Keurfontein - Willowmore

The time drew near for our long awaited trip to Uniondale to join the Trek of about 5000 cyclists from Uniondale to Knysna in what is known as the Karoo2Coast. I was unfortunately still down with a persistent flu and decided to rather rest up for some of the riding thereafter.

We stayed at Keurfontein Guest Farm about 30km outside of Uniondale on the way to Willowmore. We used the venue before for Trans Baviaans and as we enjoyed the serene atmosphere and comfortable lodgings we decided to not venture into Uniondale with 4999 other cyclists for the race. 

After picking up the race numbers we went to the farm to check in and was welcomed by a very energetic crew that was lead by the chef who showed us our rooms, ensured that our dinner arrangements were still good and confirmed our breakfast arrangements for the next morning. 

Our rooms were situated just below the manor house in a small separate annex. It was beautifully done and very spacious and we decided to relax a bit before dinner. The flat-screen TV was linked up to two channels and we watched the rugby while chatting about the riding that was to follow. 

Dinner was a lovely farm style buffet with leg of lamb, chicken, Kassler chops, salads, vegetables, mashed potatoes, soup, home made bread and a lovely baked dessert to name just a few of the items for consumption. 

We were treated to a lovely local Pinotage by the fire before dinner and was chatting to the other guests that were from Bloemfontein and after dinner the home made Boerekoffie went down very well. 

We retired for the evening and went straight to bed to rise on Sunday to a lovely Karoo sunrise for breakfast. Breakfast was ready by 5:30am and we were treated to a nice hot and cold selection that was fit for a king. 

2 of our company were not able to get hot water in the morning, which seemed to be related to the water being brought down from the rain water tanks some distance away on a very chilly morning. 

The price of R850 per room per night, for bed and breakfast and R120 for dinner separately was very reasonable and we will definitely visit Keurfontein again.

visit their website at www.keurfontein.co.za for directions and details. 

BCBR Day 7 Whistler

Whistler has been a Mountain Biker's dream ride for as long as I have been riding. A local described it as a little Alpine Village without 500 years of history. The facilities are all modern and world class as the Winter Olympics were held here in 2010.

The short stage promised to be quick and hard. Just under 800m ascent in 25 km on tired legs meant climbing from the onset. We climbed up a slalom type track for 5 km and took another 4km slalom down. I approached the doubles and table tops with moderation as I was unfamiliar with the track and a mistake on a 130mm travel bike is not was easily corrected as on a 150 or 160mm bike. We climbed up a gravel  stretch and got to Mid Station with ski lifts passing overhead. Some with bikes on and I was temped to take the ski lift up after the ride for another down run.

We had a mix of singleteack, jeeptrack and typical North Shore woodwork to negotiate, both up and down and finally got to the day's Enduro. It was a lengthy 3 km run with just about everything thrown into it. I ground the steep ups over roots, rock beds and loose gravel and I whipped my bike around the switchbacks down. After the Enduro I was spent, but still had 6 km of short ups and downs to ride. The finish line appeared and suddenly 7 days of pure mountain biking was at an end. 

Suffering, heat, many falls, mistakes and technicals were counter balanced by elation, the thrill of the down runs, adrenalin on the start line and the rush of the Enduros. The one thing that will stay with me is the spirit of mountain biking that was evident where we went. Minimal littering on the trails, everyone asking if you needed a hand with fixing a technical and a willingness to let the faster guys come through on the trails are things that South Africans are not quite accustomed to. I hope to share this spirit back home. 

BCBR Day 6 Squamish

Squamish is the outdoor capital of Canada. Anything outdoor goes here, so 550 mountainbikers fitted in perfectly. 

The day started with a tar road climb for about 4 km. we dropped straight into the single track and immediately we had backed up traffic. It was one of the few hold up in the week, but with so much good single track a bit of walking was never an issue.

We climbed about 800m in the first 24 km and then we hit Half Nelson. Wow! Perfectly bermed corners, fast doubles, inside out turns, it was all there and we were nailing it all the way.

Another climb got us to Pseudo Tsuga. The first Enduro that was fast and flowing with some pretty steep descents inbetween. By now I've mastered the dropper seatpost and hitting these sections with agression and precision. We left the Enduro grinning.

Another climb to Aid 1 with a quick fill and off to tackle another monster climb to get us to Enduro 2. A combination of walkers and a bad fall had me lose my nerve, so I walked the first half until the trail was more manageable. 

We hit another steep climb, fortunately on a good jeep track. The forest, the rivers, the mountains all just took my breath away (along with the climb of course). We dropped into Hoods in the Woods with good fast flowing buffed up singletrack for most of the 6km section. 

At Aid 2 the mood was cheerful with everyone having a good time. Some more climbing and doing Far side (down singletrack) S&M Connector (up singletrack) and 7 stitches (up and down singletrack) to weave together about 10km of the sweet stuff to get us to Squamish. 

A combination of back streets and Urban Assault style riding got us back to the Recreation Centre to finish off probably my best day on a mountain bike... EVER!

Tonight we head to Whistler for tomorrow's short 27km stage and the banquet afterwards. 

BCBR Day 5 Sechelt to Langdale

Another night in a comfortable bed. A short taxi ride to the start. An early start. Off the line we started with a climb through a quarry. The legs were tired, but I soldiered on. About 10km of good, but steep roads was easier on the body and afforded us the opportunity to take it relatively easy. 

Then the grind started. Again lots of singletrack and again it seemed we were riding up most of it. Aid Station 1 was 15 km in and after a quick stop I got moving again. The brown ribbon through the green forest kept snaking over rocks and roots, but by now I was used to it and I am actually learning a lot about riding in these conditions. There wont be much at home to intimidate me, so I guess I'll have to start looking for more advanced riding soon. 

