I enjoyed the race too. I think in large part because I missed my J starting block for the 70, and ended up going out with the 20km B group. 2km in, I was told I was on the wrong route (by another rider) so i headed back to the start to confirm the route. I was on track. Just past the graveyard, the 70km markers were already gone, and I had a suspicion that I'd missed a 70km split about 1km later. so backtracked 1km where I located the traffic cop who confirmed that 70km riders had crossed the main road earlier. I thought I was on track from there on. only to take the 10km split and add an extra little loop in. first 20kms of the route (26km in my terms) i didn't see another rider (except for 2 choc riders and another walking back with a bust rear wheel). The most eventful part of that section was riding through a farm yard and being bulldozed from 1 side by a great dane while another pitbull'ish dog had a nice bite of my calf (post-race tet shots.. Yay!) 1st tail ender was caught in that lovely Navara rock garden. 15 down by the 2nd waterpoint. Took the time to take in some decent scenary. Total lack of bottlenecks until about 35km in. Having been off the bike for 2 weeks due to flu, which I recovered from just in time, i was more than happy to finish without cramps or hitting a wall, with a 4h20 for 81.4km. I wasn't crazy about the last few kms with numb feet due to that marshy water crossing. Overall, really enjoyable ride and greatful for minimal bottlenecks with my starting strategy. Some nice chats with other riders along the way too. I got a literal sense of what a Trail Seeker is about
