A quick bit of Googling before hand informed us that the dates we were planning our visit on were spot on as the normally quiet town would then be hosting its anual Port Festival. Taking our Googling a few clicks further, we also found out that they were playing host to the Rooiberger mountainbike event that weekend. Our luck was definitely in and we decided to enter the 41 km event on the Saturday as well as the XCO race on the Sunday afternoon.
With our bags packed and bikes on the bike rack, we headed through the tunnel late on Friday afternoon. The drive was much longer that I had anticipated and we only arrived on the farm after dark. Here we were treated to delicious snacks and hot tea by Jeanette's mother. This special treatment continued throughout the whole weekend and we were reminded about how hospitable and friendly most farm people are.
After a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit salad with yoghurt, we set out in the direction of the Calitzdorp Spa - the venue for the day's race. Arriving early, we had time to warm up a bit and fiddle with our bikes. We were also excited when we saw a massive ramp that was built especially for the race. We already imagined speeding off the ramp during the race. Those thoughts were quickly crushed when we learnt that the ramp was built for riding up on... The reality of it being a long distance race and not a downhill race set in.
The amount of riders was refreshingly less than at the races closer to home and we only had about 40 riders who joined us for the 41km distance. After the braver souls doing the 93km race sped off, we were called to the finish line where we waited to start. The gun went off and we spent the first few kilometres riding on a tar road. After about 4 kilometres on this road, we realised that we had somehow missed a turn off (being waved in the wrong direction by a marshal) and everyone had to turn around again. The rest of the course consisted of a mix of straight, flat farm roads, very rocky river beds and two rocky and somewhat technical climbs. I really enjoyed the Karoo scenery and spent most of the ride on my own. The amount of riders was so little that I couldn't see anyone in front of me or behind me for kilometres.
Soon after reaching the finish line, I was surprised to hear that I came third for the ladies! Hanco had already finished before me and he placed sixth in the men's category. We waited for Jeanette to finish the race and then we all relaxed on the grass until it was time for prizegiving. I received a beautiful trophy in the form of a mini windmill - something that is very common in the Karoo. My luck was also in during the luckydraw where I won a beach umbrella sponsored by Clover. The day was almost over when we headed home. We ended the day with a nice big family braai.
Sunday was Fathersday and Hanco and I decided to give the family space to celebrate this special day while we headed back to the race venue to get ready for the afternoon’s XCO race. This was my first XCO race ever and I was quite nervous. We both entered in the fun category, partly because the entry fee was cheaper and also because we weren’t feeling up to doing the 5 or 6 laps around the course required for the Elite class, but most importantly because we were there to have FUN!
We took a slow ride along the course to check it out. There were two off camber rocky sections that worried me a bit but I soon realized that the faster you go over it, the less of an obstacle it becomes. It is a very fun and beginner friendly course with a fair mix of fast jeep track, a few climbs, technical single track and rocky descents. After two practice laps we waited in the sunshine for the race briefing.
Photos by MP Heyns |
The fun category started along with the junior classes and we pedaled to get ahead of the kids as we didn’t want to get stuck behind them on the single track. This worked out very well for Hanco as he finished ahead of everyone in that group. I got stuck behind two kids only managing to pass the last one near the end of my final lap. I am very proud of Hanco and I who both finished first in our respective categories. We headed home close to sunset where we were again treated to a delicious supper.
Monday marked the last day of our visit and we decided to give the Port festival a visit. It was a very chilly morning with frost clearly visible on the grass and ground. The port and wine tasting however took the worst sting away from the cold. Heading back to the farm, we took a ride on the motorbike and Hanco tried his hand at clay pigeon shooting. Not being very fond of guns, I opted to support him from the sideline!
The day was over far too quickly and soon it was time for us to pack our bags and bikes and head home. The ride home was far less exciting as we were all tired from a weekend well spent. Thank you again to the Barry’s from the Vredelus farm for their hospitality this weekend! We would sure love to come visit again!
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