Fat bloke and Banksy - First Cape Epic done!

Cape Town and race sign on

Banksy and I arrived in Cape Town, admittedly with some fear, trepidation and a healthy dose of false bravado to be greeted by the following poster:

Admittedly, at this stage we had no idea just how true this sentiment would become.

Cape Town remains absolutely fantastic.  We were picked up at the airport by HotChillee's SA team - Hazel and Tony.  From that point on we were in Hazel's capable hands and were managed and organised in a style that HotChille have realised is absolutely necessary when dealing with the two of us.

We were dropped of at the hotel which was a stones throw away from the race village and the waterfront and before you could utter the words "race prep" we were reunited with Team Flavourome and immediately began making very Ryan sad!  These races burn an awful lot of calories and have a devastating effect on the body so proper preparation is vital of course!

In Cape Town and lunching with Garth and the boys

Anti-oxidising!

Garth, myself and Banksy under the 10 year logo

Final supper!

HotChillee caps - super cool!

Race sign on itself was rather chaotic to say the least.  Initially Banksy and I opted for joining the first queue we came to which proved to be an error.  For a while I thought we had inadvertently joined a casting audition for men suffering with anorexia (Banksy and I are rather more manly built than the average cyclist - even in South Africa).  Eventually someone took pity on us and asked what we were doing in that particular kit collection queue as it did not appear that we had registered yet.  So without any further fuss we went and joined the right sequence of queues.

The kit they give you for the Epic is pretty good.  We got new luggage, t-shirts, buffs, hot drink mugs, washing bags, phone protectors etc.  Of course the usual race numbers, shirt numbers, transponders and wrist IDs as well.  Registration was a little chaotic but overall ran pretty smoothly.  With less than a day to go before we would be starting at Meerendal we decided to go and pack, conduct kit checks, final bike fiddles and then head back to the waterfront to watch Wales thrash England followed by what had the feel of our last supper.  So we had a very nice bottle of wine just in case it was!

Prologue

Our alarms went off at some ungodly hour on the day of the race.  We showered, squeezed into our team lycra (at least two sizes two small for me) and met Tony outside the hotel at 5am.  A quick diversion to pick up a massive trailer plus the legendary Stephen Roche and Svenski and we were off.  There was no hiding now, in less than a couple of hours we would be started on our Epic journey.

Banksy and myself looking cool and unworried - kind of. 

Sven, Stephen, myself and Banksy - immediately you will notice the disadvantage Banksy and I have competing in cycling races!

We did not have to wait long and it was time to line up for our start time (07:43).  As we were queuing an old afrikaans couple noticed the Union Jacks on our race numbers and proceeded to berate us because of the thrashing the English had taken at the hands of Wales the night before.  Unbelievable, we had trained for nearly a year, travelled thousands of miles to be in this moment - and we get heckled by a couple of local pensioners 5 minutes before the start.  Banksy is of course fully Welsh and as Mom was born in Wales and I of course support Welsh rugby - we soon put them right.  And then this happened:

On you marks, get set...

Go!

And our Epic is underway

I would be lying if I said our prologue went well.  It was a massive shock to the system, our bike set-up was less than perfect (mild understatement) and I almost killed myself overcooking the first major technical hurdle.  We started by riding through the actual Meerendal cellars (incredible) and then straight down two flights of stairs outside the main entrance to the wine estate in front of a massive crowd and however many thousands of people who were watching the race live.  Unbelievably, we both negotiated this part of the race rather well.

Entering Meerendal cellars

Riding through the main hall

Following Banksy down the second set of stairs

The same unfortunately can't be said for the rest of the race.  Whoever named that climb the "stairway to heaven" clearly has a sick sense of humour.  Whoever decided to make it the first climb of the race, starting pretty much from the first kilometre - is probably criminally insane!  I was very soon beginning to wonder whether perhaps I had over anti-oxidised the night before?  Just look at how happy we look going up......

Banksy and I clattered through the prologue and I for one was extremely happy when we came back over the hill and could see Meerendal and the race village once again.  We had not had the best of starts - I had fallen, lost all my tools and my brand new epic sunglasses as had Banksy (all returned by spectators later in the day), I punctured, our tyre pressures were ridiculously high and quite probably nerves had got the better of us.  As the picture below describes, first blood had been drawn by the Epic and it had only given us a taster of what was to come!

