Trans Baviaans 2017 - Shake, rattle and roll.

So, we were back… again. Full of confidence and bravado. We’ve done it twice, how hard could number three be. We soon realised how quickly the body forgets pain…

A cold front blowing through the country meant that the weather forecasts for race day were showing cold temperatures with the ether only reaching 10 degrees Celsius. As we came closer to the day the maximum at least rose to 15 degrees. Both Erno and I were feeling confident. Last year was a tough one for Erno after he lost his training mojo somewhere after Sani2c and just lacked the motivation to get on the bike to train. This year was a totally different story with both of us being in good form leading up to the race. My biggest worry was mechanicals. I had an unexpected mechanical last year and was lucky to get it fixed at checkpoint 2. My bike is really reliable but minor issues tend to pop up from time to time and on a 230 km journey, these minor issues could turn into majors in the blink of an eye. The fact that I am “mechanically challenged” also adds to the stress. The other concern was that Erno went for a small operation two weeks before the race. The doctor said that he’d be ok to ride again after a week, but I’m not sure that he told the doctor that he was riding one of the toughest endurance events in the country a mere two weeks after the op. Either way, we were prepared as could be. Ready for the cold weather and quietly confident that we were going to smash it.

Saturday, 12 August 2017, came soon enough and after a decent breakfast at Jumpers Place we soon headed down to the start chutes to start loading. The race only starts at 10 but we decided to load early so that we could get a good position in the start chute. We knew we needed a strong bunch to pull us over the first 100 kms and also didn’t want to waste unnecessary energy making our way through the field in the first 10 kms. We loaded before 9 and had to stand around for an hour in the start chute. It was a long hour of standing in the cold and waiting but eventually it passed and we were set off on our way heading down to Jeffreys Bay. 230 kms of the magnificent Baviaanskloof were lying in wait.

The race starts on dirt roads through local farms before it turns left after 10 kms on the Baviaanskloof road. We turned onto the Baviaanskloof road sitting in a big bunch, exactly what was needed. Soon after we hit this road a team of three attacked and tried to bridge to the bunch up the road. I saw the move and without thinking jumped on, calling out Erno to follow. The rider at the front was pulling hard and it took a massive effort to keep up. Eventually we made it to the bunch in front and we tried to sit on as riders were blasted off the back. It was a fast start. We were fighting to stay in the bunch as soon as we joined it. It wasn’t just the pace but also the road surface that was bad from the outset. Corrugations. Non-stop corrugations. My hands go numb just thinking about it.

We fought to stay with the group up to checkpoint 1 at the 52km where we stopped to lube our chains, grab a jam roosterkoek and empty the bladders. After a quick stop we were on our way again and formed a bunch with other riders that departed the checkpoint at the same time. The corrugations started to take its toll and soon enough we let the bunch go to ride at a steadier pace. We were now also riding into a headwind which made one appreciate the value of sitting in a bunch. We were riding together with two other riders, fighting against the wind and corrugations alone. We soon realised how much energy we were wasting and sat up to wait for an approaching bunch. Jumping onto the bunch helped against the wind, but the corrugations were unrelenting. We swerved across the road, from the left to the right to the middle back to the left… we had nowhere to hide. The road was harsh, harsher than last year, and unrelenting. The corrugations never stopped. When possible we tried to find a smoother piece of road in the trench next to the road, but respite was few and far between. At around 85 kms both Erno and I popped. We fell of the back of the bunch and just rode our own pace. I was battling. My hands were hurting, my body shaken and my legs feeling the effects of the start that was too fast. In hindsight, going with that very first attack was a mistake. We spent too much effort too early on in the race and were paying for it now. At 85 kms we were on track to smash our record of 2016 of completing the first 100km in under 4 hours. But we popped and were now battling alone against the wind and corrugated road. I was struggling, keeping the legs ticking over just waiting for Erno to come passed, but he never did. Luckily both of us were struggling. It would’ve been worse if I was battling alone feeling like I was holding him up. We eventually clocked the first 100km in 4:09, 10 minutes slower than last year, and reached checkpoint 2 at 104 km with bruised hands, tired bodies and sore legs. We took some time to recover at the checkpoint, filled up our bottles, gulped down a few cokes and soon enough were ready to go again. I was hurting before the checkpoint but by the time we got going again had recovered well and was feeling good again.

