the unofficial Cape Epic thread

[babse]

2 hours ago, 'Dale said:

6 x winner - remarkable. The most successful elite rider in Cape Epic history. 

6 from 6... 

 

Unreal. What an athlete! 

[Shebeen]

2 hours ago, 'Dale said:

6 x winner - remarkable. The most successful elite rider in Cape Epic history. 

Yes. Definitely the female GOAT. To dominate 6 months after having a baby is insane.  But it also says so much about the depth of the female field. Equal prize money has not raised the standard (many will say told you so). Not sure what they do, but the ladies race is just not the same level. 

Platt and sauser still the ones up in lights (imho).

[Shebeen]

10 hours ago, Jorrie said:

Tristan en Matt sal 'n mean team wees

https://www.bicycling.co.za/news-people/going-places-beers-and-nortje-form-toyota-specialized/

[DieselnDust]

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

 

firstly, I’m going to thank Lake Cycling SA, Williams Bike Shop, The Bike Uitsig and Lance the_skills_coach and dietician Kate Standley for all the help they gave me in preparation for the Cape Epic. None of them knew what they were prepping me for but that’s besides the point. These are great people, support them please. Also Special mention to Robbie's Bicycle Concept who loan me a brand new RS SiDLuxe Ultimate after the damper shaft in Float DPS let go for the 2nd time in 2years on stage 6. Without this help I would not have been able to complete the event.

Back to the stage, As you are well aware, the Neck became a muddy slipfest , so badly that two course recon vehicles got stuck up there last night. Basis this it became inevitable that the course would be altered. Prayers were answered!!

we ended up with a 42km 900 m short route gravel bike race . I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. The last 10km were once again a mud fest that had the bike wash backed up for hours. But the traffic out of Lourensford was backed up even longer so the wait for a clean bike was at least tolerable. Gave me time to write this up.

So this is my fourth ACE. Being an  Amaboepensie I can say what i like without any “what-do-you-know” statements.

It’s a great feeling to cross the line for your first epic. The second becomes a little routine and the third is a celebration because you join the Special Persons Club known as Amabubesi. The fourth is a journey into the what next with questions like, “ do I want to do more, why do I want to do more etc. you reach a moment where you realise something has changed and the obsession is shifting or changing.

change can be good and it can be bad. It depends on your point of view.

the cape epic has always been tough from day 1 in 2004. Kevin was always focussed on rider experience. Between 2016 to 2018 there was a shift. By 2025 that shift has resulted in loss of a good experience to full on survival. Now for some that may be a good thing, it’s a matter of perspective. Going back through training logs and old warthog posts I realise it has become the animal I wanted 20years ago; more and enjoyable single track with slightly shorter stages. Over the years as I’ve spectated from computer screen I craved to be able to ride it more and I got the opportunity this year when a friend living and working abroad invited me to ride it with him. From day 1 he didn’t enjoy the experience.

registration was cold and almost too efficient. That again is a matter of perspective. We felt it was stake your things and go experience but we had to walk a long way to collect bags. A long way back to the cars, along way for everything. Registration and the first 2 nights were going to be at Meerendal. Our tents were on a massive slope with the dining and medical tents at the top of the hill. So walking to the toilet or dinner was a laboured affair. The bike park was another 300m away at the finishline while TweedeKamp was nearly 1km away in the opposite direction!!! I walked over 10000steps per day everyday while at the Meerendal venue. Good for recovery? No!

Fairview was a thorny dust bowl, again with Tweede Kamp over half a km away. Possibly one of the worst venues ever right up there with the horse paddocks of Arrabella Wines in Robertson 2018. Gone are high school sports grounds, hello working farms. Next I’m sure it will be cattle barns…

Lourensford was decent. Unfortunately we had bad weather. But again the dining tent was a way off.

the food was average at best. Either too fatty or too dry and I didn’t see olive oil . Maybe it was just me. After Wednesday stage 3 we all needed light cool food , instead we got heavy fatty food. Not ideal meals for recovery.

the tents are an improvement but the water proofing sucks. I moved out of mine at Lourensford and camped at home because I could not keep the tent dry. It’s was always wet and the tent crew just laughed off requests and complaints.

i also didn’t know how the racing was shaping up. I will have to catch up this week. When you’re being beaten up everyday there’s no time to think outside of Me. You see this every amateur competitor. There is no #Gees. For that you need to find an s as alternate event. It’s moer en trap Elle dag. 
the toilets worked with only onetime I saw someone barely made it and shat on top of the lid and left the pressie. Too much carbs will wreck your gut. The urinals were a disappointment. Lovely design, no running water. Maybe middle class people don’t wash their hands after urinating? I don’t know but I do wash my hands. So I never shook anyone’s hand, fist bumps only.

This has all translated into a poor customer experience. I’m not alone. We had 6-7hrs per day to chat about it. I reckon the satisfaction ratings are way down or maybe they will just use feedback back, spin it and tell everybody to keep smiling. This is all juxtaposed by the sense of achievement of completing a gruelling event successfully. So hopefully the negatives are viewed constructively to build a better event.

The last focus area relates to us the riders. Technical and mechanical skills, ego. Everyone is using SRAM AXS. So much so that the head of SRAM marketing came out to ride a few of the stages. They take innovation and customer satisfaction seriously. AXS is awesome as long as the device connector pins don't bind or the connector pin springs don’t break. Good connection is key to electron flow. The solution is simple, use leaf spring pins on the battery not the device. The current design is fine when you’re in Europe where it was conceived and largely tested but not for the #untamed winelands dust and mud. So now if something goes wrong riders just stand and model in the middle of the trail. Even plugging tyres will have to become electronic to keep these ironpersons rolling. Garmin will have to create new apps that inform the rider how an obstacle looks on approach and departure because without they don’t seem to know how to ride. I rode up to F batch on some days, and technical riding skills are severely lacking. It was a massive problem on Wednesday in Rheebokskloof and Thursday through the XCO courses around Paarl. It was a major contributor to riders falling foul of the heat. I wasted an hour waiting in queues. An hour extra hydrations hour extra of being cooked. Add anxiety and brain and core muscle function becomes severely impacted. This in no way removes some poor organisational decisions , like letting the route use so much of RBK in the  heat but I do believe that by entering the event you have to equip yourself with nutritional and riding skill, not AXS. I include nutritional skill because  people watch too much nonsense on SM and have a number in their head that becomes a target without understanding the  metabolism that it needs to work with. 
 

