Berg & Bush Descent 2015

After experiencing the race for the first time in 2014, I just had to go back. This year it was Erno who took to the starting line with me, as Wichard was unable to ride again. I enjoyed riding with Wichard in 2014, even though he was in excruciating pain for most of the race, but was looking forward to riding with Erno and sharing the experience of the 10th edition of the Berg & Bush with my long time riding bud.

We started Day 1 steadily, as we usually do, but decided to make a move on the first big climb. This was an opportunity to get into some space before we headed into the Drakensberg drop, 14km of sublime singletrack meandering its way down the Drakensberg. This section is very rideable, but feels a little tighter in places than the Umkomaas descend on Sani2c. I won’t call it technical as it definitely isn’t, but it does have a few tight spots. The drop last year was a little more terrifying than it should’ve been due to the rain. When you’re riding on a steep mountain face with a rear wheel skidding around behind you, the riding is a little more tense than what you had planned. This also meant that we missed out on all the views in 2014 due to the rain and thick mist. This year, however, we were met with blue skies and beautiful weather. The views from the top of the mountain was magnificent. A section named “Great Wall my China” was a highlight, where we were riding metres from a sheer cliff face, with breath-taking views of the Northern Drakensberg. Soon enough we started descending and the riding was sublime! 14 km of mountain biking heaven! This section is undoubtedly up there with some of the best riding I have ever done. The rest of the day is a journey from the foot of the berg to Emseni camp in Winterton. It’s a dry, hot and windy 96km where riders traverse mostly farmland until we reach the “Garden of Eden”, a 5km piece of trail on the banks of the Tugela river culminating a longish and tougher than expected day on the bike. It’s not an overly difficult day but the conditions make it harder than expected. Also, before the race I was struggling to get rid of a head cold and decided to take antibiotics the week before the race. This left me feeling a little flat towards the end of the days. I was healthy and fit, but missed a bit of kick towards the end of the days. Nothing serious, and at least I could still ride even if it wasn’t at exactly 100%.

Day 2 was another awesome trail day where we were able to ride a steady pace. The highlight of the day was the puffadder pass section, a natural fast and flowing trail section, and lots and lots of riding next to and over the Tugela River. We were lucky that we started and finished early as the day was a scorcher with a strong and hot head wind picking up as the morning continued. The back end of the field had a torrid time in that wind. Luckily by that time we were already chilling under the lapa at our place at Ukhozi Bush Lodge. We decided to not stay in the race village, even though we spent most of our time there, in order to maximise the time with the families throughout the race. Berg & Bush is such a family friendly race and involving the family in the whole experience makes it so much more special and memorable.

Day 3 was the big one where we headed up the infamous Spioenkop climb. A short but razor sharp climb up to the top of one of the most iconic battle sites of the Anglo Boer War. The descent after the summit is another long and exhilarating 8km long trail culminating in the Bell Run – a bunch of berms and table tops at the foot of the mountain. However, even before we got there the riding was superb with some new sections keeping the adrenalin flowing. Heading to Spioenkop I was a little worried. The initial section of the climb is steep, peaking at a gradient of 22%. Even though it is paved, it’s really steep and so iconic that the organisers hand out “I shot Spioenkop” stickers to all riders riding to the top of the hill without stopping or walking. I rode it last year but had a few concerns mulling around in my mind as we approached the climb… I was still running my 11 -32 gear ratio which meant that I had one less “easy gear” for the really steep sections and was still feeling a little flatter after the antibiotics the week before. Soon enough, the worries worried no more as we hit the lower slopes of the climb. I felt strong and kept on alternating between standing and seated pedalling. Erno and I made it to the top together and in good spirits. We got our stickers and now only had the simple matter of the descent to negotiate. Sounds fairly simple, right?

As soon as we hit the descent I felt a crack and nearly lost it. We stopped to find that my pedal had broken clean of the shaft. After I tried to fix it we stopped again twice, when my quick fixes failed. Luckily the roving mechanics arrived on the scene not too long after the last quick fix failure. We decided to remedy the situation by tying the pedal to the shaft with a gear cable. The pedal would not be able to turn, so I would not be able to use that pedal to pedal, but at least I would be able to clip in and be steady on the descent. We had about 8km left which was mostly downhill and after a lengthy delay we hit the road. When the trail flattened out I had to pedal with one leg, but at least I was riding. The downhill bits I was freewheeling, stopping every so often to get out of other riders’ way. We made it to the end roughly an hour later than we had planned, but we made it. That’s all that counts. After a double pinch puncture the previous day, this was by far the most mechanically difficult stage race I’ve ever done, so I was very happy to have crossed the finish line. Had my pedal broken earlier in the day it could’ve been a disaster. We were lucky and I was grateful to have made it.

Berg & Bush was once again a superb experience. The best part of it being how it’s such a family friendly event. Don’t get me wrong, the riding is mind-blowing, but the it’s so awesome to be able to share some of the stage race experience with those closest to you. Having your kids riding around the marquee on their bikes during dinner and race briefing is what makes this race so special. I would love to do this race every year.