OK, I'll see what I can do about that ;-)
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Roberto Ambrosio Sent: 26 May 2011 07:31 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [D&D-chat] Sani2C 2011 Man I miss ride reports :-) On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 7:39 AM, Leon van der Westhuizen <[email protected]> wrote: Man I miss doing this race :-) -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dirt Rider Sent: 21 May 2011 16:30 To: [email protected] Subject: [D&D-chat] Sani2C 2011 Maybe I have missed it but it has been a while since I have seen a MTB race report on this list . So for your entertainment I decided to spend 5 minutes in front of the keyboard . Every year after I have entered the SAni2C I say , this is the last one . After the race I say , where do we enter . I have done four already and this year was the best by far . The single tracks are stuff most people only dream about , you don't even see stuff like this in these MTB videos from Canada . Food was top notch , bacon and eggs in the morning !!!!!!! But let me tell you more about the race itself . Wednesday morning we started at 07:00 . Somehow we found ourselves in the A batch , a seeding I was not happy with as I knew I did not belong there . It took a good few km to warm up in the cold but once we got to the first single track all pistons were going and the race was on . Day 1 had a few changes from last year and that only meant more single track . We exit single track onto the district road that leads up to McKenzie club but I was still smiling about the trail we just did and did not even notice the uphill towards our over night . This is the first year I got to the finish and there were almost no people in the village . That left me with plenty of time to have a few beers and eat of everything I could find in the mess tent . But as expected we did not stay in the A batch and moved down to D much to my partner's dismay . But after I explained to him the benefits of an additional 30 minutes sleep he accepted his faith . But his joy was short lived , day 2 they start a 06:30 and that means we will start at ......... 07:00 . If we thought the previous morning was cold we made a big mistake . Problem with day 2 and cold is that the first 30+km are all downhill . Almost no time to work up a sweat in the first bit but of that first bit 99% is single track . And I am not talking about Groenkloof or Tokai single track !! I am talking of tracks that just make you want to turn the bike around after every section to do it again . The speeds we went down there scared me at times .I lost control going around one of the hairpins on Nick pass and rolled a bit down the mountain before getting a bush to hang onto . Most of day two stayed the same but once you hit the bottom of the valley SURPISE , you don't climb out of the valley but follow the river on single track for what felt like 15km . Lots of river crossings , some with bridges , some rideable and others you had to wade through . The Nando's stop has been changed from a 10 minute compulsory stop to just a normal water point . After the Nando stop things got a bit hairy . With half a chicken in the stomach you got to climb out a hill called "Push of a hill " . I made it halfway up and then just did as the name of the hill suggested . The climb out of the valley was easier than previous years and once we got to the top I looked at the watch and saw us heading for a sub 5 hour time . That would be a 2 hour improvement on any of my other times . But Farmer Glen had another surprise . He has made it his mission to eliminate all tar from the race . On day 2 we always use to do about 5km bit on the tar road to the finish line . He has found a new route around the back but what he forgot to mention in his briefing is that there is a mountain on that side . I had a total sense of humour failure seeing this hill 91km into the race . But being so close and with lots of gears on my bike we went over the mountain just to be greeted by a downhill that would make Greg Minnaar go for a double Rum and Coke . It was very difficult to enjoy this downhill when you as tired as I was but with burning brakes and bottomed out shocks we got to the finish line . Again we got to a fairly empty village and everybody got invited for FREE drinks at the Supergroup hospitality tent . The steaks was so good that evening I had two . Day 3 for some reason , not known to me , gets the label as being easy . I suppose compared to day two it is easy but after 2 days of racing not as easy as they make it out to be. We got back into the C batch and took up position 2 teams from the front racing down district roads and single tracks at neck breaking speeds . But my eagerness to go down the hills faster than anybody before me has done , saw me going of track at high speed . I managed to jump over the first boulder but landed onto another one causing me to puncture both front and rear . Somehow I manager to keep control of the bike and after a 15 minute stop to repair all the damage we got on our way again . Heart Rate hill again did not disappoint and we made up a few lost places on this section . Let me just say that as some of you may know I don't care two hoots if I get 143 or 650 position , but my partner did not like the fact that people pass us so I had to oblige and made a effort to pass other people , something very new to me . We formed a nice bus of about 6 teams from the Last water table and with my partner in front we all tucked in and wheel sucker (sic) up to the beach averaging about 30km an hour . Too soon we got to the uphill to the school entrance . Because I lost the capability to select the granny blade just after I got onto the beach the going was very tough up that tar section . But with a little pushing from behind we made it to the finish . After the free hamburger and another bought beef burger we jumped into the car and headed back to Pretoria . As we drove pass the Underberg off ramp on the N3 we wanted to take the turn off and do it again but I had a hair appointment the next day and we unfortunately had to go straight pass . Will I enter again ? No bloody way I am loosing this entry ! Now we can rest for a few month and go and do another awesome stage race called The Three Towers . I don't take responsibility for any loss in hair or brain cells caused by spelling or grammar errors in this report . ____________________________________________________________ South Africas premier free email service - www.webmail.co.za For super low premiums, click here http://www.dialdirect.co.za/?vdn=15828 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:darkanddirty%[email protected]> . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en. ************************************************************************ ******************************* Disclaimer: Denel (Pty) Ltd t/a Denel Aviation (Denel Aviation) Registration number: 1992/001337/07 This message and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the addressee. If you have received this message in error, please notify Denel Aviation immediately, telephone number +27 11 927 2122 and by Reply email to sender. Any unauthorised use, alteration or dissemination of the contents of this email is strictly prohibited.In no event will Denel Aviation or the sender be liable in any manner whatsoever to any person for any loss or any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising from use of this email or any linked website, including, without limitation, from any lost profits, business interruption, loss of programmes or other data that may be stored on any information handling system or otherwise from any assurance that this email is virus free even if Denel Aviation is expressly advised of the possibility of such damages. ************************************************************************ ******************************* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. 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If you have received this message in error, please notify Denel Aviation immediately, telephone number +27 11 927 2122 and by Reply email to sender. Any unauthorised use, alteration or dissemination of the contents of this email is strictly prohibited.In no event will Denel Aviation or the sender be liable in any manner whatsoever to any person for any loss or any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising from use of this email or any linked website, including, without limitation, from any lost profits, business interruption, loss of programmes or other data that may be stored on any information handling system or otherwise from any assurance that this email is virus free even if Denel Aviation is expressly advised of the possibility of such damages. ******************************************************************************************************* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. 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