Was it worth it? From a personal achievement perspective, yes. I used my science based and taught coaching methodologies, my dietician and my relationship with other coaches to develop my approach. A doctor needs a doctor, a coach needs a coach. My teammate, like many others used what worked for him in the past. That didn’t work. We’re all older and our bodies change. You move to another country your diet changes which influences your physiology which requires adjustment to your training to normalise / acclimatise yourself. I learned a lot about myself, I have to unpack my notes, digest and adjust my approach where necessary.

from a financial perspective I did this event on the cheap but others are spending up to R500,000-00 to just finish the Cape Epic. I certainly would not spend the bulk of that on an electronic kit equipped bike. It’s not necessary it’s an ego purchase and therein lies the rub. So much of the amateur mindset is focussed on ego for the ACE. Even carbs per hour is now Dick swinging contest. I had no bugs , no stomach bugs , no gastric distress despite eating in the Dining tent. Yet the common excuse for the runs is “stomach bug” while Mr bug is him reading the paper and mrs Bug is minding her own business knitting the kid bug jerseys so they can infect you in May when our next round of flu “bug” comes to visit.  
 

so the medals will be hung up and put on display, the t-shirt will be worn and the stickers applied to something where the sense of achievement can be a reminder to celebrate. Right now I feel tired. My sleep pattern is abnormal from getting up twice during the night due to fluid intake to ensure no dehydration and keep sodium Levels up. At some point I’ll brag about it before it slips into the treasure chest of life experience, but for now it’s work tomorrow with  a different set of demands.

cheers 

 

ps: I haven’t tried a mixed team yet…🤔

 

Edited Monday at 05:39 AM by DieselnDust

[SSCC]

14 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

That’s a very entertaining, thoughtful write up. Congrats on finishing another one. 

The early years of most events are the best. As the “formula” gets polished they often become worse experiences. 

Care to share what you did for on bike nutrition this time around? Like you, I see a lot of people hammering a carbs per hour number without considering temperature, intensity, how many days an event is etc. 
 

 

[NotSoBigBen]

So those friend I know really well a doctor I know at the clinic etc. stories were just that?

https://www.iol.co.za/sport/cycling/cape-epic-organisers-rubbish-rumours-of-rider-deaths-after-week-of-extreme-heat-7f900218-b836-4e31-a92e-b04dbd8215b2

[NotSoBigBen]

36 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

 

firstly, I’m going to thank Lake Cycling SA, Williams Bike Shop, The Bike Uitsig and Lance the_skills_coach and dietician Kate Standley for all the help they gave me in preparation for the Cape Epic. None of them knew what they were prepping me for but that’s besides the point. These are great people, support them please. 

Back to the stage, As you are well aware, the Neck became a muddy slipfest , so badly that two course recon vehicles got stuck up there last night. Basis this it became inevitable that the course would be altered. Prayers were answered!!

we ended up with a 42km 900 m short route gravel bike race . I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. The last 10km were once again a mud fest that had the bike wash backed up for hours. But the traffic out of Lourensford was backed up even longer so the wait for a clean bike was at least tolerable. Gave me time to write this up.

So this is my fourth ACE. Being an  Amaboepensie I can say what i like without any “what-do-you-know” statements.

It’s a great feeling to cross the line for your first epic. The second becomes a little routine and the third is a celebration because you join the Special Persons Club known as Amabubesi. The fourth is a journey into the what next with questions like, “ do I want to do more, why do I want to do more etc. you reach a moment where you realise something has changed and the obsession is shifting or changing.

change can be good and it can be bad. It depends on your point of view.

the cape epic has always been tough from day 1 in 2004. Kevin was always focussed on rider experience. Between 2016 to 2018 there was a shift. By 2025 that shift has resulted in loss of a good experience to full on survival. Now for some that may be a good thing, it’s a matter of perspective. Going back through training logs and old warthog posts I realise it has become the animal I wanted 20years ago; more and enjoyable single track with slightly shorter stages. Over the years as I’ve spectated from computer screen I craved to be able to ride it more and I got the opportunity this year when a friend living and working abroad invited me to ride it with him. From day 1 he didn’t enjoy the experience.

registration was cold and almost too efficient. That again is a matter of perspective. We felt it was stake your things and go experience but we had to walk a long way to collect bags. A long way back to the cars, along way for everything. Registration and the first 2 nights were going to be at Meerendal. Our tents were on a massive slope with the dining and medical tents at the top of the hill. So walking to the toilet or dinner was a laboured affair. The bike park was another 300m away at the finishline while TweedeKamp was nearly 1km away in the opposite direction!!! I walked over 10000steps per day everyday while at the Meerendal venue. Good for recovery? No!

Fairview was a thorny dust bowl, again with Tweede Kamp over half a km away. Possibly one of the worst venues ever right up there with the horse paddocks of Arrabella Wines in Robertson 2018. Gone are high school sports grounds, hello working farms. Next I’m sure it will be cattle barns…

Lourensford was decent. Unfortunately we had bad weather. But again the dining tent was a way off.

the food was average at best. Either too fatty or too dry and I didn’t see olive oil . Maybe it was just me. After Wednesday stage 3 we all needed light cool food , instead we got heavy fatty food. Not ideal meals for recovery.

the tents are an improvement but the water proofing sucks. I moved out of mine at Lourensford and camped at home because I could not keep the tent dry. It’s was always wet and the tent crew just laughed off requests and complaints.

i also didn’t know how the racing was shaping up. I will have to catch up this week. When you’re being beaten up everyday there’s no time to think outside of Me. You see this every amateur competitor. There is no #Gees. For that you need to find an s as alternate event. It’s moer en trap Elle dag. 
the toilets worked with only onetime I saw someone barely made it and shat on top of the lid and left the pressie. Too much carbs will wreck your gut. The urinals were a disappointment. Lovely design, no running water. Maybe middle class people don’t wash their hands after urinating? I don’t know but I do wash my hands. So I never shook anyone’s hand, fist bumps only.

This has all translated into a poor customer experience. I’m not alone. We had 6-7hrs per day to chat about it. I reckon the satisfaction ratings are way down or maybe they will just use feedback back, spin it and tell everybody to keep smiling. This is all juxtaposed by the sense of achievement of completing a gruelling event successfully. So hopefully the negatives are viewed constructively to build a better event.

