Lighthouse to Lighthouse race report

Lighthouse to lighthouse.

Stage 1

The day started off with way too little sleep being had. Last night's U2 concert was still ringing in my ears and with 2 hours sleep since then, I had to face a long day on the bike. The start was a low-key affair at danger point lighthouse with an informal start line formed up, and then a start to the race with no announcer or official starting things off. Quickly we progressed to Franskraal and Pearly Beach via an urban assult-type trail that incorporated walking trails, beach access paths and the neighborhood's beachfront roads. A good long stretch of tarred road got the legs warmed up and the riding groups sorted out early on. We were riding in a group of about 10 riders that were steadily catching a group of 5 riders ahead of us. Soon we were one bunch with the workload being shared by us and 2 other "teams" (officially this is a solo race). We soon left the comfort of the tarred road for a corrugated dirt road with 4 or so mild climbs. The group was getting smaller with riders going off the back with every climb, and one or 2 stragglers being collected from the leading group as well. About 30 kilometers into the race one of the stragglers was being confronted with the reality that our group too was too strong for him. In his attempt to try and stay with the group, he ended up speeding past me and a few riders that was recovering from a stint at the front. As the group accelerated, I started to move back up to the front. The straggler veered into my front wheel and "switched" me. I hit the dirt road with my shoulder and my left knee. The rider stopped and looked around with a shocked-horror expression on his face as I uttered an obscene word or 2. I got up gingerly and checked my bike and myself and assured the rider that I was ok. My partner who stopped ahead came back to check on me and soon we were chasing the bunch down. We lost about 3 minutes on them and caught them just as we entered a water point. We were now about 9 riders making good time through some splendid farming country. My shoulder was stiffening up as we went through a rain shower, but my left knee felt ok as I focussed to keep it from stiffening up by pedalling on the climbs and descents. 5 of the group tried to make a move after another water point, but another team and us waited for the sandy stretch to catch and drop the 5. The other team seemed experienced enough not to panic and chose their moment well at the start of the sandy section. We stopped to deflate our tyres and soon we have lost sight of the 2 in front of us and another 1 of our group. 4 of the 5 that was in the break was now falling back rapidly in the sand. We were alternating on and off the sandy trail for the next 10 kilometers. Soon we were on the beach for another 10 km stretch on sand and through sections with fynbos dunes and rocky beaches. We passed one of our former comrades on the beach. He was suffering and couldn't hang on, so we moved along. Certain sections required decision making to scale rocky coastal sections or to port our bikes over sandy dunes with dense milkwood and fynbos. As we reached the last water point we were told 10 km to go. We resisted the temptation to open the throttle and completed the 90km stage in 4:20 in 30'th and 31'st overall.

Stage 2

The day started with a bit of confusion, as the start was delayed by 1 hour from 7 to 8am. Some riders decided to ignore the new start time and set off at 7. I can imagine how this could have ended in disaster. 

At 8am we started on a near perfect day. A light South Easterly was edging us on during a fast start. Soon we were in the dunes and back on the beach re-tracing our steps from the previous day. We let some air out of the tyres again and made our way to the 10km sandy stretch from day 1. We knew what to expect, and made light work of the sand. As we left the sand, Chris tried to inflate his rear tyre, but air was escaping from the tyre at a steady rate. We nursed his rear tyre to the second water point of the day, where he proceeded to put a tube into his tubeless system. The first tube was a dudd, so I took out my tube, and soon we were riding again. Some 15 cyclists passed us while we changed our tube and soon we were catching riders again. The second tube was losing air as well, and one of our mates kindly gave us a tube half way from the water point to Elim. Soon we were nursing the third tube along when our “support crew” passed us. We did a wheel change and figured that as outside support was not mentioned in the rules we were not breaking any rules. 

With the new rear wheel we were now riding like 2 men possessed. We hit the town Elim just as the church service finished. Unsuspecting church goers got the shock of their lives as they were crossing the road just as we passed the church. We left with a few shouts of “sorry!” and “watch out” and soon Elim was a distant memory. Over the rolling hills we kept the pace up. My shoulder was killing me from the fall on stage one. Mental note: Get a physio appointment on Monday for some dry needling...ouch!

Soon we made our way past Baardskeerdersbos and as we hit the tarred road to Gansbaai we were still passing riders. The wind had also turned from a gentle South Easter to a gusty South North East Wester. It seemed like every turn we took, we encountered a head wind. 

We caught up with Kerry who gave us her tube earlier and helped her along in the head wind. As soon as we had the Danger Point lighthouse in sight, Kerry sent us on our way to finish the race in style. We caught another rider or 2 in the last few kilometers and crossed the finish line, 24th and 25th overall. A great effort with at least 30 minutes lost due to technical issues.