Epic 2009 - Stage 2

Date: 23 March 2009
Start/Finish: Villiersdorp
Distance: 110km
Climbing: 1527m
Cut-off time: 17:00



As day 2 of the Cape Epic dawned on us, things felt a little strange. Today was a circular route around Villiersdorp, and our first introduction into what some people were calling the "Great Circle Route". On the one hand it was nice not having to pack all my worldly Epic possessions into the big black bag. On the other hand, we were going to race for 6 hours and end up back where we started. Where is the sense of achievement in that? I was quite happy to rather jog around the school athletics track and head back to my tent for another hour or two of sleep.

The flat lands, surrounded by hills - perfect for an Epic stage

The leaders flying through the Hot Spot

After the slight wobble of the previous stage, we were going to take it "easy" today. As easy as one can when facing 110kms with 1572m of climbing. To add to our issues - Craig didn't have his heart rate monitor strap with him, so determining "easy" wasn't going to be that easy.

The "bedrooms" in Villiersdorp

As usual, the backup crew of Yolanda and Bonte arrived at our tents just before the start. It is always encouraging seeing some friendly faces. To get the heart rate monitor strap to Craig, they were going to have to break some speed records in order to get back to meet us at the second checkpoint at 52kms, which happened to be at the oldest unrestored farmhouse in South Africa, Brandvlei Cellar.

The "bathroom"

We had managed to hang on to our C seeding, clearly we were not the only riders who suffered yesterday. We thought this would also help us out with our "easy" day. At 7am the gun went off, and we found ourselves heading out of town on the tar road. As usual, the pace was high with people jostling for position. I had my first scare of the race and afterwards realised just how lucky I was. I was following Craig on the left edge of the road when the road narrowed. Being on mountain bikes, this was no problem to Craig, and he just continued straight ahead onto the gravel. Seemed like a good plan, and I followed. Little did I know that on my left hand side, slightly behind me was a mountain bike who did really like Craig's plan, and so tried to squeeze into the bunch to avoid the gravel by steering right. Into me. Our handle bars locked and we both came crashing down. We were probably doing about 30km/h at the time. Fortunately, I mostly fell on him and his bike, and didn't end up loosing too much skin. I did take quite a knock to my knee, elbow and shoulder though. The other rider jumped up without saying a word, got on his bike and rode away. I taught him a couple of choice Afrikaans swear words that I won't repeat here. Needless to say, he went straight to the top of my list of people to beat!

The Epic teaches the art of queuing

I was a little worried about the knock to my knee, especially after all drama it had been through in the last 8 months. Thankfully, the riding was tough enough to keep my mind occupied. Almost as soon as we turned off the tar onto the dirt riders started falling - we were riding across some badly eroded ground, and riders were losing their front wheels in ditches and holes. Several riders broke collar bones and wrists there. Thankfully, there were enough bodies lying on the ground to act as warning beacons when we came through that we escaped unscathed.

Francois, and every one's favorite German - Mike Mike

I made a discovery that would become a habit throughout the rest of the Epic. Breakfast is usually a dull affair consisting of trying to cram as much food into your body as you can stomach, and then having a little more. No one really eats breakfast because they are hungry (except possibly Craig). You eat breakfast so that in 6 hours time you won't hit the wall and bonk completely. After a large bowl of oats, two pieces of toast with scrambled eggs, tomato and cheese, and some fruit juice I was stuffed. But Craig was still tucking into his second serving of eggs on toast. I was worried. What if I ran out of energy? There was no way Craig would with all that food in his stomach. So I took a banana for the ride. After about an hour of moderate suffering I thought it was time to try the banana. While I didn't feel an immediate effect, it was enough to take my mind off the riding, and get rid of the taste of energy drink in my mouth. The fact that I had good legs all day - not sure if the banana was responsible, but I wasn't going to fiddle with something that worked. So, for the rest of the Epic I would have a banana after about an hour of riding - sometimes sooner if I was struggling.

