race is that there seems to be a severe lack of technical skills amongst a great deal of the riders, so they climb like weapons and then sit on the brakes the whole way down the descents... It has taught me to pick alternative lines very well to overtake and smoke them!



We had some good undulating riding along the ridge which my legs seemed to cope ok with, and we came across another mixed team as we were descending. I remember John saying this morning that he liked passing the other mixed teams hard, and I was of the same frame of mind, so I sat in behind them, then took the b-line past one of them, then did a styley little jump of a rock past the other one... One of the highlights of my day! Whe. We got to the last water stop, we went through pretty quick and into some lovely lovely singletrack with sweet berms and fast, flowing trail... It was absolute bliss (and if I didn't have to climb, I was on the pace pretty well!). A couple more climbs near the end, which I had to hold John's bag for again, and another lovely piece of singletrack delivered us straight to the finish line on a lovely sunny afternoon.



I felt disappointed that I had to sit on John's bag for so long today. I doubt I would have made it without him, and certainly not with the result we got. I suppose that's the amazing thing about riding as part of a team. We have moved up into 12th General Classification for the mixed category, and are only 4 minutes behind 11th. Tomorrow is our last day... 65km until we finish the Cape Epic!!! YEEEOOOW!