Coming in to the finish of the Prologue - my face says it all!

Epic 1 - Jannie 0

The Race itself!

I am not sure where to begin.  The prologue had left me really worried and what is more, my knee had not reacted well and had flared right up which resulted in me having to spend every morning before and afternoon of the race back in the medics tent.  After that first visit they had read me the riot act and I spent the afternoon whilst we were travelling to Citrusdal in some pain.  Banksy was great and did what he could to relieve my anxiety, as soon as we got to Citrusdal (whilst Banksy checked us in) I was back in the medics were they de-brided the wound and dressed it.  I was not the greatest dinner companion that night and went to bed a worried man.

My knee at 05:15 at the start of Day 2, Stage 1

By the time dawn had broken, I had been to the medics, Banksy had fetched our bikes and due to our shaky start in the Prologue, we were starting in the last group that day.  Subsequently we had a nervous and grumpy me, an oddly calm Banksy and 96km of riding to do with 2,350m of climbing - apparently in sandy conditions.  

So Stage 1 was my first real introduction to Dr Evil (the course designer).  Sandy doesn't begin to describe it.  Hot - just a bit!  And tougher than we imagined it ever could be.  Both Banksy and I went down hard during the day.  At one stage Banksy wiped out on every corner in the sand (it is difficult to describe how difficult riding becomes when you being put through the wringer) and was fondly considering my murder, I was falling over in the soft sand all over the place and then had a spectacular high speed wipe out that caused a whole raft of people to stop and see if was dead.  In fact it took several of them to recover me from the ditch I ended up upside down in.

The dirt all over my shoulders tells a tale

I think the term is "battered"

Long hard, sandy, push your bike because it is impossible to ride it hills.  Terrifying sandy downhill single-track that also sometimes ended up with us walking or flying unintentionally. Hot, hot, hot!  Our first experience of the food stops - awesome.  Meccas in the desert!  Coke, water, energade, banana cake, marmite sarnies, savoury ricey kind of puffs - all served by hordes of people who go out of their way to ensure you recover during that short time you are there.  Guys spraying oil on your chain for you, Oakley staff cleaning your sun-glasses, tech zones, samaritans spraying you with cold hoses - these food stops became the single reason for continuing on just so you could hit the next one.

So day 2, stage 1 was over.  We were battered.  But we loved every single minute of it!  And much to our surprise - we improved our ranking by over 100 places.  Medics, beer, dinner wine, sleep - repeat!  Day 3, stage 2 - bring it on.  Banksy and I were back.

Garthy and myself hit the medics

Day 2, stage 1 finished - bigger smiles

Joel Stransky, Rochey and myself

That is not a tan

Day 3 saw us faced with a massive 146km of riding to do with another 2,350m of climbing from Citrusdal to Saronsberg.  But by now Banksy and I were feeling better.  We had also learnt from the previous day that the old hands don't race the Epic - they ride it.  They take it steady and don't take unnecessary risks that could result in a broken bike or worse, a broken body.  The medics tent the previous night had been pretty frightening - there were a lot of dehydrated people, walking wounded and the attrition on stage 1 had been really high.  Stage 2 started with a lot less teams than the previous day.  The final descent down into the race village was reminiscent of Andalucia and as a result Banksy and I cruised it.  We took it steady but were very glad of some of the new found skills we had picked up in Spain

Skills!

Awesome single track was to be had

We were never more than a few metres apart most of the race

Dont get me wrong.  It was a big ask.  A massive distance and no mean feat when it came to climbing either, but we made it and in relatively one piece.  I had only one spill that day and it was on a fairly innocuous corner that should never have seen me sliding.  But then that is the nature of it I am afraid - you can't let your concentration slip for a minute.  A long day in the saddle and eventually we arrived in Saronsberg.  Our accommodation for the next two nights was to be fantastic.  Our nightly ritual would be, medics for me then massage, beers dinner wine sleep.  Perfect!

Looking vaguely competent

Heads down and grinding away the miles

This was a pretty cool technical section on Day 3 I think

The next day was meant to be a recovery day of sorts.  Dr Evil has a funny sense of humour.  Bansky and I had been discussing how it was good that we never seemed to bonk at the same time.  Well, on day 4 we did.  For me the supposed recovery day was one of the toughest of the race.  On paper it looked ok - 94km with only 1,950m of climbing.  However, the heat in that basin surrounded by the Obiqua, Winterhoek and Witzenberg mountains was our first real taste of some problems to come.  It was up around 35 degrees for most of the day and still.  No breeze, no shade and a recovery day on the Cape Epic - yeah right!  This was a day when Banksy dragged me round the course but that is what teamwork is all about.

