“One man’s crazy is another man’s adventure”
Back to where it all began 10 days ago, in the back of the backie, time to reflect on the ABSA Cape Epic 2012.
This is the first year I have arrived with a few days to spare before throwing myself into the daily ABSA Cape Epic routine. My teammate lives in Knysna, a quaint coastal town approximately six hour drive east of Cape Town, so my journey started there. In its infancy, the race actually started in Kynsna and finished Cape Town and there are rumors that that will again be the case in 2013, the tenth anniversary of this amazing race. South Africa is a long flight from Australia so it was nice to be allowed some jet lag recovery time in the beautiful Knysna before loading the backie for the trip to Cape Town. Backie is South African for ute (just as robot is South African for traffic light) and our poor backie suffered a slight overheating problem on the side of the road somewhere between Knysna and Cape Town. So the journey began……
This year I raced on a female team with Hannele Steyn. Hannele is somewhat of a legend in the arena that is the Cape Epic and the only female rider to have completed all nine events, she says she will stop when she has completed her tenth in 2013. Hannele is an amazing lady of 46 years, with a professional sporting career (biathlon, triathlon and duathlon) than spanned 20 years before turning to mountain biking in 1998. She is a nutritional advisor by profession, coach, mentor and inspiration to many of the female cyclists in South Africa. In her opinion the 2012 ACE was the toughest so far and with one category win, several stage wins and placing in the last nine races, she would know!
The Cape Epic is a 2-person team event with a maximum 2-minute time gap allowed between team riders. This means if one rider is sick or injured the team suffers as a whole. In my four attempts I have had one partner in hospital on completion of the first stage and two partners with stomach upset during the race. This year, Hannele was vomiting on stage two which is not a good sign in an eight-day stage race as nausea and an inability to eat properly makes for some very long days in the saddle. Our placing in the female teams fell from 5th to 9th, fortunately Hannele is strong, mentally and physically, so she continued to ride and we both crossed the finish line in Lourensford holding onto 7th place. Gastrointestinal upset is a common cause of rider attrition in an event like the Cape Epic and it is this kind of ‘unpredictable’ that makes it especially grueling and mentally challenging. Despite all the training in the world, if your partner is suffering so too are you!
This year we rode 781km over 8 days with 16300m climbing in total, the ambient temperature varied from sub 10C with sideways rain to over 30C and not a tree in sight. Somewhere in the middle we rode 20km into gale-force headwinds, this not an event to be taken upon lightly. Participants start planning and training 6-9-12+ months in advance, preparing their bodies, bikes and minds for this formidable event. The rocky, gnarly terrain and unpredictable weather in the Western Cape region means that few stages that go exactly to plan, the body and bike attrition rate is high and as you can imagine, a mechanical, environmental or physical curve ball hurled at the riders under race conditions results in a palpable collage of emotions by the days end. This year was more extreme with respect to temperatures and terrain than previous years and suffering of the bodies and bikes more pronounced.
LOVE the mechanics at ACE
The lead ladies and the runners-up both suffered mechanicals losing each around 30 minutes on those respective stages, the lead masters were unable to finish following a fall and subsequent hypothermia “an amateur mistake made by an experienced rider”, and our own Subaru-MarathonMTB.com team disbanded with injury. Every day we saw riders of all categories and levels on the side of the track repairing broken chains and flat tires. Lucky for me, my Maxxis Ikons proved indestructible and multifunctional, tackling both the dry rocky terrain and the slippery mud with finesse.
The stages are variable in length from the 27km prologue to the 147km stage 3 with climbing in excess of 2000 height meters per stage with 2900m on stage 3. This year stage 3 was destined to be the longest stage in its nine-year history. The climbs are long and demanding but the spectacular views and long descents make the climb seem ‘OK’. The route varies each year, designed by ‘Dr Evil’, and the entire camp is shifted every second stage to a new town location. The most amazing camp is that of Oak Valley where the single track into camp makes the riders smile and forget the pain and suffering through the day.
There are many people that believe your ability to complete this race is 80% in your head, I now believe this to be true. It is not something you can develop in training; the mental fortitude to continue pedaling against emotional and environmental adversity is acquired through experience. Our team was lucky his year not to suffer any mechanicals but unlucky with illness, in the end we both made it to Lourensford safe and sound. Each year I enter this race and train with podium aspirations but when the race begins the game changes stage by stage with safety and consistency being all that matters. After 4 attempts, I have earned myself membership to the ABSA Cape Epic Amabubesi. Amabubesi members are riders crazy enough to have completed 3 or more ABSA Cape Epics. I am the first Australian female to have earned this title; I think that makes me just a little special, or really crazy.
Thanks to Maxxis Ikons (no flat issues), Sludge Sealant (an African product that Australia has yet to discover), Netti (eight days of riding and no issues), Scott 29er RC (an amazing ride), SIS Nutrition (amazing fuel), Camelbak bottles, NBS (thanks Benny and Neilo for bike maintenance) and Subaru–MarathonMTB.com
Crazy?