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The other dice that never was
Monday, 06 July 2009 - Written by Lehana
So there were five paddlers who lined up at the Mark Street weir for the start of our
inaugural one stop Berg. Race organisor, David, offered to paddle a double with Aussie
Dave Barr, being unsure of the latter's river paddling proficiency. Not wanting to miss
out on a good thing Eugene and Trevor also upgraded to a double and then there was
Andrew in his single.
Just as the launch of the Duzi Trail run was brought about by the change in the Comrades
date so the idea of the One Stop Berg had been brought about by the late change in date
of the Berg River Canoe Marathon which meant that it no longer fitted in with the cycle
for those wanting to do the Extreme Triathlon.
We set off at first light. Ahead of us lay 240 kms to Veldrif. For the day the first 108
kms of paddling would need to be completed in daylight because of rapids, tree blocks
and obscure channels and then there was another 12kms of flat water across the
Misverstand Dam to the overnight stop at the dam wall.
After the first few admin stops we were progressing at the desired speed of 10km/hr. We
meet up with the seconds at Skooltjie bridge and had a quick bite to eat whilst we
watched the front runners in a provincial race go paddling past. We then hooked in with
the rest of that race field and continued down the river, spurred on by the comraderie and
sitting on the waves of these other paddlers.
And then we arrived at the first major obstacle, Clay Rapid, to find carnage. Paddlers
swimming all over the bottom of the rapid. Andrew shot through clean as did the Daves
but Eugene and Trevor went bush climbing before joining the swimming masses. 10
minutes later we hit the first of the tree sections and after picking our way through it the
Daves took their first swim.
Whilst Andrew disappeared downstream the doubles show was left to get back on the
road (river?) again - which it did but not for long. Then followed more tree blocks and
twisty turny eddy out scratchy paddling in the middle of which the Daves put a tree
stump through the cockpit of their double. This was followed by a long stop and
attempted MacGiver fix with leatherman, sticks and duct tape. Then more tree blocks
and getting out, fighting through the bushes and after a while it felt like taking a tandem
through Stettynskloof.
Where the first 25 kms took us just over 2hrs 30 mins the next 20 took us 5 hours. By
then blisters had set in, backsides were already numb, one boat was broken. Arriving at
the lunch stop near 3pm with 45 kms of paddling completed and needing at least an hour
to repair the damaged double it was quite apparent that it would be a battle to just get
through the next 20kms before nightfall, never mind the 60kms before the river started
opening up.
A council of war followed in which it was concluded that:
1.To complete a One-Stop Berg with only one overnight stop you need to know the river
very well;
2. You also cannot afford to lose any time to boat damage.
3. It is a HUGE undertaking which is probably beyond the reach of many experienced
paddlers;
4. It was just not going to happen for us in 2009.
So we decided that those who could would return in a week's time to do the 4-day Berg
River Canoe Marathon and in so doing qualify for the Lehana Club. Andrew
immediately elected to do this (he had clearly enjoyed the company fo the other
paddlers). Those extreme triathletes who could not return for the 4-day event but still
wanted to bring finality to their journey across South Africa would reassemble in the
morning further downstream and paddle the last 45 kilometres through to the Atlantic
Ocean at Velddrif which is what Dave, Eugene and Trevor opted to do.
The three, who had run the 85km Duzi Trail Run and cycled the 2350 km Freedom
Challenge, arrived at Kersefontein to complete their paddle. It was a glorious day and
they no doubt felt that it would be a cruise through to the finish - that was until they got
15kms out and the tide started pushing in and the wind got up a bit. Nevertheless they
got there, got their blankets and headed off to bed.
As for the Extreme Triathlon - well the Duzi Trail Run worked very well. Perhaps next
year we will hold it on the 16th of June which will enable those who want to to go on and
do the 4 day Berg River Canoe Marathon.
As for the Non-stop Berg - it does seem like a race worth doing. Perhaps now is just not
the time for it.
To Trevor, Dave and Ugene one can only repeat what was said to them by some of the
other paddlers with whom they paddled for a part of Saturday - Respect.
Race round-off - Trevor Ball
FC Final news. So the adventure ends. Paddle cut short by dangerous tree blocks, so
skipped to the last flat leg at Velddrif today. An amazing journey 2500km fro Durban to
the west coast via places I never knew existed, and a lifetime of memories of awesome
scenery. We live in a great country! Trevor
The dice that never was...
Written by Allen Sharp - Sunday, 05 July 2009
The much anticipated dice through Stettyns yesterday did not materialize so I'm back to
waffling about packs and group dynamics. The whole bunch got into Stettyns around
07h00 and eventually split into 3 groups. Carl and Marnits made short work of Stettyns
getting to the top of the Kloof at 13h00 and to the finish at Diemersfontein just after
16h00. Carl said the he and Marnits decided to ride together when he caught him in
Willomore, he reckons Marnits had ample opportunity to drop him but it was more fun
riding the last stretch together – thats the spirit!
