Knysna Oyster Festival

I don't eat oysters but the annual Knysna Oyster Festival has ample more to offer drawing me back year after year, in particular the cycling races...

The mountain bike race is one of those races similar to the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay mountain bike race (2010 and 2011) in which I don't have a very good track record. I had a decent race back in 2009 when I was new to mountain biking, then in 2010 I punctured a few times to put me out of contention and then missed out last year due to my injury. Never the less I'm always game for setting the record straight.

The weather seemed to be holding out for us much to everyone's delight especially Jayde who was taking part in the 50km event. I was taking part in the 75km marathon event that takes one on a magnificent route deep into the indigenous Knysna forest incorporating some decent climbing and descending, cold temperatures and muddy tracks.

Only about 5km into the race we head up the infamous Simola climb. It is a tar road in which the combination of a steep gradient and Darren Lill (Team Bonitas) setting the pace on the front results in some serious suffering and splintering of the bunch. From here you drop down for a brief period at speeds in excess of 50km/hr on a winding forest gravel road into the valley before crossing a river and coming up face to face with a "wall-of-a-climb" to head back out the valley. I say this because immediately the gradient kicks up so steep at the base of the climb that you almost come to a complete stand-still from a speed of 50km/hr within the space of about 2 seconds and looking ahead you see the other riders only a few meters not in front of you but on top of you!

I started to get into a good rhythm and felt quite strong as the race then started to take shape. We had formed a solid chase group consisting of 5 riders (my team mate Ruan du Toit and I from Blend Property, Renay Goustra of RSA-web, Kevin Evans of 360Life and Louis-Bresler Knipe of Contego Giant) and we had the leading 4 riders (Waylon Woolcock and Niel Macdonald of RECM, Darren Lill of Bonitas and James Reid of 360Life) in sight. I thought if we work hard together we'll be able to catch them, however, this was not to be. Darren Lill managed to power away from the leading group to take the win. Our group split up a few times on some of the climbs but came back together each time. With about 5km to go to the finish just about where the race was initially decided going up the Simola hill it was once again where the race was finally decided between our group. Differing from previous years where we simply descended the tar road from Simola we were directed off to the side of the road onto a grassy track. We hit this at great speed and I almost lost control over the bumpy grass. After regaining my composure I was left behind by the other 3 riders from our group. Known for his downhill skills, Louis managed to open up a gap once at the bottom and we were all split up and left to individual time trail over the remaining 3km into Knysna. This meant I ended up coming 8th in the end (2hr52min) with only a few seconds separating us from 5th to 8th place.

In the end I was happy with a top 10 position with a rather strong field of riders present and I felt good in comparison to the last 2 weeks. I'm beginning to regain a bit of form after some time off and getting back into solid training again, so things look like they are on track as I build up towards the second half of the years races. Nothing better than racing your way back into shape...

I must mention how Jayde managed to come 11th out of 153 ladies in the 50km event! An awesome result which seems like all the mountain biking is definitely beginning to show. Next year bring on the 75km race...

USSA Student mtb champs Garmin file

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195627916

USSA Student mountain bike champs

"What are you doing here? You not a student..."

That was the reaction I got from many of the guys at the opening function at Primi in Paarl on Monday night making me feel very old at the age of 27. Just because I managed to find myself a beautiful woman and get married to her doesn't mean I'm old! I'm a registered full-time student at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in my second and final year of completing a Masters Degree in Atmospheric Science. Currently I'm in the think of writing up 18 months worth of research on extreme rainfall synoptics in South Africa into one big thesis that is due on 10 September!

Anyways, enough of the academic talk, which brings me to my topic of this blog, the USSA Student cycling champs. Surprisingly this would be my first (and most likely last) time competing in this annual event. This has been due to my focus on triathlon racing in the past years as a student. So I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of this opportunity especially as it was taking place on local soil in Wellington.

The mountain bike race takes on a cross-country style mountain bike race. For those who aren't familiar with mountain biking there are a few forms of mountain bike racing in which the more common two forms are marathon racing and cross-country racing. Marathon racing is what I mostly (well always) compete in consisting of a longer race normally anything from 70 odd kilometers to well over 120km (thats about 4 to 5+ hours of racing) as well as multi-stage events such as the Cape Epic and joBerg2c. Cross-country racing is the official Olympic format that consists of racing laps around a circuit with each lap normally being about 5-7km long depending on the technicality of the circuit resulting in a race aimed to last about 1hr30min to 1hr45min. Therefore one can see that cross-country racing is shorter and as a result very fast and intense throughout, while marathon racing is a real test of endurance.

