The Cape Epic Journey

So another week of NO cycling has come and gone, and with it the World Cup too. Not sure if I am happy or sad that the World Cup is over though. It’s been awesome to see how well South Africa did at hosting the event, but in a way it will be good to have things back to normal. Hopefully with that I’ll actually get on my bike again and start getting that fitness up. I played squash again last week, and I can feel that it is helping me with my base fitness, and also with working other muscles that I don’t normally work when riding. Hopefully it’ll make me a better cyclist.

I think the race that I am going to start training for is the Spring Classic. I did it last year, and it was quite enjoyable except for the fact that I forgot to take any hydration with me. This year I won’t forget it, and will try to get a better finish than I did in last years race.

Finally a HUGE congrats to Spain who won their FIRST Soccer World Cup.

Happy riding peeps.

So since I haven’t been doing much riding the past few weeks I figured I need to do something to try keep fit. Yeah, I still play action cricket, but that doesn’t really do much for ones fitness.

So I’ve decided that I am going to start playing squash again. I really enjoy squash, and it’s a nice way to get more flexible (which I am sure will help my cycling in some way), as well as very fit. If you play squash against someone on the same level, or just a little better than yourself, you tend to get fit very quickly as there is a lot of running around done. The one thing I am not looking forward to is the sore muscles. I always find I work muscles that haven’t been worked in a while when I play squash for the first few times after a long time away from playing.

I will try keep the squash up, even when I start cycling again. On the cycling note, I might be going for a little bit of a ride this weekend. Not sure where it’ll be, as I think I’ve lost a lot of my fitness, so don’t want to go on a long ride, only to really suffer. Especially since I’ve just got over the flu.

Have a goodie.

Before I forget.

A while back I posted that I was looking at going the 2×10 route, and was trying to decide what to do. Well, not long after that post my crank started giving me real problems, so it needed to be changed. I went to my LBS to replace it with a 3×10 crank, and told the guy there that I was looking at going 2×10 later in the year. He then asked me why I don’t just go 2×9 now. I was like WTF, can I do that with my setup? He said it was easy, and that I wouldn’t need to buy anything other than a new crank (which I was going to do anyway). So I went ahead and did it.

The 2×9 has taken a bit of getting used to, and with my lack of riding during winter, it is obviously taking a bit longer than it should. I did the Magalies Monster 70km (where the Horndog did really well) using my 2×9 setup, and it went well considering it was only my 2nd ride with the setup. The first being a short 40km ride.

I am looking forward to warmer weather so that I can get some more km’s in, and master the 2×9. I will be going to 2×9 later in the year still, I just won’t need to get a new crank. Gives me a change to save up, and on the plus side… I should be a lot stronger when I do switch from 2×9 to 2×10.

Sjoe. 2 posts in 1 day.

So we are having our Winter here in South Africa, and I have to say it has caused me to lose most of my motivation to ride. Well to do any kind of activity really. It’s just TOO cold in the mornings. I suppose I could do something in the afternoon when it is a bit warmer, but by that time I am enjoying a lazy day, or one of the World Cup Soccer matches going on.

So, for this Winter, I am going to hang up the cycling shoes, and support the World Cup.  I’m looking forward to the 2nd round because I think there are going to be some cracking games. Germany vs England. Argentina vs Mexico. Tonight I will be supporting Italy. Hopefully they can get the win and progress through.

Once again I must apologize for my lack of posting. I really don’t have an excuse other than being really lazy. Hopefully I can get my A into G now, and post more regularly.

To those of you still riding during winter. Good luck, and enjoy it.

So since the Epic I have only been doing very short rides which had some technical parts to them. Along with that I have been playing some hockey. It is now hockey season, so I tend to ride a little less, but this year I am going to try ride more than in previous years, and still play the hockey.

So having entered the Magalies Monster, and hearing how tough of a race/ride it is, Doug and I decided it was time to do a proper ride. So this weekend we went to our old hunting ground Breedts Nek. Now we haven’t ridden here since Justin and I left for the Epic, and boy was Breedts holding a grudge against us. The wind was howling. Normally you get a head wind on the way back to the car, but this weekend there was a strong head wind for most of the ride. To go with the head wind my legs were feeling a bit tender. Not sure why, but that along with the terrible wind made this the worst Breedts Nek ride I have done in a long time (if not ever).

Will be doing a race at Avianto on Sunday, but still need to get some good kilo’s in so that the Monster isn’t going to be a complete killer, so will most likely ride out at Breedts again this Saturday. Hopefully the wind won’t be blowing so much.

Oh yes, we won our action cricket last night. We’ve had a bit of a bad run lately having lost the last 3 games before that, so it was good to get a win again.

