Thankyou!

We might not have won the main event but we most definitely won our race (as did every other finisher) and so just like the Oscars winners I've prepared a little 'thank you' speech...

Firstly thanks must go to the folk who organise the amazing event that is the Cape Epic and sort out a huge amount of stuff. The Epic truly is a world class event! Thanks too to the other riders who help to make this whole experience a lot of fun.

Petie, Jacques, Enoch and the crew at Helderberg Cycle World were great. Not just in fulfilling the service contract during the race but in going the extra mile so many times prior to the event. More than once they sorted my bike out at the drop of a hat, much to my relief. Petie is a star in putting together regular rides which helped to form the basis of my training plan.

Thanks too to all the great guys I've had the privilege of riding with here in Somerset West, Stellenbosch & Grabouw. You're a great crowd.

Thanks to Barbara my pilates instructor. Had I not known how to 'tilt my sit-bone' I would have been in a lot more pain than I was.

Special thanks go to Paul's mum for the copious quantities of fruit cake. My boys now refuse to eat Woolworths fruit cake as Paul's mum's cake is SO good!

Massive thanks go to Paul for riding with me. The benefit of your years of racing really paid off and you were such a good guy to ride with as well as being one of the most chilled guys I have ever known. It was a real privilege and total pleasure to ride with you!

Penultimate thanks go to Juliette, Paul's long suffering wife and Lara & Amy who let their dad spend so much time out and about training and then riding the race. Juliette was often at the finish line with other members of Paul's family and they were all very supportive.

There is no way I could not say a truly special THANKYOU! to my gorgeous wife Paula and amazing sons Joel & Eli (as seen above). I can't ever recall you grumbling about the amount of time this whole adventure took me away from you or saying 'no' to spending ridiculous amounts of money on it all. I couldn't have done this without you and seeing you at the finish line in Greyton with the boys was very very special! You were incredibly long suffering through the whole journey and I stand in awe of you! Man I love my wife!!

Well, this is the end of the blog (for now). I started it with a specific purpose in mind and having crossed the finish line of the Cape Epic I've achieved what I set out to. Should I undertake the Epic again or participate in some other event worthy of blogging about I'll revisit this blog. Until then, adios amigos!

A Photographic Pause

Whilst I compose my thoughts about what we've just done and achieved I'll leave you with a few photos from our Epic adventure.

Paul and I in the start pen on Stage 1 in Gordon's Bay


Filthy and tired after Stage 1


Paul relaxing in the chill zone


In the dining tent


Right on the start-line in Greyton


The Bizweni Bundu Bashers (we never got round to changing the name to something better)


Welcome Home Daddy


Paul with family and friends at Lourensford


Relieved to be back with my family after 8 hard days!


Finally, here's a very brief video of the Bizweni Bundu Bashers crossing the finish line at Lourensford Wine Estate

Spinning Again

After what seems like a long period of inactivity and demotivation (I think it's called 'post Epic blues') I'm back on the bike and managing a couple of decent rides each week totaling about 7½ hours. I'm still struggling with the motivation side of things but I am really enjoying the riding once the legs are warmed up.

I'm planning to ride the AMA Rider 100Miler with a friend next Saturday which is a mountain bike ride from Durbanville to Paarl via Malmesbury. The route is non-technical on rolling district (dirt) roads and farm tracks so it shouldn't be too hard other than the sheer amount of time in the saddle. It should be a good test of my post Epic fitness levels.

In other news... I won a short cycle race organised by my boys school in aid of Miles For Smiles. The prize was a weekend away in a luxury tented camp which we're looking forward to. Read more on my other blog.

Stage 7 Photos

This is one of my favourite photos and it was taken by my mountain bike buddy Greg English on the finish line in Lourensford. I bunny-hopped the timing mats on every finish line and was delighted when Greg told me he'd captured this.

After the fun of Stages 5 & 6 and having sorted my nutrition etc I was really looking forward to more of the same for this stage. Sadly the day was pretty grim and not particularly enjoyable. I felt that I had little in the tank and after the climb up Nuweberg I felt completely done-in. Thankfully Gerrard met us at the top with an ice cold beer which did help. Once again Paul was on hand to push me up the final hill on the Wedderwill estate after which it was downhill and flat all the way into Lourensford. Crossing the finish line was a really sweet moment!





