A question I often get asked is what do you take along on the bike during each stage. Please remember that this is my opinion and is based around my abilities (how long I expect to take on each stage) and experiences gained over 5 years riding the epic.
I know that a popular theory is that "if you can fit a chainsaw into your camelback - take it". However considering the waterpoints and neutral service stations, I subscribe to the minimalist theory. Take as little as possible, without being "reckless".
For starters, I don't take a camelback. I have 2 bottle cages on my bike, so I take 1 bottle with water and another with powerade/energade. I then make sure I never leave a water table without full bottles. However if you know you're going to taking a really long time between water points or your bike only has one bottle cage take a camelback.
As far as spares are concerned, Mark and I decide on a list and then share the load between the 2 of us. We carry 1 x Spare tube, 1 x tyre lever set, 1 x tube of superglue, 1 x seatbolt (very NB), 1 x small square of sandpaper (lekka rough), 2 x car tyre patches, 1 x gator set for tubeless tyres (You know - those things you stick into the tyre with a big needle), 2 x bombs, 1 x bomb adaptor, 1 x small carbon pump (ours is stupidly light), a chainbreaker/multitool and a superlink. Looks like quite a long list but my share of the stuff I fit into a small "specialized" tubby bag. Mark carries the rest in his camelbak. Oh, yes we also take along a cellphone, credit card and R100 - for beers in the chillzone aftewards - which I carry in one of those waterproof pouches that I can hang around my neck.
This leaves my pockets open for food! I'll estimate how long a stage will take me and then take enough vooma's so that I can have 1evry 2 hrs. I also take a sandwich/roll (white bread with ham and butter, an apple danish (if I can find one) and then a few handfuls of raisins.
I'm a bit lazy right now so I'll post something later that contains a bit more about my nutrition. What I eat before, during and after each stage and WHY. Suffice it say at this stage that I'm a disciple of "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" by Joe Friel and Loren Cordain.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Home Again
Arrived home last Sunday. Cashed in a few of my voyager miles and flew back. Couldn't get my head round driving back. Also gave me a few hours to get a few pressies for my biggest fans back home.
Spent the week doing "putting my feet up".
Felt quite tired (sleepy)and to be honest, not really in the mood. I'll probably get round to something this week-end. But think I'll need to be a little more goal orientated in my training.
In the next few days I'm also going to do a little recap of certain elements of the epic. I'd like to have a look at our nutrition. There were some things that worked quite well, but also things that were disasterous. Nutritional needs are very different for a week long event and most importantly, popular nutritional supplements (gels etc) have a limited role to play. But more on this later.
Spent the week doing "putting my feet up".
Felt quite tired (sleepy)and to be honest, not really in the mood. I'll probably get round to something this week-end. But think I'll need to be a little more goal orientated in my training.
In the next few days I'm also going to do a little recap of certain elements of the epic. I'd like to have a look at our nutrition. There were some things that worked quite well, but also things that were disasterous. Nutritional needs are very different for a week long event and most importantly, popular nutritional supplements (gels etc) have a limited role to play. But more on this later.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Stage 8 (Grabouw to Lourensford)
Another fantastic day as far as the route is concerned. Definately a place I'd like to come and ride again. Luckily thanks to my sportstrack unit I should be able to find the trails.
The stage was only 62km so we got to start 1hr30 later than usual at 08h30. There was a nice relaxed atmosphere at the start and the announcer made quite a big deal of the fact that there were 8 teams from Upington. Mark was singled out for special mention since it was his birthday and he was finishing his 5th Epic.
The relaxed atmosphere evaporated just as soon as we hit the first climb of the day. The bunches were quite big and no doubt the riders fatigue soon had tempers on the edge. This is not unusual on the last day of the epic. But usually it stays with the guys just verbally abusing each other (or their moms -"jou ma se .....")! Not sure what the cause was but yesterday 2 guys took it up to the next level and had each other in a classic head lock. Fortunately the terrain didn't make it possible for these 2 gems to fully explore their new relationship, eventhough the rest of the bunch strongly encouraged them to do so.