The last focus area relates to us the riders. Technical and mechanical skills, ego. Everyone is using SRAM AXS. So much so that the head of SRAM marketing came out to ride a few of the stages. They take innovation and customer satisfaction seriously. AXS is awesome as long as the device connector pins don't bind or the connector pin springs don’t break. Good connection is key to electron flow. The solution is simple, use leaf spring pins on the battery not the device. The current design is fine when you’re in Europe where it was conceived and largely tested but not for the #untamed winelands dust and mud. So now if something goes wrong riders just stand and model in the middle of the trail. Even plugging tyres will have to become electronic to keep these ironpersons rolling. Garmin will have to create new apps that inform the rider how an obstacle looks on approach and departure because without they don’t seem to know how to ride. I rode up to F batch on some days, and technical riding skills are severely lacking. It was a massive problem on Wednesday in Rheebokskloof and Thursday through the XCO courses around Paarl. It was a major contributor to riders falling foul of the heat. I wasted an hour waiting in queues. An hour extra hydrations hour extra of being cooked. Add anxiety and brain and core muscle function becomes severely impacted. This in no way removes some poor organisational decisions , like letting the route use so much of RBK in the  heat but I do believe that by entering the event you have to equip yourself with nutritional and riding skill, not AXS. I include nutritional skill because  people watch too much nonsense on SM and have a number in their head that becomes a target without understanding the  metabolism that it needs to work with. 
 

Was it worth it? From a personal achievement perspective, yes. I used my science based and taught coaching methodologies, my dietician and my relationship with other coaches to develop my approach. A doctor needs a doctor, a coach needs a coach. My teammate, like many others used what worked for him in the past. That didn’t work. We’re all older and our bodies change. You move to another country your diet changes which influences your physiology which requires adjustment to your training to normalise / acclimatise yourself. I learned a lot about myself, I have to unpack my notes, digest and adjust my approach where necessary.

from a financial perspective I did this event on the cheap but others are spending up to R500,000-00 to just finish the Cape Epic. I certainly would not spend the bulk of that on an electronic kit equipped bike. It’s not necessary it’s an ego purchase and therein lies the rub. So much of the amateur mindset is focussed on ego for the ACE. Even carbs per hour is now Dick swinging contest. I had no bugs , no stomach bugs , no gastric distress despite eating in the Dining tent. Yet the common excuse for the runs is “stomach bug” while Mr bug is him reading the paper and mrs Bug is minding her own business knitting the kid bug jerseys so they can infect you in May when our next round of flu “bug” comes to visit.  
 

so the medals will be hung up and put on display, the t-shirt will be worn and the stickers applied to something where the sense of achievement can be a reminder to celebrate. Right now I feel tired. My sleep pattern is abnormal from getting up twice during the night due to fluid intake to ensure no dehydration and keep sodium Levels up. At some point I’ll brag about it before it slips into the treasure chest of life experience, but for now it’s work tomorrow with  a different set of demands.

cheers 

 

ps: I haven’t tried a mixed team yet…🤔

 

I'm glad the level head prevailed, well done!

[ajnkzn]

56 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

 

firstly, I’m going to thank Lake Cycling SA, Williams Bike Shop, The Bike Uitsig and Lance the_skills_coach and dietician Kate Standley for all the help they gave me in preparation for the Cape Epic. None of them knew what they were prepping me for but that’s besides the point. These are great people, support them please. 

Back to the stage, As you are well aware, the Neck became a muddy slipfest , so badly that two course recon vehicles got stuck up there last night. Basis this it became inevitable that the course would be altered. Prayers were answered!!

we ended up with a 42km 900 m short route gravel bike race . I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. The last 10km were once again a mud fest that had the bike wash backed up for hours. But the traffic out of Lourensford was backed up even longer so the wait for a clean bike was at least tolerable. Gave me time to write this up.

So this is my fourth ACE. Being an  Amaboepensie I can say what i like without any “what-do-you-know” statements.

It’s a great feeling to cross the line for your first epic. The second becomes a little routine and the third is a celebration because you join the Special Persons Club known as Amabubesi. The fourth is a journey into the what next with questions like, “ do I want to do more, why do I want to do more etc. you reach a moment where you realise something has changed and the obsession is shifting or changing.

change can be good and it can be bad. It depends on your point of view.

the cape epic has always been tough from day 1 in 2004. Kevin was always focussed on rider experience. Between 2016 to 2018 there was a shift. By 2025 that shift has resulted in loss of a good experience to full on survival. Now for some that may be a good thing, it’s a matter of perspective. Going back through training logs and old warthog posts I realise it has become the animal I wanted 20years ago; more and enjoyable single track with slightly shorter stages. Over the years as I’ve spectated from computer screen I craved to be able to ride it more and I got the opportunity this year when a friend living and working abroad invited me to ride it with him. From day 1 he didn’t enjoy the experience.

registration was cold and almost too efficient. That again is a matter of perspective. We felt it was stake your things and go experience but we had to walk a long way to collect bags. A long way back to the cars, along way for everything. Registration and the first 2 nights were going to be at Meerendal. Our tents were on a massive slope with the dining and medical tents at the top of the hill. So walking to the toilet or dinner was a laboured affair. The bike park was another 300m away at the finishline while TweedeKamp was nearly 1km away in the opposite direction!!! I walked over 10000steps per day everyday while at the Meerendal venue. Good for recovery? No!

Fairview was a thorny dust bowl, again with Tweede Kamp over half a km away. Possibly one of the worst venues ever right up there with the horse paddocks of Arrabella Wines in Robertson 2018. Gone are high school sports grounds, hello working farms. Next I’m sure it will be cattle barns…

Lourensford was decent. Unfortunately we had bad weather. But again the dining tent was a way off.

the food was average at best. Either too fatty or too dry and I didn’t see olive oil . Maybe it was just me. After Wednesday stage 3 we all needed light cool food , instead we got heavy fatty food. Not ideal meals for recovery.

the tents are an improvement but the water proofing sucks. I moved out of mine at Lourensford and camped at home because I could not keep the tent dry. It’s was always wet and the tent crew just laughed off requests and complaints.

i also didn’t know how the racing was shaping up. I will have to catch up this week. When you’re being beaten up everyday there’s no time to think outside of Me. You see this every amateur competitor. There is no #Gees. For that you need to find an s as alternate event. It’s moer en trap Elle dag. 
the toilets worked with only onetime I saw someone barely made it and shat on top of the lid and left the pressie. Too much carbs will wreck your gut. The urinals were a disappointment. Lovely design, no running water. Maybe middle class people don’t wash their hands after urinating? I don’t know but I do wash my hands. So I never shook anyone’s hand, fist bumps only.