Half way between Aid 1 and 2 I lost the front end on an off camber corner and put the bike down hard. I ended up bending my hanger (not a problem as I had a spare) as well as shearing off the limiter screw on the derreulier ( a big problem) I was stuck in either 32x 24 or 22 x 24 for the uphill singletrack grind  for the next 10 km. I was surprisingly content with my fate and took the porting sections as an opportunity to look at the beautiful surroundings.  

Aid station 2 finally came into view and fortunately the shimano tech guys managed to get 4 gears out of my busted SRAM derreulier. I didn't have my lighest 3 or the heaviest 3 gears, but I was still riding. 

Enduro 1 dropped us straight into HWY 102 with some tight, twisty corners and short steep climbs which I was grinding with my limited gears. We swept through over the bridges and skinnies at breakneck speed trying to keep as much momentum as possible for the short climbs. We left the Enduro timing mats and immediately dropped into Sidewinder. 

Enduro 2 almost started immediately after Enduro 1 and it was just simply out of this world Steep sweeping berms, fast flowing sections, wider bridges and fun wall rides and table tops had me forget all about my hurting legs. I was pumping it over the jumps and ripping through the corners all the way down the mountain with some very precarious drop offs on my right. We left the timong mats and I moderated the rest of the descent to the finish line in the Langdale Ferry Terminal

A wet wipe bath, a roll with pork shavings and cole slaw and clean clothes had me feeling semi decent again. We boarded the Horse Shoe Bay ferry at 3:10 and it seems like I may actually get an early night tonight. 

BCBR Day 4 Saltery Bay to Sechelt

Yet another big travel day. We woke from a wonderful night sleep thanks to a R1500 hotel and took a taxi to the race village to drop our bags and go for breakfast. After breakfast Werner and I were of the lucky ones to take a sea taxi. It is a little commuter boat that seats 12 people and takes you across at double the speed of the ferry. The rest of the race had to make use of the ferry.

The ferry was late (it seems like they have inherited some Metrorail management) and the race start was moved back from 11am to 12 pm. Day 4 was always going to be the queen stage of the race. Our first point to point stage is also the longest stage with the most climbing. 
The start was a mass start from the ferry terminal. I took it relatively easy for as long as I was able and tried to conserve my legs. We went up and up along the power lines for about 10 km combining single track with gravel road. On one of the singletrack sections I was riding up a skinny (thin planked bridge) and lost my balance as I reached the top. I took a tumble and landed on my back. I was winded and stunned for a moment. Lucky to be alive and even luckier that I had my Camelbak on. My back was in pain, but nothing was broken, so I made my way to Aid Station1.

The next section was mostly single track and mostly up. By now my legs were shot and like the rest of the riders around me we walk a lot of the singletrack. Rocks, roots and risers all just became too much effort. When the track would smooth out a bit or level slightly we would mount our bikes and ride for no longer than a few 100 meters before dismounting again.

The second aid station was a welcome sight. I was in that zone where you become as efficient as possible, say little and just do what must be done. I did take a moment to pose with our pet gorilla at the aid station.

The first Enduro was tough and technical and I managed to stay on top of my bike throughout, all be it with little grace or style.

Another zigzag slog up singletrack got us to Enduro 2 about 6 km later. It started in true BC style with some steep descents over rocky drop offs with near impossible turns. Half way at a road crossing I caught up with the team that dropped into the Enduro 2 minutes ahead of me. They slickly moved off for me to continue my run, but by now I felt like I was riding a wild buffalo. I had little or no control over the bike, my fore arms were aching from braking and my legs were cramping from the prolonged standing position I adopted with my seatpost dropped. The Enduro ended after what felt like an eternity and we were on a combination of gravel and jeeptrack for the ride home. 

7h20 minutes in the saddle and it rates as one of my hardest days on a bike ever. Another night in a guest house instead of camping (its a survival decision) 

Lets see what tomorrow brings. 

BCBR Day 3 Powell River

Another big travel day. 60 minutes by bus, 2 hours by ferry and a 20 minute walk to the start. All the logistics meant a 1:40pm start. 

My batch rolled off by 2pm. It was hot and humid again, so I again took it easy over the first 15 km of gravel, logging and fire roads. Some signature BC singletrack got us to Aid Station 1 and from there on it was hard work riding up rooty and rocky singletrack. It felt like hours to get through the next 5 km. the first Enduro was off the charts. The sound of cow bells and people yelping and whistling combined with a dropped seatpost and some clear track made me do things I would usually only dream about. About 2/3rds in I caught traffic. I gave them a 2 minute lead before the start of the enduro, so I must have been flying. My legs were hurting, heart pounding and arms felt like breaking off at the shoulders,so I was grateful for the little respite and drop in speed. 

The next 10 km was more hard work. With roots and tight turns followed immediately by short steep risers breaking my momentum I ended up dismounting for quite a few of the ridable sections. My butt was being eaten alive by the roots and rocks. Each bump in the trail took a nibble at my sensitive bits. I've decided to name my bibshort of today after my Boerboel at home, Joey, as Joey likes to nibble at my butt when we play catch at home. 

Aid station 2 was like an oasis in a dessert of lush green rooted, rocky trails. I was just too thankful for a break and after a handful of pretzels and a few pieces of banana I was riding again. 

I decided that I had enough and simply put the hammer down for the next 10km. The Enduro was fun, but my body was tired,so I couldn't go FullGas even if I wanted to.  The last 5 km went by in a blur with a close call on the exit of the last singletrack. The rider ahead of me hit a cut off tree stump at handle bar height and went tumbling down a 3 meter drop. The marshall panicked and  ran straight up the trail right onto my line. I had to avoid marshall and tree stump and clipped the tree with my left hand. Somehow I managed to stay on top and after a few choice Afrikaans 'complements' And checking on the fallen rider ( he landed in some shrubs, so all was good)  I put the hammer down to the finish. 