Finally, I’ll be uploading some pictures from the Epic this week. So keep an eye on the http://www.irvine.co.za/Cape-Epic-Journey/?page_id=85

So my first race since the Epic this year and I must say even though I was not feeling 100% it still went pretty well

The race started and finish on a sports field in Grabouw. The 50km route was a lap race with two very different 25km loops and it was FUN!! This was my first race with my cousin Kevin in a long time and the 2 of us were both hoping for a good race and feeling rather punchy after a strong (but short) ride on Friday evening in Tokia.

When we arrived at the race venue (just before 8am) it was only 7 degrees!! I was freezing!! Kevin and I got through registration quickly, kitted up and went for a warm up ride (much needed!). The start for this race was different to anything I have ever done and good fun! It was a Le Mans start! You but your bike down about 20m ahead of you (behind a red line) and you walk back to the start line (behind the yellow line), wait for the starters orders and run for your bike and go!!!

The first 25km lap was pretty flat and fast with some really nice single-track sections, a river crossing and fast downhill’s! We ended up doing a very short section from the last day of the 2009 ABSA Cape Epic and then a bit from the last day of the 2010 ABSA Cape Epic in reverse (but only a very short section ). I finished my first lap in 1hr 30mins and wasn’t feeling too bad.

The next 25km lap was a monster! We just climbed and climbed and climbed some more! There were a few awesome technical sections and portage over a river but on the last climb of the day (about 38kms in) I noticed I had a slow puncture in my left lung! I felt horrible! I didn’t have any food with me on the ride and was starting to pay for it badly! I stopped for a minute on the climb to have a Hammer Gel and let my heart rate drop a bit before I continued with the climb that just seemed to go on forever…

The climb did end eventually and on the way down we hit some great rocky single-tracks! We had around 5kms left at this point of the race and I miss-judged on of my turns…lost the front of the bike and took a tommy-tumble! No damage from the crash except for this triggering the cramps…not fun. We ended the route riding some single-track that we had to walk on the Stage 8 of this year’s ABSA Cape Epic (really enjoyed this section) and started to find some sort of rhythm again.

My stats for the race are as follows:

Time:  3hrs 23mins

Distance: 52kms

Climbing: 1195m

Average Speed: 15.8 kph

I’m not sure where I finished in the race….my times have not been captured for some reason…which sucks!

I just wish we could have races like this in JHB – what an awesome way to start the day!

Since the Epic I have not done that much mileage on my MTB….and that is all down to the weather in JHB at the moment. That said I have been doing 3 rides a week on my road bike and I must say I am feeling super strong at the moment! I am down in CPT at the moment for work and I have entered a 50km race in Elgin/Grabouw this weekend (8^th May). Epic country!!! I am itching to get out there again!

I am going to get some nice rides in this week in Tokia forest to make sure all is well with the bike! Updates to follow!

So since my crank is ever so slightly damaged from the Epic, I have been trying to decide on what route to go.  Do I simply by a replacement crank and carry on as I have, or do I move to a 2×10 groupset (or like SRAM like to call it 2×10 family).

Personally I am thinking of going to a 2×10 setup. Not because I want to lose weight on my bike setup, but simply because “less is more”. By this I mean the chain shouldn’t stretch as much and therefore maybe last longer… Obviously I don’t know if this is the case, but it makes sense to me. I was wondering how on earth I was going to afford the XX setup, but then SRAM went and released a 2×10 setup in X7/9 and X0. I’m sure these will come in at a lower price than the XX since they won’t be carbon. I’ve been looking at them quite a lot online, and I quite like the X9 “family”. So I’ll be riding my bike with the damaged crank for a while (unless I find a cheap crank for now) until the X9 is available. Hopefully it’s pretty soon.

Maybe a new bike with the X9 setup is the way to go…

Happy riding.

As I mentioned before, Justin and I successfully completed the 7th Edition of the ABSA Cape Epic presented by Adidas which was held from 21 – 28 March 2010. The race covered 722km in 8 days with 14 635m of brutal climbing (that is almost twice the height of Mount Everest!). The ABSA Cape Epic attracts riders from all over the world and is widely regarded as the Tour de France of Mountain Biking and possibly the toughest stage race on the planet

Our results for the race this year were as follows:

Time: 51hrs 50mins 44,7secs

Category Position: 209 Men
Overall Position: 310

Not bad considering the 600 teams that take part (1200 riders).

Here is a brief summary of our rafe.

Stage 1:

Date: 21 March 2010
Start/Finish: Diemersfontein to Ceres
Distance: 117km
Climbing: 2190m

The team started well and breezed through the first half of the stage saving legs for the last part of the stage which was a 12km long railway line section over iron sleepers and sharp stones into Ceres. Unfortunately I had a stomach bug which caught up with me soon after the second water point. This is were the experience of riding last year came to fruition and helped me with the encouragement from Justin to make it to the end of a tough day.

Stage 2:

Date: 22 March 2010
Start/Finish: Ceres
Distance: 95km
Climbing: 1625m

This was a mix of single-track, and sand day (Every day in Ceres had lots of SOFT sand)! This was another tough day for me as I was still trying to get over the stomach bug that I had, but Justin was super strong and even the hill “Dead man walking” was no challenge for him. As was becoming the norm for the first 2 days, Justin waited for me and kept encouraging me.