This has all translated into a poor customer experience. I’m not alone. We had 6-7hrs per day to chat about it. I reckon the satisfaction ratings are way down or maybe they will just use feedback back, spin it and tell everybody to keep smiling. This is all juxtaposed by the sense of achievement of completing a gruelling event successfully. So hopefully the negatives are viewed constructively to build a better event.

The last focus area relates to us the riders. Technical and mechanical skills, ego. Everyone is using SRAM AXS. So much so that the head of SRAM marketing came out to ride a few of the stages. They take innovation and customer satisfaction seriously. AXS is awesome as long as the device connector pins don't bind or the connector pin springs don’t break. Good connection is key to electron flow. The solution is simple, use leaf spring pins on the battery not the device. The current design is fine when you’re in Europe where it was conceived and largely tested but not for the #untamed winelands dust and mud. So now if something goes wrong riders just stand and model in the middle of the trail. Even plugging tyres will have to become electronic to keep these ironpersons rolling. Garmin will have to create new apps that inform the rider how an obstacle looks on approach and departure because without they don’t seem to know how to ride. I rode up to F batch on some days, and technical riding skills are severely lacking. It was a massive problem on Wednesday in Rheebokskloof and Thursday through the XCO courses around Paarl. It was a major contributor to riders falling foul of the heat. I wasted an hour waiting in queues. An hour extra hydrations hour extra of being cooked. Add anxiety and brain and core muscle function becomes severely impacted. This in no way removes some poor organisational decisions , like letting the route use so much of RBK in the  heat but I do believe that by entering the event you have to equip yourself with nutritional and riding skill, not AXS. I include nutritional skill because  people watch too much nonsense on SM and have a number in their head that becomes a target without understanding the  metabolism that it needs to work with. 
 

Was it worth it? From a personal achievement perspective, yes. I used my science based and taught coaching methodologies, my dietician and my relationship with other coaches to develop my approach. A doctor needs a doctor, a coach needs a coach. My teammate, like many others used what worked for him in the past. That didn’t work. We’re all older and our bodies change. You move to another country your diet changes which influences your physiology which requires adjustment to your training to normalise / acclimatise yourself. I learned a lot about myself, I have to unpack my notes, digest and adjust my approach where necessary.

from a financial perspective I did this event on the cheap but others are spending up to R500,000-00 to just finish the Cape Epic. I certainly would not spend the bulk of that on an electronic kit equipped bike. It’s not necessary it’s an ego purchase and therein lies the rub. So much of the amateur mindset is focussed on ego for the ACE. Even carbs per hour is now Dick swinging contest. I had no bugs , no stomach bugs , no gastric distress despite eating in the Dining tent. Yet the common excuse for the runs is “stomach bug” while Mr bug is him reading the paper and mrs Bug is minding her own business knitting the kid bug jerseys so they can infect you in May when our next round of flu “bug” comes to visit.  
 

so the medals will be hung up and put on display, the t-shirt will be worn and the stickers applied to something where the sense of achievement can be a reminder to celebrate. Right now I feel tired. My sleep pattern is abnormal from getting up twice during the night due to fluid intake to ensure no dehydration and keep sodium Levels up. At some point I’ll brag about it before it slips into the treasure chest of life experience, but for now it’s work tomorrow with  a different set of demands.

cheers 

 

ps: I haven’t tried a mixed team yet…🤔

 

Thanks very much for taking the time each day. 
 

Not easy when you’re trying to recover. 
 

As I also start the journey to getting faster as I pass 40, a post on the basics of your training and especially nutrition / hydration in the heat would be much appreciated. 
 

Epic, by the sounds of things, is something that you want to be as fast as possible for (to get ahead of the plonkers) and sadly, not a race you do for the #gees, so staying offsite is a preferable option. 
 

Perhaps they need to follow the lead of many other races and drop entry price slightly, offering accomm and food package deals as add ons…most of the people I knew stayed offsite and seemed very happy to do so. 
 

With all the trails around Table Mountain, Durbanville and Stellenbosch and the ever urbanization of the route, I reckon next year the route will allow a 20 min commute to the daily start from a Tygerberg AirBnB 🤣

Edited Monday at 04:41 AM by ajnkzn

[Lynskey]

23 hours 12 minutes for the leaders. Was this the fastest epic ever? 

[MarcoDeS]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

 

firstly, I’m going to thank Lake Cycling SA, Williams Bike Shop, The Bike Uitsig and Lance the_skills_coach and dietician Kate Standley for all the help they gave me in preparation for the Cape Epic. None of them knew what they were prepping me for but that’s besides the point. These are great people, support them please. 

Back to the stage, As you are well aware, the Neck became a muddy slipfest , so badly that two course recon vehicles got stuck up there last night. Basis this it became inevitable that the course would be altered. Prayers were answered!!

we ended up with a 42km 900 m short route gravel bike race . I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. The last 10km were once again a mud fest that had the bike wash backed up for hours. But the traffic out of Lourensford was backed up even longer so the wait for a clean bike was at least tolerable. Gave me time to write this up.

So this is my fourth ACE. Being an  Amaboepensie I can say what i like without any “what-do-you-know” statements.

It’s a great feeling to cross the line for your first epic. The second becomes a little routine and the third is a celebration because you join the Special Persons Club known as Amabubesi. The fourth is a journey into the what next with questions like, “ do I want to do more, why do I want to do more etc. you reach a moment where you realise something has changed and the obsession is shifting or changing.

change can be good and it can be bad. It depends on your point of view.

the cape epic has always been tough from day 1 in 2004. Kevin was always focussed on rider experience. Between 2016 to 2018 there was a shift. By 2025 that shift has resulted in loss of a good experience to full on survival. Now for some that may be a good thing, it’s a matter of perspective. Going back through training logs and old warthog posts I realise it has become the animal I wanted 20years ago; more and enjoyable single track with slightly shorter stages. Over the years as I’ve spectated from computer screen I craved to be able to ride it more and I got the opportunity this year when a friend living and working abroad invited me to ride it with him. From day 1 he didn’t enjoy the experience.

registration was cold and almost too efficient. That again is a matter of perspective. We felt it was stake your things and go experience but we had to walk a long way to collect bags. A long way back to the cars, along way for everything. Registration and the first 2 nights were going to be at Meerendal. Our tents were on a massive slope with the dining and medical tents at the top of the hill. So walking to the toilet or dinner was a laboured affair. The bike park was another 300m away at the finishline while TweedeKamp was nearly 1km away in the opposite direction!!! I walked over 10000steps per day everyday while at the Meerendal venue. Good for recovery? No!

