someone at work sent me a link to the velominati or “the rules” as it has been known. i have seen them numerous times before and i know that they are meant to be a bit “tongue in cheek” but some people seem to take them serious. then today, in the online paper there is an article about how much you should spend on a bike. in both cases, regardless of the humor involved, there seems to be this elitism involved if you want to be a cyclist. some people won’t be seen riding shimano because it is not european, some just scoff if you mention certain brands. the newspaper article seems to think that you need to spend at least $10,000 to get a seat at the special cyclist table. as a club that is meant to be open and welcoming i hope that we don’t invoke the same prejudices to any new comers. i have heard some people remark that on some group rides in perth, you will be lucky to even get a conversation started with someone as you are riding along. having the right gear is essential to riding but sometimes people just need a little advice. don’t dismiss the guy that turns up to a hills ride wearing running shorts as he might be the next ryan. (note: ryan turned up to his first hills ride wearing running shorts)
ride etiquette - it is unfortunate that this needed to be brought up again but there have been quite a few issues arising lately. interestingly enough, the tues, wed & thurs rides that i went on had people stop at the lights when they had to. i expect that we will get complacent again, but it is up to individuals to actually use their voice and take that stand.
focus group - this saturday after coffee we will be taking the kids with disabilities for a ride. i will be gang-pressing people at the coffee shop for you to help out with this. it is a no stress ride (with no traffic lights, so you won’t get dropped) and all you have to do is be very positive and encouraging. not sure how the weather will affect the ride, but we will play it by ear. do your bit for the wider community and help out here.
busso half-ironman - there are some people in our club that like to swim before a ride and then go for a nice brisk run afterwards. their pinnacle (or half-pinnacle) is this saturday with the half-ironman being held down in busso. good luck to those competing (or in brendan’s case, seeing who comes first, the half ironman or the baby). on a different note, way back in 1986, the half was held on rotto and the course record for bike and run was held by our very own stuart gee. i think he might have even won it outright that year.
tom lowry - a few people heading down to race this weekend in collie. my man-flu has gotten the better of me so i have unfortunately had to withdraw. it is unfortunate as this is a race i really enjoy. it has a bit of everything and usually get a good turnout. all the best to those racing.
ride routes - since you all loved holmes road last week, we will head out that way again. this time up hale road but will take on ridgehill (also known as “lennie hill road”) to make sure you get a climb in. actually, i am planning rides that avoid great eastern hwy as much as possible at the moment while the road works are going on. sunday is all about the kahuna. you know you love it.
saturday 5th may
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
How good was getting drenched last weekend? It is officially that time of the year…
giro + tour + winter = pull the ripchord
What pearl of hope can inspire us all to put on those stinking wet riding shoes and get squirted up our backside in the pitch black I hear you say?
Look no further for that missing inspiration than Amy’s Gran Fondo to be held on 16 September 2012. Recommended to me as the mostest enjoyable ride by a number of friends who did it last year, it completely closes all the roads that it travels along including the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. I particularly like the thought of making enemies with 200,000 grey nomads, and not even having to get smacked on the arm by their extended rear view mirrors.
The event starts in Lorne and cruises through Cadel’s favourite parts of….Lorne (and the Otways). The scenery is wonderful (whilst going at low speed in a car), not ridiculously hilly (ok just the one main nasty hill 9km long but at similar gradients to Perth Hills), and not a circuit where you go completely bonkers (unless you do 2 x 120km loops).
There are varying lengths of ride but the Gran Fondo is a 120km timed event, and UCWT qualifier for the 2013 UCWT Final. As the field is 4000 and it maxed out last year, you don’t have to beat Ed Hollands to make it to the UCWT final (this goes out to you Luke, and how many others …ahem….)
I have started an SPR team, the unfortunately named….. SPR Twitchers….( but hey Phil Liggett is a twitcher too) and welcome anyone to join up and come across for a fun-filled flog-fest. You can always ask me stuff that I have no clue about too, like the average rainfall, how many of the 11 apostles are still standing up, and what year the london bridge rock formation fell onto 6,000 penguins posing for a fleet of 17 Winobago mobile mcmansions.
