[Event] Freedom Challenge 2014

[Shebeen]

Marnitz Nienaber ‏@MarnitzNienaber 50m

Strange @grahamtweetbird winner Freedom Challenge on 27.5" second @MarnitzNienaber on 26". Is the 29" era over ??

 

you can see these bikes on earlier posts. didn't realise marnitz was still on small wheels.

[Shebeen]

here are the 1st and second bike, looking VERY clean

 

 

 

and another bike that asks more questions - no backpack, i toured canada like that but must be a b1tsh for portaging.....who is this rider?!

[tubed]

Interesting bike and I don't know who the rider is, could probably figure it out by elimination.

 

Here is the slightly controversial game fence pic again, (ie how not to stand on a fence), but here is that bike again, no wonder it needs two people to haul it up and over.

 

The guy giving instructions with his back to us is the owner.

 

The other interesting bike is the one against the fence with the red front hub and the solid fork. Its Gawie's belt driven single speed, hope to get a close up of it later.

[tubed]

here are the 1st and second bike, looking VERY clean

 

 

 

and another bike that asks more questions - no backpack, i toured canada like that but must be a b1tsh for portaging.....who is this rider?!

bikes will come through Stettyns looking quite clean, the fynbos branches brush them the frigid rivers wash them, the riders will carry the scarred legs for a couple of weeks with what the fynbos will exact

[The Crazy German]

That bike doesn't need to be heavy depending on the spec. Although al his pack might make it heavy. I have a similar one though mine has a suspension fork and is enduro spec so comes at a heafty 16kg. Though I have seen some in race spec dipping below 12 kg it all depends on choices and money.

[Shebeen]

That bike doesn't need to be heavy depending on the spec. Although al his pack might make it heavy. I have a similar one though mine has a suspension fork and is enduro spec so comes at a heafty 16kg. Though I have seen some in race spec dipping below 12 kg it all depends on choices and money.

The bike weight is not really the issue, it's the luggage!

 

normally you need somewhere between 6-12kg of gear to do this race. he's got camping mats and stuff so I'm thinking it's upper range there. Normally most of this is on a backpack, put it all on the bike and it's 20-25kgs. This is fine for bikepacking, but climbing fences and hiking trails it becomes a bit of a b1tsh. middle ground i reckon.

[tubed]

FC Update: the final days of 2014

 

Not sure what happened yesterday, but everything seemed to go quiet in the afternoon, but there was action in the evening when a biggish group hit the Montague Country Hotel! Gawie reviving the wyntrein after he had demolished the KFC offering.

 

It may seem that the fizz has gone out of the FC2014 with Graham taking the winners blanket on the weekend, but that would be very far from the truth.

Today will see a biggish group finishing and they will be just as worthy finishers – ask any one of the 13 who didn’t finish where they would rather be right now and you will know just how much this means.

 

It is a bit strange this year how concentrated the field is and how the groups have split and reformed. The best part for me is that nobody is riding alone – that is significant in that sharing the elation of what they are about to achieve with fellow riders is a big part of these last days. While undoubtedly the last days are more civilised (until you get into Stettyns for the final bash), the guys will still be riding long distances each day on tired bodies. Every one of them will be hoping to avoid the rain and should indeed do so when it really sets in on Thurs/ Fri this week.

 

Yesterday saw two riders have to sit still for 6hours each as they served time penalties imposed by the race director – I understand that these riders had family visit them on the route which is against the rules. The reason for this rule is that time and time again one has seen a struggling or competent rider bail when family arrive on the route – they simply cut short the suffering in favour of a comfortable ride home. So the rule is there to assist the riders to finish and to give them the peace and space the race affords them, after all there are very few times in one’s life nowadays when you get such an opportunity – so you may as well use it, it also makes seeing family at the end so much sweeter.

 

You will note that some of the riders seem to have slowed as they reach Montague/ MacGregor/ Trouthaven – I think the main reason for this is that riders want to savour these days, what can be better than riding your bike self-supported into MacGregor on a sunny morning, sitting down with some mates and ordering coffee, toasted sandwiches and then riding up the Breede river valley to the new support station at Good Hope Farm for some lovely guest house hospitality and country cooking.

