Absa Cape Epic 2014 stage 7 – it’s all over

The Absa Cape Epic is over for another year. If you’ve been riding, there are a lot of things you’re going to miss. And if you haven’t, there are a lot of things you have missed, but fear not, because entries just opened for next year…

Things you’re going to miss

• The sheer simplicity of ride / eat / sleep, and repeat, to the exclusion of normal life and responsibilities
• The buzz of the trails
• Seeing mountains every day
• Seeing Jose Hermida every day (and the other pros too, but Jose’s a favourite)
• The bag guys dancing like loons on move day
• The cheery banter from the Woolworths coffee guys, at all hours of the day
• The sense of achievement of finishing another stage
• The wall of noise coming from the crowds on the last km into Lourensford
• The feeling of being part of something huge
• Constant fresh air and physical activity
• The people – likeminded souls, new friends and old. You’ll now share something forever with the 1,100 or so who finished the race. “Do you remember muddy Tuesday in 2014?”
• People you’ve never met cheering you on by name, because it’s on your back number
• South African food
• Pinotage
• Riding your bike

Things you’re not

But there are also some bits of the last week that you’ll be quite pleased to see the back of!

• Riding your bike
• Sleeping in a tent
• The bagpipes at 5am. Although I quite liked ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on the final morning. Very apt.
• Portaloos – finding one not rendered toxic by the previous occupant at 5:30am
• Passing a rider who smells of portaloos
• Yet another gel
• The way your mouth feels after you’ve been eating constantly for a week
• Slightly random personal hygiene
• Wearing either bike socks or compression socks all day
• Living out of a bag, in which most of the contents are either dirty or a bit damp
• The sound of the guy (because it’s going to be a guy) two tents down doing his best motorbike snore all through the night
• That little niggle in your left knee – not enough to really worry, but sore nonetheless
• And the weird weakness in your left thumb

The front of the race

Briefly, it was a relatively uneventful final day for the top racers – Topeak-Ergon sealed their stage win in the Men’s race, likewise RECM for the Women. And Betch.nl Superior kept their Masters jerseys, as did Meerendal’s McLean and Zoerweg in Grand Masters.

Team Open-Rotor’s final day

I think Jeff and I had quite different experience of the day. Jeff woke up feeling pretty good, ready to finish his fifth Epic. I woke up feeling tired, having not really slept that well, and with a sense of nervous anticipation about the day (having broken my hip riding into Lourensford last year), hoping to finish my first one as a team, and with nothing broken. The skies were also heavy on the startline. Not the sunny victory lap that might have been quite welcome. It was also no easy stage – 67km and 1800m of climbing. Helped by the now essential rocket-fuel coffee from the Woolworths guys, we started fairly punchily to get clear of much of the pack. But my legs just really weren’t firing, and the knee that has been niggling a bit all week was starting to be quite sore. Jeff’s advice of “stop braking on the downhills”, while very accurate, just wasn’t really penetrating my tired brain, or at least not reaching my hands, and I was being pretty timid downhill. But after the early big climb, then the compulsory portage section over the Grabouw pass, via a minor mishap with a daft uphill fall (luckily no damage), it was on to the final sections to Lourensford. And to the amazing feeling of the last km, with the crowds cheering, crossing the line hand in hand.

Jeff has been an exemplary teammate all week. He got me through Tuesday when I was feeling weakened by a broken stomach, and to an extent Wednesday too. And was understanding enough to recognise that today wasn’t a day for going flat out, and that he would need a bit of patience on the descents because I was going to be more cautious than usual; instead the objective was to finish intact. Which we have done – my first Epic finished as a team. And I also get to join the exclusive Amabubesi club, for riders who have finished three or more Epics. Which is made to feel like a real honour – a special Buff, Assos jersey and baseball cap, and a personalised medal – definitely more than your average race finish memorabilia.

A full review of the race will follow in the next few days, as will a review of the bikes of the 2014 Epic. Meanwhile, Stage 9 beckons!