So I have been entered by somebody else for another stage race !! No big deal I have done plenty before , 3 days of racing in the little hills around Sabie can only be fun . As most of you will know my preparation for races i.e. training and all that nonsense is almost none . So let me say from the start that I was in a lot of pain for 3 days . But then again I always am when I race in the Sabie area , or what do you say Hardy ? Ok now that we got that bit out of the way lets go back to the actual race .
We checked into our tents the Wednesday evening at about 6pm and moved into the marquee tent for race briefing . After the normal rules was explained to us and warnings about sharp corners and neck breaking downhill’s were passed around we could retire to our tents fairly early . Next morning we got to the eating mesh at 04:30 to be welcomed by a contingent of local farmers and their wife’s . After the normal chit-chat about who , what , from where are you we turned to talking about what we there for MTB’ing . Was /I surprised to see how excited these farmers got about this whole event . They all got some sort of “bush tunnel” on their farms and are very proud of theirs . “Wait till day two for MY tunnel “ , “No , no my tunnel on day three is smoother and faster “ . They also shared all that they could about the trails for the day . Even though they do most of these roads in their very reliable Isuzu bakkies they knew the danger and potential problem areas very well . At 7am the shotgun went off and so did we . We left the start line with the GPS showing 785.5 meters above sea level . 15.29km further it showed 1529m . This climb is a straight up no free wheeling battle all the way to the top . Here we found the first water table in the mist . Now this is what I expected to find for a water table on a multi-day stage race . Water, Coke and energy drink with boiled potatoes , chocolates , jelly babies , bananas and friendly people . >From here we did the up and down thing with smaller climbs followed by fast descents . At 33km there was another 5km climb just to remind you that halfway is still somewhere in the distance . This was followed by a downhill that wanted you to turn around and do it over again . Although this was on a dirt road it was very dusty with sharp turns and random rocks lying in wait for the sleepy rider . I only managed 56.7kmph down here . The bike just did not feel right and later that night I discovered that the fork was locked out and I never even thought about looking !!! At around 66km we ran into a hill called That @!...@# hill . I promptly renamed it after I walked half of it to That @#...@#$#% hill . Once over this hill we had loads of fun racing down the single tracks that took us back to the finish . And just to make you forget all the pain of the day you get to finish on a BMX track with all the burms , ramps and wooden bridge . That evening we had very good life entertainment followed by race debriefing which included a photo and video session . The food was absolutely fantastic and we had a feast . After all the category winners got their turn on the podium we all moved of to have another good nights rest . Day two was the same ritual and after a chat to the farmers we went back to the tents to fetch our bikes for another day of racing . Because of the mist the previous day it was decided to keep the start time at 7am . After another shotgun shell expired we all lined up behind the pace car and headed down the tar road to the dirt roads that awaited us . Today we started the race with a climb to 1530meters in 20km . By the time we got to the top we all properly warmed us and most of us was also felling very tired at this stage . The next 16km did not help very much to give the legs a rest . The downhill that followed was also to fast and short to give you a rest before the climb to the Tower . But just before you get to climb this hill you again get the chance to ride some awesome single track until you get to the waterfall . Here most of us carried our bikes waist deep through the very cold water . Some of the other people just had their neck sticking out and we had a few good laughs when the rider behind us disappeared under the water with his bike . The short climb out of the gorge wasn’t easy but as you stick you head over the top you could see the water table waiting . Now there is one think that I always ask myself after a race , Why do we bother to ask the course designed standing at the water table how steep the climb is !!!!! This bloke has lost touch with reality . The answer will always be “It’s not very steep and end just around that corner “ Ja boet that corner on the horizon maybe . And so began the climb that was the toughest for me on the whole event . Corner after corner you turn just to find the road heading to the heavens . But once again the downhill on the other side did not disappoint . I passed all the people that passed me on the uphill until I got a puncture at high speed just before the downhill ended . A small rock has gone between the rim and the tire and cut the tire just above the bead . Out with the heavy duty plugs and we got it sealed and rolling again in about 10 minutes . Another awesome bush tunnel followed and then we got routed onto the tracks around the Mankele bike park . What a way to end the day . Jumps , bridges , fast corners all that you ever wanted in a mtb race . Again we had entertainment , great food and the rest that evening . There was also a lot of excitement at price giving as DCM and Garmin was a split second apart after two days and day three was going to be very,very fast . Pity we missed that race but we will most probably get to see it on TV . Day 3 , talk to farmers , get bikes , line up at start line . For the last time the shotgun breaks the silence and we head in another direction that previous days . At about 500meter you stare at the mother of all up hills . Well after three days that is what it looked like . A lot of riders got caught by the little beast and did not have the right gears seeing a lot of them lying on the ground . This hill went to 1268m in 13km . After this we just had fun,fun,fun up to the 33km mark . I can’t remember all the single track names but one made a huge impression and that was ?Jurassic park . Fast and furious only begins to describe it . Funny how quickly you forget that hill that almost took your legs off a few minutes ago once you get into one of these beauties . The climb up to the Sudwala caves was very testing but not as testing as the downhill single track that followed . I would normally not use my brakes to much on downhills , but this was a different story . Halfway down the hill I could smell the pads burning . By the time I got to the cave parking lot the disks turned a nice blue color . Down the cement road to the bottom of the hill went very smooth and although they did warn us to take it slow down here I just could not and went faster than anywhere else in the race . But the race is not over , we get punished with another few sharp steep climbs which eventually took us in to the smoothest “bush tunnel” I have yet seem . It had a few awesome rock jumps and trees that you could use to turn against . And so three days of awesome racing came to an end . Make no mistake I was glad when we finished but will be back , better prepared (ok so you heard this before ) The bike shop they had there was the best I have seen at any race . These two chaps got very busy at time but always stopped what they busy doing to help out . Now first I need to rate this race to other Stage races . Very difficult but let me say that next year will be my last S2C . They both are awesome races but the 2 Towers is just easier as far as logistics , traveling etc goes , and then it is a lot cheaper . But as we all know nothing is perfect . Now maybe I am full of sheeeet but Hansa and Windhoek can not be classed as beers . Sure there are people out there that force themselves to drink this stuff but please can we have just one other “beer” there ? I enjoyed the cold showers but some of the older ballies did not find it very funny . The start must be at 6am , if we had the same weather that welcomed us on day 3 on the first 2 days I can see a lot of people on the sweep vehicle . I also suggest that the corner named Werner Koekemoer get moved to the 2nd corner after watertable 1 on day two . Standing at the water table we saw a few , wait a lot , of riders not making the corner and neither did my partner when we eventually got to it . Now I hope I get a guaranteed entry for next year as I can see entries going fast next year with waiting lists and all that stuff . BTW anybody that wants to start training for next year can get all the profiles and tracks from me . ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using SquirrelMail. "Webmail for nuts!" http://squirrelmail.org/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. 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