Sani2c 2013 - A Very Different Experience

This year we were better prepared. We were lighter, fitter and stronger and this time around we knew exactly what to expect. We were as ready as ever, except for one little thing… an untimely cold during the month of April. I took some time off the bike but still put in enough hours for me to warrant to think that even though I may not be as fast as I would’ve planned, I would still be able to finish with ease and should still be significantly faster than in 2012.

We were in Underberg since the Saturday before the race, giving us 3 days of relaxation before the start. We spent the days lounging in front of the fireplace and appreciating the views from our lookout deck. The weather was awesome… nippy in the mornings, but clear skies and no wind to speak of. Our main concern for Day 1 was the cold. In 2012 it was freezing throughout the whole day, which made for a tough day of riding. By the looks of the weather over the weekend this year would be much better, and it was.

 Our view from The Retreat

We started off on the Tuesday morning in batch D. It was a fresh and clear winter's morning, with hardly any wind. The best weather we could’ve hoped for. Adél, Evan and Zelda were at the start line seeing us off and would be cheering us on throughout the day at all the spectator points. Having your family there makes the most special event on the South African mountain biking calendar just that much more special. Starting off we felt good and rode with most of the D batch bunch for the start, but as the day went on my legs started feeling heavier and heavier. When we hit an uphill I just popped out of the back of the bunch, dragged back by my heavy legs. Also, being Day 1 you don’t want to over exert yourself on any of the climbs, as you will pay for it in the two days to come, but still I just had no punch in my legs. At first I wondered whether the lack of interval training due to the two weeks off the bike in April was coming back to haunt me, or was I still struggling with the bug I’ve been struggling with for most of April?

The day got a little worse when Kalla and I lost each other on a piece of single track, after which he took a wrong turn. We eventually met up again about 5 km from the finish after I gave up chasing him, as I thought he was in front of me, and he luckily persevered in chasing me. I was struggling a bit so Kalla was significantly stronger than me throughout the day but on Tiny’s Climb, the last climb up to the finish, he cramped again. Chasing me down after his wrong turn took its toll and again we were reminded that each of the three days of Sani2c deserves respect. Even though Day 2 is by far the toughest, the other two days are still not a walk in the park and so easily underestimated due to it being overshadowed by the magnitude of Day 2. We finished in a time of 4:51. We were hoping for a sub 4:30, but we were content given that the day didn’t quite go as planned. We were still 20 minutes faster than in 2012. Still, it’s about the trail and the experience, not the time. Our 3 supporters, Adél, Evan and Zelda, waited for us at the finish, and again our spirits were lifted to see them. What a privilege. Sani2c just wouldn’t be the same without them.

 

My biggest supporters

We spent the afternoon on our backs relaxing in the shade. I was concerned at how I felt during the day, but was hoping that my legs would be back for Day 2. I rested for the last 10 days before Sani2c. Even though I planned to do at least 2 short rides the week before, I didn’t get to it, so my last 10 days were 10 rest days off the bike. Maybe this was why I struggled and my body just had to get back into the swing of things. I was sure that tomorrow would be better… and boy, was I wrong.

As the excitement mounted in the weeks before the race I read my 2012 Sani2c blog write ups a couple of times. In these write ups I kept on saying that even though it was tough, it was never overly tough and had I never worried that I wasn’t going to finish. So, naturally, as we were fitter than last year, significantly lighter than last year and significantly more prepared as we now knew what to expect, we thought we were in for an even better and faster ride. Things don’t always go as planned…

Again Day 2 started with the spectacular drop into the Umkomaas valley. 30 km of fast and flowing downhill singletrack taking you to the banks of the mighty Umkomaas river. At the first waterpoint I was still feeling ok, not great, but I was able to get over some of the short steep inclines just before the waterpoint. But it is after waterpoint 1 that the real “fun” starts. The climb out of the Umkomaas Valley… Uphill upon uphill makes the trek between waterpoint 1 on 40 km and waterpoint 2 on 68 km some of the toughest riding I have ever done. Halfway through my shoulders started dropping and I was now certain that the good form I was hoping for did not show up. In my mind, all I had to do was make it to waterpoint 2, the infamous Nando’s stop. However, like a dragon guarding the princess in the tower, before getting to that Nando’s burger you first have to get over Lamb Legs… A 4km long climb in the heat of the day. In 2012 I was able to get over the climb without having to stop once, but this year it tore me to shreds. I kept my head down and my pedals moving for as long as I could but halfway up I just couldn’t anymore. I had to stop and push. The last 4 km felt like an eternity. I was spent. My tank was empty.

I collected my Nando’s burger at the waterpoint and fell flat on my back. The only movement was that of my jaw and my right arm bring the burger to my mouth every now and again. I had used more than I had put in and was suffering badly. The thought that Push of a Climb was still to come resonating with every beat of my heart felt like drum banging inside my head. In retrospect, I needed to spend some more time at this waterpoint, just to recover a bit more and give my body time to digest this burger and all the other stuff I ate there. But, the sooner we would get to Push of a climb the sooner it will be over, right?