Had another giggle at the only water table of the day. Danny (I'm not sure what is surname is) who is obviously a professional speaker/MC/DJ entertains the riders and spectators at the refreshments stations. The guys has a razer sharp wit and he loves taking the piss out of the "celebrity" teams in the race. Tiaan Strauss often suffered at the sharp end of his tongue. Yesterday he got hold of Dieter Voight (current Mr South Africa) and told everyone what a magnificent performance Dieter had put in to win his Mr SA title, "narrowly beating Nantie Hayward and Jannie de Beer to the title".
We often make big plans during the week as to how we plan to celebrate finishing the race. And with the race finishing on Mark's birthday it was going to be a double celebration. I was in bed by 10!
The stage was only 62km so we got to start 1hr30 later than usual at 08h30. There was a nice relaxed atmosphere at the start and the announcer made quite a big deal of the fact that there were 8 teams from Upington. Mark was singled out for special mention since it was his birthday and he was finishing his 5th Epic.
The relaxed atmosphere evaporated just as soon as we hit the first climb of the day. The bunches were quite big and no doubt the riders fatigue soon had tempers on the edge. This is not unusual on the last day of the epic. But usually it stays with the guys just verbally abusing each other (or their moms -"jou ma se .....")! Not sure what the cause was but yesterday 2 guys took it up to the next level and had each other in a classic head lock. Fortunately the terrain didn't make it possible for these 2 gems to fully explore their new relationship, eventhough the rest of the bunch strongly encouraged them to do so.
Had another giggle at the only water table of the day. Danny (I'm not sure what is surname is) who is obviously a professional speaker/MC/DJ entertains the riders and spectators at the refreshments stations. The guys has a razer sharp wit and he loves taking the piss out of the "celebrity" teams in the race. Tiaan Strauss often suffered at the sharp end of his tongue. Yesterday he got hold of Dieter Voight (current Mr South Africa) and told everyone what a magnificent performance Dieter had put in to win his Mr SA title, "narrowly beating Nantie Hayward and Jannie de Beer to the title".
We often make big plans during the week as to how we plan to celebrate finishing the race. And with the race finishing on Mark's birthday it was going to be a double celebration. I was in bed by 10!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Stage 7 (Hermanus to Grabouw)
Today was a good day! Mark was still not feeling to boerewors so we decided to look after him and ride very conservatively. We ended up riding with 2 other Upt teams. Jan and Gawie and then also Riaan and Fafa. Besides Riaan and myself the rest of the other guys were nursing a variety of aches and pains. We soon referred to our "bus" as the ambulance.
The "easy" pace and the really spectacular route (loads of lovely singletrack) really made for the best day of the epic so far. After a day like today, my resolve to return next year is supercharged!
We're staying at the Houwhoek Inn tonight and going out for a lekka dinner. Its Marks birthday tomorrow and we're hoping for another day like today to finish off on a good note.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Stage 6 (Bredasdorp to Hermanus)
As I had feared the stage started at a FURIOUS pace. And we were really struggling to hang on. There was however soon a split and I thought we'd settled nicely into a swiftly moving bunch. It had rained a bit overnight so it wasn't as dusty as previous days.
Unfortunately the start proved a bit much and the previous days niggles got a bit much and we BLEW after only about 10k. This was a major disaster! Imagine having to put yourself through 120k's feeling that you didn't have the strength to do another one! And then chuck in a few mountains in between (2000m). Most people would have quit!!
Fortunately we hung in there. Funny thing is it was really one of the nicest stages (scenery, surface, climbs etc)! We finished just under 7hrs but dropped us back a few spots to 111th. Back to C batch. I'll be honest that this is a big disappointment to me but probably the best thing for preserving the physical resources of our team!
Tomorrow of to Grabouw. A shorter stage (only 91k's), but I have no doubt it will be challenging!
Unfortunately the start proved a bit much and the previous days niggles got a bit much and we BLEW after only about 10k. This was a major disaster! Imagine having to put yourself through 120k's feeling that you didn't have the strength to do another one! And then chuck in a few mountains in between (2000m). Most people would have quit!!
Fortunately we hung in there. Funny thing is it was really one of the nicest stages (scenery, surface, climbs etc)! We finished just under 7hrs but dropped us back a few spots to 111th. Back to C batch. I'll be honest that this is a big disappointment to me but probably the best thing for preserving the physical resources of our team!
Tomorrow of to Grabouw. A shorter stage (only 91k's), but I have no doubt it will be challenging!