It’s time to have a night off the bike girls…off with the lycra and on with the frocks!!! Once every 3 months or so we hope to have a girlie night out. The next SPR Chicks night out is little over a fortnight or so away.
well rules are made for keeping you safe. not trying to be a nanny state, or telling you how to ride a bike, but the reason we do particular things is not to make it harder for you, but mainly so we don’t have to pull the mobile phone out of your crumpled body and call your next of kin.
there have been a number of incidents over the last couple of months that have shown a deterioration of what i thought was a pretty safe group ride. we have always prided ourselves on the fact that we did have a ride etiquette guide and that riders were chastised if they did stupid things. however, lately i feel that we are beginning to let things go a bit as we get more complacent. for some of our members it is probably quite a while since they have actually looked at the ride etiquette guide. it is sitting on the website and any new person that contacts the club is always sent a link to it and asked to have a look before they come out.
i am not going to just list it out again, but there are a number of people that probably need a refresher. here is the link.
there are a number of points in the guide that people need reminding of, but to me that most important one is that you are riding as a group. this means that you do need to be concerned about the other people that are riding with you. the ride leaders give up their time to make sure that the groups are kept together, but sometimes people seem to ignore them and keep riding. one of the reasons why our groups are growing so much is that the rides are organised. people know the route before hand and expect that there will be some management of the group if it is needed. this should not have to fall to the ride leader but everyone looking out for each other. if you are strong and want a work hard, instead of smashing the group apart on the front, go to the back and help the weaker riders.
the other point that seems to be lost on riders lately is obeying the road rules. these are not an optional extra. our groups DO NOT go through red lights, DO NOT go the wrong way through round abouts and traffic islands, DO NOT slide down between cars stopped at an intersection, we DO NOT cross over double white lines. These things are not a minor infraction, they can get you killed. as a rider and a driver, you know that as you approach an intersection, if the lights turn green, you just keep driving. you won’t even be looking for the stupid cyclist that will risk their own life to stay with the group. well guess what? there are no championship points, there are no podium girls. if you are at the back of the group and you have time to stop, then you stop.
the absolute worse case scenario happened during the main 1 ride last saturday when people went around a stopped rider to go through the red light. now the excuse that it was unsafe to stop is crap. the lights cycle through green to amber to red over a certain time. you would not have been in the intersection when you got your first warning of a imminent change. if someone in front of you has time to stop, then you have time to stop. no excuses.
we have enough problems with cars trying to kill us when we are doing things legally. i don’t want to be the one to let your family know that you died on one of our rides.
easter is over and there seemed to be lots of kms ridden, possibly to get rid of some chocolate indulgence. the year is flying by and soon we will get a few “unpleasant days” to contend with. we are lucky with our weather and having 30 degree days in april makes for an extended period of good riding. this is especially apparent when the east coast is getting battered by driving rain and gale force winds. however, the rain and cold mornings will soon be upon us. i have a saying, though – “don’t look at the weather report to see if you are riding, look at the weather report to see what you are going the wear while riding.” see you out there.
peter clark classic - there are a few riders that will be racing this weekend in the northern districts classic. good luck to those competing and julian has volunteered to take the tent up so you will have a focal point in which to meet.
the focus group - a month or so ago a bunch of us met with a group of disabled kids that wanted to have a go at cycling. we rode from the coode st carpark, along the path towards the causeway and back again. there were a number of kids (with their parents) and a number of spr riders to chaperone the group. we would like to make this a regular occurrence on a monthly basis. our next ride with the kids is on the 5th of may and starts at 9:30am. this gives you all time to do your earlybird plus main ride, have a coffee and still be able to volunteer a bit of time to the cause. i will put another post up closer to the ride, but give it some thought as we would appreciate as much help as we can get. the kids really enjoyed it and the parents were rapt that so many of our riders gave up our time to spend time with their kids.
ride routes - they are predicting rain on saturday so the groups may end up being combined if numbers are low. lets see who is a fair weather rider. last sunday i was reminded during the ride about the chookenberg. well reminded was actually a question when someone was hoping we weren’t doing the chook. this week, we are doing the chook and the goose.
saturday 28th april
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
the minutes and notes from the recent agm have been posted to the updated committee members page that can be found here or through the tabs at the top. we had over 60 people sign in to attend so i thank you for your time and also to those that have been voted into the committee positions. over the coming weeks we will define the sub-committee roles and will be calling for more volunteers to fill those positions. it is a great opportunity for you to be involved in the running of the club and to help it remain successful.