We finished on the beach where we started earlier and tonight Rochelle and I was sleeping in a hotel. After dinner we took a taxi to our little Paradise for the night. A hot bath, a shave, repacking and finally sleep in an air conditioned room and a comfortable matress. Bliss, but at a price of about $150. Worth every penny though. 

BCBR Day 2 - Campbell River

We woke up at Cumberland, packed our bags, had breakfast and took the 60 minute bus ride to the start of the second stage just outside Campbell river. With day one very much on my mind and in my body I approached the day as a survival stage. 

The long steady gravel downhill was kind on the legs and the gradual climb on the gravel did wonders to get the mind focussed for the day. After about 9km we were in the forrest and soon we hit some very technical single-track. While technically within my scope, I opted to port the more physically demanding sections to preserve my upper body for the flowing peddally sections that were to follow. The rain of the previous week was only visible in a few places and the going was good. With so e short steep single-track climbs we were again in the red zone. I resolved to do much more riding up good single-track back home as this could be where you can really shuttle up the field in a race like this.  

I took my time at the water point to refill, lube my chain and get some food in. The next section of single track is the stuff you see on promotional footage of heaven(I hope heaven look like this one day!). It is buffed up, fast, flowing, super exciting and with not too much traffic the switchbacks and stream crossings were simply just awesome. The climbing was more moderate and allowed recovery to get you good and ready for the next section. The first Enduro was a fast pedal pedal section and I absolutely nailed it. All the while we were riding BC's best with the second water point approaching fast. I again took my time and hit the next section with fresh resolve. The second Enduro was even better than the first. The narrow cut trail with many twists didn't give you the opportunity to scout ahead too far and it was a challenge to see how short your reaction time could be for the roots or rocks after a quick turn.

At 40 km we were out of the forrest and riding through Campbell River town to the last fast section of single track for the day. 5 hours felt like only a few minutes and by some miracle my body was feeling better than it was 5 hours ago. 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, getting our tents ready, eating, hydrating, massages, eating, hydrating and a nice long walk (with Rochelle who has been working tirelessly with the timing manager all day) to the beach for a ice cream just before sunset, which was at about 9:50pm. There was the most amazing driftwood carvings on the beach that was carved as part of the Canada day celebrations. I'll post some pics in due course. Back at the race village we had a quick shower and fell asleep with the Canada Day fireworks popping in the background. 

BCBR Day 1 Cumberland

The day started at a much more leisurely pace than what I am used to for a stage race. With the whole day yesterday spent shipping 550 riders, about 100 crew, kit, equipment etc to Cumberland on the Island we had very little to do before the 9:30 start. The race started and we made good time on some gravel roads to the trail head. The first section had quite a few roots and we had to wait for a few over optimistic riders to move over. Once every one was rearranged the riding flowed much better and I was actually starting to have some fun. We had to negotiate a few drop offs, some roots and had to clear the odd log. The big climb was mostly at the very moderate gradient of about 5% and I took care to not go too hard. 

We reached the first water point (here it is called an Aid Station) and I was still feeling fresh. A quick splash and dash and I was off again at my diesel engine pace. Riders were all friendly, the volunteers and marshals were ringing their cow bells. It was hotting up on the climbs and with no breeze the humidity was starting to be a factor. I kept hydrated as best I could and kept grinding away.

The first enduro section greeted us with all her fury. I had very little time to drop my seatpost and soon I was simply holding on for dear life. Verticals, roots as thick as my upper leg, rocky stepped drops, seemingly impossible turns, other riders, tree branches... I have never done riding like this before and I was pouring all my focus and energy into my run. I mistook a large piece of bedrock for hardpack and was OTB looking for a safe place to land. On such short notice Air Traffic Control could only allocate a landing spot half on the lower lip of the offending bedrock and some undergrowth. I took it with the grace of a Rhino learning the Ballet. Fortunately I was able to walk away with a few minor bruises and a twisted shoulder. Bike ok. Kit ok. Reposition helmet and put away dirty sunglasses. Two riders passing and me hot on their wheels to finish the section. The single track climbs that took us to the second aid station felt like it took for ever. My shoulder was hurting and I was sweating profusely in the 35 degree heat combined with 80% humidity. 

I was in survival mode and the rooty trails with her steep steps and twisty turns was getting the better of me. I started to walk sections that was ridable a mere 2 hours ago and the distance just never seemed to get shorter. I was grinding away until we got to the second Enduro section. After spending a minute to compose myself I went for it. It took a lot of effort and one unscheduled recovery stop to get me through all 2km of the Enduro section. 

The last few kilometers dragged past and the short steep climbs on the single track took every last drop of energy I had left. The Cumberland fields eventually opened up before me and I limped across the timing mats in 5H45m and position 465 out of 550. 

A massage and dinner and coffee at the Wandering Moose got me in just the right mood to write about today's adventure. The sun is due to set in about 90 minutes and I am sure that the camp site will be considerably more quiet than last night. 

Results are available on http://bcbikerace.com/news-and-media/results

BCBR Day 0

D day... Zero hour... or like a good friend would say, time to Shake and Bake. We had a week to get rid of jet-lag, see the sites and try to switch off from work and everything else happening at home. Common sense prevailed and we decided to book a taxi to get the bike boxes and 4 large bags to the drop off. The Iranian taxi driver managed to get me to the drop off in 15 minutes with Rochelle and Werner following suite with the bikes. 