Stage 5 (Swellendam)
An entirely forgettable day. The stage had absolutely no redeeming features. It was long (146km), the surfaces were crap, and there was really no scenery worth raving about! Although we did see a HUGE baboon who had attracted a lot of attention from a bunch of photographers. Again we rode with Dirk and Eppie and we finished in just over 7hrs. The rest of the field also took major shots and we jumped a whole bunch of place to 106th overall. The major significance of this is that we get to start in the B seeded batch. This is always a big goal for me. So I'm best pleased! It may however not be all good. Its going to mean a start at a significantly higher tempo.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Stage 4 (Riversdale to Swellendam)
Stage 4 lived up to the reputation of being a toughy. Although for once I felt quite good on stage 4. We got away quite nicely, again with Dirk and Nico shadowing us. I suppose I'd do exactly the same. Protect my 2 odd minute lead while at the same time have another "familiar" team to help share the work load. My mind has been working overtime to come up with a strategy as to how to shake them. If it is at all possible. They both look pretty perky.
But I digress. After a nice start, the rest of the Upington contingent caught up to us after an hour or so. They also seemed keen to ride along. Which is fine - but - they talk a lot of shit and it really is more difficult to manage a big bunch. The water points are a good example (there are 3 each day). If we all stop together, by the time each bloke has gone about his business we've wasted a lot of time. And after all we're here to get this thing done as quickly as possible. We're not here for a haircut. And thats what happened. We had a quick stop and by the time the rest of them had finished peeing etc, we were 5 min down the road. Incidently it was after this stop that I reached my max speed so far this week. 78km/h! Yeeeeehah.
The rest of the day went fairly well. Some hideously steep climbs, but are often worth it when you consider the view. But nice views are one thing, but there really isn't a nicer view than the finish line after a tough day.
But I digress. After a nice start, the rest of the Upington contingent caught up to us after an hour or so. They also seemed keen to ride along. Which is fine - but - they talk a lot of shit and it really is more difficult to manage a big bunch. The water points are a good example (there are 3 each day). If we all stop together, by the time each bloke has gone about his business we've wasted a lot of time. And after all we're here to get this thing done as quickly as possible. We're not here for a haircut. And thats what happened. We had a quick stop and by the time the rest of them had finished peeing etc, we were 5 min down the road. Incidently it was after this stop that I reached my max speed so far this week. 78km/h! Yeeeeehah.
The rest of the day went fairly well. Some hideously steep climbs, but are often worth it when you consider the view. But nice views are one thing, but there really isn't a nicer view than the finish line after a tough day.
Stage 3 (Caltizdorp to Riversdale)
As I expected turned out to be a fairly easy (if there is such a thing)stage. Rode all way with Dirk and Nico and eventually finished in 5hr47. Those 2 are being quite shrewd in that they are sticking to us like shit on a blanket protecting the 2 odd minute lead they have. The stage was one by my tip to win overall, Raul Paulisson and Jakob Fugelsang. Burry Stander withdrew with an ITB problem. Quite a blow with them in Yellow and looking good.
Had a minor fall, actually more like a topple, bruising my hip and "anoos". Mark was starting to feel better. Although he struggled a bit in the beginning, he came through with his usual strength towards the end.
Our accommodation in Riversdale was giant F up. The Ivan we'd booked with had given our rooms away and left us with a problem of awesome proportions.
Fortunately one of Gawies mates came to our rescue and organised us something in the school hostel. Bit of deja vu being in a school hostel again. Anything to stay out of those tents!
Tommorrow, the fourth stage, is traditionally the toughest stage. Both from a mental and route profile point of view. Oh well as old Faffa says "die hele ding moet in"
Had a minor fall, actually more like a topple, bruising my hip and "anoos". Mark was starting to feel better. Although he struggled a bit in the beginning, he came through with his usual strength towards the end.
Our accommodation in Riversdale was giant F up. The Ivan we'd booked with had given our rooms away and left us with a problem of awesome proportions.
Fortunately one of Gawies mates came to our rescue and organised us something in the school hostel. Bit of deja vu being in a school hostel again. Anything to stay out of those tents!
Tommorrow, the fourth stage, is traditionally the toughest stage. Both from a mental and route profile point of view. Oh well as old Faffa says "die hele ding moet in"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)