If you’re like me, every Thursday evening you check the SPR blog to see what Pete has planned for the weekend. Are we doing Benara Road this time? Not Ewen St again pleeeease…
Even though I always check the route, I’m a “big picture” person and couldn’t possibly remember the entire route if my life depended on it. Also road names mean very little to me. I know St. George’s Tc and Hay St and maybe I’ve heard of Albany Hwy but the rest really is sort of gibberish to me. Sure, some rides I’ve done 00’s of times so I kinda “know” where we’re going and where to turn, but generally my main navigation device is the butt in front of me. Bike in front of me turns, I turn. Simple.
Now to be honest this kind of sucks. My intellectual laziness is sheltered by my more apt fellow riders who actually memorized the route and know where to turn. God bless them. However, it did occur to me that if the whole group did what I do….we’d have trouble leaving Coode St (there…I know another one…)
So, what to do? Two choices I guess. A) Spend countless hours reading the map trying to memorize it. Useless. I’ve even considered buying that “Brainetics” DVD for kids but didn’t, fearing that my 2 year old might outsmart me. Little punk…show some respect for the old man!
Or B) Make Technology work for me. Now doing some research on the web, it turns out that my trusty companion the -very popular nowadays- Garmin Edge 500 can actually store and display maps on that tiny 1.8’’ screen. Sounds like this could be the answer to my issues.
So, for the benefit of my fellow map-challenged riders, here’s a quick guide on how to use this little known (at least to me) feature.
In a nutshell, it works like this:
Get your desired map off the web
Put it on your Garmin
Ride and look like you know what you’re doing (or at least where you’re going)
So here we go:
Step 1 – Start with our trusty ol’ blog
Go to http://www.southperthrouleurs.com.au/blog/ and see where are we riding this weekend. Select the route of your choice and remember the name (e.g. spr saturday 49.01km (canning vale & welshpool))
Step 2 – Go to mapmyride.com
Go to http://www.mapmyride.com . Here’s where you will get your maps from. You’ll have to register a user and login before you can do any of the following. Worth doing IMHO.
Step 3 – Find the route you’re after
Go to Routes -> Search Rides and type up the name of the ride you’re after (or part of it). After you hit the “Search” button, you’ll see all the matching rides. Now, this can be kind of tricky as you may see multiple rides that match your search and that might have minor variations or even see older versions of the ride. Generally a good indicator is the length of the ride. Choose your route wisely, young one. Select by clicking on it
Step 4 – Download the map
Once you’ve selected the route, Click on the “Export Map Data” link at the bottom of the screen. Now, older versions of this site allowed the file to be downloaded directly as CRS, which is what the Edge 500 understands natively. Unfortunately this option is no longer available. Therefore, we need to download the file as GPX (a standard GPS file) and convert it to CRS later. Download the file and put it on a folder on your PC
Step 5 – Convert it to CRS
There’s a number of ways to do this, so feel free to experiment if you want, but this is what I do. Goto http://www.gpsies.com/convert.do . This is a website that will convert between multiple formats of GPS data. It will ask file location (either on the web or your PC), and allow you to select multiple conversion options such as reducing the number of GPS data points to reduce file size. Also you have the option of specifying a speed in MPH. This will come in handy later as this will set the speed of your “virtual partner” – a Garmin feature that lets you ride against yourself (wow). Anyway, options aside, the only important setting here is that you export the file as CRS. This will generate a converted file locally in your computer.
