Trans-Baviaans

And again I have the privilege to ride with heroes!
Cat-i and Adri Ferrari, who just completed the Swazi-Extreme, and Leon vd Westhuizen teamed up with me to ride the Trans-Baviaans 230km single stage MTB ride, not even 5 days after the SwaziX, and with Leon's family just having had a new addition too!
And just when I think the ride is, well, about the ride, along comes Nicolien and shows me how dependent we are on our support crew!  And how much effort someone can put into seconding in order to make it all seem effortless.
I am enamored of of you all, great people, and proud to call you friends!

Swazi Extreme...

...was pretty extreme, and judging by the comments from participants of previous Swazi-X events, pretty extreme and long this time.
Nevertheless, again I had the privilege to participate with awesome people - Francois Steyl (Snr), Gerrit van Niekerk, Casper, and seconded by Francois (Jnr).  It never ceases to bewilder me what amazing people there are all around us, and these 4 people have all become big in my eyes, people who do more than they need to, who dig deeper than I thought they could, AND all the while keep smiling and cheerful.
I am privileged....

It's great to be alive!!!!

Bombing along an awesome singletrack in Groenkloof at full tilt, grin on my face, body tense as I push the bike as fast as I can thru the twisties, ducking a bush here and there, and I hear a voice behind me say "wheeeeeeee.............. it's great to be alive!".  The one and only Cat-i certainly got that right!
Thanks for reminding me how good it is.  I used to think the only thing I ever did that was totally trouble-free was to head out past the break on my surf board, but mountainbiking has certainly managed to get up there for me.

Perceptions

Never cease to be amazed by how many people perceive what I do for fun is "extreme"!  Kloofing at Tonquani, a few short ARs, yet in a meeting yesterday it was pointed out what extreme things I do for "fun".
I referred the people to Jaques (thespoonthatbends.blogspot.com) and Cat-I's (cyclingwith.blogspot.com) blogs just to show people how boring what I get up to really is, and what people I know and respect can actually get up to.
It's an honour and privilege to be surrounded by such amazing people!  but I'll be fixing the boring part for myself....watch this space!

Joberg2C Day 10

wait a minute, this is back to reality, no day 10 :-(

ok, so now it's time to take on the world again, a lot tougher than anything we faced the last 9 days or so, and a lot more hostile too!

Guess a little R&R is needed, body suddenly seems to have gone into shock and needs fluids like crazy, idunnowhy?

Joberg2C Day 9

Another beautiful day, awesome singletracks, plantation roads, sometimes taken at 50+km/h, amazing ride thru an amazing game reserve with zebra and various buck sited. In all a great day and a fun finish on the beach at Scottburgh that saw me do an involuntary highspeed somersault on the beach to the entertainment of the crowd. A great event, hope I can be back again next year.

Joberg2C Day 8

It's difficult to describe what has to be by far the most beautiful day we have had so far.
Parts of Sani2C, other trails and virgin singletrack, some of which took months to prepare, made up the route, some awesome climbs out of the Valley of Death and other river valleys, none of which can come close to describing how incredibly beautiful the ride was. And i loved the long climbs, you get to catch up to and chat to tons of people (ok, not everyone has much to say).
But have to see it to believe it. And for those who hate climbing, it's still worth the 2300m ascent to drop for 24km on singletrack into the valley. Yes, 24km of jungle track, bush, switchbacks, waterfalls, jumps, small drop-offs - incredible, even if my shoulder really started screaming thru the painpills that it had had enough yanking around now. But my partner was feeling much better in the 2nd half, and I felt that I could pick up the pace comfortably and finish in a much earlier time than before, thus giving us an afternoon to relax at Jolivet.
The night at Jolivet was good, great ablutions, food and socialising for the last night before the final push to Scottburgh about 70km away.
Bitter-sweet, this kind of ending..,,,,

Joberg2C & Groenkloof

For most of us in Pretoria, non-race MTB riding is probably at least 50% at Groenkloof, to the point where we might take it for granted. So I thought I should just share this with you all:
While riding thru a stunning piece of bush track today on J2C day 7, someone remarked:
"If I didn't know where I were and you suddenly woke me now I'd swear I was riding in that beautiful reserve in Pretoria - Groenkloof".

