Six days to go

Six days to the start of my Ride to Rhodes. We will be leaving Cape Town on Saturday morning driving to somewhere in the Free State, where we will sleep. Sunday through to Pietermaritzburg for a fairly early arrival so that I can have a nice and relaxing Sunday evening. Monday morning 06:00 the action starts! The weather is looking good for the Ride to Rhodes.

AMA Rider 100 miler

Saturday 25 May 2013 and it is time for the AMA Rider 100 miler in the Malmesbury area.

Preparations for this have gone well with the 36ONE and a number 100 km plus rides in anticipation of the 100 miler. Three of us planned to travel together to the start at Swartland Cellars in Malmesbury and we arrived in good time for the start, which was scheduled for 07:30.

As is custom with most races these days, we got going promptly at 07:30. The first 8 km was through some farmlands and jeep tracks east of Malmesbury and included a number of small sharp climbs. We then hit the local district roads passing on the eastern side of Paardeberg to the first water point at 32 km. This included a stretch of 4.2 km where we climbed 162 meters. We left the district roads for a while and had to negotiate some farm tracks leading onto the short stretch of tar road to cross the R45 running from Wellington to Malmesbury. This took us onto a good district road again before we had the turn off to the “breakfast” stop. After the breakfast stop we encountered our first serious climb of the day. 130 meters over a distance of 2.23 km followed by a 150 meter descent in 2.43 km, which led us back onto district roads, with the exception of crossing the R46 leading from Hermon to Riebeek-Kasteel. This was negotiated through some farmlands and using the bank of the Berg River where the road bridge for the R46 crosses it at 70 km. During this stretch we formed a nice group, which was working together well and managed to maintain a good pace. The next water point was at 82 km. Total time to here was about 3:50, which meant I was on for completing the course in less than 8 hours. I ate a couple of slices of banana bread, had a couple of glasses of Coke, stuffed my pocket with jelly babies and had my chain oiled. After the water point we formed another group, with most of the previous people, and cracked on the pace. We got onto one of the local large district roads, but due to the fact that it one of more regularly used roads, the corrugations were very bad. It was virtually impossible to find a piece of road that was smooth. We really were pleased when we were guided to left onto a lesser road, which was narrower, but with a much better surface.

The lunch stop came at 110 km. By this time I have spent 5:53 in the saddle. We were treated to some pasta salad and a cup of soup. After I ate and had my water bottle filled, I was on my way again. This time I left on my own. There were three guys a bout a kilometer in front of me, but I was not making any impression in catching them. I therefore decided to continue a pace that was comfortable for me. We turned right onto  the R311 running from Riebeek-Kasteel to Moorreesburg and continued on this road for one km before turning left onto gravel again. I was not catching anybody, but nobody was catching me either.  This continued for about 11 km, when I heard wheels grinding on the ground behind me. I tried to latch onto the guy as he came past, but gave up very quickly. The pace was just too high. We covered 30 km from the lunch stop, climbing 110 meters in the process. Nothing serious, but a nice energy sapping grind not giving an opportunity to rest. After 15 km we turned left again. We now had a stretch of 5 km during which we climbed 87 meters to the final water point.

After a short climb we had a descent of 3 km before the final big climb of the day. 191 meters over a distance of 4.84 km. I passed one guy on this stretch, but he caught up with me at the next climb. I managed to drop him during one of the number of ups and downs before we hit the final, mostly downhill, stretch to the finish. Here somebody caught up with me again and we worked nicely together to the finish. We once again used one of Meurant Botha’s signature under passes to cross the R45 with some single tracks through the local cow grazing area to the finish, which I reached in 7:55:43 after 163.25 km and 2,276 meters of climbing. Actual riding tome came to 7:40:21, which meant I spent 15 minutes at the various water points. I managed 96 from 215 finishers, 10^th from 35 in the 50+ category, which was won by a 60 year old in a time of 6:16:55. He is a real machine!

36ONE

The 36ONE mountain bike race from 19-21 April was scheduled for this weekend. I felt that this would be a good training ride for the Rough Ride to Rhodes. I got Sue to agree to join me for the weekend and we left Bloubergstrand on Thursday mid morning to sleep over, as I felt it would not be a good idea to drive 400 km and then start a 360 km race at 19:00 in the evening. I booked us in at Aristata Cottages in Seweweekspoort. We arrived there at 14:30. Beautiful surroundings no cell reception, no TV, no electricity! What a blessing. We walked around a bit, had a braai, hot shower (water warmed by a ”donkey”, which was taken care of by the guy looking after the cottages) and an early night.