Fairview was a thorny dust bowl, again with Tweede Kamp over half a km away. Possibly one of the worst venues ever right up there with the horse paddocks of Arrabella Wines in Robertson 2018. Gone are high school sports grounds, hello working farms. Next I’m sure it will be cattle barns…

Lourensford was decent. Unfortunately we had bad weather. But again the dining tent was a way off.

the food was average at best. Either too fatty or too dry and I didn’t see olive oil . Maybe it was just me. After Wednesday stage 3 we all needed light cool food , instead we got heavy fatty food. Not ideal meals for recovery.

the tents are an improvement but the water proofing sucks. I moved out of mine at Lourensford and camped at home because I could not keep the tent dry. It’s was always wet and the tent crew just laughed off requests and complaints.

i also didn’t know how the racing was shaping up. I will have to catch up this week. When you’re being beaten up everyday there’s no time to think outside of Me. You see this every amateur competitor. There is no #Gees. For that you need to find an s as alternate event. It’s moer en trap Elle dag. 
the toilets worked with only onetime I saw someone barely made it and shat on top of the lid and left the pressie. Too much carbs will wreck your gut. The urinals were a disappointment. Lovely design, no running water. Maybe middle class people don’t wash their hands after urinating? I don’t know but I do wash my hands. So I never shook anyone’s hand, fist bumps only.

This has all translated into a poor customer experience. I’m not alone. We had 6-7hrs per day to chat about it. I reckon the satisfaction ratings are way down or maybe they will just use feedback back, spin it and tell everybody to keep smiling. This is all juxtaposed by the sense of achievement of completing a gruelling event successfully. So hopefully the negatives are viewed constructively to build a better event.

The last focus area relates to us the riders. Technical and mechanical skills, ego. Everyone is using SRAM AXS. So much so that the head of SRAM marketing came out to ride a few of the stages. They take innovation and customer satisfaction seriously. AXS is awesome as long as the device connector pins don't bind or the connector pin springs don’t break. Good connection is key to electron flow. The solution is simple, use leaf spring pins on the battery not the device. The current design is fine when you’re in Europe where it was conceived and largely tested but not for the #untamed winelands dust and mud. So now if something goes wrong riders just stand and model in the middle of the trail. Even plugging tyres will have to become electronic to keep these ironpersons rolling. Garmin will have to create new apps that inform the rider how an obstacle looks on approach and departure because without they don’t seem to know how to ride. I rode up to F batch on some days, and technical riding skills are severely lacking. It was a massive problem on Wednesday in Rheebokskloof and Thursday through the XCO courses around Paarl. It was a major contributor to riders falling foul of the heat. I wasted an hour waiting in queues. An hour extra hydrations hour extra of being cooked. Add anxiety and brain and core muscle function becomes severely impacted. This in no way removes some poor organisational decisions , like letting the route use so much of RBK in the  heat but I do believe that by entering the event you have to equip yourself with nutritional and riding skill, not AXS. I include nutritional skill because  people watch too much nonsense on SM and have a number in their head that becomes a target without understanding the  metabolism that it needs to work with. 
 

Was it worth it? From a personal achievement perspective, yes. I used my science based and taught coaching methodologies, my dietician and my relationship with other coaches to develop my approach. A doctor needs a doctor, a coach needs a coach. My teammate, like many others used what worked for him in the past. That didn’t work. We’re all older and our bodies change. You move to another country your diet changes which influences your physiology which requires adjustment to your training to normalise / acclimatise yourself. I learned a lot about myself, I have to unpack my notes, digest and adjust my approach where necessary.

from a financial perspective I did this event on the cheap but others are spending up to R500,000-00 to just finish the Cape Epic. I certainly would not spend the bulk of that on an electronic kit equipped bike. It’s not necessary it’s an ego purchase and therein lies the rub. So much of the amateur mindset is focussed on ego for the ACE. Even carbs per hour is now Dick swinging contest. I had no bugs , no stomach bugs , no gastric distress despite eating in the Dining tent. Yet the common excuse for the runs is “stomach bug” while Mr bug is him reading the paper and mrs Bug is minding her own business knitting the kid bug jerseys so they can infect you in May when our next round of flu “bug” comes to visit.  
 

so the medals will be hung up and put on display, the t-shirt will be worn and the stickers applied to something where the sense of achievement can be a reminder to celebrate. Right now I feel tired. My sleep pattern is abnormal from getting up twice during the night due to fluid intake to ensure no dehydration and keep sodium Levels up. At some point I’ll brag about it before it slips into the treasure chest of life experience, but for now it’s work tomorrow with  a different set of demands.

cheers 

 

ps: I haven’t tried a mixed team yet…🤔

 

Well done, you’re a legend. 

[117]

1 hour ago, NotSoBigBen said:

So those friend I know really well a doctor I know at the clinic etc. stories were just that?

https://www.iol.co.za/sport/cycling/cape-epic-organisers-rubbish-rumours-of-rider-deaths-after-week-of-extreme-heat-7f900218-b836-4e31-a92e-b04dbd8215b2

IOL is a bit of a sensationalist rag. I read their diretribe with a 50kg bag of salt. 

Im not saying they are 100% incorrect, but they do take a lot out of context for sales 

[Sandro]

2 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 7: so glad it’s over

 

firstly, I’m going to thank Lake Cycling SA, Williams Bike Shop, The Bike Uitsig and Lance the_skills_coach and dietician Kate Standley for all the help they gave me in preparation for the Cape Epic. None of them knew what they were prepping me for but that’s besides the point. These are great people, support them please. Also Special mention to Robbie's Bicycle Concept who loan me a brand new RS SiDLuxe Ultimate after the damper shaft in Float DPS let go for the 2nd time in 2years on stage 6. Without this help I would not have been able to complete the event.

Back to the stage, As you are well aware, the Neck became a muddy slipfest , so badly that two course recon vehicles got stuck up there last night. Basis this it became inevitable that the course would be altered. Prayers were answered!!

we ended up with a 42km 900 m short route gravel bike race . I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. The last 10km were once again a mud fest that had the bike wash backed up for hours. But the traffic out of Lourensford was backed up even longer so the wait for a clean bike was at least tolerable. Gave me time to write this up.

So this is my fourth ACE. Being an  Amaboepensie I can say what i like without any “what-do-you-know” statements.