 

The sting in the tail is Stettyns, but  honestly at this stage after summiting Lehanas Pass at 2900m in gale force winds and having beaten their way through the Osseberg/ Baviaans, nothing will stop them conquering Stettyns and it is a fitting finale. Just take your barbarian mindset and your remaining resolve with you as you drag your bike up to the nek and the start of the Elandspad.

 

Hope to have some more pics later

[tubed]

Rider positions

[nonky]

"Just take your barbarian mindset and your remaining resolve with you as you drag your bike..." I LIKE THIS COMMENT! :thumbup:

[TrailWarrior]

Tubed! A big thank you for all your posts and the support that was generated and came with it whilst I was out on the trail. Being on the back foot from start day wasn't the way I envisaged the master plan of things on my first Freedom Challenge.

 

Fanie & I, having never met until the night before and on the 1st day on the trail, became the best of friends. What a super guy!

 

Freedom, even though it only lasted 11 days, for me was an experience that will stay with me for a lifetime! With the mishaps, crash and the downsides that occurred, I was increasingly amazed at what the human body can do when the mind wills the body on and commands it to do what you want it to do. Obviously with the help of pain meds from time to time - (advice to others; not always a good thing) Yet, we are not mechanical machines and somewhere, somehow something was bound to give.

 

Pushing drive-side crank 60/70% of the time trying to relieve the pressure off the left knee on the drive-assist side, had to run out of 'piston pressure eventually. I knew deep down this would be inevitable and was just a matter of time before luck ran out. That time came en-route to Chesney Wold.

 

Having seen the specialist back home, 6 weeks of rehab and physio and then we are hopefully good to go!

 

So glad I managed to push to Rhodes even though it was 5 days too late for me, the Freedom trail beckons and if all goes well, 2015, I will be back on the start line.

 

Valuable experiences gained over 11 days, some of the most amazing and incredible people met. (Stu Brew to mention one! Fantastic human being!!) I experienced humility like no other and have no regrets. Grateful I live to tell the stories and still have the opportunities for now to go back and fight another day. So! for now! here's to 2015!

 

Big congrats to all the finishers so far and thoses coming through! Big respect and thank you for keeping the fire burning within for thoses of us that experienced misfortunes along the way...

 

Thank you.

[tubed]

Tubed! A big thank you for all your posts and the support that was generated and came with it whilst I was out on the trail. Being on the back foot from start day wasn't the way I envisaged the master plan of things on my first Freedom Challenge.

 

Fanie & I, having never met until the night before and on the 1st day on the trail, became the best of friends. What a super guy!

 

Freedom, even though it only lasted 11 days, for me was an experience that will stay with me for a lifetime! With the mishaps, crash and the downsides that occurred, I was increasingly amazed at what the human body can do when the mind wills the body on and commands it to do what you want it to do. Obviously with the help of pain meds from time to time - (advice to others; not always a good thing) Yet, we are not mechanical machines and somewhere, somehow something was bound to give.

 

Pushing drive-side crank 60/70% of the time trying to relieve the pressure off the left knee on the drive-assist side, had to run out of 'piston pressure eventually. I knew deep down this would be inevitable and was just a matter of time before luck ran out. That time came en-route to Chesney Wold.

 

Having seen the specialist back home, 6 weeks of rehab and physio and then we are hopefully good to go!

 

So glad I managed to push to Rhodes even though it was 5 days too late for me, the Freedom trail beckons and if all goes well, 2015, I will be back on the start line.

 

Valuable experiences gained over 11 days, some of the most amazing and incredible people met. (Stu Brew to mention one! Fantastic human being!!) I experienced humility like no other and have no regrets. Grateful I live to tell the stories and still have the opportunities for now to go back and fight another day. So! for now! here's to 2015!

 

Big congrats to all the finishers so far and thoses coming through! Big respect and thank you for keeping the fire burning within for thoses of us that experienced misfortunes along the way...

 

Thank you.

It really was my pleasure, well done to you too, some proper grit shown - and your greater family - wow, they showed some fantastic support.