Left the next morning at 09:00 and arrived in Oudthoorn at 11:30, which was too early for registration or check-in. Had some coffee and drove around a bit. Registered at 12:30 and checked-in at the guesthouse. Had a late lunch, showered and went to race briefing at 17:30. I decided to put my leg warms on, even though it was not that cold. This tuned out to be a blessing during the night! Returned for the race at 18:30.

Before the start I decided to put my light rain jacket on as protection from the cold. The race started at 19:00. There was a 500-meter neutral zone to get us out of town. Racing started at a reasonably sedate pace, considering we had 361 km to do! I saw a guy in a Cycles Direct top and rode up to him for a chat. It transpired that Tim van Coller, who has completed two Freedom Challenges, was his dad and that they were doing the race together. It was great to meet old acquaintances!

The field spread out pretty quickly with some guys riding together, others on their own and the odd group of “unknowns” just riding together. We went through the dwelling of Shoemanshoek and joined up with the Oudtshoorn/Cango Caves tar road after 15 km. There were some drops of rain in the air, but not enough to make us wet. After 22 km we took a turn off to Oude Muragie and De Rust. This included the first climb and the high point of the race at 830 meters above sea level. We climbed 366 meters over a distance of 15 km with a maximum climb of 229m in 2.84 km. From the top it was pretty much downhill to the Oudtshoorn/De Rust tar road were we turned right on the tar road. After 54 km we were directed off the tar onto gravel and then onto some very obscure farm tracks. This lasted for 4 km when we joined a good gravel road, which led us past the outskirts of Dyseldorp into Checkpoint 1 at 68 km after 3:06 of riding. Here we were treated to warm soup and some eats, while water bottles could be refilled. After a stop of about 4 minutes, I was on my way again.

We were on a slope, which turned out to be a hill, with a very gradual incline, but it lasted for 9 km! I ended riding with two other guys at a reasonable pace. Everybody concentrating on riding and not much talking. After a while I decided that the pace is a little too fast for my liking this early in the race and let them go. I reached water point 2 after 102 km at about 24:00, averaging just on 20 kph. Here I refilled my water bottle and had a cup of hot chocolate and some light eats. I also put on my windbreaker and changed my riding gloves for my warm winter gloves. The road out of this water point headed upwards again, but fortunately leveled out after a while. We then reached a sort of a plateau where a good tempo could be maintained. On our right was a beautiful half moon, showing its face through some cloud cover! Beautiful!! We reached the Oudtshoorn/George tar road and were routed underneath it and next to the railway line and onto some farm/jeep tracks, some of which were very faint, but there were people to direct us at all the turns. This led us to water point 3. Here I filled my water bottle with a different flavour of Energade and was treated to a cup of Milo! From here to water point 4 (check point 2) was mostly level or downhill. We were treated to the most beautiful moon disappearing over the horizon behind some clouds. I wished for a good camera and an opportunity to take a photo, but with only an iPhone and a race to complete, I had to be satisfied with “fixing” it to my memory. During this period I though to myself that a ride like this is an interesting experience, which should be tackled once in a lifetime! I reached checkpoint 2 at Volmoed at 04:09. 183 km in 9:09. An average speed of just on 20 kph. Had some lasagne, some more hot chocolate and a BarOne. Also sat down and rested for a while. At this point I felt that this was a bit much! My neck was acing and by seat was very tender! The thought crossed my mind that if I was a "quiter", I should seriously considered quiting at the next check point, but sanity would prevailed!

The rout from here started fairly level and then went into a 165 meter climb over a distance of 3.91 km. Not the nicest thing to do after 190 km and more than 9 hours in the saddle! This was followed by a 27 km stretch were we descended 447 meters into the riverbed of the Gouritz River. Day was also breaking on our backs. From the time I lost the guys on the way to water point 2, I was mostly riding on my own. Now and again I would pass somebody or somebody would pass me, but I just never teamed up with someone else. Everybody preferring to ride there own pace. The next 21 km was a steady climb, which made it difficult to maintain a good average speed. This was also quite tiring as it just went on and on even though there were no serious inclines up to water point 5. Some more hot chocolate and a banana. I also decided to change to my normal riding gloves and got rid of my windbreaker and getting rid of the mud, from a mudpool I just went through. At this point I wondered where I would get the energy from to do another 120 km to the end! The dreaded Rooiberg Pass started shortly after this water point. 499 meters of climbing in 6.74 km, an average of 74.04 meters every kilometer. What made it worse, was the number of “false” tops. There must have been at least 5 to 7 of these occasions when I was sure that this would be the top, just to see that there was more climbing to come. It was a real “hallelujah” moment when I finally reached the summit. The downhill was equally dramatic! Descending 574 meters in 12 km on a road that is very rough and uneven and difficult to maintain a good average speed. The run in to Calitzdorp was a steady incline, but I managed to maintain a reasonable pace, reaching Boplaas and checkpoint 3 at 10:39 after 280 km and 15:39 hours of riding. All the climbing and the fatigue have brought my average speed down to 17.87 kph. I had an Ostrich sosatie, rooster koek and a koek sister. My water bottle was also refilled and had some lube put onto my bike’s chain. Had a good rest and then tackled the last stretch.