The race gets easier from here mentally, even though the first 100km is the “easier” part of the race. The next two checkpoints are each less than 20km apart, so even though the route becomes much more hilly it helps that you only have to concentrate on making it over the next 17 km. That’s the secret to Trans Baviaans. You only think about the next checkpoint. Whatever is coming after that you can worry about after you have reached the checkpoint. Mentally it’s just so much easier to break the race down into smaller chunks. The first two checkpoints are 52 kms apart and come at the 52 and 104 km marks. From there checkpoint 3 and 4 come at 123km and 140km. The big hills are in this stretch between checkpoint 2 and 4, the biggest of which comes at 130km and is a climb aptly named M.A.C, short for Mother of All Climbs. MAC is a 10 km long climb taking you up to Bergplaas and checkpoint 4. From Bergplaas there is a long descent and flattish section taking you to checkpoint 5 at 173km. Checkpoint 6 is unmanned and in a different spot every year and the last checkpoint comes at the 200km mark. From there you have 25km to the end. Seems pretty simple and if you only focus on reaching the next checkpoint it really is.

 

 

Our strategy has always been to go hard for the first 104km and after that settle into our own rhythm. After checkpoint 2 the second biggest climb of the race, Baviaan’s Back, is on the cards after which we descended down to checkpoint 3 at 123km. We rode well over Baviaans Back and were feeling strong. The descent though was tough. After the corrugations of the first 100km my hands were hurting. Every bump, every rock, every ditch sent shockwaves through my hands and arms that were still reeling from the beating it took earlier on. We made it down safely though and made our way to checkpoint 3 where we had wors and sosaties for lunch and fitted our lights so long. We would make it to Bergplaas before sunset but fitted the lights here already just in case.

From here we had 17 kms to go to Bergplaas of which 10 of those were MAC. I started feeling weak on the lower sloped of the climb and told Erno to go on ahead while I just keep a steady pace and nurse my weary legs. I wasn’t going to get off and push but needed to keep the pressure off for a while. I took it easy and started feeling better, lifting the pace, on the latter half of the climb. Erno waited for me at the King of the Mountain banner and we rode the last two dragging kilometres to the checkpoint together.

 

 

 

We made it to Bergplaas with time to spare, changed, grabbed some soup and descended the big dipper on the other side of Bergplaas. We wanted to descend before nightfall and did so while the sun was setting. It was the first time that we could see the views on the other side of Bergplaas. The descend had also been resurfaced and rode extremely well. Making it to the bottom we set out for checkpoint 5. The section between checkpoint 4 and 5 is probably my favourite part of the race. It’s a long mountain pass descend followed by smooth and flat valley roads. It’s cool, pitch dark with nothing but stars against the outlines of mountain sides enveloping you from either side. It gives you some time to relax and take in the Baviaanskloof night. Something so surreal that you only get to experience once a year. For miles there would be no other team around you, with the only sound being rubber rolling over gravel. The 30 odd kms between the checkpoints flew by and soon enough were we having chip rolls at checkpoint 5.

 

 

The next stretch is in reality a 27km stretch to checkpoint 7 at the 200km mark where we’d be having jaffels. Somewhere in between were the unmanned checkpoint 6, which didn’t really count as a stop as it is just a table at the side of the road with stickers to stick on your check-in badge. This section however is the toughest of the race. Not the longest, nor the steepest, nor the most climbing, nor the roughest, but the toughest by far. It’s late in the race, body and legs are fatiguing and then, at 178 km into the race, you hit a climb extremely aptly named Never Ender. It’s not a steep climb by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s long and arduous and deserves its name fully. For 15km there is hardly and let up, just a long never ending drag. It’s there where senses of humour fail and riders realise just how long this day really is.

We eventually made it to the top and to checkpoint 7. From there we had 25km to go. We pushed the pace a little and made it to the final mind numbing singletrack section next to the railway. I had a minor mechanical incident 3km from the finish when my rear derailleur pulley seized. Somewhere during the day it must’ve picked up a small rock and the little wheel got warped and didn’t turn true anymore. It seized with 3kms to go. My drivetrain still worked though and, other than not wanting to change gear on few occasions, still turned the wheels, even if it was with an irritating noise and a bit more effort. This close to the end I wasn’t going to stop. It could’ve been something more serious that could’ve damaged my bike way more, but at that stage you just don’t care.

 

 

We pushed on and finished in a time of 13 hours and 18 minutes just after 11 on Saturday night. From our first Trans Baviaans one of my main aims has always been to finish on Saturday, any time as long as it is before midnight, and now we’ve done it… and I’m pretty sure we can still go faster…