Mark ended up on his own again, he took a wrong turn somewhere and hit the N1 way
too early , he backtracked and made it to Diemersfontein just after 18h00
Steve, Francois Mike and Glenn arrived just after 19h00. While Mike bravely battled on
with his knee injury, Glenn quietly ans unassumingly ensure that the Tandem got through
Stettyns. Carl was immensely impressed with Glenn's strength, he could not believe how
Glenn simply picked up the Tandem and carried it – he also mentioned how Glenn
carried the Tandem up “Die Leer”. Now we all know how to do the RASA on a Tandem
– pick Glenn as your stoker! Awesome stuff Glen!! and really tough luck with your knee
Mike but well done for hanging in there to the finish.
Today its Fiona and Doug's turn to conquer Stettyns after getting to Trouthaven around
20h00 last night
Estelle, Brett and Errol were in Montague last night. It will be a long push if they are
hoping to get to Trouthaven tonight.
Sean and Dereck left McGregors this morning and will have an easy ride into Trouthaven
with enough time to contemplate Stettyns
Piere and Louis left Annysberg this morning and should easily make McGregors or even
Kasra
Estie, Andre, Derrick and Siseko stayed at Rouxpos last night and should make
Montague
Greg bravely left the comforts of Dennehof in Prince Albert and made it to Gamkas
Kloof, he could comfortably make Rouxpos or Annysberg but also has the option of
waiting for Erick and Bruce.
Erick and Bruce made it to Dennehof last night and are only venturing as far as
Gamkaskloof today. Not much chasing these two, they appear content to take it one SS at
a time, no rush to get back to work by the looks of it.
Message from TimvC: - Morning everyone! Sorry if this wake you up? Brett waited in his
car at a crossing because he wasn't sure which road Tim had taken. He and his boys slept
in the car. Meantime Tim made a fire next to the road for Brett to see and took a 3 hour
nap under his spaceblanket. He started riding early and found Brett only 4km further!
They are having a kuier next to the road and then Tim will continue. Brett took all sorts
of nice goodies with, i think they're going to braai now there next to the road. Zack was
very worried about his grandad, Tim was SO GLAD to see the boys!
Message from Mike: - bike finally sorted out by Cycle Pro in PE. What a saga. I never
thought I would use an angle grinder on a mtb. Blanket now impossible for me but I
return to Pearston tomorrow and will ride through to Paarl on the race route anyway.
Should be fun - will only do the official day each day so can get the most out of it in the
circumstances. I hope Tim makes it in time. He has a chance and is one hard nut. Well
done to all of u who get the blanket.
Mike also sent regular update for our Twitter feed, this one was way way to long for
twitter so I'll just stick it in here: Content for twitter - Tuesday was a pearler of a day.
Had the runs all night, five times on the crapper before our 4.30am departure. Just
before dawn, near the top of a steep climb, episode number six reared its head. Cycling
bibs are not useful in these situations as everything has to be taken off to allow free exit.
Its character building to be standing butt naked in the dark, freezing cold, having to put
back on wet clothes and not entirely sure whether the wetness is from your sweat or
perhaps u may just have inadvertently crapped a little on your own clothes. We've all
been there. And then your bike just isn't working so good. The gears keep slipping, the
power isn't there, horrific scraping sounds. Tim, my patient partner, helps me for the
eighth time to adjust the disc brakes. Eventually we discover that the swing arm has
sheared. Bike unrideable. Sad farewells.
The One Stop Berg did not go according to plan, The K2's caught up in the trees and
made for exceptional slow going. Andre will be returning to do the full Berg in 10 days
time while David and the other three are tripping day 4 of the berg just to ensure the
Aussie can enjoy our wonderful river. I'm sure David will release an office statement
regarding this at some stage
Stettyns Watch...part 2 - the race
Saturday, 04 July 2009 Written by Allen Sharp
It was full house at Trouthaven last night with Mike and Glen, Francios, Steve. Carl,
Marnits and Mark Mitchell all arrive to prepare for the final onslaught.
I've bee waffling on about packs and group dynamics for quite a while now and my initial
assumption was that these guys would tackle Stettyns as a group and share knowledge
and strategies. How wrong I was and I did forget that this was sttill a race. I spoke to
David last night and he pointed out that this was THE race within the race. The guys were
not sharing strategies but rather quite the opposite. They were all mum on what time they
were leaving this morning. So adding to the already high flow of emotions at this point of
the race these guys have introduced another element, the competitive dimension. I
suppose the writing was on the wall with the rivalry between Carl and Marnits playing a
cat and mouse game for most of the race. Well you could not have asked for a better
finale – a horrendous 14 km portage, some in-between stuff and a mad dash up and over
DuToitsKloof pass – we might even be in with a sprint finish Tour de France style.