It’s a great feeling to cross the line for your first epic. The second becomes a little routine and the third is a celebration because you join the Special Persons Club known as Amabubesi. The fourth is a journey into the what next with questions like, “ do I want to do more, why do I want to do more etc. you reach a moment where you realise something has changed and the obsession is shifting or changing.

change can be good and it can be bad. It depends on your point of view.

the cape epic has always been tough from day 1 in 2004. Kevin was always focussed on rider experience. Between 2016 to 2018 there was a shift. By 2025 that shift has resulted in loss of a good experience to full on survival. Now for some that may be a good thing, it’s a matter of perspective. Going back through training logs and old warthog posts I realise it has become the animal I wanted 20years ago; more and enjoyable single track with slightly shorter stages. Over the years as I’ve spectated from computer screen I craved to be able to ride it more and I got the opportunity this year when a friend living and working abroad invited me to ride it with him. From day 1 he didn’t enjoy the experience.

registration was cold and almost too efficient. That again is a matter of perspective. We felt it was stake your things and go experience but we had to walk a long way to collect bags. A long way back to the cars, along way for everything. Registration and the first 2 nights were going to be at Meerendal. Our tents were on a massive slope with the dining and medical tents at the top of the hill. So walking to the toilet or dinner was a laboured affair. The bike park was another 300m away at the finishline while TweedeKamp was nearly 1km away in the opposite direction!!! I walked over 10000steps per day everyday while at the Meerendal venue. Good for recovery? No!

Fairview was a thorny dust bowl, again with Tweede Kamp over half a km away. Possibly one of the worst venues ever right up there with the horse paddocks of Arrabella Wines in Robertson 2018. Gone are high school sports grounds, hello working farms. Next I’m sure it will be cattle barns…

Lourensford was decent. Unfortunately we had bad weather. But again the dining tent was a way off.

the food was average at best. Either too fatty or too dry and I didn’t see olive oil . Maybe it was just me. After Wednesday stage 3 we all needed light cool food , instead we got heavy fatty food. Not ideal meals for recovery.

the tents are an improvement but the water proofing sucks. I moved out of mine at Lourensford and camped at home because I could not keep the tent dry. It’s was always wet and the tent crew just laughed off requests and complaints.

i also didn’t know how the racing was shaping up. I will have to catch up this week. When you’re being beaten up everyday there’s no time to think outside of Me. You see this every amateur competitor. There is no #Gees. For that you need to find an s as alternate event. It’s moer en trap Elle dag. 
the toilets worked with only onetime I saw someone barely made it and shat on top of the lid and left the pressie. Too much carbs will wreck your gut. The urinals were a disappointment. Lovely design, no running water. Maybe middle class people don’t wash their hands after urinating? I don’t know but I do wash my hands. So I never shook anyone’s hand, fist bumps only.

This has all translated into a poor customer experience. I’m not alone. We had 6-7hrs per day to chat about it. I reckon the satisfaction ratings are way down or maybe they will just use feedback back, spin it and tell everybody to keep smiling. This is all juxtaposed by the sense of achievement of completing a gruelling event successfully. So hopefully the negatives are viewed constructively to build a better event.

The last focus area relates to us the riders. Technical and mechanical skills, ego. Everyone is using SRAM AXS. So much so that the head of SRAM marketing came out to ride a few of the stages. They take innovation and customer satisfaction seriously. AXS is awesome as long as the device connector pins don't bind or the connector pin springs don’t break. Good connection is key to electron flow. The solution is simple, use leaf spring pins on the battery not the device. The current design is fine when you’re in Europe where it was conceived and largely tested but not for the #untamed winelands dust and mud. So now if something goes wrong riders just stand and model in the middle of the trail. Even plugging tyres will have to become electronic to keep these ironpersons rolling. Garmin will have to create new apps that inform the rider how an obstacle looks on approach and departure because without they don’t seem to know how to ride. I rode up to F batch on some days, and technical riding skills are severely lacking. It was a massive problem on Wednesday in Rheebokskloof and Thursday through the XCO courses around Paarl. It was a major contributor to riders falling foul of the heat. I wasted an hour waiting in queues. An hour extra hydrations hour extra of being cooked. Add anxiety and brain and core muscle function becomes severely impacted. This in no way removes some poor organisational decisions , like letting the route use so much of RBK in the  heat but I do believe that by entering the event you have to equip yourself with nutritional and riding skill, not AXS. I include nutritional skill because  people watch too much nonsense on SM and have a number in their head that becomes a target without understanding the  metabolism that it needs to work with. 
 

Was it worth it? From a personal achievement perspective, yes. I used my science based and taught coaching methodologies, my dietician and my relationship with other coaches to develop my approach. A doctor needs a doctor, a coach needs a coach. My teammate, like many others used what worked for him in the past. That didn’t work. We’re all older and our bodies change. You move to another country your diet changes which influences your physiology which requires adjustment to your training to normalise / acclimatise yourself. I learned a lot about myself, I have to unpack my notes, digest and adjust my approach where necessary.

from a financial perspective I did this event on the cheap but others are spending up to R500,000-00 to just finish the Cape Epic. I certainly would not spend the bulk of that on an electronic kit equipped bike. It’s not necessary it’s an ego purchase and therein lies the rub. So much of the amateur mindset is focussed on ego for the ACE. Even carbs per hour is now Dick swinging contest. I had no bugs , no stomach bugs , no gastric distress despite eating in the Dining tent. Yet the common excuse for the runs is “stomach bug” while Mr bug is him reading the paper and mrs Bug is minding her own business knitting the kid bug jerseys so they can infect you in May when our next round of flu “bug” comes to visit.  
 

so the medals will be hung up and put on display, the t-shirt will be worn and the stickers applied to something where the sense of achievement can be a reminder to celebrate. Right now I feel tired. My sleep pattern is abnormal from getting up twice during the night due to fluid intake to ensure no dehydration and keep sodium Levels up. At some point I’ll brag about it before it slips into the treasure chest of life experience, but for now it’s work tomorrow with  a different set of demands.

cheers 

 

ps: I haven’t tried a mixed team yet…🤔

 

Thanks so much for the updates, whihch were thoroughly enjoyed and well done! Its nice to read about it from a neutral participant point of view. Some hair raising stuff and I really don't know how they justify that entrance fee, especialy from an accommodation and basic utlity point of view.