Hanging onto the back of the bunch - my second home

Etienne and Cillie had started with us in C, but very quickly rode away from us on the hills. What a surprise to look back over our shoulders after the first water point to see them pedaling like crazy to try to rejoin the nice little bunch we were in. As they said - they like to get value out of their stops - they paid good money to enjoy the free coke and energade.

The section between water point one and two was flat and fast, and dusty. I think I put on a kilo from all the dust I ate that morning. I struggled with the pace, and suffered quite a bit - definitely one of the tougher sections of the stage for me. The only plus was that the kilometers were flying by. Before long we reached the MTN Hot Spot and spectator point where our supporters and fans had been eagerly waiting for us. So eager in fact that they had been wine tasting. At nine in the morning. This was also the spot where Bonte was going to give Craig his heart rate monitor strap. Like someone doing an illicit drug deal, she sneakily stuck out a hand and passed the strap. A misspent youth in Roosevelt Park, observing the locals in Sea Point, some tips from Hawstone - who knows? But certainly effective - no one saw a thing.

Strap exchange done - off to the next water point

It wasn't long before we made the next water point, and even though Craig had to pretty much get undressed to put the heart rate monitor strap on, and I needed a toilet break, we once again left the water point ahead of the faffers. The daily highlight of the 2nd water point each day was the lube guy. He would apply a generous spray of lube to our chains, and somehow, after that, the bike would feel like new. Any niggles and problems, either bike or rider related, seemed to vanish.

As tough as the climbs were today, there was an even tougher obstacle in store for us. Sand. It is like riding through treacle - sucking your bike deeper and deeper, and sapping your legs of energy. Getting off and pushing isn't much easier. That's if you can't ride through it. The cycling gods had decided to be kind to me after my poor showing of sand riding at the Argus MTB ride, and somehow my sand skills were in tip top shape. I actually enjoyed the sandy sections - mini challenges every couple of hundred meters. Whether it was me, the tyres, the bike setup I don't know. But together it worked perfectly.

Once the sand had drained the riders both physically and mentally, the hills started. Most of it was ridable, but every know and then there would be a bit a little too steep, or a little too rocky, and the only option was to hop off and push. It was on the top of these sections where the photographers lurked:

This was posted here - famous at last!
"A rider checks that all of his ducklings are following close behind."

The tricky descent made all the climbing worth it, and compared to yesterday, Craig enjoyed this downhill. The only downside was the traffic we bumped into along the way. I am no downhill expert, but even I was going faster than some of these roadies. Talking of which, I hadn't seen my friend from this morning, and all signs were indicating that we were ahead. Good!

Done - wasn't too bad

Glad it's over though

To show that the pros are human too, we passed one of the riders from the Bulls second team walking, smashed front wheel in hand. The obsession with light weight components perhaps not well suited to the tough terrain in the Villiersdorp valley. That pro still finished ahead of us - his partner had gone in search of a wheel, ridden back to him, and then they both came flying past us as if we were stationary. Perhaps they aren't human afterall.

M-u-s-t h-a-v-e c-o-k-e !!

The route now joined the district road before the last climb of the day. This was all old hat to us as we had finished the stage from Malmesbury to Villiersdorp in 2007 along this same route. In true Epic style, we were going to climb up to a cell phone tower that overlooked Villiersdorp. Through a cow patch. Craig was being a policeman again today, as I set the pace along the wide dirt roads towards the climb. The faffers were ahead of us and putting distance into us all the time. Thankfully, there was one more water point, and we were sure we could erase the time deficit there. Another highlight of each stage was trying to spot Frank at the water points. Today he was at water point 3.

The red team (team faffers) got one back on us today

We got to the bottom of the last climb together with Etienne and Cillie, but they were not going to wait around and flew off up the hill. We set a good tempo, and climbed well. By now the sun was baking down on us, and there wasn't a breath of wind to cool us down. We got to the top a couple of minutes behind the competition, but made up some time on the descent until we caught up with a mixed team. With the faffers in sight, riding like men possessed, we could do nothing but wait for the mixed team, eventually finishing a minute or so behind them. 2-1 to them.