Smart money would have gone with the experience of Mike and Glen but taking a
Tandem through Stettyns with Mikes gammy knee is a tall ask, so that rules them out.
Francios will stick with the tandem as before and Steve is in nomans land, he will have to
choose wisely or risk the chance of being isolated. With all the skulduggery and
deception that comes with outwitting your opponents in the final straight, I can only feel
for Steve last nigh. I'm sure he was to scared to sleep in fear that he would wakeup with
everybody already gone. I dont think Steve wants do do Stettyns on his own.
That leaves Carl, Marnits and Mark and I'm sure at least one them would of left a 2am
and had forty winks at the dam wall while waiting for sunrise but I am keen to find out
what other deceptive tactics were used.
I'll place a safe bet and put my money on Carl, last year he went up Stettyns using a rope
to cross some raging water where we turned back, so I have respect for his madness
(some call it determination) All is not lost for Marnits and Mark, if you wonder off or
loose the path you can waste a lot of time. Andrew Barns mentioned that we he tripped
Stettyns they lost the path and after an hour of bundu bashing they were lucky enough to
find it again. He then ran back along the path to see where they had lost it and it took him
a mere 7 min to get back to that point. Carl would have taken the more difficult route last
year because of the water and wont have the benefit of knowing the path. But either way I
still put my money on the guy with the big goons.
I wonder if similar rivalty between Estelle and Fiona will develop
What do you guys think?
Stettyns Watch...
Friday, 03 July 2009 - Written by Allen Sharp
The pack of Trevor, Ugene, Dave, have gone into the notorious Stettynskloof this
morning. Taking David’s sound advice they got to the dam wall at sunrise after sleeping
at Trouthaven last night. It may be a long slog but they should get to Diemersfontein late
afternoon/early evening. Hopefully the rain does not hamper their progress to much as the
Trevor, Ugene and Dave need to prepare for the canoeing leg of the Extreme Triathlon
tomorrow – with end in sight their spirits will be high.
Mike and Glenn struggled with the Tandem up “Die Leer” and will once again have their
work cut out over the treacherous Stettyns. This, and Mike’s sore knee could have
influenced their decision to stay in Montague last night. Francois is sticking with the
Tandem as he has done the entire race. These guys were joined by Marnits, Carl and
Steve Honey. They will easily reach Trouthaven where they can rest up. They are still on
track to get to Diemersfontein late on Saturday 4th. This is an emotional part of the race
and one usually arrives in Trouthaven with mixed emotions. You are glad that the end is
in sight, you are sad as you reflect on the race and realize that you will soon leave this
special experience behind and then there is still some fear as Stettyns looms!
Mark Mitchel got to Anysberg, What will he do at Stettyns? Go on his own or wait up for
Dough and Fiona? It looks like Mark prefers riding on his own and I don’t think that
Stettyns will scare him that much.
The prediction was spot on with this group, Fiona and Doug pushed on to Rouxpos while
Estelle, DerekHJ, Sean, Errol, Brett stayed in Gamkas Kloof. Fiona knows this section of
the trial and I’m sure when the other group gets to Rouxpos they might regret not pushing
through yesterday, especially after a bit of who slept with who on the double bed.
Stettyns ETA should still be on Sunday 5th and Monday 6th
Greg is sick and will stay in Prince Albert for the day to recover. Louis, Pierre can only
leave after 11am because of their time penalty and Siseko has opted to wait for Greg
while Johan repairs his bike.
Estie, AndreE, and Derick Baard did eventually double up and got to Willomore. I’m
almost certain they will double up again and head for Dennehoff in Prince Albert.
Apparently the vetkoek at Rondawel has lured riders from pushing on to Dennehoff,
Andrew Barnes was a victim and Fiona only just managed to escape the temptation – lets
see what happens to this group
Bruce and Erik slept at Dam se Drif SS and nobody can fault them for this move, once
you arrive here its difficult to leave. The ride from Cambria is quite testing and the
hospitality so inviting. I’m sure the lady at Dam se Drif will be ecstatic that somebody
has finally stayed over at her wonderful guest house.
Tim got to Toekomst Mike stayed in Grootvlakte and is showing signs of a Frustrated
Bicycle MechanicJ
Thanks to John Oliver from Canoeing South Africa (CSA) for publishing the Freedom
Challenge update in his weekly newsletter
Thursday night and all's almost well
Thursday, 02 July 2009 - Written by Administrator
The extreme triathletes arrived in Trouthaven at 9am having left Montagu at 5 am. They
are waiting for Francois and the tandem of Mike and Glenn who left Anysberg at around
the same time - and should arrive at about 2 am. A small cold front is passing over the
Cape which has dropped some rain on them in the past hour. The rain will continue
intermittently until the early morning, swelling the streams of Stettynskloof. The riders
have again been reminded that when they reach the rock scree they should head up far
right - hopefully they find the easy route through as hauling the tandem through the kloof
will be particularly difficult and the extreme triathletes start their 240 km paddle from
Paarl on Saturday morning.
