Ok so short recap of the race. - There will be a full write up in next months Ride Magazine. Heading out of town the first 10km was a neutral zone but we averaged 30kph on the tar. Once we turned off the guys really went out hard and split the bunch before the 20km mark. As we hit the first water point at 50km it was all confusion as you had to check in with your support crew ( we only had a little mud some sidetrack and a puddle or 2 to contend with up until this point). This split the bunch again 3 guys got away with a big bunch forming behind them these guys put down the hammer and I decided to rather drop off and keep my own pace. 5 min later my lights failed as JCZA said lights/batteries and comparability was a problem. I rode with Corras using his light to guide us to the second check were i could get a new light. This was the biggest stop but luckily we were very split up and it was easy going through. I strapped on my second light and got my food packet and was off again. this section of the route was very lonely with a few small climbs i only passed 1 team in 45km there were lots of support vehicles coming and going to ease the nervousness of "am I still on the right route?" I have to comment as well solo at night in the middle of nowhere is an amazing experience they should keep the late start and finish it adds to the epicness of this event Heading into the next checkpoint a long tar decent lead to a farm track next to a water channel it was very muddy but not mess up you drive train muddy. Just enough to make sure you got your wits about you and not crash into the channel. This checkpoint had some burgers and mechanics ready to help. not having to feed or do repairs I sped through heading out on another tar section. just As I cot back on the dirt another team that had stopped for burgers caught me and we had a good ride up the climbs. We were picking up solo and team riders all the way.....this was 80km from the finish with 1800m of climbing left end some were already pushing. This section had a few puddles but nothing you couldn't avoid. I had to lube and tack another major food parcel at the next stop that went quick the team and solo riders I was racing with decided to stop for another rest so I headed on solo. This section had some rocky climbs not to bad but I did lose my hot cross bun I was looking forward to for 195km because of one bump. This section consisted of long rocky tree lined drags and you could already feel the increase in altitude. I managed to catch the leading bunch With about 57 km to go I manged to break away the decent into the last water point was very rutted and just running my lights on dimm to save power I snakebited my rear wheel and just manged to keep it together into the checkpoint to fix it. Another long tar section took us to what we where all expecting the race to be........a mudfest. my wheels just disappeared into the mud and i crashed about 4 times. I hear it cleared up later and it was easier to get through that section. There where about 8 big bogs but the rest was fine just energy sapping. The final nail in the coffin is a 1,4km pass up to Tonteldoos. this was supper muddy and drained what ever you had left. luckily after that it was 6km downhill to the finish at this point my lights had drained completely and i had to rely on a small usb light to nurse it home. So in conclusion......buy the best lights you can afford and an backup battery to keep with you. This event is tougher than Baviaans according to me the solo aspect and all the climbing at the end really plays a role. Its not technical but the night light factor makes even a small rut a problem. This is a bucket list race and so awesome close to JHB. Pics by Eric Vermeulen A short vid....it was very dark out there. https://www.instagram.com/p/BS9UJ6iB1sI/