[DieselnDust]

Give a few days to get my head back into normal mode and I’ll gladly write up some basics around my approach to training and eating for an event such as cape epic. I don’t want to add to the amount bad facts so I will keep it at conceptual level. There is definitely a fallacy around a certain CHOgr/hr and training for that without considering what metabolic pathways are relevant at the time or what your overall performance level is, your weight etc. hence specifics should be discussed with a physician qualified to advise each person accordingly. YT is great but it is also dangerous 

[Shebeen]

On 3/23/2025 at 8:00 AM, babse said:

Eish... Hopefully this doesn't kill the overall GC fight

Figured stage 7 could be a cracker to go support,

So loaded up my 10yr old bikebefok matt beers superfan with cowbells and fancy camera at 6:30am to go find the race snakes at Spectator point B - Dornier.

we found this. The elites were expected in 45mins time, but there was clearly quite a lot to setup.

 

since we had seen two signboards for spectator point A (waterford) which was only 2km away, we hotfooted there. Eerily there was no helicopter in the sky.

followed some cars, and ended up in the waterford staff parking lot with waterford staff reporting for their 8:30 work day, and a few other confused fans.

no one knew nothing, but we might find the waterpoint higher up on their farm, and then a blue overalled labourer came past on his quadbike, to show us the way. He got us to where stage 5 must have come through.

Then we found the instagram post, no one had a course change/delay on their bingo cards so was quite a surprise to all.. Obviously a lot of moving parts, I don't know when the actual decision were being made - but there was clearly a big delay between then and putting it on socials. Non paying spectators are very far down on the priority scale, but not sure what we could have done differently (watch Youtube stream?!).

Figured the scrum at Lourensford might not be worth the squeeze, so headed to wiesenhof action park waterslides - just 8 of us had the whole place to ourselves instead. Turned the (Cape) Epic fail into a great morning nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, ajnkzn said:

Thanks very much for taking the time each day. 
 

Not easy when you’re trying to recover. 
 

As I also start the journey to getting faster as I pass 40, a post on the basics of your training and especially nutrition / hydration in the heat would be much appreciated. 
 

Epic, by the sounds of things, is something that you want to be as fast as possible for (to get ahead of the plonkers) and sadly, not a race you do for the #gees, so staying offsite is a preferable option. 
 

Perhaps they need to follow the lead of many other races and drop entry price slightly, offering accomm and food package deals as add ons…most of the people I knew stayed offsite and seemed very happy to do so. 
 

With all the trails around Table Mountain, Durbanville and Stellenbosch and the ever urbanization of the route, I reckon next year the route will allow a 20 min commute to the daily start from a Tygerberg AirBnB 🤣

I actually contemplated this and I think you’re right that the urbanisation is definitely going to remain a part of it. Easier access to hospitals and more of them allows for quicker and more complete medical care. Also there are more trails available. Paarl trails were a hit with those capable of riding them. They didn’t home up well to 1000 riders moering through within 3hrs from front to back but that’s another story

[Stephan]

My First Epic: Raw, Unfiltered Thoughts

I did not plan or train specifically for the Epic. My goal was to finish my second Attakwas (first one last year), and I trained just enough to achieve that. My Attakwas training only really started at Eselfontein in October, but as a weekend warrior, most weeks consisted of just three rides. In December, I did a week-long bikepacking trip from Hermanus to Riversdale, which gave me a solid base and some heat training. Two days after Attakwas, an opportunity arose to do the Epic. I had six weeks to prepare as best as I could. Over those six weeks, I averaged four to five rides a week, logging 10–12 hours on the bike with as much elevation as possible.

Registration Day

I was crazy excited. The experience itself was a bit underwhelming though. It felt like any other race registration. Apart from the awesome Uswe rider bag and the (seemingly expensive but actually cheap) Ciovita puffy, the goodie bag was disappointing and could be significantly improved at little cost to the organizers.

Prologue

Started at 08:40. An incredible experience—I loved every minute. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. Slept at home.

Stage 1

We started three batches from the back, which was the best we would do all week. I knew parts of the course well and enjoyed the day, despite the suffering. It was a typical, brutally tough Epic Stage 1, and it became immediately clear that the level of this race was unlike anything I had experienced before.

The course is hard. Eighty percent of the amateur athletes are exceptionally strong. For those of us at the back, it’s just about finishing. I slept in the race village and enjoyed the experience, but if you’re looking for gees, this is not the event for you. The vibe from most people is that they are here to race, not to mingle. This is made worse by the high number of international riders - Saffas are in the extreme minority in the race village – so there is also a bit of a cultural and language barrier to meet and mingle with others.

Stage 2: TT

I was really looking forward to this stage since it was supposed to be an easier day—but wow, was I wrong. The weather forecast had shown extreme heat for over a week, so we knew it would be brutal. But because of the TT format, amateur riders started in the middle of the day while the pros rode in cooler morning conditions (even the pros later said they felt like they were in an oven toward the end). By the time we started at 10:40, it was already blistering, and it only got worse. I felt okay since I’ve done lots of riding in heat (35deg+), but my partner struggled. He hung on and showed incredible grit to push through. At the recovery tent, we lay on our backs for 30 minutes before starting to feel remotely normal. A guy next to us looked ghostly pale and said he was going to get a drip from the medics. Later in the chill zone, I remembered his comment and suggested to my partner that we also visit the medical tent. The staff were incredibly professional (very impressive and reassuring). My partner’s blood results came back: his creatinine levels were 2.8 times the normal range. The doctor said he had to go to the hospital and that if he rode the next day, his kidneys would fail. In our pre-race prep we had a detailed scenario planning discussion to agree on what we would do in whatever scenario we could come up with. This was one of them so we had a quick chat and decided I would continue alone. I couldn’t shake my anger at the organizers for forcing amateurs to start in the peak heat of the day - a poor decision by them. This was also the first moment I started feeling like they didn’t care about us at the back. Everything—the route planning, water point distances, stupidly steep climbs—was designed for the pros. Our job was just to toughen up. That left a bad taste, and it only got worse as the week went on.

