I started mountain biking in 2011 and the first mountain bike race I did was
Die Burger MTB Challenge (30km). I have since then learned that type of riding is not necessarily what I enjoy, but it is also quite fun to push yourself. To commemorate my first race, Hanco and I decided to make this race a yearly institution. We decided to kick things up a notch last year and did the 42km. Hanco was on his Rocky Mountain Slayer and I was still on my trusty Reign, but due to unforeseen technical difficulties (having to stop every 5km's to tighten Hanco's cranks) we finished in a record horrible time of 3:47. After last year's bad experience, we hoped for the best when entering this year. Luckily we now have bikes that are more suited for the job.
Hanco has been playing with his gears setup during the week and aimed to complete the 42kms using only 9 gears in preparation for his 1x10 setup that he ordered. I was just aiming to finish must quicker than last year! We were seeded in different start groups and I opted to start with Hanco in the I group.
Once the race started, we managed to work our way to the front of our start group even passing some of the people who started two groups ahead of us. We just tried to keep a steady pace. Hanco really impressed me by pedaling up the whole of the Bothmaskop climb. Although I started out strong, I walked the last few meters of that horrid and tough hill!
After that it was all downhill. Hanco almost collided with a couple who found the descend a bit too much and just stopped dead in the middle of the downhill. Luckily he managed to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision. Meurant managed to sort out the bottleneck pile up of the past few years by allowing riders to tag out just before the Helshoogte Pass crossing and tag back in afterwards. We only waited about 3 minutes instead of the nearly 40 minutes last year!
After losing my line and falling in a muddy spot at about 22kms into the race, I bonked and tried to soldier on the best I could. With only stopping once to fix a fallen off chain, I was very happy to see the finish line and the coke waiting for me! We will definitely enter this race again next year. I will try the 42km again while Hanco is aiming to do the 60km.
We took a break from our hardtails on Sunday and dusted off the "big" bikes to go and try the new downhill track that was built on the Helderberg mountain in Somerset West. The new track is set on a Protea farm and boasts some seriously stunning views. The track is really impressive, with something for everyone. The top section is rough and technical with a few off camber sections, loose soil, rocks and steep unexpected corners, this is followed by a nice hardpacked and flowy middle section with a few jumps thrown in. The track ends with a flatish section decorated with a few triples and jumps to keep the spectators entertained. Apart from the top section, I really enjoyed the track and was grateful for all the chicken runs!
The whole day was a success, with only a few crashes. Thanks to everyone who picked up a shovel to help build this awesome new track! Looking forward to race there
6 October!
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