Scorched earth - hot, damned hot!

The end of day 4

But still smiling!

Day 5 was another big day with 120km to do and climbing another 2,300m.  It was on this day that the heat really began to play a serious role in threatening our race.  Temperatures continued to climb and spent most of the day in the high 30's and hitting 40 degrees.  At just over 80km we hit the foot of Baines Kloof Pass - a long winding 16km climb with some of the most awesome views of the Cape you will ever see.  Just over the summit and we discovered the Bain's MTB Trails at Welvenpas.  The single track for the rest of the day made the whole stage worth it.  Great fast flowing trails through acres of fynbos that led us all the way into the new race village in Wellington.  The isotonic recovery beers were very good that afternoon.  I showered at the race village so as to reduce the amount of time wasted fetching and carrying that poor Hazel had to do going backwards and forwards to our B&Bs and the medics.  I am glad I did because I got to see just how good the facilities were at the race village for all the people camping.  Very impressive - the organisers certainly have honed the running of the race village extremely well over the years.

Team Adrenaline Junkies

Evidence of how the race was taking its toll - day 5 done!

Again the next day was considered to be a bit of a bonus day.  The description in the race booklet was "short, sweet and most importantly great fun".  Sure, apart from the fact that it was around 45 degrees for most of the day.  I guess for me the experience of having grown up and done stuff occasionally in similar temperatures had acclimatised me better for the heat.  Banksy however really felt it.  The single track was awesome and we did enjoy the day.  We limped past a number of people that day sat by the side of the trails with their heads in their hands and I am not sure if they ever made it back.  By the time we reached the race village that night Banksy was pretty badly dehydrated and very fatigued.  I was pretty worried especially as he skipped the post race isotonic beers and headed straight for the B&B.

I very nearly hit that tree at pace

Evidence that I missed it

The HotChillee Team - Dane and Craig got a top 50 finish!

We all did all we could to make sure Banksy was rehydrated and of course had the correct amount of anti-oxidants to replenish himself during the course of the evening.  By the next morning Banksy claimed to be much better, however his appearance told a different story.  But this is where I think the measure of a man is taken.  Banksy must have had almost nothing left but he kept going.  At stages I could see he was in deep, dark and horrible holes.  He never gave up, lost his rag or moaned - he may have cursed me on the odd occasion but if I was in his shoes I would have killed me.  In fact every time I forced him to eat a banana or drink I think he must have considered it seriously!  But he dug deep and hung on to cover a very tough 99km, climbing a massive 2,950m!  It was a great effort and we saw many people who were not hurting as much as Banksy, not make it back unfortunately over those last few days.  And lets get one thing absolutely straight, it is not as if I found it plain sailing either.  There was still a number of occasions on those last few days when Banksy was in the hurt locker when he insisted on taking his share of the wind or had to hold back on fast single track for me.

Whats this - single track at pace?

We stayed in Stellenbosch that night and had just one day left to go.  By this stage we were all being very cautious on the downhills trying to ensure that we delivered body and bike over the finish line in one piece.  We had seen friends taken out by injury, bee stings and one of the toughest of us (Garth) had been taken out for surgery after having ridden for the first 6 days on a boil.  Banksy and I had seen very experienced teams no longer in the race and we were more determined than ever to get each other over that line safely.  Day 7 was beautiful and the views extraordinary.  More fantastic single track and near the end - a very bizarre James Bond (music included) style tunnel under a motorway.

These damn trees - who put them all over the place?

The final day started in Stellenbosch and took us along 54km of awesome trails with the most breathtaking views and over 1,500m of climbing into Lourensford Wine Estate.  Don't let the shortish distance fool you, this was no walk in the park.  The climbs were brutal and the single track was technical and required intense concentration.  Banksy tore his butt open, I almost impaled myself on a burnt out log and put paid to any thoughts of more kids by falling in front of a crowd through a rock garden.  But we made it!  And we finished well.  In a professional UCI race of attrition, the toughest MTB race in the world we finished 411th out of over 640 teams who started 8 days ago in Meerendal.