Step 6 – Move it to the Garmin
This is fairly simple. Connect your Garmin Edge 500 to your computer, take the CRS file you just converted and drop it on the “Courses” folder
Step 7: Ride like a Pro
OK, riding like a pro might take a bit more than that, but at least you wont take the wrong turn. Now, to see your map on the Garmin, all you have to do is go Menu -> Training -> Courses, then select the course you want to do and then “Do Course”. The Garmin will convert it (yet again) to another internal format but then you’ll see the course information, including course profile and the actual route.
You can adjust the “zoom” level on the map screen by “back” key and then selecting up and down to the level of your choice. I find that 300 meters works well. The greyish dot indicates your position and the black dot is your virtual partner. Once you finish the course, go back to the same menu and choose (you guessed it) “Stop Course”.
Also, if you select “Map” instead of the “Do course” option, you’ll see a nice picture of the entire course on the screen.
Now there’s tons of options for you to play around but wont go into that as the key point was getting the map to the unit and being able to see your position on the course.
Now my lawyer advises me to also say the following:
Always keep your eyes on the road. Don’t fumble with settings / screens / etc while riding. Otherwise the only course you’ll do is to the hospital
This is not a turn-by-turn GPS feature. If the course crosses the same point multiple times, you actually have to know where to go. If you take the wrong turn however, the unit will warn you with a friendly “You’re off course” message or something along those lines
This is how I do it. I have no affiliation (other than a personal user) with any of the sites I mentioned here so, please, if you have another way of doing the same thing, please share it. I’ve looked everywhere in Strava but can’t find a way to download courses. If you do, please let me know
I’ve tried this with the Edge 500 but might work in other models such as the fancy 800. If the Club will invest in such unit and lend it to me indefinitely, I will make sure I test this and report back the findings
So, now when your ride leader shouts out the course before the ride and says something like “we’re turning left on Wacky wacky rd and then right after Worongonruna Hw” you can do as I do: Smile and nod…Smile and nod.
sorry i was supposed to put this out over the weekend.
there will be a number of rides happening this wednesday being a public holiday. on top of that there will be a special dawn service ride for those wishing to head up to kings park for the dawn service.
there is also a race on at midland that you may still be able to enter if you ring up cycling wa. more info here.
ride routes - the earlybird ride will be the standard wednesday ride and as such will be a little quicker than the usual public holiday one. the 7:00am ride may leave a little bit later to make sure that the people from the dawn service have made it down in time.
wednesday 25th april
ride starts at ciao italia cafe cnr douglas and mill point rd at 5:30am
The ABSA Cape Epic is a UCI multi day MTB stage race competed by teams of 2, widely regarded as “ The Tour De France “of Mountain biking. It has the fearsome reputation of being hard enough to finish let alone win, a combination of harsh environment; tough trails and endless climbing coupled with long days in the saddle make it a “ bucket list “ race for any MTB rider.
I had raced the Cape Epic in 2011, returned home with a damaged heart, recovered and then teamed up with SPR rider Peter Gill to ride again in 2012.Our training rides started in December after Pete had finished getting over Ironman WA. Long endurance rides, tempo days, lactate intervals, recovery rides etc etc. Having experienced the blistering African sun in 2011 we spent the summer heat wave on our bikes, waiting for 38- 40 degrees bidon/water bladders full, we rode Camel Farm- John Forrest- Mundaring Weir- Kalamunda loops day after day for conditioning.
The Race – Pro and amateur riders from across the world spend 8 punishing days riding a completely new route each year, designed by Leon Evans (aka Dr Evil). The 2012 course consisted of 781km and 16300m climbing
QUOTES : Leon Evans aka Dr.Evil (route designer for the ABSA Cape Epic) “There are no easy days in this race. Registration day is easy and the Monday after the race is easy. Anyone who thinks there’s anything easy about the Absa Cape Epic is a fool. My job is to make sure that no rider, in any previous edition of the race, can say, ‘The 2012 Epic riders had it easy’ ”
Prologue. 27km 900m climbing.Mirrendal wine estate Durbanville took in spectacular views back across Cape Town to Table Mountain. Teams set off at 30-second intervals. The highest point of the day was telecom tower hill a punching climb up baby head rocks.