We were treated to a 6.2km lap around the awesome trails of Walvanpas at the base of Bains Kloof Pass for this event. The start of the race was fast as normal for such a race in order to get into a good position as you enter the first section of single track. I managed to be positioned in 4th place, however, about half way through the first lap I wasn't able to keep up the speed and fell off the pace a bit and back into 5th place by the end of the first lap. My lungs, legs and eyes were burning with the intensity and I couldn't bear to think that I still had 5 laps to go!

Having said this I started warming up... and by the end of the second lap I had moved my way back into 4th place. At this stage I really started enjoying the course and was able to push myself very hard but 3rd place wasn't in sight.

With two laps to go I really started to turn on the gas and said to myself that I wasn't going to come 4th! As I started the 6th and final lap I caught a glimpse of Heiko Redecker from Marties up ahead. I had one lap to make or break it! I managed to catch up to and pass Heiko thus moving into 3rd place. Just as I did this I saw that Adrian Louw from CPUT was only about 100m ahead! I pushed hard to get a small gap over Heiko as he kept up a fight and at the same time with about 2km to go Adrian glanced back on one of the single track switch backs to see me and really put the hammer down to make sure I didn't catch up to him before the finish, while my Blend Property team mate Charles Keey racing for CPUT was ahead and claimed the victory.

But the race wasn't over until the finish line was crossed! With only a small gap I had on Heiko for the last bit of rocky technical single track, while trying to keep it together and not make a mistake causing me to loose my 3rd place he managed to catch up to me without me realizing and thus resulting in a spectacular finish as he tried to sprint past me in the last few meters only to miss-judge the bend and side-swiping me sending us both crashing into the finishing gazebo just short of the line! With natural instinct and a quick reaction I managed to bounce back up, pick my bike up and step over the line to claim a much fought after 3rd place! I was very happy to get onto the podium for a very memorable 2012 student champs!

This is what I managed to get hold of from the photographer:

Down we went...

All that was needed was a quick recovery and step over the finish line

Results:
1. Charles Keey (CPUT, Blend Property)
2. Adrian Louw (CPUT, Contego Giant)
3. Dave Morison (UCT, Blend Property)

Knysna RECM200 3-day mtb stage race

Jayde hooking it up a steep climb! And yes thats me the weekend warrior with a camelbak-full of supplies (tools and tubes for both bikes, food and jackets) to make sure the princess was light and comfortable under any circumstances...

June is a quite month on the racing calendar and in my case fortunately so, as it is a vital month of the year to regain composure after the busy first half of the year and before getting back into some serious training leading up to the second half of the year. Thus what better opportunity to head to Knysna and take part in the RECM200 3-day mountain bike stage race with Jayde!

This would be the first time we would be competing together as a team in a mountain biking stage race. The past couple of months leading up to this event I had her training on her mountain bike more often than before and her mountain biking capabilities improved in a big way! With a few rides up to the mast and down the single tracks her mountain biking capabilities significantly improved along with her confidence!

Beautiful farm lands as well as the weather playing its part

Stage 1: 73km, 1400m climbing
We started out from the Knysna Elephant Park and by not going flat box from the gun, as usual for me in a race, I got to see one of the mighty animals. At one stage riding nicely along an open stretch of road I happened to glance behind to see if Jayde was on my wheel and saw that not only Jayde was there but a huge peleton of riders! I am a little reluctant to mention that it was also at this stage my mind slipped into a little dream world as I was enjoying myself so much that I missed a turn and lead the entire bunch of about 30 people wrong! Fortunately we encountered a closed gate soon afterwards and were only a couple 100m off course so the consequences weren't too bad! The vibe was fantastic amongst the riders in the bunch all out there for a good time, with a bit of racing on the side. Much to Jaydes amusement while riding along a stretch of grassy jeep-track I was chatting to one guy who all of a sudden got a tree branch wedged into his front wheel causing him to be catapulted over his handle bars and his bike to fling over knocking me on my back and off into the bushes! Later in the stage Jayde took a bit of a tumble on a very slippery wooden bridge that rattled her nerves a bit, however, toughening up to be a true mountain biker all was good and we finished the day in a time of 4hr03min, 4th mixed team and 19th overall.

Crossing the finish line of stage 2

Stage 2: 66km, 1500m climbing
Any mountain biking race with 1500m of climbing is definitely not going to be a walk in the park. And this stage prove just that with some awesome climbing in the mountains behind Knysna. Jaydes naturally competitive spirit and always wanting to push her limits and do well resulted in me giving her a bit of a push here and there up some of the climbs. This was great for me too as I got to ride a bit harder and test my one-handed riding up 16% slippery gradients. We finished the stage in a time of 3hr35min coming in 4th mixed team again and 15th overall.