Over the next 26 km we climbed 438 meters. The rout was taking us along the foothills of the Swartberge. The scenery here was quite beautiful with lots of trees and lush green undergrowth. We also crossed a number of streams. This took us to water point 8 at Kruisriver. I refilled my water bottle again and had two cups of Coke. I also took off my light raincoat, as it was getting hot. Off I went. This is were things went a bit wrong for me. I do know where my mind was, but I missed a turn off to the left. After a while I got to a fork in the road with no markings! I first took the right hand fork, but decided after about 500 meters that this was leading me back to Ladismith. Back at the fork I tried to phone, but there was no reception. I took the left fork and cycled to the top of the hill. There I found reception and phoned. The guy who answered sounded not sure, but said I must continue on the road I was on. It transpired that he was unsure, because I was on the wrong road and he was not sure where I was! After about 20 km I reached the R62 form Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn. I immediately realised that I was on the wrong road. To turn back was not an option because that would have increased my distance to about 390 km. All I could do was cycle towards Oudtshoorn. The first distance marker I saw indicated 22km and I thought I was 22 km from Oudthoorn. The next one was 23 and I then realised I was 27 km from Oudtshoorn. I did some sums and worked out that my total distance would be 359 km at the finish. I also knew that this road do join up with the last 7 km of the correct rout. I therefore decided that I would turn left where the correct rout joined this road and cycle for 1 km in the wrong direction, make a u-turn and then cycle the direction I should have, as this would give me the full 361 km. As I got to the intersection, the guides were waving me on to Oudtshoorn, but I ignored them and turned left to do my 1 km against the ”rout”.  I wonder what the guy, whom I crossed, thought when he saw this guy cycling in the wrong direction! On reaching the intersection, I was greeted by a lady telling that they were looking for me all over the place and that they tried to phone me. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I did not hear my phone. If I did and answered it, they most probably would have told me to go back to where I missed the turn! At least now I was on the right road again! On turning into Oudtshoorn, my odometer indicated 359 and it stayed there forever. I was afraid that my distance would be less than 361 when I reach the finish line! My joy was great when it finally indicated 361 km just as I made the final right turn with about 400 meters to the finish. It really was a great feeling to reach the finish line after 361.86 km, 20 hours 43 minutes 29 seconds; 5,004 meters climbing and actual riding time of 19:31:37. I therefore spent about 1 hour and 12 at the various water/check points. I did try to speak to the organisers at the finish, but they were all still out on the course. I then sent an email to them immediately when I got to the guesthouse.

Price giving was at 09:00 on Sunday morning. We got there at 08:45 and I immediately went to the organizers to inform them that I was the guy who went off course. They confirmed that it was fine and that I will not be disqualified. What a relieve! At the price giving all the 60-year and older finishers were asked to go forward and I had an opportunity to share my “mishap” with everybody. The eldest guy that finished the race was 69. The organizers also felt that everybody 65 and older should get a free entry next year. I will qualify for that next year!

I will be uploading some more photo's later during the week once I see what Oakpics took of me.

Argus MTB Challenge

I decided to treat my wife to a “night out” after the Grape Escape and before the Argus MTB Challenge, which was due to be run on the Sunday. We managed to find place at Val d’Or, so after the third stage of the Grape Escape, we booked in there.

I worked out that it would take me about 35 minutes to cycle to the start, so I left at 06:10, arriving at the start at 06:40, meeting to fellow competitors along the way.

The race got going at 07:05 and the pace was hectic from the start, with the result that I was about last after 10 minutes of riding! After 24 minutes the first guys from AB, who started 5 minutes later, passed me. I decided to just carry on at my own pace and enjoy the day.

