[Event] 2019 Swartberg 100 Fondo's

[Shebeen]

 

My highlight? I got my whole table at our Friday night carboload to Google what a Prince Albert is. Mighty proud of that. It may have affected the dessert order, though.

 

See you all next year.

you keep very innocent company!

[Tim Brink]

you keep very innocent company!

Not any more.

[Mamil]

What a brilliant ride. 

 

Having fallen out of love with my gravel bike on the Amarider and back in love with it on the Karoo gravel grinder, the Swartberg was a honeymoon.

 

Well not quite - it had some of the painful elements of marriage. I lost my electrolytes somewhere between the start and the first waterpoint where I would usually take 2 endurolyte capsules and drop a High 5 fizzer into my water bottle. So I knew that I was likely to start cramping after 5 hour or so.

 

And sure enough - a third of the way up that fantastic mountain the first cramp bit. And they got progressively worse. I was reduced to walking, most frustrating because other than the fact that my legs were so intensely in spasm that I couldn't move for minutes at a time I was in good shape. No really!!

 

Eventually got to the top and though the descent would be less of a strain. Wrong again - had to stop next to non plussed but gentle marshalls three or 4 times to let me moans fly out over the spectacular views.

 

Limped in in 8:40 but I know I can and perhaps could have done 8 if I'd not lost my little tube of 'lytes.

 

Thank you to Tania who generously gave me her last handful of little magnesium pills - they bought me half an hour.

 

I will definitely be back next year. 

[Mamil]

For those of us who are looking forward to next year.

 

https://www.news24.com/Video/SouthAfrica/News/watch-snow-falls-on-swartberg-pass-as-cold-snap-hits-western-cape-20190607

[DJR]

Team DJR on the way back after the Knysna races a few years back. Same spot. Was in July I think.

[DJR]

This was just below the Top, one zig zag down, on the Prince Albert side. In October if I remember right. My grandfather told (I always thought tallish) a story of how they once had a light dusting of snow on Christmas day. I never thought it possible until we had snow in early November one year (when the Wine 2 Whales got shortened)! In that place, you can never quite be sure what the weather will do. 

Edited June 9, 2019 by DJR

[@BigJohnSwan]

Check out the snowfall on 7th Sept 2018, not a good time of year to run a race over the pass !

 

[Mamil]

Such a magical place

[trail - er - park]

Team DJR on the way back after the Knysna races a few years back. Same spot. Was in July I think.

 

Manomanomanoman ..... great pic!

[Fattyboom]

Was on my list to do next year but see its the same weekend as the 36One Challenge!

[@BigJohnSwan]

Was on my list to do next year but see its the same weekend as the 36One Challenge!

 

Yup. Can't be helped.