Carl, Marnitz and Steve are at the Montagu Country Hotel, probably feeling flushed with
the joys or riding.
Mark is in Anysberg and Fiona and Doug are in Rouxpos.
Brett, Estelle, Errol and Derek have been joined in the Gamkaskloof by Sean who had a
late start from Prince Albert where he sat out a time penalty for taking a Klaarstroom
detour.
Pierre and Louis are at home in Prince Albert where they too will sit out the morning
serving a Klaarstroom time penalty, as will Siceko who probably will use the time to give
his knees are rest and engage the services of the King of Prince Albert Road, Johann
Rissik, in getting his bike back together. He will need to watch the time if he is to make
the 26 day cutoff. Gregg will probably also sit out tomorrow as he tries to get his body
back together after some serve stomach bug has left him completely drained and in the
doctor's surgery.
Eric, Esti, Andre, Bruce and Derrick should be settled in at Damsedrift.
Tim spent last night on the top of the Struishoek but then continued through to van de
Venterskraal where he arrived in the midafternoon. It is not yet confirmed whether he
slept there or pushed on towards Toekoms.
Mike Roy in the meantime is stuck in the Swaershoek getting frustrated with the fact that
he received his replacement bike parts but not the tools that he had requested.
Hedging your bets
Thursday, 02 July 2009 - Written by Allen Sharp
Although there are still many hours of riding left I think its an opportune time to start
looking at various ETA's in Diemersfontein.
The Lady's
The lady’s record is held by the legendary Hannele Steyn –Kotze in 2007 and stands at
19d09h03m. It does not look like the record is in any danger as Fiona has been riding for
17 days and Estelle for 18 days. They have covered 1701km at an average speed of
4.17km/h and 3.94km/h respectively. They both spent the night in Dennehof, Prince
Albert last night so they only have about 550km to go. It is possible for them to do this in
3 more days plus however long Stettyn's takes. They would have to get to Rouxpos
tonight, then Montague and finally Trouthaven. , ETA in Diemersfontein could be as
early as Sunday 5th.
Estie has been riding for 16days and has covered 1359km at an average speed of
3.54km/h. She currently has about 887km to go. Still a stiff ride ahead and we will get a
better idea of an ETA once we see if they double up over the next two days
The Men
The pack of Trevor, Ugene, Dave (19days), Francios and the tandem boys of Mike and
Glen (18 days) slept at Montague This group have covered 2015km No late breakaways
expected here as there appears to be a good dynamic in the group even though the
Tandem has been a bit like a yo-yo. ETA in about 36h making that a Friday 3rd in
Dimersfontein. The Tandem through could prove interesting through Stettyns... The
following sms from Mike gives one a sense of what the riders are experiencing:
Arr in Montagu. About 500km in the last 3days. Nature has been kind 2 us in the last 3
days. Long days. Yday was tough with Swartberg pass/ die Hel/ die leer, which is a near
vertical climb up a mntn with the bike. Lots of historical places we riding thru and c-ing
the most incredible fauna, flora and geological features! Feeling very fortunate 2 b able
2 experience this. Almost fit enough now 2 enter 4 a race...
Marnits, Carl with Steve Honey in tow made Rouxpos 1858km (where they make the
best late night waffles) Steve is there in 19 days while the other two have been going for
16 days at an average of 4.84km. With around 400km to go I estimate these guys to get to
Diemersfontein late on Saturday 4th.
Mark Mitchel got to Gamkas Kloof, Thats 1788km in 17days around 4.38km/h ETA
Sunday 5th
My guess is that the pack with Fiona and Estelle, that is DerekHJ, Sean, Errol, Brett and
Doug will splinter into smaller groups as different strategies for Stettyns surface. ETA in
Diemersfontein should be on Sunday 5th or Monday 6th
Greg, Louis, Pierre and Siseko made it to Willomore 1531 km, Siseko is there in 19 days
and the others in 17 days. This gives them just over 700km to go. Lets see what they do
tomorrow before estimating a finish date
AndreE, Eric, Derrick Baard and Bruce slept in Cambria and riding with Estie so see
analysis above
Mike and Tim have split, Mike has a broken bike and is spending the night at
Grootvlakte, just after De Doorns and TimvC was targeting VanderVenters about
1130km, thats nearly half of the 2300km
How does this compare to your predictions? the bookies are open for bets...
A "lady's" perspective
Written by Di Thomas - Tuesday, 30 June 2009
When I was asked to write a lady's perspective on this race, the first thought I had was
that I'm sure many do not consider us mountain biking chicks to be "ladies" in the
conventional sense of the word. Who can blame them, what with all the sidewaysblowing-of-snot, immodest squatting behind non-existent bushes, mud bespatted,
sweating bodies and foul language!