Day 1. 115km 2350m climbing. The sobering reality of a hard week, within 10km of the start, pro’s and WC were walking/ stomping up unrideable trail in 40-degree heat. I drank 14L while riding the stage and avoided a drip some of the other teams needed due to dehydration.The day started and finished way too fast, inexperienced teams were going to pay later in the week for anaerobic riding. Peter and I rode at our own pace, not chasing bunches finishing the day mid pack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MGPK4GbRcA
That night started 8 days of hour-long massages, given by lovely young ladies from Stellenbosch University Health Science Department. I was a novelty for them, having never treated a handsome tribal tattooed “All Blacks “ supporter. Tough life for a MTB stage racer!
Stage 2- 119km 1650m A lone bagpipe player awaken the tent city each day of the epic at 5 am.We race to find a short porta-loo queue, head to the 1200 seat dining tent , we eat/hydrate……….wait……….eat/hydrate again.Take a bidon/can of juice and pre hydrate some more. Dress.Head over to the secure bike park to get our bikes, check the overnight service from the mechanic. Ride to our start chute, sign in. 10 min warning.Move up. 2 min warning.Groove along the race announcer/DJ beats that blasted from 6am.30 second warning…..Race.
A routine that would repeat itself each day.Stage 2 had rolling open district roads and pinch hills; we let the packs roll past us finding our own rhythm.Typically as the day progressed we first pass the teams with mechanical problems. Then we pass the teams that for whatever reason need to stop to sort out nutrition. We then passed the teams hitting the wall due to bad pacing or just plain worn out.
On the climbs we held cadence and heart rate even, letting teams pass us, then on the downhill Pete opened up the throttle and bombed past riders 10 at a time. We always rode safe and called our intention, but they still got the surprise of their lives as he hit water bar jumps getting solid air on each one.
Highlight of the day – getting back into the groove of multi day racing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILM_djhVfQk
Stage 3- 147km 2900 m climbing. The longest stage in Cape Epic history rolled off with a mass start at 7am sharp, riders jockeyed for position along 18km of tar before we turned onto winery road and then the inevitable jeep track and loose climbing.
We enjoyed the terrain and vista’s from each high point along our route. The kilometer’s ticked over steadily, riding conservatively, protecting our legs for the days ahead. I had a 45 minute alarm set on the Garmin:1 bidon, one serve of food. If there was more climbing we increased our food uptake, taking care to snack steadily hour by hour. Real food at the water points was the key to avoiding the dreaded “ goo guts ”. Savory muffins, salted rice cakes, salted mini boiled potatoes, banana in skin cut into bites sized chunks, jelly beans, pretzels and carrot cake were some of the delights offered up.Hydration came in the form of chilled single source water, trucked in from Cape Town daily. Coke, Energade ( SA Gatorade), and fifty fifty coke/water in 20L drums was served up by enthusiastic and super supportive volunteers.
The day seemed to drag on from 100km to 130km, spinning then climbing, chatting to other teams along the way. We felt strong and then inevitably low, the long day went on and on. Suddenly the 5 km marker appeared in burnt out terrain, our tired bodies gave a little kick and we rode into our new home, Caledon. We had spent 9 hours in the saddle, finishing a little leg tired but happy the biggest day was out of the way. (or so we thought ! ) My back held up not having to deal with the rocky descents of day 2. Happy Days
Stage 4- 105km 2600m climbing. Rolling out of Caledon we headed north west. The day consisted of 2 major climbs. Tar road leading to district road and then steeply into 30% buggy track, we walked ! And rode and walked again.
Our first high point had spectacular views out to a dam north and wheat coloured rolling hills south. We raced along on fast irrigation canal trail into the water point.
One large mountain of steady climbing lead to a very fast single track descent, half way down Peter doing 40km/h bombed past Alain Prost ( F1 car driver). Alain’s eyes like dinner plates, Pete grinning from ear to ear having to stop and wait for me every couple of km’s.