Stage 3:

Date: 23 March 2010
Start/Finish: Ceres
Distance: 121km
Climbing: 1750m

The route had to be changed due to a dispute with one of the land owners….this meant the riders missed a huge climb that day. The good news for today was that I started feeling MUCH better (after a good chunder) and we managed to storm through the day making up the lost time for the previous 2 stages.  At the end of the day I went to the medic tent (as I had been doing every night) to check if I was dehydrated. The throwing up during the stage had me a bit worried, but the tests always showed that I was hydrated enough.

Stage 4:

Date: 24 March 2010
Start/Finish: Ceres to Worcester
Distance: 90km
Climbing: 1640m

Sadly I woke up feeling terrible again, and for this reason I went to the medic tent first thing. The doctors (who are brilliant) did some blood tests and it was discovered that my body wasn’t absorbing certain nutrients, and this was causing me to have the problems I was having. I was told to make sure I stop often and eat lots to make sure I get enough of the stuff my body needed. Justin had developed some ITB issues to this point, but he didn’t let this bother him in the slightest and we managed to get through this really HOT day in good time (even though we stopped to get my left Achilles strapped).  This was my worst day in terms of spirits and Justin once again did a magnificent job in keeping me focussed. We got to the new race village and with that came some better health. I actually had an appetite, and had plenty to eat.

Stage 5:

Date: 25 March 2010
Start/Finish: Worcester
Distance: 27km (Time Trial)
Climbing: 860m

This was Time Trial day, and the discussion the day before was to take it easy so that we could recover a bit after the first 4 tough days, and hopefully have an easier day on my stomach. However Justin in his normal style was out the gates like a bullet, but the REALLY great news was that I was feeling great and with that the afterburners were lit. The route had some good climbs, fast sweeping single-track and some HUGE rocky drop-offs.  We were slowed down a bit by a British rider who was terrible in the technical sections, but that is the way the Time Trial works.

Stage 6:

Date: 26 March 2010
Start/Finish: Worcester to Oak Valley
Distance: 120km
Climbing: 2240m

This was the monster! We left Worcester followed a route which took us around Brandvlei Dam and then onto some of the 2009 route. We had some laughs here remembering the pain from last year. The climbs were short, but some of the gradients reached 26% (which is bliksemse steep)! The last part of the stage took us up a monster climb over the Groenlandberg which isn’t easy after 5 hard days and 90kms of riding in your legs. This was supposed to be the “hardest day” of the 2010 ABSA Cape Epic, but this was our best day.

Stage 7:

Date: 27 March 2010
Start/Finish: Oak Valley to Oak Valley
Distance: 101km
Climbing: 2160m

Sadly no Epic can be “technical free”, and up to this point we had been very lucky to have no problems.  Unfortunately on Stage 7, we ran into a few. Justin broke his chain 5km’s into the stage and this put us almost right at the back as we took a bit longer to fix the chain. This was not made easier by the weather which was blowing Gale force winds, and raining along with some “wonderfully” cold weather. However, we did not let this bother us and we missioned on. Soon we were at the best part of Stage 7! THE LEBANON HIGHLANDS PLANTATION! This is some of the most spectacular single-track you can ride. With about 20km’s to go it was my turn to have a technical. We got my bike sorted and off we went to make the finish and have a well deserved HOT shower.

Stage 8:

Date: 28March 2010
Start/Finish: Oak Valley to Lourensford
Distance: 65km
Climbing: 1640

We had made it to the last day! We were off to a flying start and clearly not feeling the effects of the previous 7 days of riding. Sadly the flying start came to an abrubt end. I was following some riders and didn’t see a log in the trail. This unfortunately lifted up a bit as someone rode over it and it ended up breaking a vital part to my bike, which was beyond being repaired without power tools. Along with that it bent the big chain ring (and as I found out later the actual arm on the crank).  All this just 27km’s into the stage. With this we turned down the pace a few notches and cruised into the finish comfortably.

We would both like to thank Bosch again for their assistance with this years race, and for the power kit we got.

On a personal note I just want to thank Justin for all his encouragement, and for being an awesome partner. I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would’ve made it past Stage 4, and thus not finished.

P.S. We will be uploading some pics from the race in the next week or so. Be sure to check out our gallery.

It’s been way too long since we updated this site. It’s actually shocking. Wanted to update the site during the race, but just didn’t have the time. Will put up a post soon with a nice run down of the race.

The good news is that we both finished the ABSA CAPE EPIC for 2010.

Played action cricket last week for the first time in ages, and boy did my legs hurt after that. I find it quite amazing how I managed to ride 8 days in a row and my legs didn’t hurt, and then I play 2 action cricket games, and my legs feel like they are being stabbed.

Already looking forward to the next race. I just don’t know which one it is going to be though…

Hope everyone is enjoying their riding.