I am reminded of Carl Crouse's comment to me last year: "Ek sal nooit toelaat dat my
vrou so iets doen nie!" It was bad enough having to deal with the notion of a woman
along, but when she opened her mouth and all manner of choice expletives poured forth,
it was just too much: " Nee man, jy moenie so vloek nie!" he felt obliged to admonish. I
was undaunted: " Hang onto your helmet dude. Die vloekery het nie eers BEGIN nie!"
These $%^&%&% sore knees/ thornbushes/mountains/marshlands/torrential
downpours/freezing temperatures/ ^$££$ narratives are not going to get the *&^&* better
of me!!
He could only hope I was wrong and that my true feminine nature would kick in soon and
I'd see the folly of my ways and realize that this was a MAN'S terrain.
Thing is, though there's no denying that men have the advantage from a pure brute
strength perspective ( even Tim James who is tiny - we could probably wear the same
clothes - weighs 12kgs more than I do), we "ladies" have a different kind of muscle. It's a
tenacity born of eons of labor & childbirth, stoked by centuries of abuse and
marginalization in a MAN'S world. We may be built like gazelles, but we've got the
hearts of lions and what better way to give vent to our roaring spirits, than to take on such
an extreme challenge and emerge victorious DESPITE our comparative lack of physical
stature!
I reckon it's time for the full-scale launch of "Action Barbie". Let's teach our daughters
what they're really capable of and guys, why not cheer them on, instead of allowing the
old Male Ego to rear it's threatened head?
I won't mention names, but one of the R2R guys specifically asked his friend not to get
me in the same photo as him. OK, he was laughing & at least he had the good grace to
admit that he did not want his mates back home to know that a woman was able to keep
up with him, but there was more than a grain of truth in his joking.
My dear husband, Steve, reckons we're just in it to be around REAL MEN.
Yeah! Ken se moer! Give us the Fat Farmers, et al any day. Not to mention the uber
athletes who cry real tears on the phone to their wives when the going gets tough! What a
turn on!
Seriously, though, it's really not a battle of the sexes, but a personal journey for everyone
who undertakes it and just as most of the "Real Men"
also turn out to be real GENTLEmen, so too, are each of the ladies that has undertaken
this race so much more than the stereotype and I think you'll find they clean up pretty
well and that they can be feminine and sweet and alluring if they want to be. They just
don't always want to be.
God, it's liberating to chuck away the hair dryer, the make-up, the perfume & the entire
wardrobe and spend 3 weeks without a thought to your appearance, reveling in the sheer
simplicity of it all. Granted there's no time or energy to care about such things and no one
to see you anyway except the REAL MEN, who anyway have forgotten by this stage that
you are a woman!
Not surprising, the way you wolf back man-sized portions at every opportunity, not to
mention your matted hair; swollen, piggy eyes; chapped lips; craters where your boobs
used to be and the fact that you are beginning to exude a certain pungent aroma that will
not fade despite the most ardent clothes laundering - 'n ingebakte stink, I call it and the
only remedy is to pile on the outer layers in an effort & bury the pong.
There is no doubt that this journey is a huge undertaking and it is guaranteed to take even
the toughest of the tough way out of their comfort zone, but the rewards are indescribable
and the experience seems to bury deeply under the skin of all who have ventured there.
Most women would never consider taking on such an "adventure" and up until
2009 there has never been more than one lone female on the start line. This year has seen
that figure jump by a massive 200% and we now have 3 ladies en route to Cape Town:
Fiona Coward, Estelle Labuschagne & Esti Du Plessis and by all accounts they are doing
our sex proud and taking it all in stride.
YOU GO GIRLS!!
Veteran rider breaks Freedom Challenge record
Written by Lehana - Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Diemersfontein Wellington
Tuesday 30 June 2009
4…3…2…1…1 – the hours of sleep that veteran mountain biker Tim James of Team
Squirt riding Scott had over the last 5 nights of his record-breaking ride to the finish of
the 2009 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race across South Africa at
Diemersfontein Wine Estate outside Cape Town.
Having left Pietermaritzburg on 16 June 2009 with the last batch of riders to start, James
set the early pace in the race. On the first day of riding he pushed through the initial
support station at Mc Kenzie Country Club situated on the watershed between the
Umkomaas and Umzimkulu Rivers and arrived at the second support station in the
Ntsikeni Nature Reserve at midnight, having ridden 203 kms and climbed over 5000
metres. He arrived at the village of Rhodes 500 kms from the start in 3 days – an
achievement that was only made possible when he took on the 1000 metre climb up the
escarpment of the Maluti Drakensberg on the footpath of Lehana’s Pass at night.
This initial effort appeared to be taking its toll as James’ progress then slowed over the
next three days. By the end of the sixth day of riding the lead shifted to Andrew Barnes.