Wrong! Push of a climb... the infamous piece of singletrack taking you up to Grand View. It’s long, it’s steep and tough as nails. It broke me in half! I didn’t realise just how I empty I really was at this stage and halfway up had to stop and sit next to the single track. Pushing my bike is something I hate and rarely resort to, but finding myself on my back in the bush next to the trail… it was a first. I was short of breath and my lungs felt cramped inside my chest. Again reiterating the fact that the bug that I had was probably still in my system and the effects were real and intense. After gathering the little strength I had, I got up and pushed to the top where I took another breather… on my back… in the bush. All the whilst Kalla patiently waiting for me to get back to my feet.

24 km. That’s it. That was all that I had to do to the next waterpoint. After that it’s just a short 16km ride to the end. It turned out to be much harder than it sounded. By this stage I had nothing in the tank, started to struggle to take deep breaths and now I had started cramping. Somewhere between Push of a Climb and Sappi Highflats I found myself on my back in the bush again with Kalla helping me to get the cramp out of my calves. Completely shattered! Yet, somehow, and I have no recollection of how, I got back on my bike again and pushed on. If there was ever a time that I was going to throw in the towel it was right there. The body  is programmed to forget pain, but that feeling of emptiness is still clear today.  We pushed on, head down, shoulders sagging, tank empty, but the legs were moving, albeit barely.  Making it to the last waterpoint meant the worst was over. At the waterpoint I again found myself flat on my back munching a banana whilst a couple of the volunteers poured ice cold water over my legs. Despite still running on an empty tank, I felt much better than 20 odd km ago. We now only had 16 km left. It should be plain sailing to the end, right?

Wrong, again! I just kept the legs ticking over for the last part of the day. I knew that I was now so very close to this nightmare of a day being over. We were lucky, or so I thought, that there were a couple of long winding down hills that gave us some respite. I was relaxing and letting the kilometres tick by. But then, as if the day was not difficult enough, roughly 10 km from the end, disaster struck. My back wheel slid into a deep rut in the road on one of these down hills and, like a rodeo bull getting rid of a  cowboy, my bike dispatched me over the handlebars. The moment I hit the ground every single fibre between my toes and my hips cramped. Kalla was ahead of me and didn’t see me crash, so the next two riders behind us, two friendly guys  whose names I should remember but don’t, stopped to help me. Luckily the one rider who stopped was a biokinitecist and checked my knees for any possible ligament damage. It all seemed fine. Even though I did fall hard, I was just so empty at that stage that I don’t think my body even tensed up as I was tossed over the handlebars, and so didn’t sustain any serious injuries. The fact that I cramped the moment I hit the deck made it seem as if I had just broken every single bone in my body. So, there I was, spending another inordinate amount of time on my back in the bush. Eventually I was back on the bike and found Kalla a kilometre or so down the road on his way back to the “accident scene”. From there I nursed it home through some cramp and pain from spending almost 9 hours in the saddle. Charlie’s Catwalk is now my favourite part of the entire race! Once we were there, I knew it was over and just rolled down to Jolivet. Hoping to be faster than in 2012, we were much slower, but I was very glad and proud to finish. I’ve never suffered like that on a bike and pulling through was something special. Kalla played a massive part in pulling me through and once again emphasised the value of good partner.

 

Team mates

The pain didn’t end there. I paid R180 to cramp for 30 minutes on a massage table that evening. It clearly wasn’t my day so I turned in even before 7. The beach was beckoning, and the new 360Life floating bridge on Scottburgh was motivation enough to know that quitting was not an option. We were going to the sea!

When I woke up that faithful Thursday morning I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it to Scottburgh. My legs felt like jelly and my body was sore. Whatever bug I still had in my system had taken its toll the previous two days and day three was not going to be easy. Suddenly 85 km seemed almost insurmountable. We had dropped to group L after our disastrous 9 hour day on Day 2, so at least we started late and had a bit more time to get ready. Soon we were off and surprisingly, on the bike, I didn’t feel that bad. I actually felt a lot fresher than I had thought. Still, I had to nurse it down to the beach as it was crystal clear that there was something wrong with me. I felt ok throughout the day but started to struggle again from the last waterpoint. We had a tad more than 20 km left and my shoulders were hanging again. Luckily, my legs were still turning and I was not on my back in  the bush, which was a bonus. I was ready for the finish now, but the Sani2c gods had other plans. About 10 km out Kalla broke his chain. Now, normally this is a bad thing, but on this day it didn’t bug me one single bit. I promptly grabbed a seat in the shade and tossed him the chain tool. I was chilling! After getting some help from two other riders who stopped to join me in my shady chill zone we were off again.

Man, was I happy to see the beach! The 360Life floating bridge was a bit more daunting that I thought, but great fun and an awesome way to end an awesome race! Adél, Evan and Zelda greeted us on the beach… what a sight! And what an experience Sani2c 2013 was. A complete contrast to what I experienced in 2012. I had obviously not gotten rid of the bug which haunted me throughout April, and it made for a tough 3 days. Finishing was one massive achievement! Where last year I was not in serious trouble once and not for a single second thought I might not make it, this year the tables had turned. The times were slower, the moods were lower, but the achievement of making it after all the hardship and suffering out on the course was really something special. It probably was not medically advisable, and having gone through what I had gone through, I probably would not do it again, but pushing my body way beyond where I had ever pushed it before and making it to the end was an extraordinary feat. Due to all the suffering I didn’t enjoy 2013 even half as much as I enjoyed Sani2c 2012, but it is definitely the one that I will remember for a very… very long time. 

Seeing Adel and Evan at the finish line