We had a number of loops through the vineyards and over the grounds of Plaisir de Merle, where we encountered the first water point after 22 kilometers and 1 hour 3 minutes of riding. Shortly after this we started the first big climbs of the day, 204 meters in 6 kilometers. At this point I came across Fred van Zyl, one of the former winning of my age category on the Attakwas. It was not long before I felt that familiar feeling of a rear tyre going flat again. This was confirmed by one of the riders who passed me. So I pulled over at administered the “bomb treatment” again. At the next water point I pumped it again with a foot pump, hoping the leak will heal by itself with the Stans Notubes tyre sealant. The serious climbs of the day was now in progress! This climb lasted for 5 kilometers with a total ascent of 228 meters. Just after going over the top, the feeling of a rear tyre going flat re-appeared. I stopped and decided to try using my pump, only to discover that it was in my other bag, which was at home, so I had to use my last bomb. While using this, I noticed that the value was coming apart and that that was why I had a leak. There was nothing I could do, but to continue riding and hope for the best. After a while I saw a pump lying in the road. I quickly pulled over and retrieved it. At least now I could pump the wheel next time it went flat, which was shortly afterwards. As I was undoing the top of the value, the whole front part came out and disappeared into the under growth. Now I had only one option left. Use a tube. Before I could put the tube in, I had to ensure that there were no thorns stuck in the tyre. I inspected the tyre and found two. After removing them, I put the tube in, the tyre on and started pumping. It was working and after a delay of 12 minutes, I was on my way again. This happened after 38 kilometers and 2 hours 28 minutes of racing.

One of the benefits of having problems is the joy of passing all the slow guys who pasted you while you were sorting out the problem. I was now “flying” past some of the slower guys. This was  areal problem some of the singles tracks we encountered. The course was also mostly down hill now. This was until we went past Boschendal and onto the last loop, when the course started going more up than down again. With 10 kilometer to go, we went into the new area added for this year. The temperature was now reaching 37 degrees Centigrade and we climbed 128 meters over a distance of 4 kilometers. A number of guys were finding this very difficult, stopping and just resting or pushing their bikes very slowly. Fred van Zyl, who came past me while I had my tyre problem, was one of them! I was maintaining momentum and managed to cycle most of the ascent. The down hill towards the 5 kilometer to go water point was very rough, but there after the road surface improved steadily. I absolutely “raced” through the last river crossing, nearly giving the cameraman a free shower and onto the finish. 

Total time was 4:21:20 for the 65.84 kilometers with a total ascent of 1,144 meters. My actual riding time was 3:51:24

The Grape Escape Day 3

Danie was responsible for transport and collected me at 05:15. We arrived in Wellington at 06:20 and collected our bikes. 

The race started once again at 07:00 sharp. The first 4 kilometers was a neutral zone, so racing only started there after. By this time we were among the vineyards again and the topography was very much ascending and descending with regular intervals. After 12 kilometers we started the climb past Beulah, which lasted for 4.5 kilometers with 326 meters climbing. Towards the top of this climb I noticed that my rear tyre was losing air. This was especially becoming a problem when we entered some single tracks through the pine trees. On entering the second single track, I decided to pull aside and attend to it by putting air in with a CO2 bomb. This was after 22 kilometers. There after it went much better with a rear wheel which was not moving all over the place. The problem was that I used only bomb! At the next water point I enquired after a foot pump to attend to the wheel, but nothing was available. As second best I asked if someone had a spare bomb for me. Guy Mckechnie, who was riding a single speed, came to my assistance. By this time we were at the bottom of the Du Toitskloof Mountains so the second big climb of the day started. Three quarters up the hill a passing rider asked me if I knew that my tear tyre was fairly flat. I confirmed that I knew, but decided to carry on for a while longer, but shortly got to a point where I had to attend to it again. By now we have only completed 38 kilometers and the race distance was 68 kilometers! 

We now encountered some hills which was just not rideable due to them being too steep. Towards the top I passed the late Burry Sander's dad, who was enjoying the outing, but not the hills! 

The top of the climb was followed by some riding on contour roads and then some scary downhills. This time nobody was chasing me and I reached to bottom without any mishaps. At the next water point I caught up with Ebrabim Levy, riding in Asrin colours, which I met while riding yesterday. I asked him for a spare bomb and he obliged. With this assurance in my pocket, I had more confidence in completing the day without running out of air! I picked up my pace and put the hammer down. From here to the end it was more downhill that uphill.  In the meantime my rear tyre was holding up well. I was passing riders with regular intervals. At the last water point I checked the wheel and it was fine. We encountered some sandy patches, crossed the Berg River, through the Bien Donne farmstead and onto the end. The crossing of the tar road was typical Meurant Botha by crossing underneath the tar road at a river crossing. The end was reached after 4:30:20 for 69 kilometers with 1,606 meters of ascent. Mike beat me by 1 minute 8 seconds, finishing 3rd in our age group and I as 4th. Danie finished in 5:08:48.

