Day 3 Race report - Blink and you've missed it.

The day started off at an even more leisurely pace than the day before. Another 'F' seeding and an additional 30 minutes meant we had more than enough time to get ready and pack our boxes. It seemed that the black box picked up eight overnight as it felt substantially heavier than the day before.

We were off on a down hill with some tricky off camber corners through the sugar cane fields and soon we were in some forest single track. We made quick work of 'work to be done' and got to the first water point for a splash and dash. Some more single track with dirt roads through the sugar cane fields got us to 'baby heart rate hill' and ultimately 'heart rate hill'. The second water point was also a quick stop and we rode a fast but yet comfortable pace through more cane fields and sections of single track. All too soon we crossed underneath the N2 and we were onto Scottburgh beach. My team mate dropped the pace and while I was pondering this, I saw the last nagging hill taking us up to Scottburgh High School. A new section of single track was cut right next to the school to give us a small reminder of the amazing trails we conquered over the last 3 days.

Another amazing day's riding and the operative phrase from everyone at the finish was 'next year we are going to...'. I now understand why this race is the most oversubscribed mountain biking even on the calendar. Everyone simply HAVE to come back to see how the organizers improved on what must be the ultimate mountain biking adventure.

Seen you all next year!*

* disclaimer: provided I get a sports pass from my wife for this and have sufficient leave at the office.