We have no electricity!

The electricity went off yesterday due to our streets transformer getting cooked, apparently by a veld fire. Still off this morning. So we got up in the cold (no electric blanket) and dark, donned our headlights and made tea with a gas cooker. All good fun except it reminded me that headlights and gas stoves is going to be eerily normal in 3 weeks time.
Race starts for me on the 18th June and 3 weeks today should find me crawling across the Maluti mountains where it can get really cold. I am not nearly as race fit as I was last year and right now don't feel in good shape at all. What has changed since my dismal failure last year is better body conditioning by way of Pilates classes. 3 lessons a week and an early morning boot camp style PT session has hopefully helped condition my ITB to take the stain of what is actually a ridiculous race.
Last years race, as short as it was for me, has created a problem - "expectation". Day one last year was huge. I rode a huge stretch that has only ever been done by 3 other riders in the history of the race. Now it seems that anything less this year would be considered weak! Now, others who followed last years race expect that they as well as me can match day one's performance and then follow that up with 2 more days to get to Rhodes in 3 days. That is crazy! I seem to recall that only Tim James and Alex Harris have ever managed that. From what I know of Alex Harris he will be looking to push beyond Rhodes in 3 days this year.
Less than 3 weeks seems too close. Sigh!

Thanks for the support

Thank you for the support that has been shown toward raising funds for the Freedom Challenge Scholarship Fund. Many hundreds of thousands in support was realized. From my side, a sizable donation from Snapper Display combined with the donations from a number of individuals through the back-a-buddy web initiative netted R103 200.00. A heartfelt thank you go out to all those who participated in this programme.

I now settle into a new training programme to get ready for this years race that takes place in July.

Work to be done

Although my race is over I still have some unfinished business. The Freedom Challenge Scholarship Fund is a cause that is very close to my heart. The rural education system in South Africa is in a shocking state.
Earlier this year while enjoying a fun ride through the remote Eastern Cape village of Vuvu I came across a number of children on their way to school. Tagging along behind a group of older children were 2 small kids walking hand in hand. Judging from their size and body language I guessed they were probably in their first year of school. They were barefoot and inadequately dressed against the chilly morning air. They had huge satchels on their backs that had the effect of making them look even more diminutive. As I rode passed I was greeted with enthusiastic waves, broad smiles and cheerful faces. Outwardly I smiled back. Inwardly I was struck with a feeling of deep sadness and have to admit my eyes brimmed with tears. These young people had reached the point in their lives where they were old enough to attend school and enter what is supposed to be a defining part of their lives; an education that could potentially liberate them from the shackles of extreme poverty.
My sadness stemmed from the knowledge that the very system they put their trust in would in all likelihood fail them. As a father who has had the privilege of taking each of my 4 children to "big" school on their first day the chilling reality of bad rural education hit home that cold foggy morning. I knew the system was rotten. Just a month before I had spent a few days interviewing teachers, headmasters, students and even a local chief.
There are a myriad reasons why the school system is faulty. From a faulty syllabus, inadequately trained teachers and teachers who don't care through to parents who have themselves experienced the frustration of substandard education and the failed promise and therefore don't comprehend the real potential of an education over family chores and livestock rearing.

I conducted my interviews in the village of Hebron, situated about 15km's outside the town of Matatiele. 2 weeks before that I had been in New York City. After a day spent walking around the bustling concrete metropolis of NYC where I didn't once hear the warmth of human laughter I concluded that it was "a city with a pulse but no heart beat." Merely 2 weeks later after a day in the impoverished village of Hebron I came to the conclusion that it was "a village with a huge heart but its pulse had been critically slowed by poverty." In the words of the local chief "this is the poorest corner of South Africa, the whole economy of this region is driven by government grants."

Yet in this poverty I found a richness of spirit. Among the wreckage of the rural education system I found hope. There are students with outstanding intellectual ability who in the absence of a nurturing environment will wither on the vine of promise.

Last year through the Freedom Challenge Scholarship Fund (FCSF) five young people were transplanted out of the typical rural schooling environment and given the opportunity to complete their last three years of high school at Mariazell. This church based school stands out as a centre of educational excellence. Last year they achieved a 96% pass rate for matric.

I visited the school on a Sunday and found a matric physics class in progress. The teachers at this school use the weekends to catch-up on teaching hours to ensure they get through the teaching syllabus.

Through the funding of the FCSF the 5 students selected last year will enjoy 3 years of tuition including boarding, uniform and stationary costs. The current cost per student for the 3 year period is a mere R30 000.00 It is very reasonable compared to comparative costs in the major cities.

Please take the time to go to the following link to see a short video I put together about the formation of the fund, the selection process and hear what one of the recipients fathers had to say. Near the end of the interview is a short segment from one of the scholarship recipients. http://youtube.com/MJWoolnough

I would like to raise at least R100 000.00 this year toward the FCSF. To that end I am committing myself to matching any donations that flow into the Backabuddy account that has been set up in my name. This site can be accessed at http://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/mike-woolnough I have been labelled a "bleeding heart" by some who think we pay excessive taxes to a government who dish out endless grants. I have looked into the eyes of the young people in the rural areas and I have seen the faint glimmer of hope that all too often is extinguished by indifference and poverty.

Get involved with me and let's make a difference.

Supernova

Day 2 Ntsikeni to Masakala. On what is supposed to be day 3 of my race I am sitting in the sun pecking out this blog. My left leg is useless and my race is over.

The plan yesterday was to stop briefly in Masakala and push on to the next support station at Mahlaghalonyane which I should have made comfortably by 10pm. Unfortunately after leaving the soup stop at Glen Edward yesterday I realised that it was going to be a problem. My left leg started showing signs of what I think is ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome - also referred to as Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome). Knee also a bit swollen and that is puzzling. If you are not familiar with this injury go google it. The long and the short of it is that it is incredibly painful. I have had it only once before and that was on this race in 2009. This year I thought I had done enough training to prevent a reoccurance. To have it flaring up 6 hours into day 1 was a bit disturbing. 8 weeks back I rode from Pietermaritzburg to Rhodes with a full race pack and had no problems. A month ago I raced the 900km joBerg2c without so much of a twinge. All quite bizarre. Might not be Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome at all but it sounds like an impressive injury to have.

Back to my ride yesterday. After leaving Glen Edward I got progressively slower. Jacques, Coen and Gavin were gracious enough to wait for me and even resorted to pushing me. Eventually I was unable to put any weight on my leg so decided it was time to throw in the towel. I made a call and the local chief arranged for transport to fetch me to drive me through to Masakala.
What followed was the scariest car ride of my life. It was dark when the "transport" skidded to a halt beside me. My bike was tossed in the back and off we went. The "transport" was a collection of nuts and bolts masquerading as a bakkie. Every piece of the bakkie was vying for attention as we rattled along the road. It took me a few seconds to realise that the headlights were on. The glow so low that the candle-power scale of luminance is too lofty to assign even 1 CP to what lit the road ahead. I wouldn't ride my bike with lights that bad. Undeterred "Schumie" raced the engine and attacked the road ahead. In spite of the severe pain in my legs I desperately pressed hard against the floor boards as the first tight bend loomed into sight just ahead. Schumie had no intention of slowing and we executed a 4 wheel slide around the corner. All good except for the fact that this is the Eastern Cape and the condition of the roads here are pretty lumpy. It was more like slide/sideways hop combo. The next corner saw us sliding past an oncoming car and nearly taking out a dog sized rabbit which greatly amused the driver and his mate who was wedged in between us. To say I was uncomfortable is an understatement. As I was contemplating my life ending in a car wreck in a remote corner of the Eastern Cape things got worse - the drivers cell phone rang! With a nonchalance that had to be seen to be believed he answered it, spoke briefly, hung up and started pecking away at an SMS. All the while navigating an interesting s-bend at the bottom of a steep hill. At one stage the car stalled on an uphill section. A quick attempt at restarting the engine came to nought as the battery was way passed its use-by-date. The driving tried letting the car roll backwards so he could start the engine and after a few inches it fetched up against something that halted its progress. Undaunted, the driver and friend spilled out the drivers side door to see what the problem was. I had visions of the car suddenly breaking loose and careering out of control down the hill. Fortunately, after a few more minor antics I arrived safely at the overnight stop having suffer no more than 15 minutes of absolute terror.