We came across this large puddle with everyone queueing on one side to walk around it. I decided to ride it (one of the few that did) and was rewarded by passing a lot of other riders. Paul reckoned it was bad manners to queue jump but it was race day and those who chose to walk could easily have ridden. They probably didn't want to get their feet wet.


I love the fact that the photographer appreciated my effort to ride through the puddle. The strange face is due to the fact I was chowing an energy bar part of which was still in my hand


Almost home. This was a compulsory portage section over the Gamtoe Pass, a national heritage site.

Stage 6 Photos

Stage 6 was another fantastic day. Like Stage 5 it played to our strengths and we had a blast. The highlight was the technical descent of Wolfkloof in the Kogelberg as this is completely forbidden territory.

The singletrack was great and our local knowledge was starting to pay dividends. Paul slipped into full race mode and at one point we managed to work our way through about 20 riders to get onto a stretch of singletrack ahead of them, after which we dropped them bigtime, all thanks to Paul's technique.





The singletrack through the forest between Thandi and Oak Valley was fast and flowing and a real blast


The silly grins say it all


We really enjoyed this stage and were well set for a great ride on stage 7

Stage 5 Photos

Having spent the night gorging myself on all the right food stuffs and continually snacking on nuts & dried fruit as well as drinking more recovery and electrolyte rich drinks than I care to remember (I never seemed to stop weeing) we were set for a great day. Stage 4 was billed as the 'easy day' but in truth it just favoured the roadies and sprinters. We held our own but it didn't play to any of our strengths. Stage 5 on the other hand was our best day by far! We loved every minute of it and eventually crossed the finish line with huge grins on our faces. We'd worked out a good nutrition plan for me and we were religious im ensuring we had drained our water bottles by each water point. On top of that we were uber religious about eating on the hour every hour and it really paid off! Stage 5 felt like we'd finally started mountain biking properly and we were loving it.

The highlight of the Stage (for me) was seeing Hansekop in the distance as we climed out of Botrivier. As soon as we saw our old friend (I've ridden to the top of Hansekop twice) we knew we were 'home' and the rest of the Epic was to be ridden in our own back yard.

The single track coming into Oak Valley was brilliant.
Look at the slack on the chain!


We both had a huge amount of fun on this Stage but the singletrack was the icing on a very sweet cake!


Having a blast!


Paul's family were out in force at Oak Valley and it was great to see them, especially as ey had brought burgers and beer. This was also the end of our time in the tented village as the next two nights were spent at home in our own beds. Blessed relief especially as it poured one night.

Stage 4 Photos

This one sums up the very nature of the Epic to me. It's about team work, looking out for your partner and making sure you cross the finish line together. For the majority of Epic finishers, your finishing position is far less important than actually finishing. Of all the riders I've met who have completed the Epic I've never known anyone to ask where they finished or in what time. Quite simply finishing the Epic is far more important and that's why I like this photo so much. This sums up team, looking out for one another and being determined to finish together come what may! Just for the record I did tell Paul to take his hand off me once I'd seen the camera.






Stage 4 was billed as "The easiest day except for stage 7" but I was not experiencing that. In fact by now I was really struggling as I was desperately failing to replace the calories I was burning. The wheels were on the verge of coming off and by the time we crossed the finish line in Greyton I knew that I had to get myself sorted out. I spent some time with the guys at Polar who were fantastic and as a result of their advice(they downloaded the stats from my heart monitor and analysed it properly) I was able to save my Epic and turn things around.

Stage 2 & 3 Photos

Crossing the finish line in Villiersdorp at the end of Stage 2. I was exhausted by now as I was not consuming anywhere near enough calories. I hadn't recovered from my 8000Kcal expenditure the day before and was struggling to eat without wanting to throw-up. somehow I made it through the day, having wondered how on earth I was going to get back on the bike in the morning.

Despite getting my nutrition horribly wrong I still enjoyed the day and Paul and I got on really well. Paul was immensely patient and at times a real physical help as he pushed me up a few hills.