Joberg2C Day 7

Wow! Amazing! Effing cool!
singletrack rocks!
85km of pure smilage, only 1000m or so ascent. 1st day of Sani2C route is incredible.
Ok, so we had to wait for some backloggers to clear the singletrack, but it was worth it. My mate was feeling a bit better today and, although we didn't push it, he could enjoy the scenery and the singletrack a bit more.
The day turned out perfectly, even the weather smiled on us and gave us a pleasant, sunny, but cool day. And it was topped off with a pleasant evening spent with Phil Ligget. What an interesting guy!
Finally the first TLC for the bike was required, a quick chain replacement and some new brakepads.
And tomorrow we can look forward to the Umkomaas valley descent, ascent, descent and ascent again, and that via some virgin singletrack. yeehaaaaaa.....zzzzzzzzzz

Joberg2C Day 6

What a day! Only 93km to cover with some big climbs (1900m), but going across the Loteni river (walking) into the Giant's Cup area of the 'berg is incredibly beautiful.
Progress was very slow as my partner wasn't sure he should even get on the bike, and we started at the back despite a good batch seeding. 5km along and he started talking of waiting for the sweep vehicle, he was that finished. But after a chat we decide to aim for the first waterpoint and take it from there. At the top of a long 7km climb on good dirt road, it would help warm the body and assess the real status. Confidence grew in him as he plodded away on the peddles while others around us gasped, wheezed and stopped to walk. Stopping wasn't really an option as it hurt him too much to get on and off the bike. So he bit the bullet. And don't mention pushing or towing, we agreed neither of us wanted to be tugged to the finish beforehand.
I took the opportunity to take tons of photos of the beautiful scenery. The first waterpoint at 40km down in a relaxed time, we could now see the cutoff would not be a threat if we just kept going, so off we went, descending for 14km into the Loteni Valley. Again many pics, across the river, with a quick splash in the icy water in the process, and then up 8km of steep technical climb that had many walk most of the way up, only to be cut and swept at the waterpoint. We had about 1:30 to spare, and my partner, having gotten some pain pills from another rider, was starting to feel more upbeat, and we took on the final climb of the day with more gusto and made up some time in the process, just unfortunately demoralising some backmarkers in the process.
The trick for the day was definately to stop at the top of a climb and look back, the views of the berg around us were incredible!
After nearly 9h we finally got to the finish, hungry, but with Jan feeling better we hope to still have a chance to finish the event. Despite all the climbing my Achilles tendon that has been so inflamed that I could hardly walk seems to have benefitted from the relaxed pace and is much less painfull today. Well, the medics did say R&R is the only treatment for it :-)
In summary a gobsmackingly beautiful day, and Day 7 sees the start of the Sani2C route, so I can hardly wait! Sani Pass, here we come!

Joberg2C Day 5

This is a day worth getting excited about - MTB from Winterton to Glengary, Kamberg area of the Drakensburg and the promise of the most majestic hiking mountains in the world. 102km, abt 1600m ascent, end abt 400m higher than we start.
The first 40km covered some really fun cattle singletrack just to get the legs warm after a cold start. Then we started heading into the 'berg proper, and this got me into trouble with one of the cycling groups for singing "Mannetjies Roux" up one of the passes. My poor cycling buddy wasn't having a good day however, energy levels low from the hard connection with planet earth and a painful rib sapping the usually stronger than an ox man. So we took the day easy and enjoyed the beautiful sights the berg had to offer. Other than one steepish climb and the general feeling that we were continually going more up than down we had a good day. And some high-speed downhills that just seem to have been made for my Ellsworth 29er.
And then we were welcomed in by none other than Phil Ligget and the Supersport team for a live broadcast.
Jan looks one helluva lot better after a nap this afternoon, hope he'll feel strong again tomorrow so he can enjoy the ride more, climbing is usually his forte.
Looking forward to the day tomorrow, 94km, 2000m ascent, ending in beautiful Underberg.
Raining now (ok, berg drizzle) so snuggled up in my FA -5 'bag trying to keep my eyes open to finish this...this.....er......zzzzzzzzzzz