My race is over and I am disappointed but its ok. This race is amazing. It gives even us ordinary guys an opportunity to go out there and do something interesting, albeit so briefly for me this year.
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Day 1 - Wow!

Day 1. Wow what fun! The press release for the day tells the story:
"Leaving Pietermaritzburg on Sunday morning, current tandem record holder, Mike Woolnough immediately made his intentions clear.  Heading through the Bisley Nature Reserve he rode away from the rest of his starting group.  Despite good weather he was unable to cross the Umkomaas River, swollen with the recent rains and was forced to take a detour.  He climbed with efficiency out of the Hella Hella and arrived at the Allendale support station in the Sisonke District in the early afternoon.  Where those who left Pietermaritzburg before him had stopped, Woolnough pushed on.

By nightfall Woolnough had ridden through the Nxumeni indigenous forest and dropped down to the Umzimkulu River.  He stopped briefly at the historic Centocow Mission before continuing on in darkness to climb the Gxalangene mountain. His progress was slowed when crossing the Ngwangwane River he came to the assistance of a group of three riders who had left Pietermaritzburg a day earlier and who had spent the previous three hours trying to find the route through to the Ntsikeni Nature Reserve. 

Woolnough arrived at Ntsikeni after midnight having climbed in excess of 5500 metres and ridden 210 kms over a period of 19hrs and 30 minutes of near continuous cycling.    After a few hours sleep he left Ntsikeni and is now headed across the upper catchment of the Umzimvubu River towards the Maluti Drakensberg mountains.

Woolnough's effort not only puts him well ahead of the rest of the field, but on par with the 2009 record setting pace of current men's record holder, Tim James. "

Sounds quite epic doesn't it? In practice it was just one ordinary guy with his bike who had a whole heap of fun.

My plan was to just get to Centocow with my brother Sean. We started out together and were joined by Stefan. Sean and Stefan fell behind a bit and were only about 200 metres behind me out of Bisley so I wasn't concerned. I thought they would ride together and catch up on the road through to Meyershoek. As it was I was 5 minutes ahead of them at that point.

After leaving Minerva I got word that Sean was 20 minutes behind and cramping. I carried on at a moderate pace and by midday made it to the Hella Hella bridge. I rode for 30 mins to the first switch back and then walked the next 30 mins.

My left knee started aching a bit as I rode off from the bridge and I assumed it might have taken a bit of a beating from climbing over and around the rocks along the river. After 10 minutes the pain was gone and I had no further problems with it.

I thought I could make the first support station at Allendale by 3pm and after a moderately paced ride I rolled in at 1:52pm way ahead of my best prediction. Had a chat, 2 cups of tea and 2 hot dogs before heading off.

The route through the forest to Donnybrooke took just 90 mins and I stopped to buy a coke. I then pedalled into the next section of forest and had a lovely ride descending into Centocow just after dark.

The idea of stopping before 6pm seemed wasteful as the weather was good and I was having fun. A quick bite to eat and I was off. I took it easy walking up the big climbs and just enjoying the cool but not cold evening.

Just after 8pm I saw some lights in the distance that look like LED's and thought it was a bit odd. There is no electricity in that area so any kind of light stands out. As I got closer I saw the lights were on the route I would be taking so I was interested to see what it was. It turned out to be 3 hapless riders who had been wandering around for hours unable to find their way through the forest. In their defence it must be noted that forestry tracks are some of the most difficult bits to navigate, even during daylight. They hooked on and after 30 minutes we had them out of the forest, over the mountain and safely on the district road. One of their party was struggling so faced with the prospect of being up all night I pointed them in the right direction and pushed on.

After an easy ride with a few walking climbs I made it into the Ntsikeni reserve. The last 9 kms is a real bog-snorkle and not much fun. Nevertheless, I arrive at 01:30am quite satisfied with a job well done.

The thing that struck me the most was how easy it actually was. I think the good weather and friendly riding temperatures made it a whole lot easier. Went to bed well pleased.
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One more big sleep

Game on!. Have arrived in Pietermaritzburg ready to start tomorrow at 6am. We are staying at Aintree Lodge as I have done on 4 previous occasions before starting down the Freedom Trail. News from the guys who started out this morning is that the Umkomaas river is flowing very strong and it's not possible to wade across. This causes a few problems particularly earlier where we have to cross a rocky band close to the river and then we need to ride to the bridge to cross the swollen river. These challenges will add a bit of time on to our riding time tomorrow but shouldn't be a show stopper. Today the first rider to support station 1 got in around 16:20 and the last few souls wandered in just before 8pm. Last guys racked up a 14 hour day. Their route tomorrow will be even harder - ouch! Hopefully we will get to the first support station before 16:00 tomorrow.
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Rain, rain and more snow

Woke up this morning and turned the telly on just to see a picture that reminded me of why this race is a bad idea! The whole country covered in rain clouds. My attention was drawn those parts of the country where I will be pedalling in a few days - delightful! The words "Heavy rain" and "Very cold" were liberally scattered across the route with a good measure of snow to make it all the more exciting! Charming!
Cold is something you can deal with but any form of precipitation sucks! Rain/snow = Mud = Premature bike failure = much gnashing of teeth and frustration and the possibly an early ticket home.
I can just imagine the weather man or lady marking up the map with the words "Heavy rain" and "Very cold" then getting all wobbly with excitement over the marvellous cut-off low developing over the interior. Never mind the poor sods on bicycles that are desperately trying to make the next support station to thaw out and attempt to regain some composure before trudging out the door to do it all again while the weather mans settles down in front of his fireplace with a steaming cup of Milo excitedly watching the 'perfect storm' unfold on the telly.

One week. One weak!

7 days from now I travel down to Pietermaritzburg to start the race. The question in my mind now is - have I done enough to adequately prepare? Race preparation has dominated the last 10 months of my life.

On the physical side I have ridden thousands of kilometres, carried my bike up at least a dozen mountains, done a little trail running, played a bit of squash, tried to get hiking fit and lost 10kg's. I had a good joBerg2c (9 day, 900km stage race) just over a month ago.

For trail preparation I have spent 12 days riding sections of the trail, bought a new bike after my trusty ol' steed failed a few times and fine tuned my equipment.

Still, have I done enough? I guess not, could have done more physical preparation. How much is enough for a race where the weather in all likelihood will determine your final result. Mental strength is probably going to be the determining factor of who wins, who does well and who chucks the towel in and heads home early in this years race.

I have no aspirations of winning the race as there is the best line up of podium wannabe's the race has ever seen. My guesstimate has at least 8 riders looking to break the 13 day 15 hour record. All guesswork as very few people are prepared to openly declare their race strategies. My strategy is simply to do the best I can.

For all my preparation, the one thing I am not adequately prepared for is the cold! How do you train for that? Same old problem - hands and feet! I have ventured out in the early mornings recently and when it gets to minus plenty the extremities get sore. I have adapted my equipment choices in an attempt to be more comfortable but realise that unless one adopts a less aggressive race strategy its going to get a little uncomfortable out there this year!

Another year, another race

New Year, Easter and Christmas - the milestones that mark the passing of the year for most folk. For a small band of mountain bikers there is another significant event that indicates another year has rolled around - The Freedom Challenge.

Yesterday while preparing the number boards for this years event I was struck by the number of people who have entered again.

This years field for both the Ride to Rhodes and the Race Across South Africa has swollen to almost 100 riders of which nearly a third have entered before. 100 riders might seem like a small number of entries but it is large for this event. Approximately 50 will start with the intention of getting to Capetown and the balance will face the challenge of traversing what is the hardest yet most beautiful section of the trail over 6 days.

Just over a dozen of this years RASA entrants have previously wrapped a finishers blanket around their tired shoulders at the finish in the Cape. What makes them come back to do it again? As one of those I battle to make sense of the draw that this event has on me, especially as we roll into winter and the nights get colder and I am reminded of the extreme conditions we face during the race. It is a hard race to prepare for and complete. One previous finisher when asked if it was fun replied "If I want to have fun I can go to Sun City for the weekend - this race isn't fun".
So why do it? Because its there? Everest is there and I have no intention of doing that. Last years winner and back-again-this-year Alex Harris has been up Everest amongst other things but that's not for me. For me, a dyed in the wool Ordinary Cyclist, the Race Across South Africa is the hardest physical challenge I have faced. It is an extraordinary race that is within the grasp of the ordinary athlete who has a heart for the challenge.