The Grape Escape Day 2

The second day was my turn to do the driving. I picked Mike and Danie up at 05:15 and we arrived in Wellington at about 06:20. The origanisers arranged for a free bike wash and oil. Security was also provided for overnight storage, so we had to collect them first.

Day 2 also included the riders who entered for the 2-day option, with the result that there were more people and they started 5 minutes after us. We got going at 07:00 sharp. The first couple of kilometers were along local roads and through some vineyards. Then we got into the single tracks. This really was amasing. Initially through some blue gum trees and then through local “fynbos”. The quality and the variety of the single track were just mind-boggling. It most definitely is the best I have ridden. Better than those we normally ride in the Durbanville area and also what I have encountered at Oak Valley. What make this Waldenplas tracks special is all the trees and the variety in elevation. It is not just one long climb and then a descent, but it goes up and down with some nice switchbacks, in and out of tree covering with some very good smooth sections and some fairly rough patches. A test for the experienced rider and a challenge for the novice.

At 21 kilometers there was a special a choice of two routes: the chicken run or crossing the river via a fairly narrow bridge, which was also a touch shorter. Everybody who opted for the bridge would be rewarded with a bottle of wine with a photo of him or her crossing the bridge on it.

Here after we had some local farm roads before going onto the single tracks on the farm Doolhof. The tracks are more exposed, but as challenging with a specific section called “the rock garden” and that is with a reason. This was at the halfway point. These singles track lead us onto the slops of Bains Kloof and onto a section of the pass. After a while we went left again, off the pass and uphill. I caught up to my friend Mike, who was having problems with cramping, at this stage.

With 15 kilometers to go we started descending towards the end. This again included some very challenging rocky sections and some very steep down hills. While I am a good climber, I am not too good at going down hill. It may be age, but this resulted in some guys blowing down my neck. I should have just let them past, but as they were not complaining and we were maintaining a good pace, I decided to keep going. That was until I got a very steep down hill with a very sharp right turn. I am not sure what went wrong, but the next minute I went head over heel and ended up in the bushes. Fortunately it was a soft landing and I managed to get going with no injuries except for a bent in my ego!

We took a last few unexpected excursions and after 4:05:54; 60.5 kilometers and 1,611 meters ascent we reached the finish line. I managed 2 in my age group and finished 2:36 in front of Mike, who was once again 3 rd in our age group. Danie finished in a time of 4:30:54.

The Grape Escape Day 1

The Grape Escape is taking place from 28 February until 2 March and the Argus MTB Challenge follows that on Sunday 3 March. I have committed to all four days, so it should be good preparation for the Ride to Rhodes in June.

My friends Mike Smit and Danie Kotze were also scheduled to ride and we agreed to pool travelling to and from the race. On Wednesday evening we loaded all three bikes onto Mike’s car and agreed to leave at 05:15 on Thursday morning for the start at Riebeek Kasteel.

We managed to get going by 05:20 and arrived in Riebeek Kasteel just after 05:25, in good time to unload the bikes and grab some eats for the breakfast that was available.

The race got going promptly at 07:00. The first kilometer was supposed to be a neutral zone, but the pace was anything but “neutral”. By the time we hit the gravel. Mike was gone, I was in the middle of the pack and Danie was towards the back. At 19 kilometers I had to stop to pick up my water bottle when I missed the bottle cage after taking a drink. To make matters worse, somebody rode over it and it, the top popped off and it was empty. Fortunately I had enough water in my backpack. The first 23 kilometers was on district and good farm roads with no major ups or downs, but then we took a right turn and the road suddenly started climbing! The first 3 kilometers was a gentle climb and then we started some serious elevation changes and most of it was going up! During the next 19 kilometers we climbed 554 meters and descended 558 meters. The most difficult ones was a climb of 143 meters in one kilometer and 116 meter in half a kilometer.

The next 14 kilometers were mostly district roads again and then we hit the slops of Groenberg, climbing from 94 to 360 over a distance of 11 kilometer. This also included some nice single tracks, some of it amongst blue gum trees. From then on it was downhill to the finish line, which I crossed after 4:39:51 and 78.47 kilometer and 1,556 meters of elevation gain. Mike finished in a time of 4:28:28 and Danie in 4:55:10. Mike was 3rd and I was 4th in our age group.