Stage 7...... Final day

Oak valley estate has been wonderful. The mountains towering above the race village are surreal, it looks like middle earth form Lord of the Rings. Last night was great sampling some of the local wines and visiting. We have met great people from around the world and have been in the company of some of cycling's royalty for 7 days. The last stage to Lourensford estate is very exciting, everyone wants to finish a tough week of racing. We are all in the starting gates, ready to go, and they tell us to look up, out of the sky comes the Red Bull stunt plane, dive bombing towards us. This guy put on a unbelievable show right above our heads. Only in Africa would you see a show like that directly above the crowd. If this guy had have passed out or lost an engine he would have killed us all. The gun goes,,,,, and off we go, only 65kms to the finish. Gary and I had a strong ride with no crashes and passed many riders. The finish was fantastic, 15000 people, live concert and great food. It was great to be done the race. I am happy that Gary decided to carry on after that very rough day that took him out. He only missed 100kms of the race, but received the full experience of the Cape Epic adventure by choosing to carry on. The Red Bull plane showed up again and put on another crazy show overhead...... WILD. It was great to get to enjoy the day with our family, Gary and Joleen, myself, Kim daughter Lisa, inlaws Marnie and Charlie. They all made our race experience that much sweeter buy sharing it with us. We return home April 6 and i am looking forward to spring. It's a first for me to go from fall into spring. Africa and it's people have been wonderful. Please visit if you ever get the chance.... It's EPIC. I would like to thanks Syngenta for their sponsorship over the years. This race brings to a conclusion my quest to race the big 4 mt bike stage races. We have raised money for Canadian diabetes association and have experinced countries a prairie boy could only dream of. It has been a wonderful experience. I would also like to thank my family on the farm for allowing me the time to persue my racing dreams.

Stage 6

Got up this morning to the sound of cool African music, they pound it each morning to wake us up. This race is so unbelievably organized. The breakfasts are great and coffee is ready at 5 am. Gary tells me he is ready and I feel super charged. I have changed bikes, yesterday I tore the sidewall off a tire and had to tape it and use a tube to finish. My front shock also blew up for the second time this week and my new XTR brakes are loosing pressure. My second bike is the Flash, 16 lbs of cruise missile, the perfect weapon for the biggest vertical climb day. Once again we are at the back starting gate. 500m out of the race stadium I tare a sidewall off my rear tire. Because we are now in separate categories in the race but choosing to stay together as a team we wouldn't be penalized for not crossing the timing mats along the race course. Gary continues on solo and I run back to the start area, find a young guy crawling out of his tent after working on bikes all night and together he sets me up with a new tire and stands fluid. 32 min later I head out again but this time I encounter that the signs and race course marking ribbons have already been changed for our return to the finish line later in the day. I decide to follow the 1000 tire tracks and soon feel I'm heading the right direction. I don't catch my first rider until the 14 km mark. Then my front tire has begun to loose air. I throw some CO2 in it and continue on, not seeing signs of a hole in the tire. 8 kms down the trail it's flat again, so I inflate it and hope to reach the first water stop. When I get there I'm low again so I open the tire and dump 3 stands sealant in, inflate and head out. I've lost over 45 mins on tire repairs but feel strong and the bike loves to climb so we put the hammer down and finally catch Gary at around 100kms. He has had a steady day but doesn't want to flow up in the last single track so sends me on. Without the downtime I would have won the individual competition that day in the standings. It felt fantastic to have had such a strong ride and was without doubt my favorite riding day.

Stage 5

Cooler cloudy day, 26c. Because we are a blue and black plate, but still riding as a team, we start in the last gate. We are on fire, passing hundreds of riders. It's all I can do to hold Garys wheel, he seems really strong until 100km, then the wheels come off for him on the big climb of the stage. He was hurting bad but sucked it up for the wild technical descent to the finish. I cant imagine the feeling of riding that rock strewn decent bonking... But he did it.

Time trial.... 32 km

Gary is ready to give it a go after resting yesterday. I am feeling, "rode hard and put away wet" after my solo run yesterday. It rained hard last night which should make for a rust free race which will be very welcome. Our start time is 7:30 am. The race goes well, Gary seems much stronger and the 2 hr race time allows us to rest for our king stage tomorrow of over 140 kms. This stage will show if Gary has recovered enough to continue. Yesterday was very exciting for me being able to open the throttle for the last 2/3 s of the race to hunt some two horned young south african bucks. Not having time to adjust to the heat and technical riding has costs Gary a competitive race. I hope he can finish the next 3 stages, they will be very tough.
One more thing I want to add. This race has been alot of fun, reaching out to high five so many black kids, they all seem so happy and will often be singing together for you as you fly past. The kids all wear uniforms to school no matter how poor they are. The workers on the farms live in much better homes than the townships. 47million south Africans, 5%of them pay income tax, it will be interesting to see if that economic profile can sustain itself with the blacks fully in political control. They have grand schemes of liberal political correctness, but are very corrupt. We will see