Lastly, why do it again?
Not everyone wants to ride it again and some are content to ride it once and tick the box. I had coffee with Tim James (current record holder and winner 2008, 2009) last week and we were talking about the race. He is back for his 4th race this year. He summed up his motivation to come back time and time again which is true of many others - "You need to finish this race knowing you have done the very best you possibly can otherwise you have to come back and do this stupid thing again!"

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Finally at Rhodes

Today was the last stretch for the Rough Ride to Rhodes bunch. Knowing that it was a short day (if a 7 to 9 hour day can be considered short!) and being so cold we opted for a late start at just after 7. If was a chilly start but our spirits were buoyed by the knowledge that the forecast for the day was good conditions. It is an 8km pedal to the start of the 7km portage up the mountain - a route known as Lehana pass. "Pass" is a rather fancy title for something loosely resembling a little used donkey track. Some early morning cloud obscured the sun except for the mountain peaks of Lehana pass which were bathed in sunlight and glistened bright white with the snow on the slopes. Thirty minutes of trekking up the slopes found us walking through the first scattered drifts of snow. By the time we reached the top we were at times knee deep in snow. However there were only smiles and no grumbling as we slogged on under a cloudless sky with no wind. Anton slipped on some ice and gashed his shin badly. He has battled all day to stem the bleeding without much luck but will push on tomorrow.
The trudge through the snow continued until we hit dirt roads after which it alternated between snow, ice, slush and mud until just 15km's from Rhodes it all dried up to yield a perfectly rideable surface. Riding down the long and steep Naudes pass with snow and ice on the road was a little testing. Francois lost his front wheel and got to inspect the ice at close quarters.
We had an end of ride dinner this evening for the Ride to Rhodes guys also attended by the RASA competitors who are overnighting in Rhodes. The Ride to Rhodes finishers were presented with their traditional herdsman whips and some words of encouragement were offered to the RASA lads who continue on tomorrow. This being the inaugural Rough Ride to Rhodes made for a special time around the dinner table. The Ride to Rhodes guys shared exactly the same conditions with full backpacks and only riding the race route where other softer options existed. The R2R and RASA guys who I shared the trail with over the last 6 days were a great bunch with no complaints or moaning. The whole bunch embracing each challenge and revelling in the beauty of their surrounds - except me. I didn't enjoy the first three days of riding as I felt the pain in my body every inch of the way. The last three days were better. The bunch of guys I rode with however made all 6 days worthwhile as the company was fun and uplifting. Over the last few days we have had a few team races where Andre and I compete to find the fastest way to get to a certain point while sticking within the race options. The others would then choose one team or other and compete to win the mini stage. It all ended in a tie by the end but it was always amusing to see who would back who each time we declared a challenge or Andre or I chose different paths. I guess its never fun to back a loosing horse. We will get up early to wish the RASA guys Bon Voyage before making our way home to watch the rest of the race unfold from the comfort of our heated rooms on the screens of our PC's

Ride into a frozen Vuvu

Really cold night at Malaghalonyane last night made it difficult to sleep. Got going just after 6 to be faced with an icy wind blowing off the snow covered mountains. The first 6km's took us 90 mins. The next 6 were all downhill so took no time at all. The wind chill factor of our speed with the sub zero temperatures made our eyes both water and freeze at the same time. It was horrible. The rest of the day went smoothly but it got progressively colder after midday. We arrived at Vuvu School our support station just before sunset after yet another interesting 2 hour trip through the Vuvu valley. It is as remote a valley as you can imagine and not a simple ride. The last section is a climb up a near vertical face that takes at least 30 mins.
I am now snugly wrapped up in bed in one of the locals huts and can hear the wind howling outside. One day left and I am really looking forward to getting it behind me and getting off the bike for a few days.

First Snow

We had a lie in today due to the short section. Only about 60km. We hopped out of bed at 6 for a 7 o'clock breakfast to start at 8. At 7 it started snowing lightly. There was light snow as we left and it was on and off all day. Temperature barely above zero all day. Only excitement of the day was an impromptu race across the Knira flood plain. Riders divided themselves into 2 "teams" following either Mike or Andre. Mike only had one taker (Francois) as he had been riding slow from day 1. By the time Andres team arrived at the Queens Mercy shop the other two had been there for over half an hour.
I had a better day today partly because I have gotten over myself and mostly because I lathered my saddle region with anaesthetic cream. Certainly helped. The snow is widespread and may be a problem in the next few days for us. The mountains around us are covered making it really cold. The guys who hung their washing on the fence went to collect it soon after sunset to find it frozen solid.

Days 2 and 3

Today was much like yesterday in one respect and in another the complete opposite. Yesterday I had no fun on the trail and today was just the same. Yesterday was really hot while today was icy.
My lack of fitness combined with a 10kg backpack and a dysfunctional right pedal makes for a long uncomfortable day. The bits of my body that make contact with the saddle feel like they are both ulcerated and raw. Perhaps just a bit raw. It just hurts so bad that I look forward to portages or any walk for that matter and we have had that in spades. Yesterday due to the hot conditions we had to carefully manage our water resorting to boiling river water at one stage. It was the hottest day I have experienced on the trail in 4 years. We were looking forward to the evening just to cool down. When we eventually arrived at Ntsikeni at 20h30 after 14 and a half hours on the move it was sub zero. The main reason for our late arrival was a navigational error heading into Centacow Mission. There is a lot of active logging in the forest and it changes everything. Collectively our group have been through that section 18 times and we still got it wrong. The remedy to get back on track was a hideous climb over one mountain followed by. A long slog. Cost us nearly 2 hours. Cold start this morning crunching over iced over puddles. Fought our way through the thick grass of Ntsikeni valley. Rode the rest of the day into a strong and freezing head wind. Mountains tops around St Bernards Peak covered in snow. Gawie got tired of the slow pace and set off on his own. He eventually caught up with us having lost his way on the trail as we exited the last single track an hour from making the support station Surprised to find Trevor and Eugene still at Masakala when we arrived. Trevor having experienced problems with his freebody. He has a new pawl which is not the right part by they have managed to grind it into usable shape. They plan an early start. The rest of us are going to sleep in and leave at the civilised hour of 8. Weather tomorrow looks grim. Max of 8 Celsius predicted.

When walking is a great idea

At first glance this concrete "road" looks like the perfect option for descending into the Umkomaas valley. The only problem being that it is too steep to ride down safely so walking is the method of choice. Rather a bizarre "road" as it goes absolutely nowhere!
I really struggled today arriving at the support station after dark for a 12 hour day on the trail. I suspect me troubles are caused firstly by lack of training and secondly by lack of talent. Andre and Francois (Riekert) have been very gracious and waited for me all day

So not ready!

7 hours till the start of the ride and I have only just finished packing my backpack - to be fair I only started on it an hour ago.
Have been so busy at work that I have had no time to prepare. Last night I managed to put new tyres on my bike which was long overdue and then haul out a selection of things (clothing and other assorted paraphernalia) which I spread out on the floor. Getting out of bed this morning I realised I was not going to get everything done for my 8 o'clock lift so canned that idea and decided to take my car instead. I ran out of time so asked my wife if she could chuck my bike and anything else that looked useful into her car and meet me up the road. When she arrived it was pretty obvious that I was never going to be able to shoehorn the stuff she had into my car along with all the race admin stuff I was shipping to the start. Decided to chuck my stuff in her bigger car and head off to Pietermaritzburg.
Arriving at the start venue there was the usual hubbub in getting people registered. I followed that up with a very scratchy pre-race briefing which I had to do.
Finally was able to sort my kit out. Found enough stuff to fill my backpack. Just short of a cell phone charger, some nice-to-have space parts, puncture repair kit and a pump. Probably find some other crucial stuff missing in the next day or two but there is nothing I can do about it now except have a good few hours sleep and then head down the trail and have some fun.

