Standing amid pre-race music and a predawn marine layer of clouds were just 900 of the 1200 riders who signed up for the hardest and longest event in the history of the Cape Epic.
"Udo," I called out from within the start box. "Which race is harder, this one or the Tour de France?" I asked with a smile.
In a thick German accent, Udo Boelts, a veteran of more than 10 Tours replied, "It is about the same. The Tour is longer, but this... in this you have no recovery, no smooth spinning and descents on which you can eat, drink and recover. This race, it is always go, go, go!"
copyright Sven Martin
Somehow, I suspected that might be the answer to my question. The Cape Epic is like the Tour without the chatty laughing from the peleton or occasional neutral pee breaks. At the stage finishes of the Cape Epic, you'll never see sparkling clean bikes and fresh faced riders. And you'd better bet your ass that the riders in this race are suffering from the beating that close to 1000 kilometers of prehistoric red dust, sand and volcanic rock can dish out on your hands, feet and tail.
This morning was tough at the Trek team camp. Jenny, who is in second place on our women's team, was sick and wore a look of dread on her face. I asked how she was doing. "Not good," she said, holding back tears. I knew she was not only sick, but also run down. Who isn't run down at this point? I know I am. Sleep deprivation, aching muscles, the hardship of brutal five-hour stages, the best competitors in the world; these things add up. I wasn't much feeling like putting my raw ass on a bike's seat for one more day, but I didn't share this. Instead, I said, "I'm proud of you. There's only one more short day after this! We're almost done."
Read the rest of my account, and view photos of Stage Seven, at the King of the Mountain blog.
Links to some of the race coverage are up on the News page.
Wish us luck, tomorrow is the final stage.
JeremiahLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
Another spectacular day of racing here at the cape epic. I had the pleasure of riding on the front of a 1200 rider pack as the sun filtered in to the desert floor. The camera motos and the helicopter are tough to get used to, but I would say that Chris and I are getting settled into the racing. We seem to stay steady and smooth as things fall apart for otherwise really fast teams.
We were rolling fast with a large group through quad-width trails on rolling desert mid-race, when we saw Burry Stander standing there with dust all over him and talking to a cameraman. I didn't even see a moto, so it was really strange, middle of nowhere. I guess he and Sauser are out. Sue and Jenny had a tough day after flatting. They missed the train of faster guys for the long windy sections of road. They're still in second though and I think they can hold it.
The truth of the matter is this is a race of speed but also attrition. I am looking forward to the reward of good preparation and steady strong racing that Chris and I hope to put on for the last 3 days.
Oh, we saw baboons today as we crested the mountain heading back onto the wetter side known as the "garden route." We were hammering on the road, I was on the front and 3 of them came scampering across the road. One had a baby on top of its butt hanging on for dear life.. :)
Later, wish us luck.
JBLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
Yesterday's Stage One was one of the first big stages of the Cape Epic, and it held up to its promise to be one beast-of-a-stage. The route covered three thousand-plus meters of climbing through dense, subtropical rainforest. The front of the race started out wicked fast, and even Bulls rider Karl Platt said the pace was like the blistering start of a cross-country World Cup. At Cape Epic, the difference is we still had 100 kilometers left to race!
Now though, reality is setting in. Some riders are facing the fact that in a rugged mountain bike race with 120-kilometer stages, they cannot race at all-out speeds day after day. I had some idea of what we would face; I have competed in La Ruta de los Conquistadores, Trans Alp and several other stage races.
Today we awoke before dark and headed to the breakfast tent, where riders from South Africa and from around the world were fueling up for the toughest stage ever in the Cape Epic's history. Some racers were already in riding gear, some wearing pajama pants, t-shirts and Crocs; some spoke German, some Italian, some Russian and even others many different styles of English. Common to all were bleary eyes and weary faces. Perhaps they were dreading the hardest day of the Cape Epic, or maybe the realization of seven more days of racing on noodle-legs, sore butts and raw feet was beginning to sink in...
You can read the rest of my recap from Stage Two at the Trek/VW team diary.
And be sure to check out our latest photos. If you haven't seen it already, Cycling.TV is providing awesome real-time coverage and daily shows. There are links on the News page.
Enjoying the adventure,
JeremiahLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
The slogan of the Absa Cape Epic is spot on.
Much like magic, a whole city has sprung up on the Saasveld School Campus.
The bright yellow pod-like tents are a stunning contrast to the tall yellow woods, palms and manicured grass.
Alp-like jagged peaks catch small wispy clouds on their peaks; the sky otherwise blue and cloudless. A hooded white helicopter rests on the right of the field from 5 hours of buzzing incessantly over the leaders' heads.