Mother and son - I think is smelt a bit - notice the gap ;)

Again, our superb backup crew were on hand to cheer us in, give us our recovery drinks, and listen to the stories. Our bikes again had performed flawlessly, and Francois was on hand to whisk them away for a wash and lube.

Speek from Maverick clowning around and supporting

Bonte reflecting, waiting for her cousin Derek.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating (same principle as breakfast - eat as much as you can, and then some more), drinking (rehydrate for the next day), relaxing and having Jayne attend to the aches and pains from the days racing.

We turned the pavement into a massage, dining and relaxation area

My turn for Jayne to fix the aches and pains (with Craig napping in the background)

Highlights of the day: The awesome downhill, Bonte's sneaky strap handover, SAND
Lowlights of the day: The crash, my sore knee, losing out to the faffers

Nope - not dead. Just having a nap.

Feet up, compression pants on, a newspaper to read. Perfect

Stage
GC 126 Cat 88 5:39.21,7
Total Time
13:47.20,14

Derek and Cliff made it - 2 down.

Epic 2009 - Stage 1

Date: 22 March 2009
Start/Finish: Gordon’s Bay to Villiersdorp
Distance: 112km
Climbing: 2729m
Cut-off time: 17:00

Ugggh!

The big change of this year's Epic was the break from the traditional start in Knysna, as well as spending two nights at each town along the way. Up until now, the Epic didn't really feel like the Epic. We were still in my back yard, I was sleeping at home at night. It was only as we made the 15 minute journey from Somerset West to Gordon's Bay that it started to all sink in. We had 7 days of tough mountain biking ahead of us, and the finish line in Lourensford seemed a lifetime away.

Orbrey turned out in support too, and had a very busy time peeing on 1200 bikes

Stage one had been billed as a tough one, and a look at the profile confirmed it. The long, flat dirt roads of previous years were a thing of the past. We were either going up, or down, for 112kms.

Our steeds - ready to go.

After last year's implosion on day one, Craig and I had discussed a strategy that we thought would work. Take it easy and ride at tempo till the 3rd water point, and then evaluate how things were going. If we felt strong we could push the pace, if not, we could continue looking after ourselves. We really didn't want ruin another Epic on the first day. With this approach in mind, our somewhat disappointing Prologue time was a blessing - we were seeded in C, far away from the racing snakes in A and B, and so wouldn't be tempted into anything silly so early on.

Jayne and Bonte

With my nerves on edge - 4 months of training about to be put to the test - we lined up in our start chute. As the music started, we both slipped into "Epic mode" - ready to tackle the challenge that lay before us. The advantage of starting in Gordon's Bay was that it felt like a local funride - I recognised many familiar faces who had braved the early morning chill to come out and support this fantastic event. A big thank you to everyone.

At 7am sharp we were off - our Epic adventure number 3 under way. From the beginning, the tone for the next 7 days was set as we started climbing almost immediately. And just like previous years, some teams got caught up in the first hour madness. Although the temptation was there to match them, our knowledge and experience prevailed as we settled into a comfortable tempo on the tar climb up to Steenbras Dam. A sharp left turn at the top, and we waved goodbye to the tar as the mountain biking began.

We adopted our familiar riding formation - Craig on the front, with me right behind him and made good progress as the sun rose over the mountains, sunlight streaming straight into our eyes. Already we were taking note of the teams around us - people we knew, people we wanted to beat, riders we wanted to avoid. Craig had secured last minute sponsorship from MMA Consolidators - a transport company, and with that in mind, my first marked team was a pair of riders in DHL kit who came from Somerset West. We had to do our sponsor proud and beat them. The next team that got added to my list was a pair of foreigners who displayed some very bad etiquette and jumped the queue as we waited to portage a short unridable section.

We passed Etienne and Cillie as they attended to a mechanical, but any hope staying away from them was short lived as 5 minutes later they caught us from behind. With the Steenbras Dam behind us, and the burnt moonscape of the Grabouw forests with steep climbs ahead of us, we settled into a good pace, accompanied by several other teams. All along the route the spectators turned out in force, and it was quite reassuring to see our seconders as we crossed the N2. At this point I was still quite capable of smiling!