Barnes, who is 20 years younger than James, left Pietermaritzburg four days before him
and was riding about 400 kilometres ahead of him. For the next five days the initiative
lay with Barnes who appeared to be riding strongly and consistently. Maintaining a
punishing schedule of limited sleep James not only managed to hold to his own strategy
for breaking the race record but also to keep in touch with the pace of Barnes. However,
he admits that the effort was taking its toll. Approaching the town of Willowmore late at
night on the 11th day of the riding he was physically and mentally depleted and was
tormenting himself with thoughts of withdrawal. However, he was then buoyed by the
news that Barnes up ahead of him had been delayed in the Swartberg by a snowstorm and
he continued onwards.
Rather than stopping at Willowmore James’ began a really big push. He slept for two
hours at Rondawel in the Moordenaars Karoo. He then rode for 22 hours and 237 kms
through Prince Albert, up the Swartberg Pass, into the Gamkaskloof and took on the
portage up Ladder. He arrive at Rouxpos on the slopes of the Swartberg after midnight.
After sleeping at Rouxpos for 2 hours, James continued on to the Anysberg Nature
Reserve, where he catnapped for an hour, before riding across the Little Karoo to
Montagu. He crossed the Breede River to reach Macgregor in the early evening and then
took on the Coenieskraal climb to arrive at the Oestervanger Guest House in the
Agterkliphoogte Valley well after midnight. After sleeping for an hour he then rode past
the Brandvlei Dam and up alongside the Holsloot River before taking on the 8 km
portage up the Stettynskloof in the Du Toits Kloof mountains and continued through to
the finish at Diemersfontein.
James arrived at the finish at Deimersfontein on 9.45 pm on Monday night. His total
riding time for the 2350 kms from Pietermaritzburg was 13 days 15 hours and 45
minutes. He broke the previous race record by 21 hours.
Talking at the finish, where he received the Basutho blanket given to all Freedom
Challenge finishers, James spoke of the incredible effort that had been required and how
punishing it had been. However, apart from saddle sores the only other ailment of which
he spoke was a burnt tongue – the result of hurriedly drinking hot soup as he rushed
through support stations.
Having completed the event for the third year in a row, James indicated that he had found
this year’s ride particularly taxing. Whilst his record raises the bar he pointed out that it
serves also to show others what is possible. However, even if others are able to better
his time it remains to be seen whether any rider will be able to match his finishing places
in successive years of 2, 1 and 1.
With James having claimed first place and Barnes confirmed in second, attention now
turns to the race for third place where Freedom Challenge veteran Francois Riekert has
been riding with the tandem of Mike Woolnough and Glenn Harrison of Snapper Display.
Whilst the tandem have been battling with bike problems and injuries they have also had
to try to fend off the chase of Marnitz Nienaber of the North West. Nienaber, in turn, is
doing his best to not only secure third place but, in the process, beat his North West
riding partner, mielie farmer Carl Crous. By Monday night the Riekert and the tandem
had arrived in Prince Albert, Nienaber, who started in Pietermaritzburg 2 days later, had
arrived in Willowmore. Crous, in the meantime, appears to be putting in an incredible
charge – on Sunday he rode from the support station at Toekomst on the banks of the
Darlington Dam, through Bucklands above the Groot Rivier Poort and down the
Osseberg jeep track into Cambria. On Monday he left Cambria, rode up the length
Baviaanskloof and, arriving at Willowmore well after midnight, found Nienaber sleeping.
Whilst the two will ride together into Tuesday it remains to be seen how far this will
continue.
For more information about the 2009 Freedom Challenge visit
www.freedomchallenge.org.za.
The progress of the riders can be tracked live on the website with Netstar’s Guardian.
Hunting in packs
Written by Allen Sharp Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Tim broke the record (again!) He came in late last night, 21h45. We will confirm the new
record time and hopefully have a chat to Tim a little later this morning.
Marnits is our last solo effort out on the trail, he slept at Willomore last night and will
make the 170km trek to Prince Albert, who knows he might even head into Gamkas
Kloof . Steve Honey who had overcome the previous days mechanical problems, hooked
up with Marnits in an effort to catch his original pack. This will provide Marnits with
some welcome company on this long flat stretch.
The first pack of 5 bikes will head down to Gamkas Kloof into “Die Hel” this morning.
It’s a very deceptive section as you climb and climb and climb for 11km up the
Swartberg Pass, some of the most beautiful mountain scenery that the Karoo has to offer,
if you ride it when it is light. At the turnoff to Gamkas Kloof one gets a false sense that
you’re done with the climbing for the day but… after the initial awesome downs and
undulating gravel road you are again faced with some serious climbs, all rideable but
with the heavy back packs there will be a fair amount of pushing .