Nearly at the top of the 'hike a bike' section on Stage 3. This was a tough 40 minute, 3km climb with bike up a very steep and rocky hill. I was knackered at the top


Finally back on the bike again. At the top it was very quiet as no-one was talking or joking around. I guess we were all too shocked by the experience and very tired


Later that day things improved although my nutrition was now seriously compromised.

Stage 1 Photos

Here we are on Stage 1 of the Epic. This was a monster of a day and at dinner in the evening Christoph Sauser was quoted as saying that this particular Stage 1 was: 'the toughest ever'.

Here's a bit more of what he had to say about the day:
"I felt super up Groenlandberg, this is almost a hour climb, but the descent was so rocky and for ever. Everything went numb!
On my stage profile the last 35km look easy and fast, but it took for ever and my energy went low."*

Whilst I'm nowhere near Sauser's level we were at least on the same page on the day.







I'm guessing this is somewhere near the top of Groenlandberg, maybe even on the Villiersdorp side of it. Either way, I was stuffed and still had quite a long way to go!



Finally we rolled into Villiersdorp for a hard earnt rest. Paul had clocked his family at the finish line and it was great to see them, especially as they had muffins and cold beer



This picture seems a bit repetitive but I've included it as our mates Dan & Anka are right behind us (Dan's in green to the left). Dan struggled big time on this stage with cramping. Eventually they went on to beat us by almost 6½minutes finishing 277th one place ahead of us

This was a really tough day! To understand how tough you had to be there. The temperature was up to 46°C at times and the climbs were long and tough but also quite technical, particularly Groenlandberg. The attrition rate on this Stage was minimised by the fact that the cut off was extended by about 90 minutes. Many of the riders who had done previous Epics were saying this was VERY VERY tough. Personally this is the biggest day I've ever had on a bike and I came close to blowing it.

* Taken from Sauser's blog

Photos - At Last!

Over the next few days I'll be posting a series of photos of myself during the Cape Epic taken by Sportograf.de and where possible, if I can recollect the moment through the sweat & tears, I'll add a few notes on each one.

I've also added a complete slideshow on the right of the photos I'll be posting here so you can have a sneak peek. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This one is of the Bizweni Bundu Bashers aka Dean & Paul on the Friday at registration (Table Mountain makes for a stunning backdrop) looking very calm and clean! We had planned to test ride the Prologue route but only got about 1km into it when we had to bail as my rear cassette was stuffed. Thankfully a quick trip to the bike shop remedied the problem and all went well the next day on the Prologue itself. At this point I had absolutely no idea what i was about to undertake and experience. What a mug!








In no particular order during the Prologue:

This is a great picture with Lion's Head in the background. The bike and my kit look so clean here, but that soon changed!


The riding was a lot of fun


I've developed a bad habit of sticking my tongue out for the camera


The scenery on Table Mountain was stunning but it was tragic to see the devastation caused by the recent fires

Stage 5

Today was a great day for us! After spending time with the amazingly helpful guys from Polar discussing my energy expenditure and nutritional problems, I simply was not eating, I managed to get myself sorted last night and then we put a plan together for eating on the route. Basically we made sure that we ate on the hour every hour, grazing at least one energy bar but topping that up with GU's and Jellybabies etc. Last night I ate more than I thought was humanly possible as well as drinking gallons of electrolyte drinks. Thankfully it all paid off and today was near perfect. We took the first half easy but steady and gradually worked our way through the field. Then as we climbed out of Botrivier we caught sight of Hansekop which really lifted our spirits as we knew we were close to home. After Botrivier we stepped it up a bit and gave it some horns. We finished in 233rd today which takes our overall placing to 287th which we're pleased with.

Today was meant to be one of the tougher days with 2200+ metres of climbing over 111k's but it was my easiest day yet. Today was a proper MTB stage (unlike yesterday which favoured roadies and sprinters) which played to our strengths with plenty of technical climbing, fast descents and some gorgeous single track right at the end. Initially we were stuck behind a fairly nervous rider in the singletrack but naughtily managed to get past which was great. Now we're really looking forward to the next two days, especially finishing in Lourensford.

Tonight we surprised our wives by coming home. No more camping!!!