2010 and on the trail again

Fifty, Fat and Fantastically under trained I have just over a week until the start of Ride 2 Rhodes 2010. To be fair I did ride the inaugural 9 day joBerg2c at the end of April so up until a month ago my legs were turning over ok. I guess you could say I have been "tapering" since then. Andre Britz and I are supposed to be the Guardians for the first group starting on 12 June. I say "supposed" because the job of a Guardian is to shepherd the Ride2Rhodes group through to Rhodes with the aid of a vehicle. These riders although riding the same route as the racers going through to the Cape have fixed stops every day and have there baggage ferried forward each day. They are also met along the route each day and are fortified with food and drink. We have decided that our bunch will dispense with the soft touch and ride to Rhodes as if we are doing the full race. This means full backpacks and no comforts and definitely no vehicular support as Andre and I will be riding the route along with everyone else. What this means in practice is that we only had 2 takers. Looking forward to a fun filled week as we are joined by Francois who rode most of the full race with me last year.

Looking back, I can only smile...

As you have probably deduced from Mike’s blog, things got pretty nasty out there and the race ended up being a lot harder than we were expecting. The tandem really made things hard for us and every day we wrestled with it to get through the stages. It was mainly because it was so heavy, I guess and the fact that tired legs and heavy bikes don’t work well together.

We were expecting to struggle on the portages but actually made up time on the others over most of the portages (except Stettyns). Mike would play mule up front with the bungee attached to his backpack and I would push, pull and wrangle from behind and the technique worked really well as long as the bush wasn’t too thick or the trail too steep. When things did get steep or bushy, carrying was the logical option.

We also had a slight advantage on some of the more technical downhills, where the tandem with its long wheel base and grippy tyres enabled us to ride where others were walking. (We didn’t gain much in time but definitely had more fun on these bits)

The uphills are what really nailed us though, those long, grinding, granny gear climbs that went on for k’s at a time. Where the others were spinning in granny at 5-6km/h we were working really hard to maintain 4-5km/h and it was less effort to just walk at 3-4km/h. Everyday had plenty of long climbs and when the weather turned bad and the surfaces became wet and muddy, things got even slower. Thick sand was also not kind to the tandem – we would approach sandpits looking for tyre tracks that floated over the top, only to try and follow them and suddenly come to a dead stop. The weight of the bike and riders meant we instantly got bogged down and had to walk.

The fact that we had to walk so much is what ultimately led to the injuries. Eventually Mike’s knee/ITB was so bad that it hurt him while riding or walking and he really had to grit his teeth for us to keep moving forward. His determination impressed me and I was amazed at how he pressed on every day and often late into the night. Some days though we just had to stop short and rest. This usually worked out well enough as the following day we would have good legs again and play catch up by putting in a long day. On more than one occasion, by stopping short we actually dodged some of the bad weather which was an unexpected bonus.

Our technical problems with the hub were due to the failure of 3 of the 5 bolts that hold the left side of the hub together – the bolts sheared off and this created enough play to upset the shifting mechanism housed in the hub and to allow oil to start leaking out. This meant we lost our bottom 7 (easy) gears and rear brakes (due to oil spilling onto the back rotor) Unfortunately this meant a long walk up Swartberg Pass and cautious descending down into Gamkaskloof. On the flipside, we got to really take in the views of the surrounding, snow dusted peaks and we even had time to build a snowman. Thanks to everyone involved in the rescue mission to get the spare back wheel to us – Johan, Gavin, Steven and Tim – it was great to finally have a working bike again and we had no further issues after that. I would use exactly the same geared hub again in the future, it never froze up in the cold and performed flawlessly in all the mud, where others were struggling with incessant chain suck, bent hangers and mangled derailleurs. The only ‘maintenance’ we performed was to spray off the mud now and again and lube the chain. (If I had to guess at what caused the failure, I’d say that the high loads being applied when we were (briefly) hammering across the rough, corrugated roads outside Willowmore may have had something to do with it but then again, it could just have been bad luck...)

After finishing this year, I came to the conclusion that despite the challenges of doing it on the tandem, this race is just hard. If you want to try and race it, it's going to hurt and you will have to spend most of the time camped well outside your comfort zone. (hats off to Tim for his remarkable effort, he really put himself through a lot of hardship to do what he did.) I also realised though that if you were to ride it a stage per day, it could be a totally enjoyable undertaking. We had some great days where it was a real pleasure to be moving through the remote countryside on a bike. Even bad weather couldn’t spoil the fun on these days.

We also met many interesting people along the way and it amazed me how they have chosen to live their lives in some of the most remote parts of the country, taking nothing for granted, surviving off the land and yet seem totally content in doing so. We experienced real country hospitality and genuine friendliness from all of our hosts and it often made it harder to leave the next morning.

We both found that during a typical day on the trail, one goes through many ups and downs, both physically and mentally. During those times when you are really hating it, you just have to keep going, knowing that the feeling will pass and things will improve again. On the tandem you can sense when your partner is going through a rough patch like this and then it's up to you to dig deeper and work a bit harder or try to be more positive, knowing that when you are struggling, your partner will do the same for you. When you are both struggling at the same time, it’s really hard but that sense of mutual responsibility keeps you moving forward, however slowly. I think the best moments for us coincided with the times when we both felt strong at the same time – on these days we rode well together and were really enjoying ourselves.

Highlights of the trip for me were riding across the top of Black Fountain on those brilliant singletracks; relaxing at Slaapkranz after a short day’s riding (with Andre the farmer and his dog Jesse); the day after Stuttgart when we just managed to sneak over Struishoek as it was getting dark (great nav. Mike) and our 2^nd last day riding from Montagu to Trouthaven, when we were joined by Steve and the entertaining duo of Marnitz and Carl. Actually there were many more highlights along the way, every day had its moments. There were moments of bleakness too: the long, dark and freezing cold night riding into Chesneywold; those old railway tracks before Brosterlea; the toothache at Romansfontein, the sore knees from pushing big gears; fixing a puncture in the freezing rain; the seemingly endless sandpits around Anysberg…..

A week has passed since we finished and getting back to normal life has been interesting. My thoughts are always drifting off to something that happened out on the trail and I just can’t seem to get enough food in. I’ve only had one night of decent sleep so far, waking up a few times during the night seems to be the new norm. I’ve also had to resort to a few urgent power-naps at strange times of the day to keep going. I guess it will all pass and things will eventually get back to how they were before.

But things can never be exactly as they were before. There are so many memories and moments from the ride that will crop up as reminders of better or worse times, so many new people met along the way whose words and ways stick in your mind and so many places that we passed through on our little adventure that inspire you to go out and discover even more…..

Thanks Mike for the adventure and for being a fun riding partner. Well done for keeping going when it hurt and for keeping the blog going through it all so that the fans at home could share it with us.

Last Word

Back at work going through my email - doesn't compare to being on the trail.

As hard as the ride was this year I have not been traumatised sufficiently to declare "NEVER AGAIN!" Far from it. We had a big undertaking this year and were brutalised by our non-compliant mount, but as I sit here I am already mentally planning my next Race Across South Africa.I would love to do this race again - on a normal bike. The difficult portages of the Umkomaas and Vuvu valleys as well as Stettynskloof are just begging to be revisited and I can't wait to hack my way through them again.

But where to get the time again? The race is only 3 weeks long whereas the training and preparation steals 6 months of your life, tearing you from loved ones, friends and work. This time is hard to factor in to your day to day existence.

Now that we are out of the saddle I have stopped taking anti-inflamatory's and now all the aches and pains are evident. They are remnants of the battle behind and the victory gained in the face of adversity. Every twinge is a sweet reminder of where we were and what we were doing just a few days before. You have to love this race. It teaches you so much about this great land, its people, oneself and your fellow competitors. Years of gained experience crammed into a few short weeks.

My brother also rode this year finishing yesterday. Now when I chat to him about Vuvu, Mahlekhalonyane, Osseberg or any of the many previously unknown places along the way he too will be able to visualise the exact location and relive the beauty and challenge of passing that way.

To all of you who read the blog/posted comments or SMS'd us along the way - thank you. Blogging is tough work when you are exhausted. Knowing that it held some value to people following the race made it all worthwhile.