The next pack, a huge pack of 11, will head off to Dam se Drift and more than likely up
to Willomore. I’m not sure how they all fitted into the Cambria guest house as it is quite
small. A group left at 5h40 this morning and the rest left at 7h10 and the plan to push on
to Willomore has been confirmed
MarkM, Carl broke away and got to DamseDrift (unconfirmed as we did not get the sms)
The ride from Cambria to Willomore is about 170km, although it sounds quite excessive
it is not. Firstly this section, although starting off with some stiff climbing, opens up
nicely and riders are able to get into a rhythm where the km tick away quite quickly.
Lunch at DamseDrift is always good and there is the temptation to go no futher for the
day. However, this section and the next 170km from Willomore to Prince Albert, you get
the long awaited feeling that you are actually in a cycling race. There is by far more
cycling and pushing is at your leisure and your choice. Secondly, the riders are quite fit at
this stage and also use to being out on the road for hours. I’m sure not that many of riders
would have strung together 15 consecutive days of training, especially of 12 hours plus a
day. And thirdly most riders would have lost at least 5 to 6 kg’s by now, and turfed
excessive weight in the backpack. So in all they may be a bit tired but they are lean, mean
and cycling fit at this point of the race – just what you need when you hit back to back
170km stretches in the Karoo.
Andre and Estie, only a two man pack left VanderVenterskraal early yesterday and made
their way to Toekomst and were later joined by Eric, and Derrick
News is that Derrick is on the move again after breaking his rear derailleur hanger. He is
the lone ranger out on the trail and slept at VanderVenterskraal
Our last pack would have had an interesting night last night if they made their way to
Elandsberg in the dark. However sanity prevailed and at SMS roll call last night they
were in Hofmeyer.
Monday roundup
Monday, 29 June 2009 Written by Allen Sharp
Andrew finished in 14days 12hrs 05min at and average speed of 6.44km/h. No rest for
the wicked as Andrew needs to hone his paddling skils for the Two Day Berg on
Saturday
Tim is heading into Stettyns and is about to finish in a new record.
Marnits after 13 days is in Cambria 1359km and is cruising along at 4.36km/h
Willomore 1531km
Dave, Trevor and Ugene, have completed 16days Mike,Glen and Francois 15 days. Steve
has dropped off the bunch with bike problems and stayed a farm short of
Willomore.These guys should easily push through to Prince Albert next, its about 170km
but easy riding unless there is a headwind.
In Bucklands 1279km - obviously the place to be with 13 riders
DereckHJ, Sean, Errol, Estelle and Brett on 15 days. Fiona, Doug and MarkM on 14days
while Carl is here in 13 days. Siseko arrive here in 16 dayd
Pierre, Louis and Greg pushed hard yesterday and arrived here after 14days
Van der Venterskraal 1130km
AndreE and Estie are here in 13 days
In De Doorns 1052km
Eric, Derrick in 13 days and Bruce in 14days . News is that Derrick has broken his rear
derailleur hanger and will wait here until he can get one from PE
Romansfontein 901km
Mike and TimVC are here in 13 days
DNF
Gavin, Grevile, MarkF, Shane, Gawie, AndyM and AndreB
First rider finishes 2009 Freedom Challenge
Written by Lehana Sunday, 28 June 2009
Diemersfontein, Wellington
In the fading light of Saturday Andrew Barnes of Pietermaritzburg crested the Du Toits
Kloof Pass and started the last 10 km descent down through the Hawekwas forest to the
finish of the 2009 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race from
Pietermaritzburg to Diemersfontein Wine Estate outside Paarl.
By the time Barnes reached the finish darkness had set in. However, the mood amongst
family and friends who were there to meet him was one of levity. He had completed the
2300 km cycle race in 14 days and 13 hours. Although he had narrowly missed the record
set in 2008 his ride was quite remarkable. 10 days into the ride and emerging from the
Baviaanskloof he was two days ahead of the 2008 record pace. However, the next day as
he rode alongside the Droeberge from Willowmore towards Prince Albert he was slowed
by gale force headwinds and two days later as he climbed from the Gamkaskloof into the
foothills of the Swartberg he was forced to stop riding by a snowstorm. Despite a hard
240 kms of riding the following day that took him through the Anysberg Nature Reserve
and on through Montagu and MacGregor to the Agterkliphoogte Valley he was not able
to recover the lost time. Nevertheless, arriving at Diemersfontein where he received the
Basutho blanket given to every Freedom Challenge finisher he said of his ride "It was
great. My preparation paid off. Until I hit the bad weather I rode to plan. I really enjoyed
the riding and I also really enjoyed the people that I met along the route. This race is
gold".
