Wednesday, April 7, 2010

REFLECTING ON THE CAPE EPIC - A FAT TRACKS PERSPECTIVE


The Fat Tracks Mountain Bike club is the oldest Mtb club in South Africa - established in 1989. Since the early 1990's I have been involved with that club and its been a major contributor to establishing Mtb riding in South Africa. From the days when Niel Dorwood first started importing real Mtb's (ala Bridgestone), to the building of trails, social weekends and national level racing. This club has seen it all. Its undoubtedly the best grassroots club in South Africa and is experiencing a major revival with lots of effort being put in by lots of people all bound by a common thread - the love of Mtb's.

Mike and I used a potpourri of cycling shirts during the 2010 Cape Epic, and the circa 2007 Fat Tracks club kit was proudly worn on a number of stages. It's still my favorite shirt and will remain so for years to come.

The Cape Epic is undoubtedly South Africa's and if not the worlds premier mountain bike event. The road to the Epic was not easy. I have never stopped cycling, but fitness has dipped badly at times. It was the Epic which provided the motivating force to get back to a higher level of fitness. With Mtb's the fitter you are the better the riding experience. A pattern of events set off my 2010 Cape Epic participation. I had never done the Epic before, for a number of reasons. The event was not, in my head, a real mountain bike event. Since 2004, it had been largely a road race on dirt roads to Cape Town. In 2009 that changed, with a new format of stages clustered around 3 or 4 venues and lots of single track and real mountain biking. The news that I had secured an entry came on top of Table Mountain during a family visit to this icon of the Western Cape.

At the time I was fat and generally feeling miserable and wondering what it would have been like to do the prologue on Table Mountain. Coming off the mountain, an excellent Cape Town based Naturopath recommended that I drop sugar and low quality dairy from my diet. Having already had and discarded such advice from my wife and others, the Epic provided the motivation to actually listen. Result - from May to December 2009 I dropped over 13kg in weight through diet and exercise. It was not diet in the traditional sense (like don't eat), but, diet as in responsible eating.

The exercise bit was easy. Instead of torturous long rides, I became more diligent about commuting to work - at least 3 to 4 rides to work per week. Its a 44km round trip and you can see a description of the route here. Over weekends, I ramped up to 4 to 6 hour rides in Longmore - undoubtedly the best Mtb training ground in the area. For the Epic you simply have to learn how to climb and nowhere else in the Port Elizabeth area can you climb 400 to 500 meters per hour while still having fun. Incidentally, Longmore is one the the riding areas opened for Mtb's through the efforts of Fat Tracks, in 1994.

Getting the right partner was also crucial and Mike Charlewood was absolutely perfect, having already done the event in 2009. He was recovering from a broken elbow sustained in the Baviaans 24 hour event and he is one of the few road riders who have successfully made the transition from road to mountain bikes.

The first 3 stages were hard. We messed up stage one by starting to fast, fading midway and struggling on the railway line for the last 7 kms. Day 2 was the singletrack stage with awesome vistas and granny gear climbs (Dead Man Walking). From day 4 onwards, we started going better by riding more consistently. I had mechanicals on Day 4 (shredded tyre) and Day 5 (twisted chain), where we lost time. On days 6 to 8 we started getting finishes in the top 100 (60 - 72) and top ten in the Masters (8th and 9th). Eventually we landed up 104 in GC and 17th in Masters.

I can only sing the praises of the Cape Epic as it has transformed mountain biking in the country. From a Cinderella fringe sport, it has gone mainstream bringing mountain biking to television and adding huge amounts of popular appeal. I was struck by the amount of people following the race, through attendance at the event (the crowds have to be seen to be appreciated), on television and live tracking on the Internet. It's an event grabbing the public attention and showcasing the Western Cape like we have never seen before. Foreigners are in love with the event and turn it into their annual holiday. My prediction - in two to three years time we will see live television coverage of the event - ala Tour de France style!

Critics of Cape Epic founder and race director Kevin Vermaak slate the high entry fees and the fact that this is being run as a business. My response is that there is real value being provided. Logistically, this is a very difficult event to put on and costs are high. Levels of organization are superb and the only criticism I do have is the toilet to person ratio - which seems to be excessively high.

There are no airs and graces in this event. While B&B's and Camper vans are a luxury option, there is an amazing vibe in the tented village. You meet top riders like Mannie Heymans in the queue for the toilets. Talking to Thomas Frischknecht was a highlight. His an absolute legend and is closely associated with Tom Ritchey. Unfortunately his partner (Tom Ritchey was supposed to have ridden, but got married instead) sustained a knee injury on the first day so Frischi finished as an individual. He is now 40 and would surely have won the Masters (even though he claims to be only riding for fun).