Coming up to the finish on the last day

Finished and waiting for medals

Getting our medals - rather pleased!

Job done!

The race is incredible.  It is a test of physical endurance, mental strength and above all else teamwork.  One of those things alone will not get you through.  To get two amateurs and two bikes over nearly 800km and 16,000m of climbing over 8 days in the conditions we faced is something to be extremely proud of.  And both Banksy and myself are just that.  Proud of what we accomplished as a team!

Banksy and I need to give credit to a lot of people who have assisted us in getting to the finish of the Epic.  Our families have been incredible and have both suffered at our prolonged absences whilst training.  HotChillee have been fantastic.  During the Epic we did not have to think about anything other than riding the race.  And our coach, Jay McStay of M1Performance (aka Jedi) is a legend.  His decision to take us to Andalucia was a risk that paid off.  Without that race we would in no way have been prepared for what lay ahead of us.  In addition the condition he got us into so that we could enjoy it was excellent.  So thanks to all who supported us, all who have donated to our charity (I look forward to seeing many of you at our charity dinner on the 25th), all who kept our bikes going, our wives and kids and all of you have read this blog and wished us well.

The after party - Banksy, Garth, myself, Guy and Dave

2013 Absa Cape Epic done and dusted.  For a while - Fat Bloke out!

And so to the Epic

And so here we are.  I am sitting in my office with an hour to go before the car arrives to pick me up and convey me to Heathrow.  That will be the last bit of luxury my bottom will feel for a while!  My bags are packed, the bike is bagged, no liquids in the hand luggage, compression socks on - we are all systems go.  We are flying with my favourite airline, British Airways, and so its off to T5 for some last minute shopping, some carbo loading and having trained earlier - some restorative and excellent red blood cell oxidising red wine.  Lets face it - I'm going to need it!

For the uninitiated, the UCI classify races according to their difficulty, So Cat 4 is the easiest, Cat 3, 2 and 1 being more difficult and then they have the HC ("hors categorie" or "out of category") races, of which there are 4 worldwide - 3 road (Tour de France, Giro de Italia and the Tour of Spain) and only 1 on the MTB.  That's right, you guessed it -  the Cape Epic is classified by the UCI as a HC.  This years race is 698km of riding, almost exlusively on dirt including 15,650 of climbing.

To train for this race I have done the following:

• A total of 8720.84 km of riding made up of road, MTB and races
• A total of over 408 hours training and racing
• The Alpine Challenge
• London 2 Paris
• Various local mountain bike and road races
• The Andalucia Bike Race

An awful lot of people have inspired me, made it easy for me and kept me on the road.  Hot Chillee remain my favourite races in terms of organisation, professionalism and fun.  I am honoured to be riding in their kit in the Epic and am looking forward to hooking up with Sven and the team tomorrow for a couple of pre Epic rides and maybe some beers.  Baines Racing of Silverstone and Velotech of Spencer Harvey fame have both gone the extra mile on many occasions to both keep the bikes maintained, ride with me, encourage me and coach me on off-road skills.  A load of guys have come out and done miles with me: The legendary Chris Hodgson, Wadey (aka The Beast), Darren Cassidy, Mark Ayres, Spencer, Ollie and many others.  Thanks to you all as you have made the journey that has got me to the start of this race a pleasure.

The coach - Jedi.  What a guy!  He has taken Banksy and myself and formed us into cycling legends.  I will be continuing with Jedi after this and setting out our next challenges.  He has welcomed us into a world of MTB racing and introduced us to a load of very good guys.  My fitness is at an all time high, I injured myself a couple of times but never once got sick or over-trained.  I can't recommend him highly enough.

My racing partner Banksy has also been extremely cool.  He has endured all the mud, weather, ice, snow, sleet and wind training through this English winter with me.  He has raced with me, moaned at me, put up with me moaning at him, picked me up when needed, given me a wheel when needed and most importantly been the mate at the end of the phone when the going got tough and either he or I needed to vent.  He has done all the training and is at this very moment sitting opposite me in the airport lounge joining me in an anti-oxidising red wine (I have left home and am now at Heathrow).

Lastly, my wife and kids are the people who I owe the biggest thanks to.  They have supported me, encouraged me, fed me, nursed me, done some light moaning at me, done without me for far too many days and hours at a time.  But they have never questioned or doubted me.  I miss them so much when I am away and even now can't wait to see them (hopefully clutching that finishers medal) when I get back.

