With all the secret training I have been doing, I thought it would be a good idea to test my legs in a real race. My plan was to ride the 15km Botrivier MTB race, claim an easy victory, boost my ego, and keep my sponsors happy. Unfortunately, we had a rather big night the night before the race, and I was worried that I would not be able to beat the under 12 girls who I would be up against.
The Madagascar Reunion - Yo is still awake
It is all fine and well beating the girls, but imagine the damage that would be done to my ego if I were to be beaten. So instead I opted to blend in with the back markers on the 30km race.
The other competition - Gavin and Michelle
Old habits die hard - as soon as the gun went off, instinct took over, and I found myself on the front of the bunch, pushing hard. Behind I could hear a bit of a scramble as the young racing snakes jostled to get on my wheel. Any worries I had about my knee went out the window, and my next worry was how long I could keep up the pace over the rolling hills, straight into a head wind.
Always stay hydrated
Spectators should stay hydrated too
I reckoned I had about 10 minutes in my legs and my lungs, and in that time I was going to make the youngsters earn the win. It was good to ride hard again, and for about ten minutes I lead the 30km ride. With my legs and lungs aching, I sat up, pulled over, and waved goodbye to the racing snakes. Mad panic ensued, as one of them would now have to go to the front and face the gusty breeze.
Heavier than they look
The locals turned out in force
I waited for Brenton, and from then on had a great ride - stopping at all the watering points, taking a wrong turn in my eagerness to pass slower people (I almost ended up doing the 50km), and chatting to the people around me (which normally doesn't happen too often). As the ride settled down, Brenton and I found ourselves in the company of a young boy, who couldn't have been more than 13 years old. While he struggled into the wind (the lack of body weight can be a killer), he had no fear on the downhills. I was still quite nervous on the downhills, as two days previously I had fallen off my bike (again), and hurt my shoulder. I could see the youngster wanted to race to the finish, and so I made him work hard, eventually letting him "out sprint" me to the line.
Pre-race strategy discussions
Yawn...
Craig followed a similar tactic to me in the 50km, but instead of calling it quits after 10 minutes, he just kept on going - riding away from everyone to win another race. At least one of us is doing well. I might be the guy getting pushed all over the Western Cape next March ;)
On your marks
Get set...
Go!!
The bike race was just the warm up to the days events, as the real highlight (probably of the year for the locals of Botrivier) was the barrel race. This involves a team of 4 rolling an empty wine barrel up and down a course in a relay. The top 4 times went through to the semi finals, with the winning team walking away with new wine barrel (and if you think that is a cheesy prize, a barrel apparently goes for around R8000!).
Ten out of ten for accuracy....
After studying the technique of the teams that went first, Team Snail Farmer (or something like that) made their barrel rolling debut against the professionals. I think they were the only non wine farm entry. And the wine farms take this competition quite seriously - I think the bragging rights of being the Barrel Rolling Champions are quite valued in Botrivier.
Post race analysis...
It is all fine and well beating the girls, but imagine the damage that would be done to my ego if I were to be beaten. So instead I opted to blend in with the back markers on the 30km race.
Old habits die hard - as soon as the gun went off, instinct took over, and I found myself on the front of the bunch, pushing hard. Behind I could hear a bit of a scramble as the young racing snakes jostled to get on my wheel. Any worries I had about my knee went out the window, and my next worry was how long I could keep up the pace over the rolling hills, straight into a head wind.
I reckoned I had about 10 minutes in my legs and my lungs, and in that time I was going to make the youngsters earn the win. It was good to ride hard again, and for about ten minutes I lead the 30km ride. With my legs and lungs aching, I sat up, pulled over, and waved goodbye to the racing snakes. Mad panic ensued, as one of them would now have to go to the front and face the gusty breeze.
I waited for Brenton, and from then on had a great ride - stopping at all the watering points, taking a wrong turn in my eagerness to pass slower people (I almost ended up doing the 50km), and chatting to the people around me (which normally doesn't happen too often). As the ride settled down, Brenton and I found ourselves in the company of a young boy, who couldn't have been more than 13 years old. While he struggled into the wind (the lack of body weight can be a killer), he had no fear on the downhills. I was still quite nervous on the downhills, as two days previously I had fallen off my bike (again), and hurt my shoulder. I could see the youngster wanted to race to the finish, and so I made him work hard, eventually letting him "out sprint" me to the line.
Craig followed a similar tactic to me in the 50km, but instead of calling it quits after 10 minutes, he just kept on going - riding away from everyone to win another race. At least one of us is doing well. I might be the guy getting pushed all over the Western Cape next March ;)
The bike race was just the warm up to the days events, as the real highlight (probably of the year for the locals of Botrivier) was the barrel race. This involves a team of 4 rolling an empty wine barrel up and down a course in a relay. The top 4 times went through to the semi finals, with the winning team walking away with new wine barrel (and if you think that is a cheesy prize, a barrel apparently goes for around R8000!).
After studying the technique of the teams that went first, Team Snail Farmer (or something like that) made their barrel rolling debut against the professionals. I think they were the only non wine farm entry. And the wine farms take this competition quite seriously - I think the bragging rights of being the Barrel Rolling Champions are quite valued in Botrivier.
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