Compressed disc’s in my back made it tough going, I ended up with pins and needles down my arm and no grip strength in my left hand. Peter was great, asking if we needed to slow down. The only thing I could do was “keep riding”, slowing down was more time on the bike and more inflammation.
The pro riders finished the course in 4 hrs 40, for us further down rankings a wind storm had whipped up to 60km/h by water point 3. It turned into a slow grind on district road, our old friend Alain joined us, drafting our wheel until we dropped him through rolling hills.
Peter and I were blown off our bikes more than once, giggling we watched Kiwi rider Megan D (a petite 49kg) almost thrown into a fence.Single track through the botanical garden and a giant bermed corner finished our day. I was a broken man in the recovery tent. A shower, dinner, long massage and emotional phone call to my wife got me back from the edge. If I could pedal, I would be finishing the race!
Highlight of the day – Spectacular scenery, Dr Evil always designs a route that takes you to unique and remote locations.
Lowlight – Riding with great leg strength but my spine had finally given out.
Stage 5- 119km 2350m climbing “Frozen Hell in the Peleton”. It rained HEAVILY overnight, we ran like drowned rats to breakfast, dressed wet in our tents and shivered in our start gate, waiting to get riding.
The district roads were mud puddles, no bunches to chase because each team was fighting its own battle to stay together. We witnessed a strange phenomenon with the some of the riders stopping at dams to fully dunk their bikes, cleaning and removing mud from drive train, only to have it just as dirty 20m down the road (weird, so much time lost for little gain). Sandy fynbos single track turned into pine forest as we steadily climbed into the mountains.
The weather grew steadily worse and then high in the mountains it started to hail. It was by far the worst weather we had ever ridden a bike in, Period ! Teams, trying to save grams had started the day in bibs and jersey only, riders shaking uncontrollably then still and pale as ghost the start of hypothermia set. We rode past a female European team slow pedaling and sobbing as sheets of rain pelted down.
Water point and 2 soaked to the bone, (even in wet weather jackets and warmers) many teams sought refuge in the food tents fearing they would not make it to the next water point. Peter and I had a serious discussion, we elected to eat as much as our bodies could handle and then ride at a higher heart rate to combat hypothermia. Pete (with 5% body fat) couldn’t feel his hands to brake effectively/at all, we were in ok shape but needed to ride carefully descending. The other issue of no brake pads was of little concern!
Oak Valley was considerably warmer, the world renowned single track was wasted on us, we chopped up the trail quite badly in the mud and sludge. Finishing in 8hrs 50 time I’ve never been as proud of Pete; our ride was held together with stubborn determination and daring, willing to make a big judgment call in terrible weather hoping it would pay off.
Stage 5 defined 2012 Cape Epic, over 50% of the riders were still on the course with only 2 hours to cutoff. Stopping too long at water point 2 was a race ending decision for many teams. Hypothermia set in and ambulances to hospital overflowed.
Stage 6- 85km 2200m climbing.The surviving riders of 2012 were given a 30 min reprieve by the race director and a mass start at 730am in lieu of 4 distinct chutes. It was a subdued peleton that rolled out of Oak Valley Wine Estate into Grabouw and then into open fire trail on the valley wall. Three minor climbs featured on the route, broken up by The Groenlandberg. The mountain rose sharply after water point 1 a steady 13km of small ring leg burn. The view riding up was striking, looking up to the false summit we had been warned against and then back across the valley floor down to water point 1.
A momentary lapse of concentration had a large rock roll over into my rear derailleur, quickly off the bike I found it pushed into the spokes. Oh S*#T ! I managed to bend it back by hand and get gears 4-10, no granny gear for the rest of the day!
Turning South East and descending we passed multiple teams on the rocky trail, Peter taking the lead threading and weaving down the single track. Peter on cloud nine after 5km of downhill madness guided us into water point 2. We were back in Oak Valley with 20 km of pine forest and single track heaven, after a quick talk we elected to enjoy the rest of the afternoon cruising and passing riders through the forest. At one point knowing there was some awesome trail with banks and berms I took a cross country detour around slower riders to get onto Pete’s wheel. We flew down way too fast, Pete laughing at my antics.