Cashing back hard after fixing a broken chain on stage 3

Stage 3: 59km, 1100m climbing
The final stage treated us to the magnificent Harkerville trails. Having done a training ride here in November last year (while away on our first wedding anniversary!) we were familiar with what lay ahead. Unfortunately my bike didn't seem to be enjoying the riding as much as I was and my chain decided to break early in the stage! A quick fix and we were back on our way to play a bit of catch up. This just added a bit of excitement to the race for us as we chased and caught up to and passed fellow riders. In the end we rode onto Thesen Island to cross the finish line in a time of 3hr08min, 4th mixed team again and 22nd overall.

All fun and laughter in the end

It was a great event for us and especially for Jayde as her first mountain biking stage race as we experienced the dynamics a mountain biking stage race has to offer. On the riding side it traversed awesome scenery with a great variety of terrain, a wipeout (as a mountain biking stage race doesn't come without a crash!) and a mechanical to fix resulting in a hard chase back. Off the bike we got to be apart of the unique vibe a mountain biking stage race possesses in the form of the post days riding congregation over great food sharing the days war stories amongst everyone.

Our total time for the 3 days, about 200km of riding and 4000m of climbing was 10hr59min. We were the 4th mixed team and the 18th team overall (out of 59 finishing teams)! It was also a treat to have my parents supporting for the 3 days, helping with logistics and being on the finish line to welcome us in each day!

Husband and wife combination

Mid-year reflection

Hilton hill top with Roan Exelby. Photo Cherie Vale

The first half of the year and one of the busiest racing seasons I've ever had has come to an end. After having a much needed week holiday away with Jayde (without taking any bikes along) training has begun. Being back on the bike I've had so time now to reflect back on the season as so many race memories flash though my mind along with the highs and lows.

Some quite stats: (season starting mid-January 2012)

• Out of 19 weekends I raced on 17 of them, some of them both Saturday and Sunday as well as multi-stage races 
• 35 total days of racing! That means just over a month of pure racing in a 4 and a half month period!
• Total of 3111km in a time of 127hr14min raced (average of 91km and 3hr44min per race)
• 32 mountain bike races and only 3 were road races
• Included are 4 multi-stage mountain bike races (two 3-day races and two 8/9-day races)
• 11 of the weekends involved traveling away for the weekend either by flying or car (5 by flying and 6 by car)

MTN National Ultra-marathon series:
The first race of the series back in January was Barbeton. It was a good start to the series for me having a very consistent race and placing in the top ten. The second leg of the series took place in Tulbagh a little closer to home. A tough ride with a result I wasn't too overly excited with being just outside the top ten, however, at least being relatively consistent. Sabie was the 3rd national on the calendar and was also a World Cup event forming part of the 8-race world series that takes place around the world throughout the year. This meant that it was also a World Champs qualifier. This is always an event I look forward to having enjoyed it and done well in the past, however, this time it was my biggest disappointment of the season having crashed out. I had to miss out on the 4th event in Clarens due to the clash with joBerg2c, but then raced the 5th event in Mabalingwe. Having completed the 9-day joBerg2c only a week before I was content with a 10th place finish. This puts me currently in 10th place on the national rankings.

The first race of the season deserves a mention because being the first race you are not normally in peak racing shape at this early stage and ironically it is also one of the hardest and most grueling mountain bike races on the calendar, the Attakwas! Never-the-less it is one I enjoy taking place over a magnificent route and this year I managed to come 5th.

My birthday in PE at the Herald mtb

The craziest idea of the season was driving to PE for the weekend (from Cape Town) for the Herald mountain bike and road race in the beginning of February, especially seeing that it had been raining heavily there for quite a few days before and on the Saturday for the Mountain bike race. This came as my worst birthday present ever being forced to withdraw from the mountain bike race after wiping out in the mud and then spending the rest of the day going to the hospital in PE.

A highlight race definitely had to be the Ride the Rock 3-day stage race in Cederberg. Awesome organization in a beautiful part of the world with a stage win thrown in on stage 2 and lots of good wine made for a great experience!

Another 3-day stage race on home soil was the Grape Escape which came as a warm-up to the big daddy-the Cape Epic. Here Charles and I riding as a team for our sponsor Blend Property managed to come 4th overall and be the first all South African team. My 20th consecutive Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour followed shortly, which I finished in a time of 2hr37min. Then it was the final build up to the Cape Epic and the first free (none-racing) weekend since I started in the middle of January.

ABSA Cape Epic

The Cape Epic then had to be the biggest race of the season (and one of the biggest ever). The whole race and the hype around it makes it truly awesome and special. Also having Jayde there supporting by my side the entire time made it even more amazing. After a few solid days and lying in 13th position overall, a day of hypothermia gave me quite a knock that resulted in some of the hardest and most testing days I've ever experienced on the bike before. We (Charles and I of Blend Property) managed to finish 18th overall and 5th all South Africa team.