Stage 3: The Hot Paarl Day

A lot has already been written about this day. I started in the second-last batch. The first climb, 1 km in, was just ridiculous—no one could ride it. The singletrack into Paarl Mountain was jammed—again, unrideable in sections. Time was ticking, and the heat was rising. I made the cutoff at WP1 with 8 minutes to spare, then reached the top of the KOM climb with just 2 minutes to spare. By this point, it was already over 40°C. I decided I’d keep riding until I was cut. At WP2, I arrived right on the cutoff time, but they had extended it by 15 minutes, so I decided to keep going and actually started to feel much better and stronger, but by WP3, just before heading back over Paarl Mountain, the heat started taking its toll. Survival mode kicked in—not just "finish the stage" survival mode, but "don’t get heat stroke" survival mode. I pushed my bike up every climb, stopping in shaded patches to cool down and lower my heart rate. The white race helicopter was now scanning the route overhead and I had the sense they were checking for riders in distress. As I passed people who had pressed the SOS button on their trackers or who found every shady patch to get out of the sun, I realised we were trapped on this mountain. The only way out was backtracking for several kilometres of single track, or to keep pushing on up the last switchback single track climb and hope there is help at the top. Next minute I heard a moerse roar and looked up to see red medevac helicopter dropping medics onto the ground. Slight panic setting in. Find shade. Stop. Sit. Rest. Get up. Push bike until HR spikes. Stop. Repeat. All the way up the climb. Race staff were now starting to walk down the trail with coke bottles and water. I passed the two guys who were behind worked on. It didn’t look good. I felt sick, angry and scared. Right at the top and interim water point had been set up. Drenched myself in water. Drank two bottles. Get to the USN point. Reached the USN hydration point—absolute carnage. Riders and bikes strewn everywhere. They had run out of USN but still had water. Then, someone said the stage had been cancelled. I spoke to a marshal who said "You can continue to Krismis Camp—but only if you’re sure you won’t become another medical emergency." I assume they had run out of resources and that would have been a major contributing factor to cancelling the day. I rode on to the final WP and could see many many trucks and cars making their way up the mountain. At Krismis Camp, I found a quiet spot to process what I had seen and been through. I made the decision to quit. I called my wife and she came to pick me up, and we drove back to the race village (which I agree with Diesel was not ideal given the dust and thorns). Got cleaned up, visited my partner in the hospital, and checked into a guesthouse we had booked.

Stage 4

I woke up and told myself I was done. Put on civvies. Sat on the bed. Thought about my decision. Civvies off, kit on. Decided I make a final call at the race village. Got there and wandered around. Again, decided I was done. I walked to start line to see some batches set off and then, I saw Sipho, the Exxaro Epic mascot. He did his usual dance and rider-blessing ritual, and I thought, I want to experience that once (having seen it so many times on TV). I went to fetch my bike and decided I would enter my chute first, meet Sipho and bail at WP1. I did get to the front and Sipho did bless me with his green stick thing and I said to myself “f$&ck it, ride until you can’t pedal anymore”. Turned out to be an amazing stage. I was riding by myself so started chatting to riders around me and then you start to realise that everyone is suffering, and many others have lost their partners but we just carry on. Loved the gravel roads on top of Paarl mountain and the weather was cool. My wife and friends came out to meet me at the last WP and finish line, which was fantastic. I decided I was done with the race village because there is no vibe and I don’t know anyone and nobody wants to talk to you, so I went back home (CPT southern suburbs) and would drive in every day. That night at home I watched the official highlights of the previous day’s stage. Not one mention of the amateur struggles. They didn’t even mention that the stage was cancelled. I felt angrier and more betrayed. Then I read the official press release and lost all respect for the organisers. They don’t care about the amateurs; we just make up the numbers.

Stage 5: The Queen stage

I knew most of the route except for the neck climb and decided to ride from WP to WP. My body felt totally flat, and I barely made it to WP1 which was way too far into the stage. Drank many cups of Coke and refuelled with other goodies and food. On to next WP. Started feeling better. Same story at next WP. Now for Botmaskop and then through Stellies and then one big last climb. Got to final WP feeling OK. Then the neck climb started. What a mess. The woman pro coverage said it all. They could not ride it. It was too steep and too muddy. Why even plan a route with such a climb? Lost even more respect for race organisers. Got to the top and bombed it down familiar LF trails. I was happy to finish but gatvol.

Stage 6: LF mudfest

Look I love LF and was looking forward to this stage, and to be fair to JK and the team who set this route, in dry conditions you will not find a better route to ride. It had it all. But rain was predicted more than a week out and we have all done W2W and LF Classic and even previous Epics in the wet at LF and it’s a dog show of mud and clay. But no, the “pro show” must go on and let the amateurs just get on with it, it’s the Epic after all. Despite the horrible circumstances I actually felt good all day, but we lost so much time walking unrideable muddy sections that most of us were chasing cut off from WP1. Many appealed to the commentators and UCI representatives to extend the cut off. Through WP2 still same cut off. 15min to spare. More mud, more walking, cleaning drivetrain in streams, etc. More people falling in the slippery conditions and breaking their legs and ankles (3 people). Again, I felt angry.  At final WP, the announcement came that cut off was extended, so now we could be more careful and ride slower. Then 5km from the end came the worst mud and clay of the day. Trails were getting absolutely destroyed. People were carrying their bikes through bush to get off the mountain. I honestly don’t understand the reasoning behind not having alternative backup routes in place. Finished the day and went home. One more day.

 Stage 7: One more day

I didn’t sleep well. I was very worried about the neck descent in the wet and mud on Dornier and Ernie tracks. I had memories of Fedhealth dog show there a few years ago in the rain. Got to race village early. Friends started sending messages that the route had changed. I was so relieved. Now the plan was to stay upright and pray that my bike will not break. I had a spare rear derailleur in my back pocket just in case. Mostly gravel stage with a few hard climbs. I loved it. I could contain my emotions until 3km from the finish when a marshal shouted, “well done you have conquered the Epic” and man, tears started streaming down I could barely see where I was going. Friends, family and my partner met me at the finish and there were more tears.

Final Thoughts

So many things got me to the end, but the highlights are:

• Finishing it for my partner
• Friends, family, and colleagues' support
• Sipho the Cape Epic mascot
• Madiba’s words: "It always seems impossible until it’s done."
• My fellow amateur riders at the back of the field

 Lessons Learned

• Anyone can do the Cape Epic, but you need luck to be on your side and you need to be mentally strong. If your mind is right and you have done the physical preparation then it is possible.
• You don’t need the best bike to do the Epic. I have a bottom of the range five-year-old aluminium Spez Epic. Just ride whatever you have.
• The organisers don’t care about you. They care about money. Just accept it. It is what it is.
• The media coverage is all about the pros. The live stream is all about the pros. The event is organised for the pros. But this race is not about them, it’s about the daily grind and struggles at the back of the amateur pack. It’s about riders already suffering on prologue day and making it to the end. I saw this first hand and witnessed incredible human spirit, both from fellow riders but every volunteer at the water points, marshals showing you the route and cheering you on, security guards in the race village wishing you good luck. I can go on and on. This is what the Epic is actually about.

 And it’s why I will do it again.

Edited yesterday at 09:38 AM by Stephan
Spelling and grammar