Jeff 2 weeks later

Saturday

19 April, 2008

14 days post Epic

My toes are still slightly numb but improving, my ass has healed, my legs will eventually recover but my mind will never be the same… =0)

A huge part of my trip was my riding partner, Dr. John Ramsden. He comes from Vancouver and is a veteran of these types of races having done 4 Trans Alps, 2 Trans Rockies, 1 La Ruta de los Conquistadores (Costa Rica) came 15^th!!, the BC bike race and others. His experience and constant voice got me over many seemingly insurmountable obstacles on umpteen days. He pushed, pulled, cajoled, insulted, praised, medicated, supported and humbled me through my epic all the while teaching me invaluable lessons.

It was, after all his Epic too and I know the unseasonably high heat (high of 42deg C/107 deg F) in the Karoo, the endless sand and merciless headwinds eventually took its toll on him as well and he also, finally, admitted that this was the hardest race he has done… We climbed one day for 10,000ft/3090m and rode another for 146km/90mls!

On mountain bikes…

What was I thinking!!

He was far fitter than me and he definitely pulled out everything I had for this race. He waited for me a lot and he was and is inspiring and it was great to ride with him. I hope to ride with him in many places in the years to come. He was a great companion.

My gf, Bonnie, who ended up having really long days as well, was a constant source of help and good energy to me. She worked the water points and always jumped to help me when I rode in. Some days I just stood in front of her in a daze while on others, it was like a getting extra energy as she was always smiling and positive. She would do manual labor loading and unloading, pouring and mixing as well as supporting and soothing some broken riders so her days were busy & demanding as well. Her hands reacted to the Energade they were serving so she had to wear gloves for a few days. Hate to think what my insides looked like after drinking the same crud. It was awesome to share this event with her and it would not have been the same without her support and tender care. I was probably not so fun sometimes…

So here’s a typical day

I’ll start with the actual ride as that’s how it first happened to me.

In our start chute which was decided by our prologue time by 6:40am, start at 7. Ride till 3pm or more. Collapse.

Eat anything remotely edible at the few vendors. Eat and drink constantly. Clean the bike and take it to the bike lockup, find good tents not too close to the toilets whose doors banged till late, get the one rider’s duffel bag from the truck (this held all items needed for the week! Tough pack job!), shower, make massage apt at 4 (saved my life each day), start prepping for next day, eat at 6pm, watch daily prizes, eat, drink, listen to droning host mayor’s speech, eat more. Watch daily stage photos/video and finally watch the next day’s route’s 3D fly through which was invaluable. Do toiletries, sleep by 9pm if lucky, wake at 1am, pee outside tent, sleep till 4:30. Start my day. Roll sleeping bag & sheets, pack up Bonnie who is gone by 5am. Toilet, dress, prep, eat (a lot) by 5:45 so could go to clinic to get ass taped.

Let me pause here…

I got my saddle sores (caused by rubbing between shorts and skin resulting in open blisters) on day 1 so on day 2 until the end this was my ritual. A 2^nd skin was put on both my inner cheeks over the sores where my sit-bones hits the saddle. This was then taped over. This was the only way I could ride and did ride. Taking the tape off post stage was an extremely painful event. Seeing a row of riders bent over with their pants down every morning was a sight that will always make me laugh with the memory.

Continuing… 6:15am… get bike, toilet (had to go regardless), finish dressing, pack & drop bag, roll to start by 6:40am. Gun goes at 7am. Repeat 7 more times.

My body became used to this sequence, I was even pooping pellets eventually. Now that’s efficient.

It was at times, a tough routine to finish promptly as ride time was so long. The 4/5 hours between finishing the stage and sleep were busy and task filled but it was almost like being on automatic. I would have preferred more technical riding with time to look around but then it would not have been the Cape Epic… an extremely apt name by the way.

For now, I am enjoying just riding my bikes around. Who knows what will happen once the pain of doing the Epic fades…