Ok ! Now that you mentioned our team ,I will give a short summary .We ride in the grand master category .After three false starts and having the option to ride in October or next year ,we sort of decided we will give it a go this year .I have one medal from 2019 and my partner has three .We have not ridden Epic together yet .Preparation was difficult for both of us .No events to measure or push yourself leading up to the date and training consisted mainly of IDT ,spinning classes, and free riding .I need to mention that we would have done Maluti double ninety and used the cancelled weekend to do a 140km mini Maluti and a 70 km the next day on our own with a group of friends .That was the longest ride we did before Epic and we dearly needed time in the saddle .
We stayed privately and barely saw the race village at start and finish .The prologue was wet and slippery and the initial climbing surprised us once again .Our aim was only to finish and ride up dead man's tree .We managed that and walked muddy plumb pudding after my partner fell .
Tulbagh valley was stunningly beautiful where we stayed .Stage one was a round trip to eselfontein and back .It was a cool perfect day and we rode all that eselfontein had to offer and then some detour trails coming back .Lots of technical single-track at eselfontein that slows you down and saps energy. My bottom bracket with only 80 km of use started making terrible noises and had to be replaced that evening .I also had an over the handlebar when my handlebar rotated down .Note .Check everything yourself .Mechanics don,t !
Stage two started calmly and was another perfect weather day .The climbs were all manageable but the sting was the technical rocky section after du toit,s drop that is also used in the Tankwa trek .Everybody around me had heard my full vocabulary of swear words' by now .The climb up the Witzenberg brought back memories of the 42 deg Celsius day during the tankwa trek when we i stood at the top ,cramping and looking back at devastated riders suffering from heat exhaustion .Today was pleasant and we proceeded to the hell of all descents on Tulbagh side .My calves and upper body cramped and my partner fell lightly on a switchback ,narrowly missing a twig eye injury that cut skin just below his left eye .Another stage completed but little time for rest as we finished around four pm .Our bodies were aching everywhere .Pain meds brought light relief.
Stage three was going to test us and it did .Our average speed was slowing from sore legs and bodies ,but we managed to get to Fanties,s pass .my back was killing me from pushing it up the impossible to ride pass .It just kept going up and getting steeper ,up to 20 % .Getting to the top was a relief and we thought a quick easy decent and some well earned rest waited for us .NOOOO!!!!!! we we wrong .Another hiking trail through the cool forest and into the open mountain side ,only to find the next section of switchback climbs going up once more .I had energy for this climb but not for any more .Thankfully the trail turned downwards and we thought we were home safe with 25 minutes to cutoff and the last few km to ride ,only to find that forest single-track was now our next obstacle to the finish and both of us got stung by bees riding through a fruit tree orchard. My partner is allergic to the little buggers ,so i was expecting him to come to a stop pretty soon .Luckily he takes antihistamine every day We used all our remaining energy and talent to blitz the last few km ,ignoring paining bottoms, arms ,legs and backs .We made it with less than 10 minutes to cutoff .+
Stage four was a welcome easier day with good weather and flowing single track .We both felt good and needed some more recovery time .We used the shorter day well and knew the next day was going to test us .
Stage five started well for us .Well rested and energized we rode the first 50 km and 2000 m of climbing well and even caught the next group .We were positive and left the top water point as it started raining harder and it was getting colder as the wind picked up .No reason to worry we marched on until my rear tire started slipping and i noticed that slime was bubbling from the valve .I inflated it and bounced the wheel .It held pressure for a while and then the same thing repeated .It was not sealing even with ample amount of sealant bubbling out so we put a tube in . With cold slippery hands and equipment it took some time to get the orange indestructible tube in .There was still copious amounts of sealant in the tire and no other sharp items .I noticed that the the area of the valve was large and stiff and did not fit nicely into the rim .But it is the indestructible tube so if it did not fit flush it should not be a problem .We got going again with now cold stiff bodies and the pace was slow .At the last proper water point i bought three more bombs if we needed them and we were of .We had a 35 minute time buffer still but there was still 800 meters of climbing in the last 30 km .Barely 20 minutes later ,making good time and warming up the rear flat repeated again .As i inflated it i could hear the air leaking from the valve .A passing rider gave us her tube and we put that in and started from scratch with cold bodies up the remaining climb .Another 15 minutes gone .At that point i already new if the remaining 600 meters were going to be technical our stage was over .we had to average at least 15 km/h to make it .The rest of the climb was muddy ,technical and our legs were dead by now .The pace was too slow .I watched my GPS and hoping that the organizers had made a mistake with the ascent as we were still going up and up .At 2850 meters we reached the top .Downhill all the way ! We could still make it .I dropped my seat post and started the flowing descent through the pine forest .It was slippery with trees, rocks and sharp turns .My partner rode above his comfort zone and very nearly had a massive crash .We weren't going fast enough .I noticed my partner had slowed down and i glanced at my watch .Cutoff was two minutes ago .So we slowed down and leisurely rode the last few km home .Myself with a stuck dropper at the bottom
No finisher medal for us ,but we could still ride the next two stages .We were disappointed ,but also relieved that it was up to us if we wanted to start the next day's mud fest. The decision was almost instantaneous and both of had had enough .
The next day we visited the village to return our electronics and watch the leaders at the finish line .We spent the weekend with our families at the wine farms and had a memorable time .We rode from Sunday to Friday ,500 of the 650 km .The experience was wonderful ,but the riding was harder than previous epics ,especially the technical single track ,hiking trail, sections .