The race briefing was comprehensive and fun. It soon became very apparent that these guys understands the concept of "gees" (afrikaans for spirit or being able to create a good vibe). After the briefing we were loaded onto yellow school buses and transported to the ferry terminal. I am now writing my pre-race report in the air conditioned ferry lounge on deck number 5. 90 minutes of ferry and another 90 minutes per bus will get us to Cumberland where we will relax and get familiar with the racers and organizers before the racing starts tomorrow morning. I really can't wait to get going! 

All systems GO!

4 days to go. It is hard to believe that just over a year ago Werner and I were eagerly waiting for the entries to open for BCBikeRace with our credit cards in the one hand and our hand on the keyboard ready to submit on the other.
The journey has been a good one: Training rides at Eselfontein and other places, early morning commutes, local races, weekends in Greyton, long touring rides with friends... These are all the positives.
We have also reflect on the negatives: A stolen bike, injury and illness, work pressure, those long mornings on the Indoor Trainer / Spin bike at the gym and way too much money being spent on this trip.
It is all culminating in what promise to be an experience of a lifetime and I can't think of 2 better suited people to share the journey with me. I know Werner will enjoy the riding and the exploring and I hope that my wife gets to enjoy the experience of volunteering at the event and the hustle and bustle of New York afterwards.
For now we are packing bit by bit and working long days while we try to stay healthy and injury-free. Follow us on our blog to get updates on each day's riding as we will probably be off line for most of the trip.

Ecstasy at Eselfontein

Twice in 3 weeks? Perfect weather in the middle of May? Tracks I've never ridden before?

Only a few highlights. The real highlight is spending time with like minded people that are all so very different. A few faces that were familiar and some that I've met for the first time this weekend. We made our acquaintances around the fire and after a few glasses of wine we were chatting like old friends. 

Saturday morning at dawn we started grouping into the various rides for the day. I opted for a mini-enduro challenge with a few of my good friends whereby we stitched together sandy start, the first forest, dark forest,  redbull descent, getting steep, pipeline and Shapiro's drop. 

Each stretch of trail required a different approach and each tested some unique skill-set in a unique sequence.  It was reminiscent of a musician playing a complicated piece by Mozart. I was in much more esteemed company than what I would rate myself and soon forgot about the enduro and simply focussed on execution of my own instrument in the symphony we were creating.

As the day went on, the music got louder and the tempo got faster. We all brushed over the small mistakes expertly and I was playing pieces I've never tried before. The trails opened up before me like sheet music and I felt much more capable than ever before. 

The crescendo was the pipeline track and as an encore we did Shapiro's drop at a more leisurely pace. 

Pieter lost his sunglasses in the first forest earlier in the day and at the junction back to the forest the rest of the group went with him to try and find it. I decided to take an easy ride back to the huts to digest the day's riding when it happened: Just before the water crossing after the junction I went OTB. An unspectacular fall out of nowhere left me with bruised ribs and another story to tell. Its a good thing that I managed to record the incident as I had to watch it to see how senseless and silly it really was. 

A night ride and a short ride on Sunday topped off a near perfect weekend. I will have a few scratches and bruises for a week or two, but fortunately the good memories and new friendships will last much longer.

Houw Hoek 2013 Testing My Limits

With BC Bike race creeping closer and closer, I have started to realize that I'm not sure what my body will do with hard riding day after day. So I decided that the Houw Hoek Tour would be a great chance to push my limits.

This was my first Houw Hoek Tour but I have done Wines2Whales before.  Parking was easy mostly, expect for the selfish (pick your own words here) people that feel the need to park where they reduce the path just because they dont want to walk little. I id hear of incident where one special person cursed the parking marshal after he was ask  nicely not to park there.  Registration was a breeze with some free coffee and rusks on near table.

Day1
The event use a self seeding system so could start where I want. They call the first group the "racers" and I did not think I should be there. I started in second group at the front. As we start I was cycling not full speed yet as want to warm up first, but loosing the group I started in already. This was a new experience for me. I forgot about everything and everyone and just focus on my legs, pushing on but not too hard. It was not long before I started catching the back markers of the front group. Clearly they should not have start there. Working my self through the traffic and was not long before we got some short steep climbs. They really short maybe 20-30m and already got people pushing up it, but they nicely made space for people riding, at the time there 3 of us.

The first few km's was up and down jeep tracks. The first single track was at thandi. Here was some traffic, although slower than what I would want to go not to horrible bad. In fact the the slower speeds the trail flow a little beter than the pace I would normal do it. Not far in a slow rider pull over to let us pass, just for me to get a pedal strike on tree stump that I did not see. It was an instant OTB. It happened so fast the was not even time for a oh crap thought to happen. Lucky for me this did not happen at high speed. In the fall my shifter and my right leg connected that it and my brake lever was point bit up. It was not bad so I jumped on the bike and continue just to finish the single track, then I will adjust things back. The GoPro was also hang skew. Trying to get the gopro back in place dit not work well as the tape around the handler for protection got ripped and crumpled. Short after it was the first water point. I stop to get my mind cleared, drink some coke and eat a banana.

Ready to go again. Up Thandi, through oak valley in reverse direction lot of it being single track.   Going over to Paul Cluver  heading to the amphitheater where the second water point is.  The new feature the call the barrel run was just moment after the waterpoint. It is an bridge build out of wines barrel slates. It was pity is was wet, believe it will be loads of fun when dry.

Snaking through the forest on narrow cut track, that was bit slippery, meant a little bit of caution was needed. Working our way though single tracks and jeep tracks we where slowly progressing closer towards Houw Hoek Inn. At around the 40km mark I look down to find only a snapped of gopro bracket and no gopro any more. Realising it could be anywhere in the previous 10-15km back,  turning around and trying to find it would take very long, rather hope someone find it and return it.  5km's from the end was a split board where you could pick "technical" which would be a switchback single track or "non-technical" which just go through the orchards. Obviously I took single track. What they did not say it is a nasty little climb up before the decent. Going down I did have a slow rider but I was so tired of riding hard all day that I did not care to much.