Thank you all for reading my blog and sharing this journey with me.  Thanks to all those who are supporting our charity.  And now to it!

ABR Days 5 and 6

Day 5 started very wet.  My daily trip to the medics which involved walking between the hotel and the race admin building and which was only about 100 yards, resulted in me getting soaked.  Wounds redressed I braved the rain again and hobbled back over to my room to get ready for stage 5.  I had just packed my tools, energy gels and bars into my pockets, pulled my rain jacket on and walked out my door when I heard quite a commotion from the lobby.  I leant over the balcony and peered down into the mill of riders who by now should have been lining up on bikes.

Once downstairs it was clear.  The organisers had pulled the stage due to the unseasonably adverse weather.  As the infection in my leg was on fire I can't say I was that upset with the news but I felt pretty bad for the organisers.  They had put on such an excellent show and having to battle the elements as well as all the tasks involved in organising such a large professional field it must have been a difficult decision to make.  Judging by the scenes in the lobby however, the guys who Banksy and I had been riding with over the last few days did not seem to perturbed.

Stage 5 therefore was spent enjoying some isotonic beers and the odd glass of Rioja over a nice tapas style lunch in the company of Jedi, Capitano (who was looking better), Kernal, Wabbit, Hillary and Tenzing, Bob, Banksy and the noisiest Scott I have met in a while.  Knowing full well we had another beast of a day awaiting us we were very abstemious and where back at the hotel early and got in a decent nights sleep.

Day 6 was upon us.  Weather had given the organisers a real headache and one again they had to alter the route to try and avoid the worst of the snow.  A slightly later start at 11am, no controlled zone and we were off.  Banksy and I booked along around the usual suspects.  A quick jaunt around the outskirts of Jaen and we were off on the beaten track once again riding through some fairly gentle rolling hills through the olive plantations.  It was pretty good going apart from about half a mile of an absolute mud fest that had most of the field carrying bikes and some of us trekking along what I later found out was obviously a railway track that was very much in use!

So far so good.  The knee was painful but not dreadful, we had picked up Capitano who had become separated from Jay and we were clocking along nicely.  And then we hit the first big hill, which kept going up and up in a trail of mud!  Not what we had expected from Andalucia!  Back to the popular sport of mountain bike hiking with a vengeance.  To add to our woes the act of getting on and off the bike was playing hell with my injury.

We hit the first feed station and by then I knew Banksy and I were in for a long day.  Now, as you know this is our training ride in preparation for the Cape Epic.  Well, it has been a great decision.  We have always been close but over the last few days we have communicated well, worked together excellently and got each other through the day.  This day was going to become a day that tested the strength of our team and we sailed through it.

As the terrain became more difficult for me, Banksy made sure he always knew where I was and just how much I was struggling.  At one point after bombing along a pretty greasy descent and after a long hard haul up the hill we reached a particularly lethal drop off.  We had ridden much steeper stuff over the last few days but every jar and bump was really hurting me.  I stopped at the top, dismounted and started to wonder how the hell I was going to get my bike and myself down there.  Banksy looked up at me, and without either of us saying a word he was up the hill, my bike in one arm and helping me descend the slope with the other.

Over the last 6 days we always rode no further apart than about 10 seconds.  We learnt to ignore all those around us and just concentrate on each other and ensuring we finished each day strong enough to do the next.  As a result I am really looking forward to the Epic and am very confident in the partnership Banksy and I have cemented over the last six days.

The rest of the race is a bit of a blur.  I was really uncomfortable but still able to appreciate the awesome beauty of where we were riding.  Often, in the middle of nowhere, we would encounter a descent that had crowds of people supporting us.  The encouragement from the people manning the feed stations and the medical teams dotted around the course was awesome.  All in all this has been an absolutely excellent experience.  If there is one race I want to ride again it is this one.

Reserve our place for next year guys, we will be back!

ABR Day 4 - Race Report

Day 4 can best be summed up by Dave asking Garth on the bus over to the start "if that was sand on the top of the mountains?"  When we finally stopped laughing we explained it was snow and welcome to Europe.  At this stage both Dave and Garth looked a little pale.  We duly arrive at the location to fetch our bikes and step off the bus into  below zero howling wind.  The expression on Dave's face was priceless.  3 minutes later both Dave and Garth were back on the bus.