Water point 2 and still looking good.

As the day progressed, we climbed the forest roads up Nuweberg, enjoyed the fast downhill on the other side and before long had arrived at the second water point of the day. It was here that we made a rather interesting discovery - Etienne and Cillie's Achilles heel: they faff at water points. They had ridden away from us up the slopes of Nuweberg, yet we were quite surprised to catch them at the water point. Our seconders, doubling as spies, filled us in later that a water stop for Team Lefty and Fox is a occurrence that must be observed to be believed: helmets off, bikes down, fill the bottles, have a chat, drink some juice, wash faces, get some snacks, chat some more, have another drink, stretch, have a bit of a moan, do some mechanical repairs and so on. The whole process can take up to 10 minutes. Ten minutes that we would use to catch and pass them on a regular basis.

Off to tackle Groenlandberg

As we left the water point, with the faffers behind us, we once again started climbing - up the infamous Groenlandberg - a 5km climb at 8%, in hot, airless conditions with temperatures up to 43C. Almost right away Craig started struggling, but he was not alone. The mood of all the riders around us changed - the carnival atmosphere of a couple hours earlier was gone, the reality of the Epic sinking in. I was having stomach issues and didn't feel like eating or drinking, but in these conditions that is tantamount to suicide. Forcing a Mule bar down, and a GU or two with lots of fluid didn't help my belly, but I think it saved my legs later in the day.

Bonte taking pity on the dog in the heat!

The joy of mountain biking is that for every uphill there is a downhill, and I was really looking forward to the downhill once we reached the summit of Groenlandberg. We were in for a bit of a shock as they took us down a rutted, eroded track that required total concentration - one slip and the Epic could be over. At the bottom I asked Craig if he enjoyed the downhill, and to my surprise he said no - things clearly weren't all going to plan. With water point 3 in the distance, and my legs still feeling quite good, we slowly made our way forward. Just when I thought we were having it tough, I looked back to see Etienne and Cillie, and through the heat haze I could just make them out - walking. I had to double check, and they had indeed dismounted. It was reassuring to know that others around us were suffering too.

Starting to hurt a little - water point 3

The support crew were all gathered around the water point as we took our time restocking for the last 30kms. With shouts of encouragement and plenty of photos we set off - the final push to the line in Villiersdorp. In true Epic fashion, there was quite a nasty sting in the tail of today's stage, and we didn't want to be caught without fluid. By now my legs were starting to hurt, and I could feel a cramp coming on in my right quadricep. The best solution is to ride through it, although it hurts like hell. Craig wasn't doing much better - also suffering from cramps, and feeling the heat. As we messed around in the foothills around Villiersdorp, many riders started to suffer from sense of humour failure. The thick sand, the steep orchard roads, the heat were all conspiring to make this a rather tough finish.

The finish - cold coke and water.

With 5kms to go, the tented village almost in sight, I lost Craig. Upon looking back, I saw him playing in a sprinkler - chasing the thing round and round in a bid to cool his legs and feet off. If only I had a camera. By now our spirit was broken, and we really didn't care about position. I think deep down we were both quite worried that this year was going to be a repeat of last year, and so far, all the indications were there that this was the case. This was by far one of the toughest stages I had ridden, and I really felt sorry for the back markers - it was going to be a long hot day in the saddle for them. Just making the cutoff would be reason enough to celebrate.

Another tough opening stage in the Epic

We finally crossed the line, and like a Formula 1 pit crew, our seconders got to work. Bikes were whisked away, recovery drinks were dished out, post stage photos were taken, and we were gently herded to our tents for a shower. Once clean, and feeling half human again, the real seconding began - we were expertly fed, professionally massaged, egos were pampered and sympathetic ears were lent to listen to the many war stories.

Jayne the phsyio, and expert tyre replacer

To make us feel better, the organisers convinced Christoph Sauser to stand up at dinner and tell us that today's stage was the toughest he had ever done. Very sweet. Didn't really help the people who missed the cutoff and had their Epic come to an end before it really even got started. But it is good to know that the pros hurt too.

