I learned many lessons yesterday. The short : This was the toughest Cederberg 100 miler. I'd go so far as to say Pieter finally found a route that is as challenging (if not more so) than the Transkaroo. I will definitely be back and wonder if Pieter will alternate the direction next time round? Sadly by the chatter I picked up people were not too happy about all of this. I hope this won't negatively affect the event. The long : Tuesday on the commute home I had to go off the sidewalk for a group of pedestrians talking so loud and walking 4 abreast. As luck would have it I hit a patch of thorns, the rest of the way home various of these start to get pulled out and sealant sprays me, then seals the hole. All seemed well after that. Friday on the commute home I'm in a hurry and decide to take a shortcut 100m from home. I overlook a speedbump and come down hard on tarmac. Bruised and bleeding I make it home. Saturday I straighten the steering, fit new grips and bar-ends. Testing out the bike I see the RD got damage and shifts are out. An hour of tinkering I get it working as good as I can. We load up and head to Clanwilliam. On arrival my rear wheel is flat. I inflate it and go for a spin and all seems well. Sunday morning it is still rock hard so I line up for the start and we're off. I like the climb at the start, it is very long so you have distance to cover that big initial climb of the day. Things did tricky on the Heuningvlei trail, but I enjoyed it. Speeding down to Wuppertal the rear starts letting off more sealant. The town looks devastated, green leaves at the top of palm trees while the rest of the tree lower down is still charred. A colourful jungle gym stands next to a burned down school building. People making there way to church. After a quick stop at the water point you are greeted one of the most brutal climbs out there. Because I was so concerned about my rear wheel getting flatter I remember very little about that climb, but it was by no means an easy climb. I make it Eselbank riding on the rim basically. I do have spare tube and decide that is the only logical way forward. Unfortunately I have been riding with it on long distance events for years and it perished. Holding air is not what it feels like doing after all these years. I give up and make peace with my fate. At the same time a guy named Andrew was talking to the medics about a bug that hit his wife earlier the week and he woke up not feeling well today. They seems to come to the consensus that he should also bail. Then he turns to me and says "Hey, if you want you can finish on my bike". We exchange details and talk about the bike setups for a while, it matches well enough and I'm off. From here on I know pretty much what to expect. The road to where we turn onto the Kromrivier road is daunting but nothing to serious. I make to Kromriver - awesome water points all the way - this one is no exception. Feeling refreshed I take on the climb out of Kromrivier - it passes sooner than I anticipated. The long slog to the top of Uitkyk took much longer than I'd hope for, head wind did not make it any easier. At least it is tarred till the paved turn. I go as fast as I can using as little energy as possible. Algeria was a sight for sore eyes and I fill my bottles yet again. By that time I realised I have finished so many bottles and not once had to pee. Working back to Clanwilliam was mostly downs with some rollers to break your stride and intensify the cramps. Almost at the T junction I see Pieter coming from the front, we stop and have a chat, I am reminded coming up is the last climb. I make it and then were on this trails that we would have gone out with on the first 100 miler in 2015, but now going down it. About 3km from the finish there is this guy lying in the road making weird sounds. I try to talk to him and eventually he starts to make sense. "What do you have on you? Gels? Pills? Fluid?" I give him the last half a bottle of Enduren I have on me. With give I mean I literally open the tip and put the bottle in his mouth. Feeding him back to sanity. I ask if I can help him up and he is making more sense now. "How far" he asks. "Less than 3km" I reply. "Good, I have 2 hours for that" - OK I now know he's good to go. That cold wet towel at the end was soooo good. Well done to all the organisers - thanks again for unforgettable memories and lessons.