Result for day ones was beter than expected.
Distance 50.1km

Elevation 923m
Moving Time0 2:44:59 
Elapsed Time 02:48:06
Max Speed 47.9km/h
Avg Speed 18.2km/h


Day2
Begin of day is where I would go into new personally testing. Have never before ridden very hard to flat out on a multi day event, as to make sure I reach the end. I could feel my legs worked hard the day before and it was a really cold morning. I decide to start in the first group as I want to try and avoid going through back markers of a group again. Started in middel of the group gave me plenty traffic in the first few km's which was a decent down the old pass. I could not start as hard as I would have like with people taking lot of caution and braking for even water puddles. Taking the rough lines that most people seem to be scared of help me pass some and by the end of the pass I got bit of open spot. The traffic may have given me bit slower start than I would have done if alone but maybe it was good as it gave bit more time for the legs to warm up.

Passing Botrivier was going along the outside road where as the W2W going into school but that is where the water point was. Shortly after the town Ryan caught up with me and I decide to try and keep up with him. After the town we had some gravel road bits which later entered in to the single track taking us all the way to the old steel bridge on karwyderskraal road. At times it got really tight for us that preferred wide bars.

Over the bridge we cruize along the tar for short piece to get the next gate. Time for a gradual climb with short bits of single track here and there to get us to the first water point. On this climb was the first place I could start to see the effects of the day before. Power was little lacking but able to keep an steady pace. Quick stop at the water I had some banana and coke or 2 and off we went. Last bit of climbing to get over the hill was a little loose jeep track through some fynbos, sandy tracks and the single tracks. Sending us out on the  karwyderskraal dirt road leading towards hermanus. Here Ryan had more more legs for the open open and I could not keep up. Some rolling hills later get us to the Hemel en Aarde valley road.  Ups and downs we work through the vineyards to the second water point. Again banana and coke for me but also need to stretch the gluts and my lower back started to hurt.

Ahead lies the longer climb for the day. Al the way to the top of hermanus rotary drive where you are greated with stunning views over hermunus. But all the climb meant down hill is coming in the form of the Mineshaft. It is a nice fun decent where to need to be awake as with erosion here and there, get the line wrong could have unwanted results.  It is follow by few short nasty hills to burnt he legs one last time. The last few km's is a really fun flowing single track along the Hemel en Aarde road  but it does require some pedalling.  I caught two riders on it but my power levels was so down I decide just to follow them as they were go at ok pace. Also last time I really rode that section hard I clip my handle bar with spectacular results.

Across the finish line I was tired and happy. I could have maybe squeezed bit harder but hindsight is 20/20.

It was really fun route and would do it again next year. I also learn and experience the benefit of being strong and fit enough to be much more forward in the field. Traffic and congestion is very little of a problem. I never had to wait once over the 2 days, at worst I had to slow down till I could past a slower rider.

Day2 result

Distance 48.9km
Elevation  846m
Moving Time 02:32:13
Elapsed Time 02:35:00
Max Speed 57.2km/h
Avg Speed 19.3km/h

Houw Hoek Tour 2013

During last week I managed to get a late entry for the Houw Hoek Tour from a club member who fell ill and was unable to participate. Having done the tour before and being in the area just a week prior I knew exactly what to expect.

The route on Day 1 was changed slightly from the year before to take out the Lebanon section as this was very early in the ride and caused huge bottlenecks last year. We had a few short steep climbs to warm up the legs and to sort out the men from the boys. Once again the self-seeding system failed spectacularly as just about everyone considered themselves fast riders. Even though this was not a race, some consideration for faster riders would have been much appreciated. I hear the trail etiquette in Canada is beyond reproach and I'm sure that at BCBR there will be better skills all around. The few hold ups did not detract from a very pleasant ride.

Day 2 had a very chilly start. I cheated and started just after the racing group to avoid major traffic jams. My strategy worked well and once through Botrivier I slacked off to a more leisurely pace. Day 2 of the tour did not disappoint and fun non-technical single track kept us entertained all the way to the celebration table 8km from the finish. This table is a tradition that was started a few years ago and takes the form of a wine tasting with a magnificent view of the bay from Kleinmond to Gansbaai. The only finer detail to negotiate after a few glasses of Pinot Noir is what is known as the mine shaft. I let the group I was in pass through and waited a minute or so to drop into the single track with a clear run. Unfortunately a lady rider fell on a technical section. After a brief enquiry to her health, I proceeded to catch the back end of the group again and sat on the back all the way to Hermanuspietersfontein (thats a mouth full...) to end what was another great 2 days of riding.

Botrivier Bliss

The weekends are rolling by almost too quickly. Rochelle booked a weekend away at Kolkol just outside Botriver some months ago and we both needed the R&R after a pressure filled week. The accommodation consists of a few log cabins that the owner of the farm built. The basics are provided for in style and with a hot tub on the deck and a fire going in the evenings it was pure bliss. Botriver is also conveniently situated close to Thandi trails (14km), Lebanon (18km) and Oak Valley (24km). Our hosts were friendly and helpful with me enquiring about the possibility to link up any of the farm trails to Groenlandberg, but it seemed like that would not be possible. 

Saturday morning I took the opportunity to cycle to Thandi Trails (22km from Kolkol) and decided to do the full loop. My Garmin unfortunately decided to stop working half way through the ride, but lately I've been less concerned about the numbers and focussing on enjoying the ride. 

