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