We were a happy and tired team finishing day 6, the local Rugby grudge match of BULLs vs STORMERs played that night and with a late 830am start for Sunday the beer tent overflowed with locals. We, on the other hand enjoyed another hour long massage and early bed.
Stage7- 64km 1350 m climbing.The morning of day 7 began with the usual 5am Scottish bagpipes wake up call, warm in my sleeping bag willing my spine to give 1 more day in the saddle. Pete and I set a lazy stroll to breakfast and then packed our race bags for a final time. The tent city was full of light laughter and quiet optimism we were “almost done”.
1350m of in 3 major and 1 minor climb, our last day was no easy doddle, spinning uphill and bombing down. The mechanic hadn’t really fixed the rear derailleur so I spent my time grinding in 3rd gear and ghost shifting while following Pete. Just after water point 1 on a steep descent a rider front somersaulted on a jump, landing heavily, his race was over. Spectators went to his aid and we rode on, wary of the same fate. Later within sight of the finish a broken collarbone ended another teams Cape Epic!
We rode into wine farm track with the mountains behind us, steep pinch climbing turned into rolling hills and then flat track. The 5km marker started a fun section of single track with tree lined switchback turns and log bridges. We could hear the finish line announcer through the trees and a sharp left brought us onto the spectator lined finish chute.
Holding a Papua New Guinea flag I crossed the line, my good mate Pete right beside me. We hugged and took in the scene around us, medal presentation dais, concert stage, beer tents, merchandise tents. It was like a being at a music festival. The race winners Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser gave us our finisher medals. (In essence, like Cadel giving you a medal and saying thanks for riding, you made it!). We grabbed our picnic hampers, bought some beer and spent the afternoon lying in the sun reminiscing on our week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkfa_6-_WP4
Of the 600 Teams that started only 481 finished. The 2012 Cape Epic has been touted as the hardest race ever, a combination of long stages, extreme climbing and compulsory portage. The weather added to the pain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_d2NoaZ6y0
I have been home a couple of weeks now and in comparison to 2011 I’m much healthier. Peter and I rode with better pacing so I have avoided stress on my heart that affected me for over 6 months in 2011. We have our friendship intact, unlike some teams that fell apart when long days and short tempers took their toll. In fairness to my family I have elected not to race in 2013, months of base and race training take its toll on our young family.
2013 is the 10th anniversary of the Cape Epic and I am one race away from becoming “Amabubesi” or “pack of lions” in Zulu. The organizers believe that if you are crazy enough to finish 3 Cape Epic’s, then you get automatic entry. These 2 factors may force my hand and in few months time I will be begging my wife for a leave pass to train and race. It is a cliché but Cape Epic does get under your skin.
The worldwide lottery for entry closes on 30th May. See you on the start line!
Photo’s of Nigel – http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeti_101/sets/72157629420137536/
GO PRO – 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhBkgCglhAo 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOR5j5e_FXg 3- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_iJrkF9vuc 4- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJlF9BjwvsI 5- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nEkGzjoezc 6- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CynLTKinQMc 7- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdqVAJEKPLA
if anyone is interested in being part of the Dawn Service at Kings Park this Wed, a few of us thankful souls will be braving the dark and the cold to pay our thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
There is a video display on a number of large screens near the main memorial commencing at 430am. The actual service begins at 600am, sunrise will be at 644am which marks the conclusion of the service.
We meet at the base of Mount St at 530am and then make our way up to the memorial. If you’re late dont worry, we are quite easy to find in our lycra and beanies.
Toby and Leo plan on opening Dome early that morning (I hear talk of a 500am start) if you need a morning cuppa before heading up.
Hope to see you there. And, dont worry, Pete will hold off leaving for the Public Holiday ride a minute or two too let you get there. We’ve make the start with heaps of time to spare in previous years.
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