Fireface

I was 220th! My partner finished stage one and said: "this is the furthest I've ever gone on a bike in one go!". That was in 5h30.

We're just like you, crap going up and always itching to go faster downhill. Here and there we got stuck behind some guys without skills, but most people let you pass without issues if they notice you're faster. Sometimes we waited for a minute or two to let them get further ahead, then bombed down before anyone else could catch up. The 10 minute gaps between batches help to draw out the field, and as we worked ourselves up the pecking order the skill levels around us improved. If you love technical single track you won't regret signing up for this race. There's nothing like this out there.

Me and my buddy were the last riders in batch K on the first day - the last starters of the entire event. By that time the top guys were almost done. We had all the heat of the day to deal with. But let's remember that we all got an email from the organizers on Wednesday that said "expect hot weather on Friday". I think they did their share, the rest was up to us. If dudes that weren't even at the race come out and start comparing this event to veldskool we're dealing with serious **** stirring. We lived like God in France in the race village. The race was a test - mental, physical and technical. That's what they promised us, that's what we paid for, that's what we got. It was incredible!

This was the most awesome event I can imagine. My only criticism is that the singletrack was so phenomenal that everything will be boring by comparison. I guess I'll have to come back next year. Unbelievable stuff, the first 35km's on day 1 and the descent off Spioenkop were easily the best riding I've ever had. I think a lot of people ran out of talent on some of those trails. The organizers were amazing, everyone was always friendly and every detail was organized so well. I never once had reason to say "this is Africa", except for the beautiful scenery and the weather. If you blame the organizers for that you really have a problem. Take up scrabble maybe, and stay of the internet?