Ride Photos

I have been intending to take the camera out on a ride for a while now but I keep forgetting. This morning I finally got my act together and was gutted to see how thick the fog was! Thankfully it burnt off quite quickly and the morning turned into another perfect day in paradise!

I took this picture quite close to Stairway To Heaven looking out towards Table Mountain which is totally obscured by the fog. The fog made for an eerie ride but it was quite spectacular as it burnt off to slowly reveal the landscape.

I never tire of the beauty of the Western Cape especially here in the Helderberg and Stellenbosch areas. It really is a privilege to be able to ride around here.








This is one of my favourite views taken looking backwards from the start of 'Never Ending Story' in Jonkers. The views all around at this point are quite stunning and this is a popular spot with mountainbikers to stop and refuel etc. before hitting the glorious singletrack!



This is looking North(ish) from the same spot and again it's absolutely gorgeous!


This is the start of Never Ending Story which is a fantastic piece of singletrack. Look very carefully at the tree directly above the sign. On the first branch off to the left there's a bird of prey (can't work out exactly what it is).


I got off the bike and walked as close as I could to the bird but I still can't identify exactly what it is. Regardless it's a beautiful creature and I feel very privileged to have been so close to such a magnificent creature


As I got closer it turned its back on me providing another great shot of it


What a joy and a privilege it is to get so close to such amazing scenery and wildlife!

The Only Way Is Up!

This is a typical view of the riding in Grabouw, beautiful dirt roads which always seem to be going uphill! A taster of what is to come during the Epic next month. Only 35 days to go.

I stole this photo from Wine2Whales.

Almost At The Top

I like this photo of myself near the top of the Helshoogte Pass on Die Burger race last weekend.

I always try and make a face for the camera or give a thumbs up as it makes the images easier to identify and makes them a bit more interesting for myself and the photographer.

Anyway, what I really like about this one is the fact that we're almost at the top of a big climb (Helshoogte can be quite punishing if you're not used to such climbs) and I'm looking quite fresh, riding in the drops and having a laugh with the camera. Meanwhile, the poor guy behind me looks whacked. He obviously decided to sit on my wheel up the hill and it looks like he paid a price for his effort.

I'd love to know who he is and find out how he did in the race. Answers on a postcard or leave a comment.

Image from Action Photo.

DC Photos

Here are a few photos of the Wannabee Better team during the Double Century on Saturday.

I think they capture the event, the weather etc. really well.

We all had a lot of fun and as I said earlier, the guys were very gracious in their patience with me, especially in how they helped me up the last three hills.

Anton summed the event up as follows:

Firstly just a huge thank to Archie and Ina who made the stops stress free, full of encouragement and providing us with all the help we needed and more. We cannot sing your praises enough.

To the team, you guys were awesome. Thanks for putting up with me and allowing me to ensure that we finished as we started, we may have been battered down to 8 starters but boy we were not going let that get the better of us.
To my fellow captains Smiley (Ave heart rate 116 over the 211km's - unbelievable) and Petie, thanks for your guidance before and during the ride. Your experience and good natured approach was the key to ensuring that we all finished, which we thank you for.
To Fred for his kinds words through prayer before we started and his unfailing enthusiasm during the ride is a lesson to us all.
To Sholto who ensured that some of us got there and back safe and sound, for stopping to allow me to get rid of some of the food and liquid intake on the way home (but that's another story) Never waivered or faltered on the ride.
To Dean who rode his 1st DC and probably not his last, for never giving up. Working through the tough times and finishing stronger than most.
To Schalk, what can I say, you are an animal. Never complained and although could have finished in +- 6hrs, stayed to the end to assist us in getting home.
To Alistair, for ensuring that we had the required sustenance the night before and being a true gentleman till the end.

Enjoy the pictures...

Our first break was at the top of the Op De Tradouw pass about 62k's into the ride


Anton on the left with me just behind him. Sholto is on the right


Ina was a star! Can't recommend a mothering touch enough on this kind of jaunt


Riding in formation on the approach to Suurbrak


A real team effort!


Sholto & Smiley


Ina, a very welcome sight!!


Looking back ... probably for me


Crossing the finish line in 7:47