 

Please share some of your photos here, I didn't share them as I figured you may wish to do so later. The pics have been scarce this year and they are a massive help for anyone considering what you took on - I really cant begin to properly describe you guys wrapped up in survival blankets in the Boshelweni Forest .

[tubed]

"Just take your barbarian mindset and your remaining resolve with you as you drag your bike..." I LIKE THIS COMMENT! :thumbup:

 

thanks Nonky - Martin Dreyer's twitter account photo of him going through the Osseberg - he came down that kloof, through that river behind him - meek and mild doesn't get you through there...

 

the PMB boys used the phrase this year: "it is what it is" in my year it was "this is not for the casual enquirer"

 

I probably sounds a bit trite and boy scoutish, but you really do get to another level in terms of what you are able to do - it takes some talking up, but the mind does lead the body

[tubed]

Con and Coen Finish RASA 2014 - well done guys

 

(apologies for the poor photo quality)

[tubed]

Jill and Liehaan, finishers RASA2014 - awesome effort.

 

Jill the first lady across the finish in 2014 and Liehaan - as far as I know his first finish but not his first attempt - proud of him for going back and finishing.

[tubed]

Final Day RASA 2014

 

Just 50km on the final day – race director making things easy?:

Today is an unprecedented day in that there will be a 12 strong group ride up Stettyns Kloof, images of a team time trial through the Kloof?, but given how long it took the 4 finishers yesterday, we could be in for a long 50km time trial.

To put it in perspective, the 4 who finished yesterday took between 14 and 16 hours to finish 50km, they didn’t get lost, its just that tough and energy sapping.

 

Trouthaven, some nervous, some bold:

Last night would have bene a bit of a party at Trouthaven, although it is just up the road from Rawsonville (which has the dubious distinction of being the papsak capital of the world) there was probably not much alcohol on offer and some of the riders would be quite apprehensive of what awaits.

Someone like Gawie on the other hand who travels light, would have been stoking the fire well into the night, he has a habit of building a massive fire at every support station and burning every bit of wood in sight. Gawie has no fear of the Kloof and will lead the way through there today, if he’s not the first finisher today I will be very surprised.

In 2012 at 5pm after leaving Montague that morning, he headed solo into the Kloof in the teeth of a massive storm and cold front, to emerge at Diemersfontein after midnight, quite cheesed off that there was no welcoming committee and pizza waiting. Gawie has always wanted Glenn’s single speed record, but it seems that with age he enjoys spending time with the various groups on the trail soaking up the South African vibes before he has to head back to Brisbane.

 

Unfinished business:

Another finisher from the Antipodes is Stu Brew the Kiwi, Stu has had a solid, steady ride after bailing with an injury in 2011, he will be chuffed to finish and is another who will be soaking up every bit of the atmosphere before he heads back to the Isle of Man where he is based. The point being that many riders who finish are doing so because they have silent scores to settle and unfinished business, so today will be an emotional and very meaningful day for some, as the comment was made of Liehaan last night when he finished, he was happy, no very very happy.

 

The next level?:

Its worth reading Glenn’s account of his ride this year on his blog www.glennharrison.co.za, Glenn writes well and I can never add to what he writes.

Just some observations then, a comment I made at the start of the thread, even these top endurance athletes are going through so much experimentation still in this race.

To read all the ‘errors’ Glenn made in terms of nutrition (drinking and eating the wrong stuff and wrong quantities) makes one think that with some science this could be done a lot better, but then you realise that this is not some staged event, it is raw, unsupported and brutal, despite all the planning and experience, once you are out there, there are so many constantly changing variables at play, not the least of which is your mind always giving you the option of quitting.

In some ways I think that overplanning the ride is worse than going in with a flexible mindset where you adapt as you go – a bit like Marnitz did this year.

 

There is no reception in the Kloof, I suspect the first we will hear is when Gawie starts dropping down the Elandspad to the N1.

 

Pic: that smile at the top of Stettyns

[mazambaan]

Thanks to Tubed and all who kept us informed and at our monitors.

 

I battle to grasp the effort and courage required to start the Freedom Challenge, let alone complete it; even the R2R. I defer to you all. Big respect.