Back in the USA

Feels great to be back. Such a long flight. It took 36 hours to go from door to door. Flights were late and connections missed. So how did it go? It was a great adventure. Not the one I was expecting but with the help of some fantastic people it was really fun. Next time though, I bring my wife.



So when I left the race I went back to Strand with Mels niece Nicki. After having waffles with her on the beach we went to the cheetah rescue, which happens to be where she works for now. This was pretty cool. I was able to pet some large cats and the bat eared fox's that are up there.

That was pretty awesome. Nikki then talked Stanley into taking us on a Vineyard tour on his Segways. That was pretty fun also.

Off road Segways. Mel and I road in the mountains directly behind me the week before in Joorgenshook. The weather was still suspect so we figured that since we were in wine country we could go taste some wines and Nikki had been trying to set up a time with one of her friends to go taste wine paired with chocolates.

And might I say that the Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon paired with with the Rock salt Chocolate, yummy. We ended up getting a bottle of that with a large bar of the chocolate, and talked. Not a bad way to spend a day, No?

On the final day of the Epic, I went to the finish line to watch Mel finish. That was good for me also to watch the finish, and have some closure on the race. Mel said that the trails did not get any better, mostly straight up for climbs and then straight back down, no real true "single track" that we would ride here in the states. He said that the only way he would do it again is if somebody else paid his whole way.

I rode the next day by my self up the coast a bit, and it was wonderful. Slight breeze, warm but not hot and slightly salty air. I rode up to a dam on the hill side, then came back down to travel up the coast a bit.



Absolutely beautiful. The top picture is from the dam looking down on Strand and False Bay, the top picture is looking south out from false bay into the Indian Ocean. Just a note about riding here- driving is done on the left side of the road so consequently it feels like I was riding on the wrong side of the road and its wise to look both ways more than once before crossing because cars on the opposite side from what we Americans  are used to, one quick glance may get you hit.

The next day Mel and I went for a ride on some dirt and trails that the Epic finished on.

These trails were fun, actually some of the best single track on the Epic. Riding out to the trail head was interesting because we rode through one of the shanty towns. There were several young children running around on the side of the road with bare feet. The sides of the road were covered with rocks and broken glass. Incredible.
After the ride we went surfing.

This is Mel with his two girls surfing. Very cool kids. I love putting my feet in the ocean and feeling the power of the waves. I did get up on the surfboard, and caught a few waves boogie boarding.

Final stop before leaving was to have a beer.

So I got some great rides in. Met some awesome people and experienced some incredible things. I will post some other pictures in the pictures tab above. All of this because I love to ride my bike.  Thanks for reading.
Cheers, Craig.

99 percent

I went to the finish of the cape epic yesterday, which was located in Lourensford. With mountains on three sides Lourensford is a winery and orchard that apparently often hosts Mtb events on the weekends. I was a little hard watching these cyclists finish, knowing that I should be with them. Mel finished and was happy to be done. He also said the he would probably not do it again. The trails that I saw combined with the trails that mel talks about are really not to interesting. The trails are not like Colorado single track with switchbacks and obstacles, but rather farm roads that go straight up the side if the hill. When they warned of portage that is exactly right. Some were difficult to walk. The descent was the same except there were sharp babyhead sized rocks all over. I would not choose to ride most of these trails that were showcased in the epic. I am not being sour apples here at all. If I did not get this stomach bug I know I would have finished but it would have been far from easy. I have made peace with my choice. I am still not happy but I made the choice while on the trail.

Time dulls pain and makes me question the sensation. I would not have chosen this path unless the pain was truly unbearable. I know I thought about my wife, my riding partner and all the others that have supported me in this adventure and I just could not go on.

My only regret is that I would have had the wherewithal to advocate for myself in the medical tent after I was in camp. The asshole who assessed me simple said that I must learn about nutrition. I must eat more potatoes and marmite sandwiches while doing long rides. This was not simply a dehydration and sweet sport drink problem I gar-n-damn-tee that. I have been there and this was not it. This lasted 48hrs before I could even eat then it was still touch and go. I still get a "I just swallowed a boulder" feeling after eating a few bites of food. I lost about 2 kgs during the ordeal. Oh well. Enough of that.

I did some other fun things which I will write about whining I get stateside.  Thank you all for your support.

Cheers.
Craig.