Final Day

Today all we had to do was get through Stettynskloof and then make our way through to Wellington to cross the finish line. For those of you who are not familiar with the Stettynskloof portage, it is a completely natural 7 km rocky valley where there is no activity except the occasional team who come through to remove the alien Hakea that have invaded the valley. The natural vegetation includes millions of proteas, river reeds and a whole host of fynbos varieties. It looks beautiful until you start moving through it. There is an ill defined path that runs about half way up, after that you are on your own. The bush is so thick in places that it can take 20 minutes to cover 20 or 30 metres. We got off to a bad start when the rocky terrain disagreed with my gammy leg. I had barely covered 500 metres before being reduced to a whimp. Glenn did an amazing job today. He basically moved the tandem through the kloof on his own. He alternated between pushing it and carrying it on his shoulders while I limped along behind. Hauling it up the steep final climb was an awesome feat.
While in the valley we detoured to have a look at the Shackleton air crash site. To see all the debris scattered about is a bit eerie. People died here and the mangled remains of something built to fly lying in a remote valley is sad.
We exited the 7 km valley in about 8 hours 30 mins and took another 3 hours to the finish where David said a few kind words and Earle Wakeford ( I rode with him in 2007) presented up with our finishers blanket.
The race is over and a tandem record set. The job is done. We rode it a few days slower than we should have but perhaps that is better as the bar has been set low enough to entice the next pair to have a crack at beating it.
Glenn has been a great riding partner. It takes a special combination for two people to slog away at a race like this for 21 days. In our case it worked well as not a single word was uttered in irritation or anger over the whole race. They say that if you can ride a tandem in a race and remain friends afterwards then you are truely friends. After a 21 day race of this nature that makes your friendship really special. Thank you Glenn for making this possible.

Day 20 - Montagu, McGregor, Kasra, Trouthaven

Just over15 hours today, 165km. Leaving Montagu this morning I was stuck by the number of lit dwellings on the farmlands. We have become accustomed to seeing lights at intervals exceeding an hour and sometimes for 8 or 9 hours. After dropping down Ouberg Pass yesterday ( a continuous 20km + run ) there has been a dramatic change in the landscape and weather. It is noticeably warmer and the short scrub typical of the karoo has been replaced by mass cultivation, particularly grape vines. Francois had mechanicals today. His rear axle seized up. Yesterday he got a bike shop to sort a few things out on his bike and it seems they got it a bit wrong. Last I heard he went to find the closest farmer to get some tools to sort it out. As I write he has yet to rejoin us.
We have been joined by Carl, Marnitz and Steve. They caught up with up last night and we are travelling together today. Steve got his bike sorted out in Willowmore and joined the others and has been riding with them since. Carl and Marnitz have called a truce and are now riding together and enjoying their ride.
Leg is better today after good rest and sleep. I iced my ankle and knee and strapped the ankle and am actually enjoying the riding today - for the first time in many days. We are riding much faster today and attacking hills that we previously would have walked. Mostly because it is now less painful to pedal than walk.
Looking forward to finishing tomorrow.

Day 19 - Finally some sleep in Montegu

By the time we arrived in Montagu at 11h30 this morning we had been on the road for over 30 hours. We had only covered 220km since leaving Die Hell at 5am yesterday. We lost precious time struggling with the damaged hub which was only sorted out by the time we had been on the road for 11 hours. Going up Die Leer took longer than single bike as expected. Our run from Rouxpos to Anysberg was frustrating as the jeep tracks often ran along stream beds which the tandem just wallows in. The long walk in and out of Die Hell with a crippled bike was felt in my legs and ankles in particular. We arrived at Anysberg nearly 3 hours later than expected. Glenn had done all the front work up to that stage and opted for the rear seat on the way out of Anysberg to Montagu. I only managed 2 km's before it became apparent that neither my legs nor arms were up to the job. At this stage Francois suggested a 10 minute power nap. Setting the alarm for 10 minutes we lent back on our packs and feel asleep instantly. Waking up we continued our assault on the most uninspiring jeep track you could hope to find. The total length of the track in and out of Anysberg is 66 soul destroying km's. By the time we found better riding my right leg was wasted. My ITB was screaming for mercy and the tendons in my ankle were so sore they rendered the leg useless. Glenn had to dig deep and drag my wasted carcass into town. Our 30+ hour effort reduced to entertainment for onlookers rather than a cunning tactical manoeuvre. Instead of catching a few hours sleep and heading onto the final support station of the race we have accepted that we will have to take an extra day so have stopped to lick our wounds.
We will leave "all nighters" to the pro's in future. But hey, how many people do you know who have witnessed 2 sunrises on a single ride? It is Glenn's birthday today so that was my gift to him. We are currently sitting in a time-warped 1980's era Wimpy in downtown Montagu wondering "What were we thinking?"

Day 18 - Die Hell, Rouxpos, Anysberg

It is now 3 in the morning. We have been moving since 5 yesterday morning. We are sitting around the table debating the merits of pushing on to Montegu another 6-7 hours up the road. We have been moving for 22 hours already and are a bit tired. We got a slow start this morning with the tandem still crippled. Glenn impressed up with his skills going up The Ladder. For a large part of it he hoisted the bike on his shoulders and walked up the near vertical face. At about 1pm we found Tim James next to the road with our new back wheel. We got it on but didn't have the right tools to fit the disk rotor. We rode to the next support station without rear brakes where Tim promptly got to work modifying the disk so we could make a plan. He ground off a few bits and on it went! All this while we got some food into our mouths. Thanks Tim. Thanks to to Gavin Dex in Jhb for getting the wheel shipped at short notice. Big thanks to Steven Thomas for collecting the wheel and getting it to Tim who then drove it through to us. Thank you Tim. And a thank you to Johann Rissik for getting the rescue underway.
We have lost a day with the hub failure and it looks unlikely that we can get it back. Riding here has been hard work. Lots of sand and constantly having to change riding lines has added few hours to our travelling time.

Day 17 - Prince Albert to Die Hell.

Took us 10 hours to cover about 65km today. That did include 1 hour of parking off in the sun drinking tea and later stopping to make a snowman. Our bike is wounded. The hub is not working. We don't have the 7 low gears so have to walk every uphill. To make matters worse the hub is now leaking oil which is getting on the rear brakes rendering them completely useless. The downhill sections today were hectic so we stopped a few times to clean up the rear disk. To do this we scoured them with fine mud whick we then rinsed off. Worked well.
We wanted to push on to the next support station after this one today but when the gears packed up we had to change our plans. Unfortunately there is no cell reception where we are so could not communicate our intentions. Thank goodness Francois rode on ahead and got it sorted. He arrived just before the info office closed. They had made no arrangements for us to stop for the night even though this is supposed to be an official support station. Another race office short coming. This is not a place you want to arrive at to find it in darkness without a clue of what to do next. This place is wierd. Once you enter the gate you ride for nearly 15km down a jeep track through thick vegetation to the info office that keeps normal working hours. They only had lunch packs for us and no breakfast or drinks. Fortunately I have tea, coffee, condensed milk and half a dozen packets of instant oats so we are well set.
We are hoping to get our spare rear wheel tomorrow which should have been shipped from JHB today. The last thing I did was give Johann Rissik the details of what needed doing to make it possible. When he drove off that was our last contact with the world as we left Vodaland. We are hoping to get an early start to get out of this hole via Die Leer so that we can get the bike sorted. After wallking every uphill today we are desperate to get moving and get done with this race as soon as possible. As soon as we have cell phone reception we can see what happens next to fix the bike. I am hopeful that all relevant parties will pull a rabbit out of the bag and we can get on our merry way sooner rather than later.

Musing from atop a mountain pass

10h30 Tuesday 30th June. Here we sit on top of the Swartberg Pass drinking coffee. It it amazing how your race can suddenly change. 24 hours ago we were mapping out our final assault on the finish. Today we are chilling in the sun with the finish tucked away in the back of our minds. Our "trusty" Rohloff is broken. We have instituted a rescue plan but it will take time to take effect. In the mean time we are relaxing for the first time since the race started. The mountains around us are truley majestic, regally draped in snow.
The 3 of us travelling together (us and Francois) have come to the same conclusion - this race has not been fun. There has been an hour here or there that we enjoyed but overall it has been arduous. The tandem has been harder than we imagined and the weather has been tougher on us than in the 2007 race. Add the new tougher routing of the race and I would have to say that a par finish to my day 21 finish in '07 would be a day 23 finish.
The race for the podium is over. Tim is chilling this morning after a great race. Andrew has clinched an impressive 2nd spot in the cycle event while he waits for the paddling leg of the Extreme Triathlon. Sure there are clouds over the adherence and application of race rules etc. but the race director needs to tidy those up. We are just hoping to finish to law down a tandem record for others to aim at. Behind us Carl and Marnitz are engaged in there own personal battle for bragging rights. Francois summed it up in 4 words 2 days ago. "this rubbish must end!" (ed. One word changed to make it suitable for sensitive blog readers). I think this sentiment resonates with most riders at this stage of the race.
While I am rambling on I must tell you a little about the changing country side and the economic realities of farming. We have come across no wealthy farmers. At best they live normal middle class lives. There was a time when a livestock farmer could make a living off of 1000 hectares of land, and that in the good grazing areas. The carrying capacity of farms in the Molteno/Cradock region with good grazing is 1 hectare per sheep. As we moved south it changed to 3 hectares per sheep and in the Willowmore area it is 5-7 hectares per sheep. In the 1 hectare per sheep regions the farmers were suggesting that 5000 hectares is the viable size of farm to make a living. So when you need more hectares per sheep you need so much more land. That would explain why the occupied farm houses are many kilometres apart.
Coffee is done. Now to amble along and sleep in Die Hell tonight.

