So here we are in Cape Town, finally after months of training and thinking about pretty much nothing else. The Cape Epic is underway and I am now fully aware why this is the hardest MTB event in the world.
Day 1: The route designer goes by the nickname of Dr Evil and I am now convinced it is not just a nickname, he really is Dr Evil! He has a sadistic ability to work out the toughest routes for the epic both physically and mentally. Today was a 117km stage with just over 2190m elevation gained for the day, evil? Perhaps not but throw in 15km of old railway line just 17km before the finish, that was hell!
The later start for the first day of 9am meant that more time was spent riding during the peak South African heat and I am convinced they make the first day especially hard in order to seperate the wheat from the chaff. A lot of MTB divorces where filed that night as the two member teams suffered with the challenge. It was a rude awakening to the event and last night there was a lot of stary-eyed riders walking around and nobody was left in any doubt that this was going to be a hell of a tough week!
Day 2: Just 90km today with a mere 1625m elevation gained today. What's up Dr Evil? Loosing your touch?
Got seeded today in Group B after our reasonable result yesterday, so we got to start first with the Group A (the pro's). The 7am start meant it ther was just enough light to get the race underway and it meant that a couple more hours could be done before the heat picked up. The clear blue skies in the morning and the cold previous evening meant that today was going to be a hot one.
A lot more single track today and a bit more technical. My hours spent following my expert-rider brother-in-law, Scott paid off during the stage and I was flowing down the decents with ease and grace (well at least I felt graceful!). Only thing is my partner had not been riding with Scott, mainly because he lives in the UK, so he was finding the technical stuff a bit more challenging and I had to wait a few minutes at the bottom of the hills for him to catch up but it was a good time to get off the bike, stretch the back and get some food down.
I was feeling surprisingly good today and better than yesterday, which I will put down to two things: I think my body was more ready for what was going to happen today and I think we paced things better after the first day jitters.
Tomorrow is a mammoth day and not in the tusky, hairy way! It is a 115km stage with 2280m and is classed on the website as 'possibly THE epic day of all epic days'. Possibly??