Joberg2C Day 4

Ok, everyone except Carine was apprehensive about this stage - 130kms, more than 2000m ascent, but the promise of the sweetest singletrack the berg has. The route was more or less Day 1 of Berg n Bush route, give or take a few modifications.
I have never smiled as much on a ride as on the first 100km's. The mountains from Sterkfontein to Winterton are awesome, the views incredible and the track awesome.
Unfortunately Jan took a major wipeout on the first downhill due to his glasses fogging up, and really hurt his back and ribs. Once on the go again we took it a lot easier, but the technical track and knock from the wipeout cost Jan another spill, and then to make things worse a tandem sent him sliding off the track almost into the river. But then he recovered and set a serious pace on the last major climb for the day. Starting from behind about 20 teams we were completely alone by the time we crested.
The day was long, taking us 8:30 to finish with all the crashing, recovery, etc, but luckily we survived, there were a few bad wipeouts , broken bodies and bikes and the ER24 guys and helicopters were kept seriously busy. But if Carine's smile is anything to go by, the day was awesome, fun was had by (almost) all, and we'll get to continue tomorrow with another awesome berg stage.

Joberg2C Day 3

Day 3 tackled in survival mode to make sure Jan's knee would make the distance. Luckily for this, because the stage was 125km long with some uncomfortable grass tracks at the beginning, rolling hills in the middle and a few short nasty climbs near the end. But the view of Sterkfontein Dam that awaited us at the end was awesome! We somehow managed to move 26 positions in the overall standingd despite taking 7h to complete the stage. There were a few teams cut at the last waterpoint and again a few at the end. After all that suffering - Oww!
The venue here was organised with Harriston School at the Dam Resort, and is by far the best so far. Reitz and Frankfurt can learn from these guys!
Glad to see Carine, Paul survived the stage too, and Morne as well, go DnDers!!!

History

I made history today - broke my first chain (and yes, it was a new PC991 chain). thank heavens for powerlinks....

Joberg2C Day 2

Ok, meant to be an easy laid back day in the sun, just 100km to Reitz.
Woke to light rain and cold.  Among other options for breakfast was soup, which had me suddenly decide to carbo-load for the week with this Frankfurt juice.
Dressed extra warm for the start, arm warmers, "borslap", jacket, even put the sleeves on,  buff on the noggin.  Somehow forgot to pack the 2000W bar heater for the feet though, and by 9:00 these were frozen.  Distraction of riding a beautiful section of single-track along the Wilge River was very welcome, and the crossing of a stream later helped get the bike clean after all the slosh we rode thru earlier.
first 3 hours of rolling hills hurt, my legs red and blue from the cold, but otherwise ok.
And just as the ride was strarting to get too long and too cold, we finally had a decent long climb that got us warmed up, all the while being entertained by the sights of the flatter Freestate farmlands, beautiful stone farmhouses and the occasional game running nearby.  And then some fun fast singletrack that had Carine still smiling about it at the camp when I saw her later the day.  In summary a fun day with a nice road to keep the
On a serious note, I am rather worried about my partner, Jan, he is really strong, but about 15km from the end today suddenly experienced serious knee-pain.  I hope this isn't going to end his ride prematurely, he will be really disappointed, as obviously will I. We can probably finish tomorrow ahead of cut-off and still take it easy though, we have been finishing comfortably hours ahead of cutoff so far.
Now for a nap.....
If anyone expected photos, sorry, you had to have been there.....(especially the bits along the river)

Joberg2C Day 1

Cold.....so cold I shook my coffee out the cup :-(
Sloshy Mud & Cow dung.....
A dragonboat paddle across the vaal (yeehaaa)
Tens of km's of bumpy grass track (and rear end pain)
Awesome finish at Frankfurt 120km later around 13:30.
Thing I remember most: Free beers at the shower - jeez, they really wanted to be sure the okes take a shower!
Awesome hosting by Wilgerivier School, even specially prepared a local fish dish for us, fresh from the river.

Joberg2C packing

Ok, so how the #*&?#* do I get 10 days of kit, clothes, and repair stuff into this little bag?

Joberg2C

wooohooo - 900-odd km of mountainbiking, of which about 700 will be in, on or within sight of my all-time fave mountains range - the Drakensberg! Priveledge!