In the race packs for the Old Mutual joBerg2c every rider found a fantastic event jersey, the usual race fuels and a book titled How Much Is Enough. It’s written by one of the riders at the event and by all accounts is flying off the shelves. It was a fitting question on day one of the nine-day ride from Joburg to Scottburgh when riders were faced with long stretches of deep, gooey mud. It was bad in the beginning, but got worse once the course crossed the Vaal River.
In 2014 frustrated riders cried out to chirpier partners “don’t mention the sand!”. This year, the sand was wet after a massive thunderstorm the night before day one kicked off at Karan Beef farm in Heidelberg. It made for an energy sapping ride on an otherwise uneventful 116km of mountain biking.
By all accounts, day one is something of a slog; a neutral day for riders to fiddle with their GPS units (there are no route markings at joBerg2c) and fret for about 60km over the rickety bridge constructed at the Vaal crossing.
Last year, the middle section of the bridge started sinking as riders made their way across. This year, the bridge was split into three sections with some land crossings in between.
Riders were far happier, apart from one plucky gentleman who cycled straight off the first section in front a large crowd that had gathered to cross. Cheers went up as Mr Splashy went down. Luckily for him, he chose to take the plunge where the river was only one foot deep. He was just missing fish and loaves to complete the look as he walked off.
On a personal note, the event could not have started better. Arriving at my hotel in Rosebank – the Crowne Plaza – the day of registration, I was greeted with singing, dancing, cheering, Moët and an upgrade to the executive suite – I was the 25 000th guest for 2015.
Unfortunately, being a conscientious racer, I couldn’t drink the entire 1.5L of red wine left in my room. It’s been sent packing to Scottburgh for a celebratory red if the next 8 days go according to plan (that is, water point to water point; two beers in the evening – though I’ve had four now, so tomorrow I’ll have to have none – and eat as many marshmallows in condensed milk as possible).
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