Gravel Travel 2011 Marathon

The Gravel Travel has somehow become a bit of an institution with me and my racing partner over the last 3 years.  We have seen Welvanpas (or Bain’s MTB Trails) evolve from a few roughly cut trails to arguably one of the best mountain biking spots in the Western Cape and every year the event seems to grow and improve on the previous year. So much so that it caught the attention of the National MTB series sponsored by MTN and Nissan.

We wisely decided to downgrade from the Ultra marathon to the marathon as we had our doubts about making the cut off at 70kms in the allocated time. The decision paid dividends as we were treated to a very tough, but rewarding race at the Boland’s finest.

At the start the UCI (I am starting to get a serious dislike in this institution) ordered that all GoPro cameras be removed from the bikes. I was not sure why, but not wanting to cause a scene, I removed my camera and placed it in my Camelback for the day, so I’m afraid my ride report will have to suffice.

The start / finish layout was improved from previous years with a long straight exit around the farm dam at Diemersfontein. Soon we were going up. After about 8km of climbing we got onto the first section of single track. The section was cleaned up from previous years and with a bit of rain earlier in the week the riding was very fast.

Traffic was not so much of an issue this year and soon we made our way to the Welvanpas trail start. Soon we were climbing out of the valley again and suddenly we were in the heart of Welvanpas single track. I love the fast flowing trails and soon me and my partner closed the gap to the group riding ahead of us. Once we arrived at Doolhof, we had a quick stop to fill the bottles and take on something to eat. The next section took us to the back of Groenberg for more of the famous Welvanpas single track. Like most good sections of single track, we had to work first before we could rip it up.

We made our way to Welbedacht for the second water point. The route changed here and instead of going straight onto a good gravel climb, we were diverted back to Groenberg and climbed our way to the top again. Some more single track sections brought us closer to Bainskloof Pass. We made our way to the next water point for a quick stop and soon we were off again to approach Diemersfontein via another monster climb. In previous years we encountered the back markers on the 40km route at this point. It was great to be able to focus on our own race rather than to try and dodge riders that were less confident on some of the off camber turns in the vineyards.  The last bit of the route was altered to stretch it out a bit, but fortunately we kept a bit in the tank and were able to finish strongly.

After a double Spur Burger and a Sterri Stumpy we loaded our bikes and were on our way back home with firm resolutions to come and do a lot more riding at Welvanpas before the Cape Pioneer Trek in October.

Transbaviaans – the team supporters view:

As I was sidelined for this event due to illness I decided to use the opportunity to see what our support team goes through when we do these races.

The night beforehand I was free to drink the brandy and cokes and I was also not burdonned with the knowledge that the alternative route for this year’s race was going to be extra tough. I was consulted on what to put in the various boxes, what spares and tools were to be carried on the ride, which lights were to be put on the bike, and at what point the other lights may be needed. At least the riders were able to select their own clothing for the ride.

We went to the race briefing, but left for our brandy and coke soon after arriving as it was impossible to hear anything at the briefing as the briefing zone was way too small to accommodate all the riders, their support teams and extended families that ended up being at the race briefing. After the tradional brandy and coke at the hotel in Willowmore we headed back to our guest house for supper.

The guest house is situated 17km from Willowmore and is owned and operated by Peppi and his daughter, El-Anne. They also own the coffee shop, take away and guest house in Willowmore. This is their latest project and as construction goes, it seemed like they were well behind schedule. Fortunately they managed to have 2 rooms and bathrooms ready for us. I love old buildings and restoration projects and was looking throughout the house on what they were busy with as we waited for supper to be warmed up for us. Supper was chicken, lasagne, farm bread, veg, rice and desert was farm style malva pudding. We ate our fill and was off to bed by about 10pm.

At 6:30 am we woke and had a breakfast buffet. For once I ate with a light heart knowing that bacon and eggs are not going to slow me down today. There was a light drizzle and a biting wind from the mountains that confirmed by decision to rather stay off the bike for this one. Once in Willowmore we unloaded the bikes and the riders were opening up the carefully packed boxes to get wind jackets, long gloves, leg warmers and the like out as the temprature was around 2˚C with a nasty cold wind biting through all the warm gear.

Me and my co-pilot wondered around trying to find the support crew briefing and eventually spotted a bakkie with speakers on. The briefing started, but it was rather short and to the point:
“No unauthorised vehicles enroute, the directions to CP4 is in the book and so is the directions to CP5, the rest stays the same as last year”. I was very glad that my co-pilot was experienced in these matters and she assured me that if I can programme the GPS, she’ll get us there on time.

The riders were lining up and we headed off to Jeffreys Bay.  The drive through was scening and relaxing. Once in Jeffreys we were in familiar territory as we used the guest house for our previous Trans Baviaans. We unloaded, relaxed a bit and got the support vehicle ready for the evening. The wind was blowing when we left Jeffreys and my mind kept going back to the riders havng to negotiate a very tough route in these challenging conditions.

We arrived at Checkpoint 4 as the top 10 teams were coming in and tried to get a spot as close to the check in point as possible. We ended up on the side of the narrow dirt road and unpacked our chairs, cooking stove, the spares and tools to ensure that no one tried to squeeze in behind us. Space was already tight and promised to get even tighter as the evening progressed. We went to check in. At the check in counter the lady hardly looked up and simply said that we can get our sticker when we check out. I started to reply that the rule book said that we were to be acknowledged when we arrive at the checkpoint, but the lady was already talking to another gentleman so I decided to rather get back to the vehicle.

As it was getting dark it was nearly impossible to try and identify riders coming in with 1000lumens of light shining in your eyes so we reverted to loud encouragement with the hope that our riders would recognise our voices when they arrived. As we waited we started to worry. Our riders were supposed to phone us at checkpoint 3, but we assumed that they didn’t have celphone signal at that point, so we waited. I counted the teams and with about 70 teams crawling past us we got the call. It was a huge relief to know that they were ok and we started preparing the pasta and coffee.  We spotted them as they passed us and with a loud shout they said that they’re checking in and then returning for food and a rest.

As they came back from the checkpoint, we got the report back on the route. It was tough and riders were all taking strain. One of the lights was giving problems, so I changed it for a new one. We lubed the bikes, got the batteries changed, ensured that the bottles were filled and that they were warm enough for the next leg. My co-pilot went to check out and I packed the bakkie and we were on our way to Zuurbraak to meet up with our riders after Never Ender.

Zuurbraak was a huge improvement on the previous year and the support vehicles had enough space to park, the check in / check out zone as better placed and there was good light to work in and prepare for the riders. This was to be a quick stop and we packed the bakkie again, checked out and was on our way to Kabbeljous in Jeffreys to check in for the last time and wait for our riders to arrive.

Once the riders came through we had a drink and our Spur burgers and were off to bed. I will for ever be grateful to have a good support team with me when I do my next race. Its a lot of hard work and is such an essential part of a successful and enjoyable race.