How should you prepare for an extreme cycling event

[AfricaMike]

23 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Your Partner:

Now this is where things get interesting and again no right or wrong answer.

Essentially, find someone with the same objective as you. Do not try to make a racer out of an enduro bro. Do not try to make a social rider out of a race snake. Find a like minded and ability enabled  partner. Much like marriage, trying to change someone isn't going to work. If a racer agrees to ride with a social rider, cover how you will manage this under your handshake agreement  well before the event.

By observation I noted that the teams that suffered the most frustration were the ones were there was a big performance discrepancy in either just raw power output or technical riding ability and heaven forbid, both. I'm not saying it can't work, I just see a lot of additional stress which leads to harsh words.

The Epic is stressful, one of you is going to get ratty at some point. Ratty all the time is a problem so know how to diffuse yourself. maybe you need a cold shower, maybe you need time alone, maybe you need to beat the Columbian sausage behind a rock on Stage 3's steepest climb.....I don't know .....do what works for you. Mine was to go and take a walk to TweedeKamp for a coffee and chat at my mechanics. Go back to a comfy place and being around bikes being worked on is mine. 

Talk. 

There nothing like silence and unresolved expectations to ruin a good time. Talking also helps diffuse building frustration. There will be. Remember, much like marriage, you only get to know your Cape Epic partner from Stage 2 onward. When the chips are down, the pressure is building, the masks come off.

Training together all the time is not a given and likely not sustainable. Aim to ride together a certain number of times per month to ensure you're not falling behind or slipping too far ahead and take corrective action in your training timeously. The closer you get to the event the lower the chances of closing any gaps. They just get bigger.

Remember, you're two adults, mostly, and treating each other as such goes a long way to maintaining harmony in the build up, through the event and after.

Pace appropriately:

prologue aside, the epic is actually a Z2 to Z3 ride for 90% of the field. If one of you is smashing Z4 continuously it’s going to be a short and painful week for one of you. Ride at the slower riders Z3 at best. Remember dehydration will limit recovery, and that raises the risk of injury. 

 

So much truth in the post above. My Epic partner in 2010 (a very well known footballer) had been partnered with an ex-pro in '09 and bailed after being pummeled by his partner on consecutive days.  I was just there to finish and we ended up having an awesome ride.  We trained together every weekend and we talked - a lot! The following year, 2011, I was partnered with a good friend who got completely overwhelmed with the enormity of the task, overtrained himself into the ground and ignored my warnings to take a chill-pill regarding the hours and mileage he was putting into his training.  He scraped through the prologue, just made cutoff on stage 1 and abandoned on stage 2 (I finished as a solo rider)..........months of training and massive financial commitment turned into an ugly memory.  We have barely spoken since.......

Bottom line for me (it's been said above) is know what you are getting yourself into, take a step back and consider the commitment, make sure you get buy-in from the Mrs, come up with a plan and stick to it.......(now to start working on the monkey on my back from Munga 2019).

[cadenceblur]

On 4/1/2025 at 1:38 PM, DieselnDust said:

Your Partner:

Now this is where things get interesting and again no right or wrong answer.

Essentially, find someone with the same objective as you. Do not try to make a racer out of an enduro bro. Do not try to make a social rider out of a race snake. Find a like minded and ability enabled  partner. Much like marriage, trying to change someone isn't going to work. If a racer agrees to ride with a social rider, cover how you will manage this under your handshake agreement  well before the event.

By observation I noted that the teams that suffered the most frustration were the ones were there was a big performance discrepancy in either just raw power output or technical riding ability and heaven forbid, both. I'm not saying it can't work, I just see a lot of additional stress which leads to harsh words.

The Epic is stressful, one of you is going to get ratty at some point. Ratty all the time is a problem so know how to diffuse yourself. maybe you need a cold shower, maybe you need time alone, maybe you need to beat the Columbian sausage behind a rock on Stage 3's steepest climb.....I don't know .....do what works for you. Mine was to go and take a walk to TweedeKamp for a coffee and chat at my mechanics. Go back to a comfy place and being around bikes being worked on is mine. 

Talk. 

There nothing like silence and unresolved expectations to ruin a good time. Talking also helps diffuse building frustration. There will be. Remember, much like marriage, you only get to know your Cape Epic partner from Stage 2 onward. When the chips are down, the pressure is building, the masks come off.

Training together all the time is not a given and likely not sustainable. Aim to ride together a certain number of times per month to ensure you're not falling behind or slipping too far ahead and take corrective action in your training timeously. The closer you get to the event the lower the chances of closing any gaps. They just get bigger.

Remember, you're two adults, mostly, and treating each other as such goes a long way to maintaining harmony in the build up, through the event and after.

Pace appropriately:

prologue aside, the epic is actually a Z2 to Z3 ride for 90% of the field. If one of you is smashing Z4 continuously it’s going to be a short and painful week for one of you. Ride at the slower riders Z3 at best. Remember dehydration will limit recovery, and that raises the risk of injury. 

 

Ja ney, I pulled out many years ago due to a partner issue, that was probably my one shot at doing the event , but had peace about the decision at the time . Often wonder if things could have worked out differently, but I wasn’t prepared to tackle an event of this nature with a complete stranger .