Highlights of the day: Riding the Epic, the Sprinkler incident, our friendly backup crew
Lowlights of the day: Stomach issues, cramping, a 2008 repeat?

Stage
GC 120 Cat 83 7:08.54,6
Total Time
8:07.58,7

One of the Epic songs played each night:

	Herbert Gronemeyer - Celebrate The Day
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Stage 1 highlights:


The route:

Epic 2009 - Prologue

Date: 21 March 2009
Start/Finish: Cape Town
Distance: 17km
Climbing: 650m

Nervously waiting to start our 2009 campaign with our supporters

Craig and I had ridden the route a couple of times before, and we knew what awaited us. LOTS of climbing. The steep kind of climbing. To make matters worse, we had been given a 12:07 start time - right in the mid-day heat. Craig later found out that the organisers had selected 50 teams they knew who could ride bikes to go before the pros, so there wouldn't be any congestion on the course. A bit of a compliment, but this also added to the pressure.

All smiles and ready to go.

The route

A perfect Cape day

The prologue started and finished at Herzlia sports ground at the foot of Table Mountain. A more picturesque and scenic venue would be hard to find. Below us lay the City Bowl,the harbour, and in the distance Robben Island. Lurking above us was Table Mountain, and that was the direction we would be heading.

The easy bit

The start of the ride took us on steep tar roads through the residential area, before we popped out into the Nature Reserve and started climbing. We had agreed not to go too hard, but the heat (42C) and the excitement of the moment made it difficult. The 15% climbs that we were climbing didn't help either. Before long the sweat was pouring off me - not a breath of wind. It was a pleasant suprise to see Mike on the side of the mountain, and he got some good shots of us before the suffering had really begun.

Let the suffering begin!

The fire that broke out 3 days before the Prologue

We climbed up to Dead Man's Tree and Tafelberg Road, where the roadie in me took over and hopped on the front to set the pace. Craig was playing the policeman today, and did a good job of keeping me in check. We were already going quite hard, and didn't want to overdo it on the first day. Our reward for the torturous climbing was a lovely descent through the freshly burnt mountain side.


Before long we were climbing again on loose gravel roads with ridiculously steep inclines. I lost my line and had to hop off, pushing my bike up the hills. My heart rate hit 190 bpm as I struggled to keep up with Craig (who was still riding). With the climbing behind us, we had some tricky single track to negotiate before Herzlia's fields awaited us.

We were going so fast that all Mike caught of us was a blur!

This was the first inkling we would get of the more technical nature of this year's Epic. Several riders came short on this last bit of single track, including eventual overall winners The Bulls. We, on the other hand had no such problems and crossed the line in 59:04, a whopping 18:08 behind the leaders. We were also a little surprised to have been beaten by Etienne and Cillie by 2:30 (another team from Hermanus). At least we had a team to compete with, and they had just fired the first warning shots.

Tongues hanging out, almost there as we pass another team.

The day's work done - the finish in sight.

Highlight of the day: The long fast downhills and the good crowd turnout.
Lowlight of the day: Being so far off the pace.

Stage:
GC 135 Cat 97 59:04
GC:
GC 135 Cat 97 59:04

Epic Promo

To get into the mood of the Epic, here is a quick promo.



And some Epic facts:



My race report will follow shortly ;)

Epic View

The Epic now just 3 days and 21 hours away, and my packing still far from complete. Time to get into action (I also have 2 assignments to do before Friday, but that is another story).

We rode the Prologue Route on Saturday - it is going to be a toughie. It is 20kms long with 600m of climbing, and should take us about an hour. The uphills are tough, but it is the downhills that have me worried. They could end the Epic before the race has even really started. Our strategy is to survive - the Epic doesn't really begin on the first day, but it certainly can end!

I think the idea of hosting the Prologue in the City Bowl is a great idea - the views are superb, both of the Mountain, and of the City. I hope the foreigners take some time to appreciate the view.