Thandi trails consists of fun filled singletrack sections broken up by some short and steep climbs. Tight turns, some good switchbacks and twisty single track sections makes the 25 odd kms quite tough. I played around with the Command seatpost that the Stumpy was specced with and was trying to work out how best to use the equipment in race conditions. I also managed to spot some funky mushrooms. 

At Blossom Restaurant where you buy and return your bike board I chatted with some of the other riders who where out on the trail. We shared a coke and some stories and headed off in our own directions afterwards. The ride back to Botrivier ended at the Hotel where I had the best Burger for a whole R35! Rochelle and I both had a Burger and I finished the ride off with an ice cold beer too. You've got to love small towns. 

Back at Kolkol we enjoyed the peace and quiet and opted for an early night. 

Sunday's ride turned out to be such a wonderful surprise. We were quite a large group (about 20 riders) and headed from Botrivier to Greyton. I expected to simply take the back roads, but we ended up doing a 30km stretch of jeep track that was simply amazing. It followed the Railway line from Botrivier inland and we made our way up the climb each at our own pace. I opted to take it easy and had a really nice time catching up with some friends. 

20km in to the ride the rider in-front of me hit a rut badly and went down. I knew that it was going to be bad by the way she fell and the bike was flung from her cleated feet while she was hitting the ground. I had enough time to pick a line past rider and bike without hitting any of the other riders taking evasive action. Fortunately Michelle got up and after doing a full check of bike and rider we continued. I did realise that her tyres were pumped at about 3bar each which probably contributed to the accident and took it down to a more manageable pressure. 

The second 30km flew by and very soon we found ourselves at Searles in Greyton having lunch. The poor waitress and rest of the restaurant staff never knew what hit them. 20 hungry cyclists all demanding food and drink simultaneously sent them into shock. I suspect that they still have not fully recovered from the ordeal. Werner and some of the others were brave enough to cycle back to Greyton, some opted to arrange with family to meet them in Greyton. I opted for the latter and was quite grateful for the ride back. 

Eselfontein weekend!

April is always a good time to be on the bike in South Africa (and Cape Town in particular). The summer winds have died down, the soaring temperatures have abated a bit and the rainy season is not quite upon us yet.

April is as good a time as any to visit one of my all-time favourite mountain bike getaways: Eselfontein. The farm is one of the oldest farms in the Ceres area and boast some really awesome trails. Various distances are available to ride from 10km to 65km, but truth be told, you seldom ride the trail as set out as there are simply too many options and sections that you just have to do again. We opted for the Eco-huts this time around which gets you into a camping vibe without having to pitch tents for only 2 nights stay.

Saturday’s riding was again filled with good humour, some mishaps and a general display of some very good skills too. I can only admire some riders who show no fear and makes difficult sections like Shapiro’s drop look like a walk in the park. The variety of riding conditions also means that even the most skilled amongst our group would never get bored. Sandy and rocky single tracks make way for forest sections with a display of splendid autumn colours as the forest floor was littered with oak leafs in green, yellow and brown. I was so dazed by this scene that I almost missed a turn. I reminded myself that sometimes it’s ok to slow down a bit to admire the surroundings. The notorious tree stump in the Dark Forest was flattened slightly and I rather disappointedly had no trouble riding it this time around. I was secretly hoping to get a bigger challenge here and it was a bit of an anti-climax that the section was tamed a bit. After a few forest sections we started climbing in earnest. Here I decided to pick a light gear and spin my legs out to save myself for the down run that started from the pipe-line section. A few in the group decided to carry on to the top of the pipe-line, but I was just too happy to finally get stuck into the singletrack down run. Shapiro’s proved a bit too much for me still, even with fresh cement. Again the mind is still my biggest enemy with this sort of section. I am sure that if I came up to it for the first time with no warning I would not think twice, but a bad fall a few years ago still sat in the back of my mind.

Other sections that previously challenged me was not as daunting as I remembered and riding with skilled technical riders seems to be rubbing off a bit.

The afternoon was spent eating, chatting and relaxing. At 6pm we started the nigh ride. It’s always fun when the lights come on. I unfortunately lost my main light and decided to turn back after about 15kms. A quick shower and with the fires burning strongly for the evening braai we settled into the evening. The stars are simply amazing at Eselfontein. Even with a half-moon there are more stars in sight than on a new moon at home. Sometimes it is good to step away from the company and go for a quiet walk to appreciate the sounds and sights of the night.

Sunday is always a bitter-sweet day. You look forward to another amazing ride and by now you are very familiar with the first 15km of trail as you would have done it at least twice by now. You also start making calculations of when you want to be home, so take off 2 hours and you know when you should leave Eselfontein and deduct your ride time and you realise that you should be on the bike rather than making calculations. I opted for an early ride as I needed to be home in the afternoon to work on some of the week’s backlogged items.

I opted to take the singletrack through the forests and went up Bergsig climb and over to Philips Creek. I realised that there would not be quite enough time to do dead-man-walking <phew!> and the pipe line track and opted to do Red Bull instead. I had an amazing run through the whole Red Bull without thinking about how fast I was going. It is always great to stitch together a great run like that with very few mistakes just before you climb out of the valley to go pack and leave.

I had an amazing weekend and picked up quite a few subtleties that will improve my riding in the weeks to come. I am really looking forward to our next outing to Eselfontein in May. This coming weekend I am on a weekend away in Botrivier and will definitely be looking to do Paul Cluver / Thandi, Lebanon and Oak Valley before heading back home. Let’s hope we have more of the amazing weather we have enjoyed the weekend past.
watch the youtube footage at:
Eselfontein April 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71qMggfbzrI

Variety is the spice of life

It takes all kinds to make the world go round.

Today's ride at Welvanpas reminded me of this truth. The trick is to celebrate this variety and what better way to do this than on a mountain bike?