To say this whole race is a spectacle is an understatement. There are huge shower trucks brought in, a GIANT banquet hall sized big top that is a football field long. The bike wash though outdoors has sponsor bannered splash walls and shining aluminum handle bar racks and power wash guns! The whole thing is a stunning example of why Cape Epic is a world class sporting event.
For the update on the Trek/Volkswagen crew we had tough but respectable days.
The ladies started out on top, stoked from carrying the leaders' maroon jerseys.
Following Sue thru rocky dusty dirt roads took it's toll and Jenny flatted. This had them a little off rhythm but as Sue says "It's not bad luck to flat once in a race like this; everyone is likely to flat at least once."
Chris and I got shelled and the Cannondale guys put down what was reported by Carl Platt as world cup pace for the first few big climbs.
A lot of teams attempted to follow, but we soon reeled them in like tired fish. We ended up with some good groups for extended sections and if we weren't with a group I would get on the front on the road sections and throw down. A wicked workout.
Tomorrow looks to be even hotter than today. I am glad we start at 7 a.m. so its just getting nasty in the last hour and a half.
I have an awesome post from our incredible visit at the Knysna elephant farm but it will have to wait. I forgot my charger on my trek over to the media room.
More coming soon.
Jeremiah
Oh, did I mention we saw two monkeys today? So cool!Labels: Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
Greetings from South Africa!
Just a brief post to let you know that the Cape Epic adventure has begun.
Photo by Sven Martin/SPORTZPICS
There will be exceptional race coverage over the next nine days. You can check out previews and AWESOME photos from the news page, here.
Wish us luck!
Labels: Epic Adventures, Racing
This weekend was an awesome training adventure. Chris Eatough and Chris Beck came down to Harrisonburg for some Cape Epic style training. It was my job to play host, and I mapped out some appropriate courses to simulate the rigors of the Cape Epic. Despite doing a pretty good job of this, we encountered some surprise weather conditions. Friday's temps had been in the forty's and we had some rain, I thought we'd splash through some grimy sections in the mountains. But, Saturday morning, as we rolled toward the mountains for a huge mtb ride from town, we could clearly make out the snow caps on the mountains in the distance.
A look at part of the route.
As we rode, a front was blowing in a fierce headwind. We eventually met the edge of the George Washington National Forest to start our six mile climb into the high country. At the beginning of our ride the grass was green and the roads clear and dry, but as soon as we turned around a shady corner to go up the mountain, there was snow on the side of the road and we hadn't even begun to climb. After traversing sections of shaded snow, mud and even some dry sections up the climb, we were ultimately greeted by winter. The farther we got into the ride, the more vast were the sections of snow.
We descended into West Virginia via Riffle Range, surely one of the day's highlights, this trial reminds me of some trail sections in The Collective, with small rock drops, loamy black earth and much warmer temps. At the bottom of the mountain and in the middle of nowhere, Erin met us with hot tea, fresh water bottles and food. After we refueled, we departed northward into previously untraveled territory. Thankfully it was easier going than the snow and leaves we'd left behind. The dirt road was dry and fast, wtih almost desert-like ground, we quickly made our way toward the final climb of the day up Rough Run. The 2,000-foot ascent and the previous five hours of riding took their toll on our legs, after 55 minutes we topped out once again in snow country. At that point we decided to get out of there before dark, changed the route to make a b-line for home on dirt and paved roads. We sped along racing the sun back the Harrisonburg city line. I'm pleased to say we made it home before dark.
Day Two's recap coming soon.
JeremiahLabels: Epic Adventures, The Elements, Training
Sunday we had a great time riding Z's Backyard Torture Loop, a route that Zdenek has created with 7,000 feet of climbing in about 45 miles. The climbs are all steep punchy hills from 10 seconds to five minutes long. Z does this route on a single speed, so I decided to do it in one gear, too. Jeff pulled off after riding with us for four hours, and Z, Bryan and I continued the rest of the loop. At the end we met with other riders who did The Toughest Loop in Clemson ride, and enjoyed a BBQ with bratwurst, beer, pasta salad, and chili. On Monday, Andy and Jeff headed home, but Bryan and I decided to head up the climb to the high mountains of western North Carolina. The ride was huge!
A good gap, though not the day's highest point
Scott shuttled us nearer the base of the mountains so we could make the round trip ride in decent time. We headed up Bob's Place, for the first climb of the day, after just five minutes in the saddle; which hurt for Byran because he decided to climb in the big ring. When I caught him, I told him that he'd just set the pace for the day and I continued to throttle it. Since I was pushing the pace across the flats and downhills, it was almost like one climb all the way to the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway some 35 miles away.
We climbed up the Continental Divide, dropped down a quick two kilometers into Rosman and then started the massive climb up route 215.
