Benky

Awesome setup, I run the same gear ratio too and it's awesome.

Good to hear from you, and so stoked that bike is still a fun machine! Thank you for the kind words, it is always nice to represent a bit and show that SA can compete on the bigger stages. Nutrition is a real challenge and to be honest it is more a case of getting what you can rather than what you need. It is obviously a carb-focused type feeling strategy so lots of chocolates, Bar One ideally, Coke, Bread if needed, juice or Powerade in bottles, and then maybe one protein meal a day before sleeping which was generally a chicken burger. You can't be too picky and just have to do the best you can from limited availability. There weren't really any dodgy meals but we did both have an Epic, near R1,000, re-feed at Springbok Spar which I will be telling people about for a few years I think. If I say we ate/drank 5,000 calories in 40min I think maybe I am being conservative.

Wayne! If only I knew someone with an excess of gold parts hey I am getting a bit conservative in my old age, but was very grateful for the last minute change to a 36t, it definitely came in handy on some of the climbs.

It is MTB Fork corrected yes, for up to 120mm. We have one that with events like Freedom Challenge, Silk Road and Atlas Mountain Race in mind. The stack remains similar to my XXL gravel bike but the head tube is shorter to allow for the extra space needed.

Honestly it's just cause I would rather not charge if I don't have to, just simpler to swop a battery and they weigh almost nothing. I did take the charger as a back up and used it twice, when sleeping and charging was easy. Effectively I used 7 batteries through the course of the race.

@Mattit is a pleasure. You are right it’s a lot of alone time. I think racing makes it easier because you have to focus and so a lot of time and thought is taken up just by thinking about what you’re doing and need to be doing and just the general act of racing. Nights alone are hard though and it’s tougher to keep focus there. My main trick to keep busy, strangely, is to do a bit of maths. I work out average speed and expected eta in my head a lot, it’s also helpful to keep aware of how my mind is working. That’s a legacy of being a school boy with a computer that couldn’t show average speed on the first screen. I don’t listen to music or anything which is a bit different to others but I still get songs stuck in my head somehow. No world problems were solved. It was nice not to think about that stuff for a week actually!

It’s my pleasure. I’ve been given a lot of support over the years so returning that with some help and advice is the least I can do.

One thing I’ve realised is that it really messes with your hormone system and there is a lot of toxic stuff floating around my body. I had a lot of night sweat for two weeks but that’s going now, thankfully. I think hormone balance gets totally messed up.

@Fred van Vlaanderensleep is a ongoing process, but these last few nights it as been better and I think recovery wise I am on the up now. That first week or so was a mess though, long but very light sleep. No Munga for me, I don't have it in my legs or head right now to be honest.

We were fairly close to each other most of the race so I had an idea because we would see each other. Other than that I would check when I got to towns, on the tracker, because that was the only time I would have signal. In those last 100km I was mostly clueless though, and half asleep, so I didn't really know until I saw him...but with that said I thought he would be catching me because I was as good as asleep on the bike by that stage. So you do try be aware but you don't want to be too focused on it otherwise you will risk blowing yourself up or ruining your pacing I think.

I changed batteries pretty much every 20hrs on average, although I didn’t run them to 100% empty. On Munga I get about 26hrs/battery but hillier terrain works them harder because you shift more.

I’ve used AXS for racing exclusively since 2019 without an issue. I felt it keeps my hands in better shape because shifting is easier and more importantly the shifting is precise all through the race. I have found AXS to be extremely reliable too, moreso than mechanical on these dusty races.

I’m not sure you can, but a good saddle and set of bibs definitely helps. I don’t struggle with saddle sores but chafe is always a challenge, so regularly apply Ass Magic and Vaseline to keep that under control.

Event Name: The Benky Rides Gravel Raid When: 15 June 2018 - 17 June 2018 Where: Brahman Hills, Kwazulu-Natal Category: Cyclocross JOIN US FOR A GRAVEL ADVENTURE THROUGH THE MAGICAL KARKLOOF FORESTS THIS JUNE. RIDE ALL DAY, STAY IN 4* LUXURY ACCOMMODATION IN THE WILD COUNTRY SIDE AND GET A TASTE OF WHAT THIS UNIQUE RIDING AREA HAS TO OFFER WHILE HAVING ALL OF YOUR NEEDS CATERED FOR. DATES: FRIDAY 15 JUNE TO SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018 DISTANCE: 50KM ON FRIDAY, 120KM SATURDAY, 80KM ON SUNDAY SPEED: NOT A RACE, ALL WELCOME AND A, B AND C GROUPS WILL BE FORMED. OF COURSE IF YOU WANT TO RACE WE WILL NOT STOP YOU, BUT IT’S FOR STRAVA AND NO MORE. INCLUDED: ACCOMMODATION AT BRAHMAN HILLS HOTEL HTTP://WWW.BRAHMANHILLS.CO.ZA/SLEEP/THE-HOTEL/ ALL MEALS FROM FRIDAY EVENING UNTIL SUNDAY LUNCH, WATER POINTS ON EACH DAY AND BASIC RIDING NUTRITION BEFORE EACH DAY’S RIDE 3 GRAVEL RIDES WITH FOLLOW VEHICLES PROVIDING FULL BACK UP SUPPORT EXCLUDED: TRAVEL TO BRAHMAN HILLS ALCOHOL SPECIALIZED BIKE HIRE: R500 Per Day (DIVERGE OR SEQUOIA). CONTACT US TO HIRE TO BRING: BIKE (IF NOT HIRED) WATER BOTTLES CYCLING KIT 3 DAYS + RAIN GEAR JUST IN CASE SHOES AND HELMET COST: R4000.00 PER RIDER TO ENTER AND FOR MORE INFO: kevin@THERIDEGUYS.CO.ZA @BENKYRIDES Go to Event Page

Ja that’s me. Here’s the link to my bike photos. https://instagram.com/p/BcEIXpqlJNy/