We had hard-men. Fresh from another Epic, XC racers, endurance riders who are made for the long haul, riders training for Sani2C and then of course, Werner and myself with our eyes on BC Bike race.

The bikes were just as diverse as each of us. Racing hardtails, lightweight carbon dual suspension bikes, trail bikes, expensive bikes, entry level bikes, big wheels and smaller wheels, all present and correct and each as unique as the rider on top.

The interesting part comes when these ingredients mix, you add a trail like Welvanpas and what you get is a really awesome ride.

Welvanpas is one of those trails that make you work, but gives ample reward as well. The trail takes you through a series of single track sections combined with jeep track. The climbs are short and steep and the descents are fast and flowing. The terrain varies a lot, like most of the trails in the Western Cape and 1200 angry buffaloes that charged through the trails less than two weeks prior in what is known as the ABSA Cape Epic ensured that you could not trust the usual lines like before. All of this served to heighten the senses and sharpen the skills. The wind came up half way through the ride and was blowing a gale in sections of the trail. This made the conditions even more unpredictable as you would turn a corner to be faced by a wall of wind. None of this detracted from the ride as we made our way around the white trail.

About 3 hours of riding got us around the white loop and from Welvanpas we moved up the road to Doolhof for a wonderful lunch, great wine and really amazing company for the afternoon. With war stories exchanged from races past, social banter between old and new friends and simply all having a good time we closed off the ride.

Out on the trails there are no dividing line between pro's, amateurs or hard core racers and weekend warriors. We love what we do and enjoy making new friends along the way.

Thanks to all for today's experience. It was certainly a great
privilege to ride with each of you

Greyton weekend!

Wow!

What a weekend! On Thursday morning we packed the car for a long weekend in Greyton and oh boy! Did we give it a good go.

With no TV to distract us, we could get a few hours riding in every day and in between we would follow the ABSA Cape Epic feeds on Twitter and the epic website for what must have been the most exciting Epic since inception of the race. Well done to every one that competed and finished, I enjoyed the drama up front and also enjoyed following friends and fellow Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club members via the website.

A quick recognizance ride on Thursday gave us a good perspective on the weekend's riding, so on Saturday we started off with the Green route (with my wife) and proceeded onto the Red route. The climbs were brutal and the views breathtaking. We took a breather at the top and took the exhilarating single track down into the valley. The trail is cut quite narrow ensuring that you never quite get to top speed. This keeps you honest and probably ensures that the trails are not ripped up too quickly either.

Down in the valley a series of fun singletrack sections keeps you entertained all the way back to the tar road heading to Greyton. After less than 100 meters of tar you are on the gravel and jeeptrack roads again. We had a close call just after the old bridge across the Sonderend River with a farmers fence that was erected across the trail with absolutely no markings on it. Fortunately Werner shouted a warning and I managed to stop in time without "clothes lining" myself. On one of our following rides we marked the section with Duct Tape to warn other unsuspecting riders.

The section West of Genadendal would be familiar to Greyton Tour riders. The trail cuts out most of the boring dirt road sections and takes you through a series of jeep and single track sections all the while snaking up.

Eventually we turned towards Voorstekraal and Genandendal and stopped for a Coke at a corner store in Genadendal. It felt like we were really exploring as the town was buzzing with its usual weekday activity while we were out riding. Some more fun sections took us back towards Greyton and we cruised through town back to the cottage we rented. Werner whipped my butt on the ups, the downs and the straights, so I guess that I'll have to step up the training a bit to be able to keep up.

On Saturday we explored the Blue alternative after some early morning rain. The back section followed the trail used on the Greyton Tour first day on the eastern side of the tar road and also cut out some of the bigger climbs through the rest of the western side of the trails.

Sunday we rode the blue again before heading home. We explored what looked like an alternative to the jeep-track and I ended up over the bars on a rocky descent. The first fall on the new bike, so after a bit of a giggle about it we found our way back to the recognized trail.

Thursday we enquired about trail fees and where to get bike boards only to learn that the bike boards were not quite ready and our weekend riding would be for free. As nice as this was, it was evident that the trails are in need of some TLC, and the only way to do that would be from fees generated from trail users. Hopefully the local community can get the admin sorted out so that we can pay to use the trails and ultimately see the trails being looked after to ensure that we can keep on using the trails.

We are already thinking of our next outing to Greyton and hopefully we can get to ride these trails again before we leave for Canada in June.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2dOVG8Z2XE&feature=youtu.be

When is a bike versatile

For very long time I did not have the money for multiple bikes, so I always looked for a bike to cover all my riding I want to do. I do enjoy the a stage race now and then so it must be long distance capable. I very much enjoy technical fun trail/AM riding as well so must be strong enough to take a beating.

I start on xc hardtails when I start mountain biking. After about a year I have bent the one frame and cracked another. This  made me realize I need to go full suspension and my first attempt at versatile bike.

I got  a Trek Fuel Ex8. Going from a hardtail to full suspension made a big difference. It boost the confidence so much. For two and a half years I rode this and it served me well until some idiot decide he wanted it more and stole it.  Being 120mm travel bike I had some awesome fun on it but on bigger stuff I was always was afraid I could hurt it if pushed to far. I chickened out on some stuff the bike could possibly handle but if I got it wrong badly I could damage something.  Another other side of the requirements, it did well too but was a little heavy at 13.5kg for a long distance bike. That said I did a W2W and Sani2C on it and came out alive.

When the FuelEx got stolen I really want its  big brother, the Trek Remedy Carbon but with the bad distributor trek had in past meant there was very very few in the country. After dealing with the new distributor for Trek, The Bicycle Company which was very help full, I found that it fell in bad time. It was in the cross over time between 2012 and 2013 stocks for new bikes.