Coolest trophy ever, Tokai Mast Challenge

A highlight and a bit of a relief was then being able to retain my Tokai Mast Challenge title. I say relief due to my condition post Cape Epic as I had taken a few days off to recover as well as carrying a couple of extra kilo's in body weight (in which a race such as this plays a huge role).

Then came a big highlight of the season, the Old Mutual joBerg2c 9-day mountain bike stage race. Yet again, brilliant organization and an amazing race all the way from Joberg to Scottburgh this race is very special and one that I recommend for everyone to do! Riding in a team with Louis-Bresler Knip for Itec-Connect we managed to come 3rd overall, a result we were very pleased with!

The season was then coming to an end and especially after a 9-day stage race like joBerg2c I needed to take some time off. However, I had the RECM 100 miler towards the end of May. Having to push my body beyond its call for me to slow down a bit I must say I don't think I was in the best of shape for a 160km mountain bike race!

A big thank you has to go to my sponsor Blend Property for making this all possible! It was clearly a very busy season and another big thanks has to go to Jayde for her amazing support throughout all of it! With so many races it is difficult to fit in some proper training and stay on top form at a competitive level for all and therefore highs and lows are customary throughout such a time. Now it is time for some proper training again to build up towards the second half of the year AND some Masters thesis writing!

Next race... a fun 3-day mountain bike stage race (RECM 200) down in Knysna in which I will be riding with Jayde!

My beautiful wife and I at the finish of the ABSA Cape Epic

MTN National ultra-marathon #5 Mabalingwe

Only 7 days ago I rode across the finishline on Scottburgh beach to complete the 9 day, 900km journey of a race from Heidelberg known as the joBerg2c. Racing a National ultra-marathon a week later without much time for recovery was going to be interesting and not something I wouldn't normally do. However, I needed it for the series points due to missing the previous one in Clarens that took place during joBerg2c as well as crashing out of the Sabie one.

The setting for the fifth national ultra-marathon event on the calendar was a race through the bushveld. Yet again this year, Mabalingwe would be another first time event for me. Although the race was new to me the area was not completely new to me as 18-months ago I was spending some very special time there with my number one supporter and wife Jayde, on our honeymoon. I seemed to recall that there weren't any major hills or mountains in the area and was therefore expecting a rather flat undulating route. However, driving around the reserve on game drives in a 4x4 must have given me this distorted impression and when the route information said 110km and 2000m of climbing it got me thinking as to where that was all going to come from!

The course turned out to be one of the toughest on the circuit thus far! The first ramp in gradient came and although it was seriously steep I pushed super hard to go with the pace set up front by some of the guys. My impression of the area changed almost immediately as we climbed around a few corners and the path continued upwards without any respite in lung-busting gradient. I then accepted my prior ignorance regarding the landscape of the Mabalingwe reserve and at the same time began to fall off the pace.

Once over the top of the climb and safely down some treacherously rocky descending I took on new water bottles and some food from my number one supporter Jayde at the first feed/tech zone (who in the process had some difficulty in navigating her way through the reserve to get there for us, but as usual she was doing a superb job). Soon afterwards we encountered the next big climb and yet again it turned out to be never ending. I think this was the case because you would go so slow up the climb as you battled to find traction on the very rough, loose rocky paths. My hardtail (no rear suspension) bike didn't seem to handle the section on top of this climb and descending the other side, or should I rather say my body didn't quite handle my hardtail bike as I got bounced and battered while struggling to keep forward momentum.

I managed to find a bit of a rythem and continued to push hard chasing back as many positions as possible. With 12km to go I caught sight of my team mate from Blend Property Charles Keey ahead. Hoping to be able to ride a bit together and keep each other going in the latter stages of the race this was not to be as he was completely blown and not in a happy place. So I pushed on weaving my way through the back markers of the shorter distance route which we had now rejoined back onto. In the end I managed to cross the line in 10th place, happy with another top 10 (just) in a national event, however, a little off the pace as to what I would ideally like.

The biggest highlight of the race took place quite soon after the start. While riding up close alongside the lion enclosure fence out the corner of my eye I saw a lioness charge out the bush and come after us! Fortunately for us there was a big electric-fence between the lioness and us but it definitely raised heart rates as well as the pace in the bunch because straight away things split up completely. Other than that I didn't really see much game apart from a few buck, however, the experience of riding through the reserve was a tough but exciting one as it was different to the mountain biking I'm used to coming from Cape Town.

Jayde's friend came to ask for a drink of water