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