HenkD Posted November 17, 2020 Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) Did Deon finished in the end to make 3/4 for the savages Edited November 17, 2020 by HenkD nathrix and Pure Savage 2
Cookie88 Posted November 17, 2020 Posted November 17, 2020 Did Deon finished in the end to make 3/4 for the savages Yessir, man powered through for a 23h19m finish - yster! Pure Savage 1
Pure Savage Posted November 17, 2020 Posted November 17, 2020 We had 4 Savages taking part this year, riding with Solo Challenge entries but a gentlemen's agreement to stick together and aim for a Sub 20. Two of our members were previous finishers in 2018, with myself and the one other being 36One 'virgins'. With the heat ramping up on Friday morning we acknowledged that we should revise our goal time to a more realistic 21 hours. On the way to the start the heat was already so intense that one guys front brakes completely locked up leading him to arrive at the start line on the back of an Anaerobic effort in 46 degree gear. After consultation with some of the mechanics at at the start line mechanics the heat was actually identified as being the problem. Some of those more technically inclined can weigh in here but basically excessive heat can cause brakes to lock up completely. Split second decision on the line and they completely disengaged the front brakes, rather safe than sorry. Needless to say, he wasn't the only one experiencing this same issue as there were several guys with both Shimano & SRAM brakes with the same issue. We kicked off in the blistering heat, heading along a newer tar route out of Oudtshoorn before turning right onto the dirt. The heat during these earlier stages was wild, my Garmin at one point had it at 48 degrees and that was with a slight wind chill from riding along. The idea was to conserve as much as possible during this first stretch so that we could kick into gear later when things cooled down, however with the heat even the slightest increase in power left your HR jumping from Zone 2 to Zone 4 like Mike Powell's world long jump record. If the first 25 odd km was all about the heat, the next 25km was like someone had switched to fan oven mode. At this point a couple of the guys were already battling, and the aim was just to get to the 59km Waterpoint to refill bottles. You know it's been hot when someone comments in the group how much cooler it is around 17:00... even though it's still 34 degrees. We limped into Waterpoint 1 and although things had cooled down, the wind was really whipping us. We battled through the next 40 odd km and rode into the first Checkpoint. 2 of our guys had fallen off and were a couple of minutes back. By the time they rode in one our strongest guys decided to call it - the heat had really affected him badly. The 3 remaining Savages pushed on. For the first time the weather gods actually played ball and we had a couple of sections either out of the wind or with it slightly behind us. We rode well during Stage 2 however by the time we got to Checkpoint 2 just before 01:00, our third member was feeling man down and decided to team up with another acquaintance with a slightly slower pace. This left just two of us to throw ourselves into Stage 3. Stage 3 was tough, the Rooiberg is a helluva climb that just keeps on giving. Especially after you have that amount of climbing and distance in the legs already. We rolled into Calitzdorp at around 07:30. At this point, your mind tricks you, making you think that after doing 280km what's another 80km... on no sleep. Feeling quite positive the two of us set out, but it soon became clear that the time we had made up during Stage 2 & Stage 3 was going to be hard to cling on to. The more moderate nighttime temperatures were dissipating and it heating up, along with that wind. A couple of past finishers had advised to be wary of the the last 80km, and they were right. The climbs just seemed to keep coming although riding in 33 degree heat compared to the 48 from the previous day felt like we had an air-conditioner on. We rolled into the finish in a time of 20h46m. Way over our goal time of 20h but given the harsh conditions of Stage 1 I couldn't see how we could have ridden harder without risking not making it at all. Kudo's to our third Savage who rolled in in around 24 hours and ended up slogging the majority of the last Stage on his ace! This was my first Dryland Event and I must say it was very slick, from registration, well stocked tables and the smiling and friendly characters at the waterpoints. This really made it a special event in what has been a year to forget. Thanks to everyone involved!You didn't say if you would be back next year or not??
Cookie88 Posted November 17, 2020 Posted November 17, 2020 You didn't say if you would be back next year or not??Definitely not if it falls so close to DC again... Pure Savage 1
hboli4 Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 It was really tough for me. What puts in in perspective for me(a backmarker who was aiming for 24 hours) is that this route should be easier and quicker on any 'normal' day with just over 1200m or so LESS climbing than the route for the last couple of years. They were predicting times of 13 - 13.30 hours for the winner. The heat and wind over the first 100kms drained me and I never fully recovered from that. Limped home in just over 27 hours... Red Robin, Wayne pudding Mol and Cookie88 3
Cookie88 Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 It was really tough for me. What puts in in perspective for me(a backmarker who was aiming for 24 hours) is that this route should be easier and quicker on any 'normal' day with just over 1200m or so LESS climbing than the route for the last couple of years. They were predicting times of 13 - 13.30 hours for the winner. The heat and wind over the first 100kms drained me and I never fully recovered from that. Limped home in just over 27 hours... Well Done - sterling effort in those conditions! hboli4 1
JohanDiv Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours. Wayne pudding Mol, Spurs, Carmichael and 4 others 7
Wayne pudding Mol Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours.that's a brilliant story
eddy Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours. Well done to him and his missus. I think that is where most guys google a divorce lawyer to come and pick them up...
Cookie88 Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours. Epic story - Kudo's to his Mrs!
TyronLab Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 It's amazing what can be achieved when you want to prove your significant other wrong. I'm betting he had a great "See! I told you I could do it" speech lined up after 19 hours of stewing. One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours. Cookie88 1
Spurs Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 One of our guys was doing his third 36One this this year. The previous one he had to call his wife on 320km to come pick him up. Withdrew so close to the finish with a bad case of flu. This year he called her again, but at CP1 saying he's done, the heat and wind broke him! She said not a chance, I'm not going to pick you up again, either you finish or you find your own way back! Turns out that stern talking was all he needed! He carried on and ended up coming 12th in just over 19 and half hours. She's the one who probably had to deal with him living in regret for not pushing on. It may have been a good decision to pull out last year, but that feeling of regret will always linger, wondering if he really needed to pull out. I'm sure she didn't want to have to deal with that for another year
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