Day 16 - Willowmore to Prince Albert

172 km day in 14 hours. Better than the nearly 20 hours it took us to do a similar distance yesterday. Given the terrain and weather conditions today was rather pathetic. The day was good and the route flat. But we do have a handful of excuses. Firstly, we are seriously sleep deprived. Blogging instead of sleeping doesn't help but the 'fans' are demanding.
Secondly, riding the beast is hard on the butt and regular butt breaks are necessary.
Thirdly, riding up front is hard work when every inch of the riding line has to be carefully picked and ridden, particularly at night when it is hard to differentiate between sand, mud and the good stuff. It takes about 5 minutes for your shoulders to start cramping. It feels like someone is pushing a blunt knife into your shoulder blades. I have piloted the bike for over 5000km in the last 6 months and it still works me over. Nursing my ITB problems in the past week has meant Glenn has had to captain the beast for the best part of each day. Today he was feeling a bit off colour so I took control for the last 4 hours and my shoulders and neck ache.
Lastly, the Rohloff hub our secret weapon for trail reliability failed! This must be a world first. These things are supposed to be bullet and bomb proof. We have lost 6 gears in our range of 14. We have 1 and then 8 - 14. So we can crawl up hills or ride flats and downhills. Johann Rissik the 'go to guy' in Prince Albert leapt at the chance of fiddling with a legendary Rohloff and rinsed and filled the hub with new oil. Will see how that works in the morning. Hopefully all will be good. Failing that we need to make a plan to get our spare one out of the store room back home and onto the bike. Going to make tomorrow a rather long day if it aint fixed. At worst it will give us a good excuse for the longs days and extended walking sessions.
The right knee is still very sore. By the time I get into the support station I hobble around in pain. But only a handful of days left so must just suck it up.

Day 15 - Cambria to Willowmore

19 hours 45 mins! Today we started at 04h30 with the objective of getting to Willowmore which is the support station beyond Damsedrif. It is a long double of 175km that should have taken about 16 hours. A gentle rain fell for the first 8 hours and we squelched through sticky wet clay for the last 25km. To add to our troubles my knee started hurting badly at the 70km mark leaving us to struggle along for the balance of 105km. We eventually rode into a freezing cold Willowmore at 15 minutes after midnight. Now to catch 40 winks and ride the 170km across to Prince Albert in the morning. My butt is tender, my shoulder is sore and my leg aches something horrible and I can barely walk on it without wincing. Today was incredibly tough.

Day 14 - Bucklands to Cambria

12 hours today. Battled to get going but finished feeling strong. Weather was great today. In places it was hot enough to have just a short sleeved riding shirt on. Big haul out of the river valley, 400 metres of climbing in 3 km. Ride across and down the osseberg was awesome. Glenn's technical skills are impressive. I just sat at the back and made a point of not looking at the track. The last bit through the river valley includes wading through the river no less than 11 times in about 5 km. Once my feet are cold and wet the fun runs out.

Day 13 - Toekomst to Bucklands

Today was in total contrast to yesterday. We were on the road for 11 hours today which included a 45 minute lunch stop as well as a 45 minute siesta next to the track. The track side snooze was unplanned. We stopped riding and I sat down resting against my back pack enjoying the warm sun and promptly nodded off.
We started the day with the stars bright against a cloudless canopy. The temperature was well below zero but the wind was not blowing for a change. The surface had dried out and it was possible to ride. Only snag being that we had no riding legs! We just trundled along slowly making sure we got to the next support station before dark.
Glenn has a swollen knee from his fall the other night as well as toothache which he has been suffering from for 4 days now. My knee was a bit sore today and my butt is really uncomfortable in the saddle. I have even started using anesthetic cream to stop the pain and it helps a bit.
Well riding today we found a Kudu stuck in a fence. It had obviously tried to jump the fence and got its back leg trapped in the top 3 strands. There were signs of it trashing around trying to get free. By the time we came past it just lay there exhaused. Francois freed its back leg and we left it to recover.
I heard a funny riding account that is worth passing on. Dave Barr is riding with the batch A riders that we are moving with. A few days back he raced ahead to get to a gate to open it so that the others could simply ride through without stopping. He overlooked the fact the the gate was paired with a cattle grid. While he was fiddling with the gate to open it, the others simply rode through the grid opening much amused by his antics.

Day 12 - Van de Venterskraal to Toekomst

Soft day today. Too much wind, too much mud and too much cold rain to be fun. To add to our misery we sustained a side wall gash of the front tyre at speed less than an hour into the ride. Sorting that out in the pouring rain with an artic wind blowing a gale really tested my resolve.
We do carry a spare tyre but we have a DIY tubeless setup ("homeless tubeless" using a 20 inch BMX inner tube as a tubeless strip) with deep section rims (downhill spec) just getting the tyre off the rim is hard work requiring 3 extra strength tyre levers. I swear the cold must have shrunk the tyre because it didn't cooperate. Then we had to decide if we should put an inner tube in or try go tubeless with our spare. With all the thorns around an inner tube is not a good option. With our setup not being genuine tubeless we always face the possibility of the tyre not sealing on the rim even with an inflator. In the end we just opened the tyre sufficiently to stick a patch on the inside wall over the 1 cm cut. Fortunately it worked and we were on our way in 20 minutes. 20 mins sounds excessive but we don't have quick release skewers. To get the front wheel off you need to remove no less than 8 bolts. Glue and patches don't like water so Glenn used an emergency blanket to make a "tent" to keep the elements at bay. Then it took an age for the glue to dry sufficiently to apply the patch. We tried to speed up the process by lighting the glue - an old Indian trick taught to me by old man Pillay at my local bike shop - but with all the wind the lighter was as much use as lock-jaw! While all this was going on the rain was streaming down, we were getting covered in mud and our fingers were turning to ice lollies. Shivering from the cold we then had to scramble up a path that was as slippery as fresh snot. Knowing the route is a pleasure because after all this excitement it only took us about 20 minutes to catch up with the guys ahead.
This is our third mechanical problem. Two days ago we tore a valve stem. Yesterday I had difficulty trying to clip into the left pedal on a fast, bumpy descent. At the bottom I discovered that the pedal casing was "missing in action" and only the shaft was left. We had the good sense to bring a spare pair of pedals so that was a 2 minute fix.
So far our Rohloff hub has worked well. Mud is ugly and takes no prisoners with the drive train. If we were using a conventional "cassette derailleur" setup I have no doubt that the mud would have caused it to fail. As it is, our Rohloff "gear box" is doing good. We push big torque through the pedals. Today we were wheel spinning on a slope without moving forward. Already some riders have experienced drive train failure and I expect many more will. The wear and tear brought about by riding in mud can reduce a bike to trash in a single day. In a multi-week event like this mud can be a race ender.
At the end of todays ride we only covered a paltry 50km in 6 hours. Arriving in Toekomst we were easily seduced by the promise of laundry and good food. Having to layer up for the weather makes your clothes stink. Arriving late last night meant no washing. The next 2 support stations don't offer washing facilities and quite frankly I have gotten to the stage of finding the odour of my clothes repugnant! The other factor mitigating against moving on is our tactical options. The next support station in 100km ahead, which in wet conditions would mean another long night. Only got 5 hours of sleep last night and the leg is starting to twinge again from todays mud ride. Going to recharge here for today be then re-charge!
The race this year has been more arduous than previous years because of the weather and the extra "interesting" bits the race director has added. Some of them described as "mostly rideable" but aren't! One of the other riders staying here today commented "I just want to ride my bike!" Sounds like a reasonable request for a mountain bike race doesn't it?