Tempting though that was, I am so glad that we toughed it out.  Several coffees in a tiny bar near a petrol station with a roaring gas fire in it and we started to feel human.  A freezing ride over to the start, my usual visit to the medics to re-dress the hole in my leg and line up for the start.  The wind died down, the race started and we were faced with the first big climb of the day.  A short walk later and we were slowly tacking up some nice long steady fire road climbs high into the mountains.  Perfect, steady Cape Epic training.

Before long, and to our surprise we had climbed above the snow line and it became a little more interesting.  As long as you held your line the bike was fine but any deviation out of the tyre grooves and you were off.  The scenery however was absolutely spectacular. We were surrounded by beautiful snowcapped moutons and rode through incredible white villages and under castles perched on top of cliff faces.  It was cold but the sun was out and even nice and warm whilst climbing.

Going down was different.  As long as you avoided braking in any shady spots you were cool but the wind chill as we piked up speed was absolutely bitter.  We were all very grateful for the feed-stop at the bottom of one such descent I can tell you.

Just after the last feed-stop we encountered possibly the best single track I have ever ridden.  It was fast, flowing and as long as you let go of the brakes great fun.  As many of you know I am no technical wizard on the bike but this race has improved my skills no-end.  I even bombed through a whole group of riders dismounting and saying don't ride down there which was a very cool feeling.  Especially the applause when I hit the bottom in one piece.

All in all an absolutely great day in the saddle.

Slight problems with the knee becoming infected mean I am riding on antibiotics today which should be fine.  Off to breakfast now to fuel up.  Snow today apparently!

ABR Day 3 - Race report and some stats

Stage 3 was another long tough day in the saddle but so far it has been the best day by far.  We were up at 6am for breakfast, check out of hotel and jump in busses.. The race started at 10am somewhere about an hour from Jaen and pretty soon began to climb.  Awesome long and winding mountain roads which soon became fire roads that just kept going up.  Banksy and I got into a good tempo and just slowly ground out the miles.  We saw Michael and Rabbit at the start and then not for the rest of the day.  This is their race and not a training ride as it is for Banksy and myself and by the looks of it they are having a good one.

We spent the first 3rd of the race riding with Garth and Dave but we were determined to pace ourselves better today especially with the very big day looming tomorrow and so they slowly moved on a bit ahead of us.  The ride was more like the Epic will be and a little bit less technical today.  There were nice long climbs that didn't involve having to get off the bike every 5 minutes and some great and hair-raising single track that you could really open up the bike on.  There was of course also some crazy downhill over steep rocks and drop offs which we are getting better and better at riding over.

We decided to actually use the feed stations today which was a good decision.  They are well stocked with powerade, figs walnuts and the sweetest Valencia oranges once again.  The final feed stop was at the top of a very long and nasty climb and came at just the right time for me.  After gorging ourselves we had a 12 km roll down into the finish.  Well almost, one helluva ascent which saw most of the field walking again followed by the fastest, steepest and fun single track through an olive farm. Although several people including Banksy overheated brakes just to make it that little bit more exciting.

From the bottom it was just a hop skip and a jump and we were at the finish for the busses, more oranges and an isotonic beer or two.  Another 6am start tomorrow and then on to stage 4.  Sorry for the shorter post today but its bedtime now... knackered!

News just in, they have had to change tomorrows track due to snow.  Garth and Dave are going to love that!

The promised stats:

Day 1:
67.09 km
1,639m climb

Day 2:
70.74 km
1,895 climb

Day 3
66.70 km
2,090m climb

ABR Day 2 race report

Good news all, I managed to keep the hairy side up and the rubber side down today.  And let me tell you that was some feat.  The day started innocuously enough in Cordoba with a gentle roll out of the town and into the countryside.  Banksy and I took it steady and started out near the back and slowly worked our way round feeling good.  We bumped into the guy who I took out falling over on the tarmac yesterday and shook hands - no hard feelings which was a relief.

Then the whole world changed.  I don't know why we were surprised as this is a mountain biking event  after all, but boy oh boy did the organisers find some hills.  I don't know for sure if the pros ride up those hills or not but at our end of the race, most of us opted for the new sport of mountain bike hiking. At one stage I would have benefited from ropes and a harness.  It was absolutely stunning scenery though and absolutely worth the hard work.

