The 36ONE Mountain Bike Challenge was due
to take place during the weekend of 11/12 April. As this was the weekend before
Easter, I decided to take the next week off and make a holiday of it. We left
Cape Town on Thursday 10 April at 11:00 after I managed a last “loosener” to
Duynefomntein and back and also managed to get some last minute work related
things tended too. We arranged to sleep at Karoo Life in Calitzdorp. We arrived
there at 16:00 and were pleasantly surprised by the wonderful hospitality of
Trevor and Tania. Trevor was quite intrigued by the 36ONE and agreed to come
down to control point 2 when I came round on Saturday morning. We left at 10:30
and traveled towards Oudtshoorn on the old cement road.
Registration was from 12:00 and we arrived
in Oudtshoorn at 11:50, so decided to wait till 12:00 before we book in at our
weekend accommodation, which was 12 km out of town on the Schoemanshoek Road. I
also placed my emergency cloths in the boxes the organizer provided to take to
the various control points. Our weekend accommodation was at Oue Werf, right
next to the Schoemanshoek DR Church. Once again the beauty of the place and the
hospitality of the owners pleasantly surprised us. It also transpired that the
owner’s daughter was at our daughter’s wedding in 2011. After unpacking and
putting my bike together, we went for lunch at the farm’s coffee shop. Race
briefing was scheduled for 17:00 and Sue dropped me at the start at 16:45. Just
after she left, I realized that my water bottle was still in the fridge at Oue
Werf. Fortunately the route we were taking went right past the Church and I
knew it should take me about 40 minutes to get there. I therefore phoned Sue and
asked her to wait at the church with the bottle.
Race briefing was well handled and
completed by 17:30. Entries ballooned from just over a hundred last year to
more than three hundred this year. We then had the wait till the start at
18:00. The race got going on time with a neutral zone through town until we hit
the gravel road leading up to Schoemanshoek. The moment we went onto gravel,
the front guys went. I decided to maintain an easy pace and was passed by a
number of people. We got to the Church at 18:38 and Sue was waiting for me with
my full water bottle. From the Church we joined the road to the Cango Caves and
took the turnoff to the Rust en Vrede Falls. We were on tar from the Church to
Rus en Vrede Falls and then went onto gravel. Very shortly after that the first
major climb started. During the next 10 km we climbed 250 meters and then it
was down hill most of the way towards De Rust. Where the average speed from the
beginning to the top of the climb was 18 k.p.h. it increased to 21.2 k.p.h.
after the down hill, but I must confess going down a hill at 50 k.p.h. in the
dark on a curvy gravel road on a mountain bike is quite scary. We reached the
first water point after 52.6 km and 2:36:06 with 705 meters ascent. I had a
Coke and was on my way immediately. We joined the De Rust/Oudtshoorn road about
two kilometers on the Oudtshoorn side, travelled about 500 meters on the tar
road and then went left on a gravel district road. After another kilometer or
so we were directed onto some farm roads, which connected us with the main
gravel road from De Rust to Dysselsdorp. This road was fairly level and I was making
good time. Just before Dysselsdorp we took a left turn and stated one of the
many “never ending hills” in this race. For the next 12 km we continued going
up, not very steep but at such an incline that you can never relax! After 28.49
km and 1:29.23 I reached control point one. In this stretch I reached a maximum
speed of 56 k.p.h. but from here the road was much straighter and it was less
scary to pick up speed on the down hills. We were treated to a nice warm cup of
soup, of which I had two plus some other things to eat. Total stopping time was
9:42.
The next section of the route was supposed
to be the “easiest” part with no major climbs, but it very quickly transpired
that every nice down hill was followed by an up hill. We had numerous down
hills only to have to go up the hill on the other side. I never realised that
the Klein Karoo had so many “valleys”! From control point two to the end the
water points between the control points increased. Two between one and two, two
between two and three and two between three and the finish. The distance to the
next water point was 30.24 km and it took me 1:47 with 512 meters ascent and a
maximum speed of 52 k.p.h. The next section was 33.68 km and it took me 1:53.
Ascent was 423 meters and maximum speed was 53 k.p.h. The last section, which included
a stretch on tar, was 36.73 km and I took 1:45 to complete it. I arrived at the
second control point at 03:40. Here I had some lasangne and hot chocolate and a
nice rest. Total time spent at this control point was 23 minutes and I got
going again at 04:04.
The section between control point 2 and 3
is the hardest part of the route because it includes Rooiberg Pass, but we
first had a number of other obstacles to overcome. The first 5 kilometers was
tar. We then turned off onto a local farm track, which led us onto a district
road and some serious climbing. Fortunately the incline was not too severe and
I managed to maintain a good pace. During this stretch we had the daybreak over
our backs and by the time we went through the Gouritz River, it was light. The
next water point came after 34.64 km and 2:09 riding time and total elevation
gain of 474. The riding surface was pretty rough and the part of my anatomy
where my body and the bicycle met was getting rather tender! Water point 7
arrived after 27.97 km and 1:44 riding time. Here I had to prepare mentally for
Rooiberg, which was between me and the next control point at Calitzdorp. This
section of 35.72 km took me 2:21. The climb of Rooiberg, where I had to ascent
486 meters over a distance of 6.5 km, took me 60 minutes! The descent was also
quite hairy because the recent rains have washed large sections of the road
away and I had to go down with great caution! In the outskirts of Caltizdorp I
phoned Trevor and was quite glad to see the familiar face when I rode into
control point 3. The “roosterkoek” and Ostrich meat offered was well received
as well as a soft seat and some coffee. I also had a nice chat with Trevor and
after 24 minutes, I was as ready as can be after 280 km to tackle the last leg.
Looking back at my overall progress during
the race, this first section of the last leg transpired to be the slowest one!
I do not really know why. There are some major climbs in this section, but
nothing quite as significant as during the previous part of the race. I suppose
it also is a case of at what point in the race this came and the heat increased
the fatigue. The distance to the next water point was 30.09 km and it took me
2:24 to complete this distance, which included 581 meters of climbing. The
average temperature increased to 32.5 degrees Celsius. Most of the water in my backpack
was used to cool my arms and chest rather than for drinking! After refilling my
water bottle, back pack and cooling down with some ice water over my head,
chest and back, I was on my way again. The temperature was constantly
increasing and the hills did not come to an end. We had to “struggle” over four
more major climbs gaining a total elevation of 404 meters during the next 29.84
km, which took 1:53 to complete. Half way through section, I met an “angel”! By
this time I have ran out of water for cooling down and had very little water
left in my water bottle. On my way up the third hill, one of the Dryland
bakkies passed me in the opposite direction. As he got level with me, he
stopped to find out if everything was OK. I asked for some Coke and he obliged
by half filling my bottle with Coke and topping it up with ice! That was
sufficient to last me to the next water point. By now the climbing was over and
after filling my water bottle I settled into a good rhythm towards the end. It
took me 56 minutes to complete the last 20 km, making it the fastest section of
the race! I managed to complete this 12 minutes faster than some other
competitors who left the last water point with 15 minutes and me into some
other competitors who I passed on my way to the finish.
Total distance: 360.17; total time
22:09:48; total elevation gained 4,929, total calories burned 13,230! There were
more than 300 entries, but only 111 finished. I came finished 65th and
4th in my age group, finishing 15 after 3rd and 2:34
after the second finisher in my age group! Competition is getting tough!