Day 11 - Stuttgard to Van der Venterskraal

Yesterday was a miserable day with leg problems. Last night I spoke to Doc Rudi who explained that the recommended treatment for acute ITB was rest but that that was obviously not possible. He then said I should do the following: Ice, Stretch, lower my saddle a bit, change my shoe set up to be more heal in and then take some Voltaren. What a difference one night and some good advice can make. After limping along yesterday, today we came out firing and knocked off 150km's of riding. It did take 16 hours but the terrain today was tough. Lots of walking up steep mountains. Unrideable sections and a steep rocky descent that took an hour. The wind today was unbelievably strong and cold, but at least there was no rain or snow.
This is thorn country. Found a HUGE one today that must be nearly 20cm long. They don't come bigger than that.
After pushing through the first support station today we got to the start of the Struishoek portage at last light. Francois was a little anxious and with good reason. Last year he and a few others spent hours lost on the mountain there at night. That has been the case with a few riders in the part few years. Struishoek by night was the perfect remedy for Francois. The whole thing took just over an hour. The only excitement came from Glenn. The only point that we differ on is what is rideable. Glenn believes every thing can and should be ridden. My view is that caution is sometimes more important than bravery. At least I an not the one with a huge gash on my knee from trying to ride down Struishoek at night.
We are now well into the second half of the race and are still well placed, top 5 I think. Don't really know what is happening with the rest of the field but believe there are a few bunches trying to chase us down. All good fun and we intend to keep the fun going as long as possible.
For all the aches and pains Glenn and I laugh a lot. We are starting to enjoy the race a bit more now as the terrain starts to suit us more. The mountains up to now have brutalised us. We have portaged as fast if not faster than most people over the mountains but at huge physical cost. We have also hauled the beast over countless fences and gates without any help, not because we won't get help but because it is not fair to make other people suffer for our choice of mount for this race.

Day 10 - Elandsberg to Stuttgardt

Today was horrible! Early in the ride my right knee started hurting. Pedalling was impossible without experiencing intense pain. To add to our woes the wind is howling. Riding into the wind is draining. We then had problems with the one tyre. Somehow the valve stem tore and we had to replace our home made tubeless conversion. It actually went rather quickly. Eventually the pain in my knee was so bad we resorted to walking more than riding. The last 15km over fairly flat terrain took over 2 hours. We ended up riding only half the intended distance and have gone to ground in the hope of me recovering sufficiently to continue tomorrow. The alternative does not excite me. There have already been 5 withdrawals from the race and I don't want to add my name to that list.

Day 9 - Romansfontein to Elandsberg

13h30. Owing to a professional foul committed the previous day ( we diverted around a portion of the route due to thunder storms ) we were only allowed to leave the support station at 10am, effectively a 4 hour penalty. The 4 riders who left at 6am found themselves coming off a huge mountain when the mother of all thunderstorms rolled through the area. At this time we were having a leisurely breakfast at the farm house. Just after 10am we ambled out the farm. The climb up Aasvoelberg is relatively simple. It is a stiff walk but there is a basic jeep track to follow. Along the way we met the farmer who was driving down from the top. He had given up trying to find his sheep because of poor visibility. He said were were lucky it wasn't snowing. He thought it was going to start the next day if not that very day. We then found some of his amusing sign boards while walking up. At the top visibility was down to 30 metres and the wind speed must have been around 70-80 km/h. It was freezing cold. We scuttled off the mountain as fast as we could down the Hofmeyer 100 miler horse trail route. Glenn will try ride anything so I sat at the back and clung on for dear life! We then headed off to Hofmeyer. Not very fast it must be said. A few days back I started showing symptoms of ITB in my right knee. I suspect it was caused by all the portaging we did in the first week. The pain when pedalling is intense. I have strapped it to reduce the pain but it still aches. When arriving at the support station last night I could barely walk on it. We arrived in Hofmeyer well after dark, 30km short of the next support station. Between us and a warm bed was a portage around the Elandsberg mountain. We popped into the Hofmeyer hotel and snacked on hamburgers and chips washed down with hot tea. Leaving HofmeyerwWe finally arrived at the Elandsberg support station 20 minutes shy of midnight. Navigating through that tricky portage was the highlight of my trip so far and I was pleased with my efforts. My travelling companions were not as impressed. They reckoned we should have slept in town and done the portage in the morning instead of wasting good sleep time.

Day 8 - Vaalbank to Romansfontein

A day to remember; a day to forget! Thunderstorms, rain, sleet, wind, mud and freezing conditions all combined to make today a hard miserable experience. We spent 15 hours in awful conditions.
To add to our difficulties both Glenn and I have developed knee injuries. I have the painful symptoms of ITB of my right knee and Glenn is experiencing acute pain located under his left knee. On the bright side we still have a good pair between us. Walking and riding are painful. I strapped my knee with duct tape which helped. The bad weather has affected the entire field. What was once an easy day (if 11 hour cycling days can be considered easy) is now a 15 to 16 hour ordeal. I suspect that a number of riders will consider shorter days opting to stay at intermediate stations until the weather lifts. Even the mighty Tim James has been affected by the weather.
Am hoping that by morning I am no longer hopping. We need to press on tomorrow to drop into the karoo to escape the possibility of snow.
As I lie in bed typing this I am aware of the thunderstorm raging outside.

Day 7 - Slaapkranz to Vaalbank

11h30 today. Day started with back to back mountain portages. The first 20km's took us 4h15 by which time we were clear of both mountains. Superb downhill riding by Glenn made short work of the Bontehoek descent and a mockery of the comment made by one of the competitors last year who complained that there was no reward for the climb as the descent was unrideable. To be fair he did walk 50 metres of it. I chose to remain off the bike for most of it and was rewarded with a good show. Later it got cold and drizzly so wasn't much fun. Tim and 2 others came into Slaapkranz last night. They started the day about 10 minutes after us and eventually caught up with us about 15km after the last portage. Tim has pushed on from here and will probably ride until midnight or a bit later to make the next stop. We are content to sleep here and move forward in day light tomorrow. Weather looks like it is deteriorating with strong winds predicted over the next few days. Weather is looking similar to what we experienced in the same area in 2007 during the race and it turned to snow which was no fun. We need to get off the high ground and drop into the karoo quickly to avoid to snow. Even then, there is one portage in the karoo that was snowed in during 2007.

Day 6 - Chesneywold to Slaapkrantz

Short day. We took 5 hours to cover 36km today with one portage. Started out with minus 3 degrees this morning. The ground blanketed in frost. We don't have legs today after yesterdays hard ride. There are 2 huge postages between us and the next support station and the prospect of hauling the Beast over 2 mountains and getting to the next support station late at night was enough to convince up that an early day with adequate recovery time was a better option. My toes are aching and my saddle area is tender. Riding a tandem means spending a lot of time walking up hills and when in the saddle it is just that - in the saddle. Standing and pedalling or even free wheeling is all but impossible. So with bruised toes, a tender butt and a shoulder that took a knock yesterday I am not in good shape. Fortunately I was able to convince Glenn to take a short day. We are still 1 day ahead of my race in 2007 so we are doing ok. Hopefully by morning we have some fight back in us.

Day 5 - Vuvu to Chesneywold

15 hour day. We started the day by scuttling up Lehana ahead of everyone else. We did start about 10 mins ahead of the next couple of riders but managed to hold that gap. This achievement wasn't without a price. The tandem is heavy and difficult to portage with and we paid the price ending th day totally wasted. We were first to arrive in Rhodes. After a quick lunch we headed off to Chesneywold a further 68km up the road. We walked plenty of hills and managed to get in before the other 4 who followed us from Rhodes. The temperature dropped below freezing and made the last 15km seem like a lifetime. Eventually rolled in at 21h30. We were happy to be out of the cold and off the bike.