After a while I spotted a good Ibis Mojo SL (140mm) deal( post while back on blog). Its a great bike. Out of the gate I was doing bigger jumps I did before. On reviews of the FuelEx, people said the bikes suspension felt bottomless and bigger than it is and never understood as it was my first bike. With the Ibis I started to understand. Ibis is very capable but when you take a hard hit you can feel the bottom of the travel. The build of the Ibis is very solid, heavy(12.9kg) but solid with mavic 729 DH rims en rockshox pike fork it can take a good beating.

I always keep an eye out on the classifieds and on last day of 2012 I spotted a Trek Remedy 9.9 for sale. My head said no and my heart screamed YES. On 1 Jan 2013 I went to have a look and took it home with me. The Remedy is a light and tip the scale at 11.9kg for a 150mm all mountain bike. The rims are ztr 355 which is bit light duty for an AM bike but till now the have lasted. I will ride them till something go wrong. The fox Talas on the front is also not to great.

The remedy feels so solid through the ruff stuff, and pedals well too.  Taking flat landings I can again feel what some reviews say about treks suspension design. It feels bottomless. It feels like the bike go sits down in soft butter, its just so smooth.

In February I did a downhill race on the Remedy. It handle well. Yes I skip some of the jumps and stuff as I did not want to hurt myself but the bike can do it. The light weight meant that I could accelerate much quicker and in the end I have beaten a few DH bikes and came 26/34 in open men class.  If I took some of the jumps I would have gain another few spots.

Past weekend was my first time that I attempted the anual  big road event, The Argus Cycle Tour. I have always push away from it as I dont like massive amounts of people stuff in small area, but people say the atmosfeer of it is great. I decide to give it a go. Did BurgerCycleTour in december on the Ibis to get seeding for the argus. That gave me a nice 7h00 start on the argus in group S.

Race day. I decide to do it with my Remedy with 2.2 Geax saguaro knobbly's and a crank with big blade. Soon after my start we encounter the first stupid roadie for the day. Being in the middel of the road decide he must go the side and just went for it, no matter the few hundred people around him. People screaming, cursing at him quickly paused him in his track but now the bunch already pulled a gap. From there on it was chaos till top of edinburgh drive dropping down on blue route. A group of about 8 of us form and cruised until muizenberg, collect more and more people along the way. One roadie commenting that I sound like a 18-wheeler coming down the road with my knobbly's.

Along the sea there was bit of a headwind. Here a lady cut me off that my handle poke in her ribs, all sorry sorry but then it's too late and lost my slip. I had to work hard myself into the wind up too St James where i got some people going a good pace for me and between the building was much less wind.  Prior the the race lots of people made it sound like smutswinkel hill is so bad. Getting there I started passing people going up, feeling strong. The part that got me was going down other side. Is not flat and not steep down. I was struggle to keep with anyone. Just past ocean view the wind was an angled headwind again somehow. Suspect the mountains channeled it.  There was no hiding behind anyone here people were weaving all over so riding too close to anyone could be risky.

Next was Chappies. Here I was not pulling so strong anymore. Having had to work so much myself and trying not  too losing to much time has taken its toll. I made it up chapmans peak but not at the pace I would have liked. Going down I had to navigate around people as I was much more confident in the turns at speed. Maybe the big fat tires was a factor.

Hello Houtbay. Now I knew the big one everyone always suffer on was close. In houtbay still there is a little up and with no warnign at all my hamstring decide to cramp. I use my gears and start spinning to help the cramp out. This meant that I took suikerbossie easy. I want to give it horna but at the risk of a cramp I decided against it. Going down the other side I found a rider going a good pace for me and I slipped him all the way to Seapoint at the big left right turns. Here he was cornering to slow. I past him on the outside and knew we are close to the end. I put the hammer down as much as the legs allowed me. Not sure if he hanged on but I was not looking back.  Head down, home stretch. At the finish I was tired and I did not had a feeling of accomplishment. The atmosfeer for me was not great. Did not see anyone that look very glad or excited. Every one is just a number. I guess that is the result when you so many people and with so many people that have done it so many times. Part of it might have ben also that road riding is boring, all you do is head down and pedal pedal pedal.

Now I have done it and not sure that I would want to do it again.  Final result was  03:46:46 overall position  6900/31473. Not a bad result for a mountain bike on knobbly's.

I believe I'm done with road races forever unless someone convince me for something , which is not going to be easy. I have done the big 3 road events of the Cape on a mountain bike with knobbly's, Double Century (203km), Argus (109),  Burger(92) and after each I had same reason why I did not enjoy is much, its BORING.

Now back the the title. The definition of versatile:


ver·sa·tile  (vûrs-tl, -tl)
adj.
1. Capable of doing many things competently.
2. Having varied uses or serving many functions: "The most versatile o vegetables is the tomato" (Craig Claiborne).
3. Variable or inconstant; changeable: a versatile temperament.
4. Biology Capable of moving freely in all directions, as the antenna of an insect, the toe of an owl, or the loosely attached anther of a flower.



Now having done from downhill race to 109km road race to long day in the mountain I fairly sure a Trek Remedy 9.9 can be described as versatile with definition #1 in mind.

But the Ibis mojo is shortly on the Remedy's heals. The "problem" with Ibis at the moment is the weight and that can be easy fix with lighter wheel set and fork but then my current problem I have owning this two bike is even more so. They very close to  the same class of bike. Ibis has a little longer top tube length which might make it beter for the longer distances.  To sell one of the two would be very hard as I love the Trek suspension design and the Mojo as been a dream bike for so long and is so beautiful, now that I have it I dont want to let it go.... but I'm also itching to get a single speed bike and the Ibis Tranny has caught my eye.....

Till next time