Stage 3

125km day. Morning brought cloud cover but still hot. The race today took us straight into hell. The first climb of the day was loose rock and 4-6 inches of dry loose sand. The descent was extremely difficult to maintain control. Gary has had some awful crashes but today he rode the technical very well considering conditions that even the pros were saying were unreal. The first feed station 40kms in was the end for Gary. He was too dehydrated from the heat and not being able to eat to power his body spelled the end. I continued on for a very difficult, fast paced stage, solo. The mountains are beautiful here and different than anything I have ever seen. It is difficult to look around and feed when the rocks and sand are endless. Finished very tired, very common theme around camp. Gary will be given a blue plate which will allow him to continue if he can't start or quits during anymore stages, he will not be allowed to race further. I have the option to race solo or stay as a team with Gary. I will stay with him, I would really love to see him finish the last 4 stages.

Stage 2

Big day with consequences. Sunny and hot. Not quite as bad as yesterdays +43 in the mountain canyons but still high 30's. The riding is extremely technical. Gary is feeling rough, he was sick to his stomach for the last 3/4 of the the stage. Not being able to keep anything down makes for a near impossible stage but he sucked it up and finished. The race clinic gave him 2 IV bags that evening, but he still couldn't eat much. Hopefully a better day tomorrow. It was a 104km day!

Stage 1

Tough and hot, did I say hot and with that dust. Dustiest I have ever raced. The mountains are big here and get snow in the winter, the country is a mountain desert. The vineyards are everywhere. The water comes out of the top of the mountains from winter rain and snow and flows down the steam year round. They collect the water in reservoirs for irrigation for the growing season. The race went slower than I had hoped, the heat is a huge factor for Gary. I have been in country long enough to adjust. When I first arrived I found the riding very difficult with the temperatures. Two weeks ago we had 40c plus in these mountains. I am very pleased how Gary handled the technical today. I am sure tomorrow he will again be strong. 6 more days to go.......

Prologue

Hot and technical, with lots of loose sand and sharp rocks that float in the trail. Big league setup, more so than the other classics. Gary has not adjusted to the heat yet and finds the technical relentless. But we had a relatively clean run and look forward to tomorrows cross country stage at Saronsburg.

Registration Day!!!!

All ready to go, didn't sleep to good last night.... I have pre race jitters!!! The prologe course is made for tv ratings, grinding uphills and crazy technical descents... Should make for a wild Sunday. Capetown has been great but we are ready to move on. Our start time will be 9:36 am, expected temp to be around 25-28C. It will get much hotter as we move in country. Last week temps were in the 40's in the mountains.
The race statagy will be simple, stay hydrated and take race time out of each day where the opportunity presents itself. Lots of tough talk about losing 20% of the field in the first 2 days.......Banter for the first timers to fret about. I have told Gary to love everyday, look around at the beauty and suck up as much great vibes as possible from fellow competitors and spectators. Tomorrow with 10,000 expected on course and many more watching live in Africa and Europe, it will be a day to remember.

Epic

Six hours in the saddle. 9000+ feet climbing. Feeling good. Tim Friesen and I are riding well. Epic ride. One of the other fellows responded that he couldn't feel his legs any more. Moderate ride tomorrow; five hours and about 6000 feet, then start the long drive home just in time to catch the flight to Cape Town. Jolene and I are really looking forward to meeting back up with Kim and Don.

"Wow Man!!!!!"

"Wow Man!!!" that's south African for "cool". The safari was amazing!!! Way better than I was anticipating. Our game ranger Amy was great, we did 4 game drives in a open land rover, 4-5hrs duration, first at 6 am and then 4 pm. The reserve was called Amakhala, 15000 acres of awesome topography. We saw close up giraffe, lions, monkeys, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich, warthog, kudu, springbok...... The list goes on. The highlight was a mother cheetah and her 5 young feeding on a fresh impala kill, also the elephants moving through a dry river bed bottom to a different grazing area. One of the saddest things was the rhino poacher watch that was on high alert. We saw 3 female with young, the horn demands $100,000 US dollars per kg in China, so the poachers are very serious. They come in by helicopter at night with GPS coordinates , possibly by someone employed on the reserve. Our lodge was in the reserve so riding was not a option. A hungry cheetah will definitely ruin your training ride. This blog entry has nothing to do with racing but everything to do with the wonderful people and adventures I have had the pleasure of experiencing thanks to cycling. It has been very special to have been able to share this adventure with my wife Kim, daughter Lisa and mother and father in law, Marnie and Charlie. I will be back in the saddle tomorrow after a few days off. I'm getting super pumped about the upcoming race. "Wow man!!!". Later.... Don

Climbing Climbing Climbing

I'm in South Carolina preparing. Not a flat road in sight. Apart from the rain yesterday, the weather has been great; mid 20's. 5 1/2 hours riding and 7000+ feet climbing today. The harder day is tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's good luck wishes!