I was thinking that the climb was maybe a tough 6 miles from the turnoff, so I put the gas on and gave Bryan some pushes. Little did I know that we were nowhere near the top after 6 miles, and I had to dig into the bag of courage when, after one turn, I could see miles of road ribboned into the side of the mountain ahead. In all, we continued to climb for an hour and ten minutes.
There was deep snow lining the roads, and the giant fir trees made it look like we were about to enter another climate zone... or another planet! It was sick, because we were so high up, the water coming out of the side of the mountain was freezing into thick blue columns of ice at least 40 feet tall. There were huge rocks, ice falls and cavernous views. We could look out over three states from where we were, there was a lake far away that looked like a sliver of ice in the distance. It was hard to believe that it was 5000 feet below us.
Our climb was followed by an amazing descent! The payback was incredible. We chased down a big pickup truck and hugged its rear bumper. The driver pulled over and let us take the lead down the wild curves and 180's.
We stopped in Rosman for some snacks, and I CHOWED down! Two frappuccinos, one big sports drink, half a cream pie, an oatmeal cereal bar, trail mix... I was an eating machine.
It was a great ride, and another great adventure at Tiger Camp. It was amazing to get out into the high mountains since the weather and snow melt finally allowed.
Happy Adventures,
JeremiahLabels: Epic Adventures, Training
Yesterday's forecast called for early dense fog with afternoon clearing. Dense it was, like a soaked-full rain cloud. It was strange because our eyelashes and the fuzz of the fabric on our cloths were covered with little droplets of water. This was making us extremely cold, because we were wet and clamly, and we sort of struggled to get the ride going. But once we did, it was great.
We planned to go up and do the Ceasar's Head loop counterclockwise, but got lost on the way becase we couldn't see where we were going or our familiar landmarks. After about 15 miles of going in circles, we got back on track with the route and started up the climb known as Bob's Place. There we were surpirsed to see snow on the roadside after climbing only 600 feet. Once we reached the Continental Divide, at over 3,000 feet, there was a ton of snow - probably 6-7 inches in the shade. As we dropped into North Carolina, the air was cold. Luckily, we had a break from the cold when we got down in the valley near Rosman.
There was a section on East 4 that was so steep and has wicked switchbacks and close to a 20 percent grade. Well, Bryan didn't see it up ahead in the fog, and sprinted into the bottom of if like it were a rolling hill. He was in for a suprise! Otherwise, he did really well yesterday, he held his own pace; and Andy was markedly stronger than last year and able to hang tough even at the end of a monster ride like that; and Jeff was hammering. It was a good time, the descent on the front side of Caesar's Head was nuts! Six and half miles, sneaking switchbacks, the road covered in sand. It was still a sweet descent that kept going and going, top to bottom it probably descends 2,500 feet. At the bottom, we stocked up on cookies, muffins, and coffee; we burned so many calories up to that point, from riding in the cold and doing the Blue Mountain climbs.
Due to our taking too long of a route on the way out and still committing to what was a really long ride made for 120 miles for Bryan and I, and close to 130 miles for the suckers who are staying on the other side of the bridge that is out and has a detour route around it.
To quote Bryan, he says "that ride was epic! I got nervous when they started talking about eight hours. I mean, I know I can suck it up and survive through seven hours, but when they said eight, I was like 'oh man.'"
This is all part of the big adventure and why we come back to Clemson each year; having a great group to ride with makes the miles go by and lets us laugh even when we get lost.
Having fun in Clemson,
JBLabels: Epic Adventures, The Elements, Training
Over the weekend, I enjoyed a much needed return to the trails. On a moment's notice and against my better judgement, Chris Scott wrangled Erin and me into going to Stokesville to join in the camp out and mega-epic ride from Stokesville to Douthat State Park.
(Thanks to Marty for the photos!)
Erin and I had fun hanging with our mtb friends. I felt like I had been transported back in time to a place where I was more concerned about incredible single track adventures than power zones and intervals. It was sweet!
We rode from 5:30 in the morning to about 6 p.m. Some of the more hard core riders - like Matt Lee and Mike Carpenter - forged on to log one for the ages. They added a full section of Douthat's famed trails to their day.
When the ride is over 12 hours, you can stop to rest.
Erin meet me at Douthat. She did a fun ride on her new Trek 9.8 Top Fuel and then we did the 2-hour drive home. I was stupefied that the crew was going to eat dinner, get their stuff ready and do it again the next day.
Early in the next morning they did start the ride back to Stokesville over Elliots Knob, finishing well into the dark. That's a soul crusher. The attrition rate must have been high.
As for me I can't hang with all these adventures yet, but this fall when my xc sprint racing is winding down, I am going for the big one. I've been brain storming a Huge Jass epic from Harrisonburg to Davis, West Virginia via the gnarly North Fork Trail. You know its a good one if you're nervous you won't make it.
Go for it!
Jeremiah
Labels: Epic Adventures
