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.