Dark Africa....... Not so dark?

Been here a little more than a week and a half and the weather is beautiful, 30+ days, high teens at night. Have been riding everyday and met local riders that have shared great rides with me. The baboons can be very intimidating, they are usually found in packs along the roads, the old ones like to bare their teeth, but my local friends say they are just smiling at me, but also warn me not to stop or feed them. I am fascinated by the fences and gates here in South Africa, they mean business, designed to electrify you or cut you up badly. Personal security is a big business in this country. The highways are very good but dangerous after dark. Everyone knows about the Cape Epic and wishes us well. This will be a tough race if the terrain is similar to what I have rode so far, the rock seems very loose and the low bushes are full of thorns, snakes and spiders, some of the biggest I have ever seen....... Should be exciting!!!! The lodging is good and the food is fantastic. The bikes are fantastic and everyone wants to touch the Flash. On our way down the Garden Route towards Port Elizabeth for our safari..... Looking forward to it! ......... Don

Wow!

The boys have been expecting the 2011 Scalpels that we'll be racing to arrive the last few days. Since I was in the area this morning I figured no harm in dropping by. And there they were gleaming black and white. There are not enough superlatives to describe how giddy one feels when lifting up a full suspension bike, complete with pedals, and computer, and bottle cage, and set up to run tubeless; all the things you need to race your bike, but most manufacturers strip off when they list bike weights and it's still so unbelievably freakin' light. Thank you Olympia! Thank you, thank you, thank you Cannondale!

Crash

Uggghhh that one really hurt. Not the type of crash you're thinking. Preparing for Cape Epic is incredibly exciting, but we still have to deal with all the normal worldly concerns like computers crashing. Thanks to Tomek for helping me put the jersey design back together.

Go Cannondale!

Dropped in to see the guys at Olympia today. They had just finished setting up Don's Cannondale Flash. Fully set up and ready to race including computer, bottle cage, bar ends, and pedals it weighs only 17 lbs 12 oz.!!! And that's ready for endurance racing without any stupid light parts. That's just sick. Whooo Hoooo Cannondale.

I Feel Good

36 days skiing at Silverstar. I feel good! We will leave March 1 for Africa so I should have lots of time to toughen the butt before the race starts March 27. One last thing to attend to a few days before we leave, The American Birki ski race. Me and 7500 others looking for glory, it should be a great time as usual. Only 1 out of 3 bikes have come in from Cannondale so far, no worry they will show. Stormy my German Shepherd and I skied 7 hours this weekend at Birch. I am happy, she is a mess. Too much of a good thing, chasing those deer make for a stiff dog. I am getting very excited about Africa. It is the last of the big classics on my bucket list. I have been told that dogs can be big trouble while training in the South African countryside. Every farm has a four legged security service on duty 24-7. I love dogs but this worries me a little given the amount of time I will be training on my own in unknown terrain. I am really looking forward to having my daughter Lisa join us from Johannesberg for the 5 weeks that we will be in country. She will help us become more accustom to the way of life South Africa offers. Lisa has enjoyed her time in SA traveling to many areas during her stay. Alex, her guy, might be able to join our crew during race week, don't know wheather he can take time away from his work.
Gary is over the top with his computer savy, setting this blog thing up. I hope it will give you at home a little insight to our great race adventure. Gary is about to have a rock star experience racing Cape Epic, he just doesn't know it yet. Mountain stage racing is over the top in so many ways. It will take month after the race to digest the experience and then you start thinking where your next fix will come from. I have been really lucky to have done Trans Rockies twice, Trans Alps twice with great partners and friends and La Ruta with a great riding buddy. Cape Epic will be the icing on the cake for me.
I will add more thoughts later............

Tour de Nick's

What do you do when you live in Winnipeg, and are training for a South African stage race in March?

Why you join your buddies for their 8 hour 3:30 a.m. (that's right a.m.!) ride in the -35 windchill. I made it for 3 1/2 hours and then my frost bite adn I were off to work.

The evidence is here thanks to Tom Kolesnik.

Lindsay and Ian are training for the Arrowhead 135; 135 miles non-stop race on snowmobile trails in the freezing cold of northern Minnesota. Hah, only 135 miles. Hrummpphh.

Pugsley

You need to get in 3 hours of tempo, but it's -25C, the wind is howling, and the trail is covered in snow, ice, frozen foot prints, and snow drifts. The answer is the Surley Pugsley, a beast of a bike that makes the aforementioned ride a blast.

No those aren't carbon aero rims. Endomorph 3.7" tires are the largest volume production bike tire available.