Day 4 - Malekhalonyane to Vuvu

12 hours today.
Day started at 05h10 with 8 of the riders from Batch A who we have caught up with. Getting out of the support station was tricky. The Batch A riders going to Cape Town went off on their own mission and took a bit longer than us to get off the ridge. At one stage they were a few hundred metres from us and then we never saw them again. When I left the others to go to bed at 20h30 they were not yet in at the support station. More about that just now. We were really slow for the first hour to the start of the Black Fountain single track section arriving there after the Ride to Rhodes riders. They didn't have to drop off the ridge line and simply rode out of the support station on the public road. Given the difficulty of getting off the ridge they were about 3 km's ahead of up when we hit the public road. We past them crossing the river and they eventually caught up. Th conditions this morning were horrendous for navigating. Th narrative is visually based, such as "head up to the water tanks on th ridge above the village". The whole landscape was covered in thick fog. Fortunately we knew our way across the valley having done it on 3 previous occasions. The other 3 riders then joined us for a fast ride through the single track section. They seemed to enjoy the riding as they didn't have to deal with the challenges of navigativion and could just focus on the fun of riding a stunning part of our country. Eventually we had to head down the Vuvu valley. The Rhodes riders didn't have to ride the valley so made their way to Vuvu on the public road arriving a full hour ahead of us even though they rode nearly twice as far. Neither Glenn nor I have ridden the Vuvu valley before and were a little apprehensive about it given the tales told by previous valley explorers. It was horrible. The navigational challenges are enormous with plenty of scope for big mistakes. It is unpopulated, overgrown and often has no obvious tracks to move down. As mentioned earlier the other riders had not emerged from the valley more than 3 hours after dark. It is a nasty entirely unnecessary section that is going to get people in trouble. I do not want to get stuck in that valley after dark. One rider chose not to in through and used the public road instead incurring a time penalty which is a far more sensible option if you suspect you might not emerge before dark. As it is we got out with only 30 mins to spare which is tight. Having now completed only 5 of the 27 sections of the race I must say the changes to the route since I did it in 2007 have raised the level of difficulty to the point that the average person is going to battle to complete the event without incident. Tomorrow we take on the big portage of Lehana which we expect to be difficult given the challenges of man handling the tandem over obstacles.

Day 3 - Banchory to Malekhalonyane

14 hour day today. We arrived at Masakala at 12h30 after a good ride through the Taylorville single track and left again 20 mins later and raced through Queens Mercy arriving on the ridge line above Malekhalonyane just as it was getting dark. Eventually made our way off the mountain and arrived just after 8.

Day 2. Centacow to Banchory.

Hard day. Only covered 86km in 14 hours. Climbed some big stuff today. Legs are tired. Lack of sleep is showing. Only had 4h30 sleep in the past 2 days. Stopped at an intermediate support station and had a good meal, hot bath and had laundry sorted out. Thanks to Martin and Margie of Banchory for wonderful hospitality. Had a couple of low speed spills today. The first was interesting as I got stuck under the bike and Glenn got stuck in a bramble bush. We both needed help to get out and the others just looked on laughing and taking pictures. Our bodies are sore all over. Every muscles is under the impression that they are entitled to an opinion, and they are all voicing them. This barn door on wheels (supposedly a tandem) is hard work. It has yet to buy into our vision of getting to Cape Town as easily as possible. It clearly has no intention of moving forward without putting up a fight .

Coffee time in the mountains

It is now 07h30. We have been on the go for 3 hours so far. Most of it uphill. Our method for hauling the Beast up the mountains is to tie a bungy cord to the bars and then connect it to one of our back packs. Currently enjoying a cup of coffee courtesy of my little stove. Sun is coming up and the temp is 5 degrees

Day 1

Today was really tough. 156km in 16h20. The tandem is really hard to keep moving. With two human passengers loaded with trail luggage the total rolling weight of The Beast is just over 200kg. There was a lot of climbing today and that is the toughest part of riding a tandem, particularly one that weighs as much as it does. We got the the first support station just behind Andre and Francois. Andre is riding a single speed so that was an outstanding effort. After tea and some food the four of us decided to push on to Centacow an interim support station about 48 km further on. Not an easy task when we were all so tired and so late in the day. At 17h15 we headed out to use the last 30 minutes of day light before continuing on in the dark. It took us 5 hours to get there but we were satisfied with that given our fatigued state, the lack of day light and the tricky navigation of the part of the trail. On arrival we were treated to dinner and hot showers and feel well pleased with our days effort.

Great way to start the race

Shoulder still not is good shape. Have patches and drugs so hope it gets better quickly. Now at the start about to set off. Hard day ahead I suspect.

(editor's note: Good hair-cover should be an advantage in the bad weather to come)

And the final weight of the Beast is. . . .

27.4kg ! Oh my greatness this thing is a monster! This is the weight without water in the bottles. I am hoping all the fences and gates along the way are manned by caring marshals who open and close for us and lift it over fences while we look on. As for Lehana and Stettyskloof. . . I don't even want to think about those and the other dozen or so portages along the way.

Just what you shouldn't be doing the day before the race!

The Art of the 9 Hour Taper Ride

With just 10 days to the start of the race it was time for a gentle ride to fit in with the concept of tapering your training before a race. The idea is to slow your training intensity to keep in form while rebuilding your body from training depletion. In other words, stop riding hard and be strong at the start of the race.

Well yesterday I spent 9 hours engaged in just such a taper ride. 9 hours!! Yes, I know a bit extreme I admit but it wasn't the plan at all. My guess is that we rode for about 5h30, spent 2 hours drinking cofee and eating soft and browns (Wimpy double up breakfast with soft eggs and brown toast)and then spent an hour and a half fixing punctures - actually one puncture several times. For the inexperienced I must point out that you should always take a pump, tube, puncture repair kit, tyre levers and ideally a tubeless repair kit with you on rides. Yesterday I had ...... a bike! This was only my second puncture in 4 years of riding with tubeless tyres. Obviously I have been riding for more than 4 years. For the first 2 months I rode with tubes.
I have become so blaze about punctures that I have been riding for the best part of the last year without any spares. I do however make sure I ride with better prepared riders.

A 4 inch nail put their niceness to the test. 2 tubeless swatches and a chunk of glue almost fixed the puncture. If only I had followed my own oft given advice about topping up on tubeless tyre sealant every 4-6 months it would have been easy to fix. Apparently there is none in my tyres. Slow punture most of the way to Magaliesburg and back was the result.

Hard to believe I am supposed to be at the top of my game ahead of the Freedom Challenge and ready-for-anything. One sissy nail and the ride becomes a mini-mission.

The ride was good though. We tried a new good looking route and were rewarded with a 45 minute detour through aweful unridable terrain resulting in 200 metres of progress from where we started. At least we know one option that in not a viable route. Other experimental route worked well and chopped out a 5km tar road that is never fun.

Sitting on the grass drinking coffee at the Sasol near home talking trail rubbish with Derek was the perfect end to a good day on the bike.

Close encounters with Coco

Glenn says:

Considering the time and effort that have gone in so far, it would be a real pity to sideline myself with an injury right now, especially since Mike is still recovering from his sore shoulder and besides, he would never forgive me for making him pedal the Beast across the country on his own. So I’ve been riding really carefully and generally staying off sketchy trails and sticking to dirt roads but the singletrack habit is a hard one to break and yesterday I headed up a trail that traverses a mountainside before spilling out onto the lawns of a nearby farmhouse. Once you’re off the mountain, the riding’s not too technical but there is one thing that can still make it exciting – his name is Coco. He’s a shaggy old sheepdog and he doesn’t like bikes much….

Normally he’d be lying in the sun dreaming of dinosaur bones but yesterday he was on the prowl. So when I saw him run out in front of me, I took the cautious approach and slowed right down to a halt. Sometimes caution is a good thing but not always... He came bounding over and stopped about 2 metres away. His little sidekick, Bruno, was running rings around me, tail wagging furiously, so I thought the coast was clear. Coco then took a step forward and slowly tilted his head sideways, not so I could give him a scratch under the chin, mind you but to line up his mouth better with my half bent leg. As if signalling the charge, little Bruno went berserk and Coco lunged forward….

Instinct took over and my leg jumped out the way by stomping on the pedal, which sent me lurching forward. Luckily my other leg was in on the plan and obliged by stomping on the other pedal which sent me wobbling off across the lawn in a half wheelie with Coco in hot pursuit. The wobble turned into a sprint and thankfully Coco tired before me and gave up the chase.(although I only stopped pedalling about half a k further down the road!)

Rolling back into town a few minutes later with my heart rate back to normal, I took some comfort in the knowledge that if it did come down to a sprint finish at Diemersfontein, I think we’d be ok.