At the end of it, doing the Epic is actually about self growth - you find out things about yourself and life - that one would never know otherwise. Would I do this event again - absolutely - if I could and if I have the same partner. Unfortunately, this event is not cheap, in terms of time and financial impact, but its worth it, even if you only do it once! So who knows what 2011 will bring? My partner has already secured an early bird entry - whether I will join him or not is dependent on a range of factors still to be worked through. All I know is if I'm not at the 2011 Epic, there will have to be very good reasons why!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

CAPE EPIC 2010: DAY 8


The last day, a short stage through to Lourensford. On the Tour De France, they drink champagne and fool around for the camera's. None of that here, it was on the hammer from beginning to end. Coming over the historic wagon trail was sheer beauty, with the Cape Penisula below us. You get the same view from Sir Lowry's pass in a car, but, the feeling can never compare with that of coming over on a bicycle with seven and half days of the Epic behind you. We are truly priviledged to be able to participate in this calibre of event with these sort of riders over this type of terrain. Another great day for us with a 61sty in GC and 8th in Masters.

Eventually, the records show a GC of 104 and 17th in Masters. Thats one out of three. Our first goal was to finish and that was mission accomplished. We knew the other two (a top 100 and top 10 in Masters) were always going to be difficult. We managed to achieve that on three of the 8 stages, so we were sort of half way there. Its still a great result for us and already we are looking towards 2011. The lessons learnt were innumerable, and Ill try and reflect on that in the weeks to come.

CAPE EPIC 2010: DAY 7


A shorter stage, but, still lots of climbing and single track. Oak Valley is a seriously nice wine estate and the wine maker, Pieter De Villiers having built about 26km of trails. Stitched together with the mtb trails on Lebanon, this made for some awesome single track riding. It also provided my heart stopping moment of the Epic. A Spanish rider tried to cut past me of some single track and hit a pine tree head first with a resounding thump. I did not expect him to get up and was relieved to see that he was still breathing, and after a few minutes groaning. We saw him again at the finish and I was amazed to see that he was none the worse.

The day ended with our best placing, 60th on GC and 9th in Masters. Though I was getting weaker, with my core taking a beating from the Aluminium hard tail, as a team, we were getting stronger by the day.

The hard work was over and we celebrated with some tasting of the Oak valley wares. Fantastic wines and we ordered quite a few cases between us.

CAPE EPIC DAY 6: WORCESTER TO OAK VALLEY


This was it, the Queen stage, the longest and hardest, with Groenlandberg thrown into the equation. After a fast start on tar road out of Worcester, we hit a long sandy climb and then a swooping downhill where we came across a seriously crumpled rider who had fallen really hard. He was certainly not going to finish. Somehow, this stage did not seem that hard. However, the tone for the next three days was being set. All those stories about how you need a dual suspension for the Cape Epic started playing itself out. On the first few days I felt strong, springy, now, the battering from an aluminium hard tail was starting to take its toll. My core strength started to disappear, it felt like my back was breaking and I could't get the bike to flow on the single track. Such is the appeal of carbon and a fully suspended rig. However, we were flying in comparison to previous days. In the last two kilometers, our good placing nearly took a tumble. Crossing a bridge I hit something that punctured both tyres. The front sealed quickly, but, the rear started going flat slowly. Along the way I saw I was not alone. Bombs, spent tubes and cyclists riding on bare rims were all over the place. My Continentals held through to the end and our best finish so far, 74th on GC and 13th in Masters.

CAPE EPIC 2010: DAY 5


They say its the race of truth, the time trial, 27km and about 800 meters of climbing. While that certainly applies to road riding, its not really the same with mountain bikes. You see, truth is, on an mtb there's simply nowhere to hide. You cannot stick in a bunch at 30km per hour and the benefits of the peloton are lost in the hustle of single track and rough terrain. The course from Worcester was superb, one huge climb up the Brandberg and then flowing single track back home. We were flying along, with Mike carving a path through back markers. Unfortunately I got stuck behind the Stopforth brothers, then got my chain derailed and kinked trying to get past. Result, we lost at least 3 to 5 minutes sorting out the chain. From what would have been a top 100 we had to settle for a 138 on GC and 23rd in Masters. Disappointing, but over such a short distance, at least we did not loose too much time.

CAPE EPIC 2010: DAY 4


Days 1, 2 and 3 were our slow days, call it a learning experience, or whatever. On Day 1 we started too hard and faded on the last few kilometers along the rail line. We hobbled in at 140th in GC. Day 2, was the single track stage and Dead Man Walking. This was a long slow climb and though we felt as if we were going faster, we faded badly at a river crossing where we lingered in icy cold water for a rest. Not clever. Off course, matters were not helped by the fact that we did an extra five km loop after guys we were following took a wrong turn. Nett result, 160th on GC on day 2, though even without the detour it is doubtful whether we would have got better than 120th. Day 3 looked better, as we came in 107th on GC and 21st Master.

After having spent 3 nights in Ceres, we were looking forward to the relatively short ride through to Worcester and warm and soft beds at Phil and Di's 1833 homestead. We were riding strongly in the company of Jason Eldridge and things were looking up. However, one careless glance over the shoulder and I clipped a sharp rock shredding the rear tire. We tried a single plug, then a double plug and finally had to resort to a tube before finally getting going. Having lost about 15 to 20 minutes, at least, on the repair, we relished the run in to Worcester. With the wind on our backs and fantastic single track, it was a great finish into Worcester. The result was a disappointing 154th on GC, but, in a context where one could lose a dozen places in the blink of an eye, we had limited our losses.