Of course when you get to the top you have to go down.  Some of the descents seemed completely vertical and we rode a load of fast, rocky and crazy downhill stuff today.  We also walked down some downright ludicrous "you will die" kind of stuff today!  My barometer came from watching Dave and Garth.  If Dave gets off it is probably wise to not ride it, if Garth gets off - start to worry about the walk down let alone riding down.

Michael and Darrell (Rabbit) had a great ride.  We passed them at the bottom of a suicidal downhill section with Rabbit punctured, but that didnt slow them down for long today.  They soon came past with Rabbit booking it and Mike looking pretty damn strong!  Great ride guys and a strong result for you today!

All was going well for Banksy and I until about 3 hours in we discovered that we had only ridden 38km.  Banksy especially did not take the news well!  We applied Rule 5 (HTFU), took 2 teaspoons of cement and continued the grind.  The course made its way across some incredible scenery, sweet fast flowing single track and kept hitting us with ludicrous uphill sections hat just broke up the field of riders.  For a lot of the day we found ourselves riding solo wandering if we were the only competitors out there.

The 2nd feed station couldn't come soon enough as I had been out of water for a while.  Great service and I reckon I must have eaten half a bag of oranges.  Banksy and I fuelled and pushed on.  It seemed like we were riding forever until we finally hit the last feed station with only 20km to go.  At this stage we were lied to: some chap told us that we had finished the climbing for the day and that it was a really easy roll downhill from there.  Not true!  More hills and some pain - more cement needed!

The final descent of the day was the same as yesterday and we flew down it.  Very pleased with the progress of our descending technique.  But right over the back of the seat, brakes off and pray!  Thats it for tonight.  Bikes need to be packed and shipped of to Jaen.  We are up at 6am and follow the bikes for day 3!

Andalucia Bike Race - Day 1

Day 1 of the ABR is done and I am sitting here in the bar licking some wounds. The day started out fantastically with gorgeous sun which all us Europeans revelled in (the Irish lads were riding in shorts and t shirts much to the astonishment of our mates freshly over from SA who looked like they were about to depart on a polar expedition.  Everyone gathered at the start, we saw Jay and Captain looking very prepared (that was the last time we saw them today - great race guys!).  10am arrived and we all set off.  Hundreds of riders all bunched up led on a very slow tour of Cordoba.

Cordoba is beautiful, especially the old town which I unfortunately got a very close look at the tarmac in the first 5km of the ride today.  Touched wheels with another rider, big crash, some medics pulled Banksy and I over and insisted on fixing me up before we could continue.  Whilst I argued the point at first I am very glad I listened as they patched me up well enough to finish the day in relative comfort.

While I was being fixed up the entire field rode away and Banksy and I had our own personal police escort whilst we rode through town solo to try and latch on the back.  We caught up with the other riders about a third of the way up the first big hill and we were back in the chase.  That first off road climb was pretty narrow and technical and as we were at the back of the pack we spent a lot of time walking with the back markers as they navigated the route up to the top.  There must have been 100+ riders in a long snake line all following each other up the track pushing bikes.  I wasn't complaining.  It gave me time to lick my wounds.

At the top of the climb the field opened up and then we had a great ride.  The tracks were pretty awesome.  Some great single track that was quiet fast as well as some pretty steep and hairy stuff.  My busted knee was a great excuse for Banksy and I to walk down a couple of those!  About half way round we were feeling good and we picked up the pace on a nice long rolling section and caught up with the boys we had set off with in the morning.  Banksy found himself surrounded by Saffas as we joined the semi pro team of Garth Allardyce and Dave Wright and our good buddies and also clients of Jay - Michael Robertson and Darrell Peel.

We stuck with the guys then pretty much through until the end and all finished within spitting distance of each other.  Not before some awesome downhill tracks though.  Great single track through forests, a rocky road of doom which I flew down feeling a little over confident just before being tipped over an almost vertical wall of death which I took one look at and decided discretion was the better part of valour and had a little walk.  An easy roll down into the finish after that.

Back at Race HQ the medics re-patched me up and we joined Garth and Dave for a few isotonic beers. All ready to do it all again tomorrow.  Although, I may work a little harder on keeping the rubber side down this time!

Stats and pics to follow.