Today was really a great stage of mountain bike riding in Worcester. The wind died completely and we were blessed with a bit of cloud cover in the early morning. We knew heat would be a factor later in the day, so we were happy to set off on a coolish morning.
Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
We were gifted a 20km flat warm up before any serous climbing took place. Gavin didn’t sleep too well last night and wasn’t feeling his powerful self at the start of the ride. We did well to find a fast moving group that lead up to the climbs but due to a chain dropping off the cog, we lost the momentum and the group. A quick fix and we were back on the road again and into a steady climb that would take us up to the top of Windpomp Climb. I was feeling strong today but had to manage my partners legs, so we eased into the hills and made sure we didn’t do any damage. The stretch between water point 1 and 2 was close to 50km, so we had to manage ourselves carefully and stay hydrated throughout.
One thing Worcester has is rock! Some of the pieces sticking out on the bike path looked like the back of a stegosaurus. We were warmed by Richard our mechanic that managing your bike is as important as managing your legs. Ride within your capabilities on the descents and stay on line otherwise you might find yourself with a ripped tyre or worse, a broken rim. The downhills were very dangerous with rocks and lots of loose sand. Gavin is a very skilled rider and today was the first time I’ve seen him take a tumble on a descent. Luckily, he controlled his fall well and dived into a bush to avoid any injury on the rocky surroundings.
In true Cape Epic style, we were served up a triple climb called Skyscrapers at around 80km into the ride which would take us through to 100km once completed. They were sharp and very technical and when you throw in the midday sun, they became very tough. Thank goodness at about 50km Gavin found his riding legs again, so we got through all the obstacles thrown our way and all that was left was to push through to the finish line for a respectable 6:06. We’ve moved up 10 spots and are waiting to see where we are positioned in the Masters Category. We were 52nd yesterday and hoping to move up a few places.
Onwards and upwards to our Queen stage of the ABSA Cape Epic which starts in Worcester and finishes in Wellington. We enjoy the playground in Wellington, but we have an incredibly hard first 60km in Worcester to negotiate before making our way to Bainskloof.
We are still here fighting and will give it horns in the morning. Sleep tight. Over and out.
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