See below update on the freedom challenge from an adventure racer / FC finisher. Neither Martin nor Alex has been getting much sleep lately. Graham Bird currently in third. The battle in the front is better (and probably harder) than any Tour de France could ever be.
Twitter is alive with feeds and glenns website has regular and brilliant updates: glennharrisonsa.blogspot.com Now i just wish the race could finish so that I could concentrate on work again. c. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Steven Burnett <[email protected]> Date: 26 June 2012 11:02 Subject: Re: [advracesa] Freedom Challenge is hotting UP To: James Stewart <[email protected]>, ar AR <[email protected]> ** guys, this is actually the 10th freedom challenge, if you include the first one where david and marie did it backwards, on foot. It is shaping up to be the most epic finish, as we have two insanely balanced all round athletes chasing each other. here is an article from yesterday, but the best spot for up to date info is www.twitter.com/freedom_trail or follow the hashtag #rasa also, john loos of fnb homeloans (in)fame has been putting a bill bryson type overview together almost daily. glennharrisonsa.blogspot.com One could get excused for thinking that the 2012 Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa is mainly the Martin and Alex show. We don’t always here about the numerous other entrants getting up each morning and successfully battling the elements, fatigue, navigation, mechanical failure and each other. It is not to diminish their achievements, for I would love to report on each unique intricacy of trail stories developing across the field, but there really is a battle royal on for the victory in 2012 – one that deserves the spotlight it is getting. Despite starting together last Tuesday and often being within 5km of each other, Martin Dreyer and Alex Harris have ridden their races in isolation of each other over the past seven days. Martin has been in the lead by a slender margin almost the entire time, and Alex has been just behind ensuring that he never fell back. What little sleep they have been grabbing has been under the same roof. Day Five and Martin is able to finally snap the elastic that was holding them together. It could go down as the day that defines the race, but it’s too early to call that one with the second half* of the race looming. Alex had a recurring issue on his seatpost bolts, and Martin just plodded along through the mud. He just kept on going and put in a 24hour stint from Kranzkop(SS8) to Elandsberg(SS10). While ‘only’ 201km, it included the 3 minor portages of Stormberg, Aasvoelsberg and Elandsberg. Maybe there is significance behind these three with the historical Boer War battle of Stormberg, the Vulture sensing a kill and the Eland(the figurehead of the Freedom Challenge) galloping off in the distance all lending a deeper meaning? Either way according to field reports, the terrain was muddy as hell and I for one took two days** to cover that exact same ground so dof my helmet to the Dusi Duke’s exertions. Over the same time Alex could only reach Romansfontein (SS9) and chose to bank some sleep/fix his bike whilst Martin was still riding. In the two days since then, Alex has been consistently ~6hours behind Martin at the same locations, but due to their wildly varying sleep patterns it’s probably closer to 9 hours once you factor in the state of rest at these markers. If there is any solace for Alex here, it is the fact that as of last night (GrootDam SS12) he is about 9 hours ahead of his record pace from last year. The kicker is that Alex has already improved with his 2012 performance but he is still chasing Martin. What options does he have left to retain his title for the third time in succession? One could say that he could just do his best and ride his own race, hoping that if anything befells Martin he is first in line to take advantage and leapfrog into first place. I have my suspicions that there is the highest order of mindgames being played here since the start – these two have been trying to crack each other since leaving Pietermaritzburg and a bold move either way could result in a shift of the pendulum. Another option is to ride faster and sleep less, and chip away at the lead day by day. Sounds obvious but when he is riding fast and missing sleep there’s not much left in either bank. Plan C could be a regroup, and then launch a non stop assault further down the course by skipping a night of sleep effectively scrubbing the 6 hours off. Last year Alex battled down the Osseberg Jeeptrack into the Grootriviervalley of the Baviaanskloof. It is an old wagon trail and is said to be one of the premier 4x4 routes in the country. He did it in the dark, only to find that the river was flooded and the 11 normally ankle deep crossings were each missions in their own right. Beyond this point, there is nowhere on the route that either of these two would feel particularly uncomfortable riding at night. This means the Osseberg Jeeptrack is the final ‘tactical’ move that either could pull, but it looks like both will do it during the daylight tomorrow. Beyond there, it really is going to be a drag race to the end. Alex could try any of my speculative suggestions, a combination or his own. We will have to wait and see, but we know for sure that Martin the sly fox will be keeping an eye over his shoulder and be hatching plans of his own. I’d like to put some cash on Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird who lies about a day behind Alex in third, it would be bloody good odds and there’s still so long still to go. By Steven Burnett (RASA 2008) – 25 June 2012 *the halfway point of the race changes each year, as there are always minor tweaks to the route. There is therefore no actual halfway with a line in the sand, but it is said to be somewhere near Perdepoort and Bucklands (SS15) – Martin and Alex will both cross it today, as race leaders on the road Gerrit Pretorius and Brian O’Regan did yesterday. ** I didn’t even make Elandsberg on the second night and ended up stumbling around the base of the mountain in the dark, but that is another story. ________________________________ From: James Stewart <[email protected]> To: Steven Burnett <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 10:58 AM Subject: Re: [advracesa] Freedom Challenge is hotting UP Dont you think you should keep up the commentary Lettuce On 2012/06/22 10:39 AM, Steven Burnett wrote: >NOT! it is bloooooody freezing up there in the rhodes area. > >anyway, we have a cracker of a year with one helluva race unfolding! > >martin dreyer(heard of him?) is kicking butt in the lead, and has ridden to rhodes in 2 days 7 hours on the way. fastest ever. >alex harris(heard of him?) has been about an hour behind him for almost the whole race, but they're sleeping(not for long really) at the same spot most days, expect him to make a move soon without stopping. >tweet(heard of him?) is about a day behind these two, and could profit from them both riding each other into the ground. > >trevor ball(heard of him?) is also riding like a man possessed with FC guru mike woolnough. he's about a day ahead of marty and alex and will probably be spurred on by them chasing. > >catch it and many more all here >www.freedomchallenge.org.za >twitter @freedom_trail >http://glennharrisonsa.blogspot.com/ > >and on the subject of 29ers the other day, have a look at the bog standard no frills 26" hardtail the dusi duke is doing it all on: > http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHKXZyK4i8Y/T-NY4L8B6lI/AAAAAAAAAk0/zJvUHnSPbEA/s320/Martin+ready+to+go.jpg > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Reply to sender<[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20%5Badvracesa%5D%20Freedom%20Challenge%20is%20hotting%20UP>| Reply to group<[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20%5Badvracesa%5D%20Freedom%20Challenge%20is%20hotting%20UP>| Reply via web post<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advracesa/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJxa2o1cG4xBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzM1MzY2MDQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY1Nzg2BG1zZ0lkAzEzMzQ2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3JwbHkEc3RpbWUDMTM0MDcwMTMzNA--?act=reply&messageNum=13346>| Start a New Topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advracesa/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJldWpyOW9hBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzM1MzY2MDQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY1Nzg2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTM0MDcwMTMzNA--> Messages in this topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advracesa/message/13342;_ylc=X3oDMTM2MmdmZW04BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzM1MzY2MDQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY1Nzg2BG1zZ0lkAzEzMzQ2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3Z0cGMEc3RpbWUDMTM0MDcwMTMzNAR0cGNJZAMxMzM0Mg-->( 2) Recent Activity: Visit Your Group<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advracesa;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcTRmN2JuBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzM1MzY2MDQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY1Nzg2BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTM0MDcwMTMzNA--> ---oOo--- To unsubscribe from this group, send a blank email to: [email protected] ---oOo--- [image: Yahoo! 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