With Barnes now settled in at Diemersfontein all eyes now turn to 2008 record holder
Tim James of Team Squirt riding Scott. James, who started from Pietermaritzburg four
days after Barnes, set the early pace and led the race until a difficult day in the Stormberg
saw him lose the initiative to Barnes. When James left Willowmore on Thursday
afternoon Barnes still held an effective 7 hour lead over him. After stopping for the night
at Rondawel, on Friday, the day that Barnes was finishing in Diemersfontein, James rode
through Prince Albert, climbed the Swartberg Pass and descended into the Gamkaskloof.
In the early evening he then took on the climb up the Ladder and rode through Vleiland
to Rouxpos where, after 237 kms and 20 hours of continuous riding, he finally slept. In
the process he moved a day ahead of Barnes. It must now be seen whether James is able
to match Barnes's pace from Rouxpos through to the finish at Diemersfontein. If so he
will not only win the 2009 Freedom Challenge but will better his 2008 record by at least
a day. However, James will be mindful of the fact that it was at this late stage of the
2008 race that he experienced technical difficulties that slowed his further progress.
Further back on the South Africa's Freedom Trail Marnitz Nienaber from the North West
remains settled into third place. Nienaber, who is currently headed for the Baviaanskloof,
has been keeping race followers entertained with his tales of daily hardship and
splendour. Riders have experienced extreme cold, driving rain and knee deep snow but,
as rider Esti du Plessis said, "Every day has brought something incredible". On Thursday
night, riding towards Toekomst and the Darlington Dam section of the Addo Elephant
National Park, Ugene Nel, who is riding with fellow Freedom Challenge Extreme
Triathletes, Trevor Ball and Australian Dave Barr, was charged by a bush pig.
With the worst of the current spate of bad weather now passed, riders in the 2009
Freedom Challenge can now look forward to a few days of good riding.
For more information about the 2009 Freedom Challenge visit
www.freedomchallenge.org.za.
The progress of the riders can be tracked live on the website with Netstar’s Guardian.
End moves
Friday, 26 June 2009 - Written by Lehana
Friday afternoon and the race to the finish is gathering speed.
Andrew appears to be setting himself up for another big day. Before dawn he returned to
the Seweweekspoort to ride the section over Horlosiekranz and past Vleiland to
Rouxpos. He then made good time through Wagendrift and Spreeufontein to Ansyberg it would seem that the rain has hardened much of the soft sand making for quicker
riding. By late afternoon he was through Montagu and headed to MacGregor. He can
now push through to Kasra, get a few hours sleep and then continue throughTrouthaven
to finish tomorrow.
Tim, in the meantime, got through Willowmore at lunch time and seems now headed for
Prince Albert where he should arrive at about 10pm. With that he will effectively regain
the lead that he lost at Romansfontein as Andrew, ended day 11 at Rondawel. Tim will
also be mindful of the fact that Andrew had a very short day on day 13 stopping at
Seweweekspoort. He is thus well placed to set himself up for the finish - possibly
looking to ride tomorrow from Prince Albert through to Anysberg, sleep there and get
through to Trouthaven to take on the Stettynskloof. He should then finish a day faster
than Andrew.
All things considered a thrilling finish to a 2300 km race.
13 Days down and we take a look at the finish
Thursday, 25 June 2009 - Written by Steven Burnett
Since the race for first is really hotting up, I’ll do my best to try and see what’s possible
for our two frontrunners in the upcoming days.
Andrew will be following a final plan of sorts for sure, he’s in the Western Cape for
starters. Between him and a hidden but extremely important dam wall lies 400km of
mostly moderate terrain, but he’ll be looking into the west and oncoming weather of
varying difficulty.
Looking back from Prince Albert(SS19) it’s a big ride up the Swartberg Pass and then
down into Die Hel/Gamkaskloof(SS20,87km). Up Die Leer and it’s a stroll of sorts to the
Vintage farmstead at Rouxpos(SS20, 70km). Some soft sand will slow your way to
Anysberg Nature Reserve(SS22, 80km). Through the plains and dropping down to
Montagu(SS23, 77km) where there is some actual traffic. Chop through the
Cogmanskloof and come round the back of MacGregor(SS24, 58km) before jumping
over the ridge to the elegant retreat of Kasra(SS25, 25km). The last big ride is past
Brandvlei to Trouthaven(SS26,84km). Ending it off with a big portage(read bundu bash)
and popping out near the Hugenout tunnel one scales the Du Toitskloof pass before
Diemersfontein(Finish, 66km).
The final stage of the Freedom Challenge is in many ways its toughest. It goes through an
‘out the way’ valley that has really been put on the map by the race. The Holsloot river
runs past Rawsonville and not much further flows into the Breede. The riders are looking
for the source of this river as they follow it uphill into this valley called Stettynskloof
(regarded as a swear word by many past participants). The final Support Station
Trouthaven(SS26) is up this valley
There is a time gate at the Stettynskloof damwall, and riders may only pass it between
10pm and 8am. It is a contentious issue, but is there mainly to prevent people from
getting stuck in the kloof overnight. Many a racesnake has eyed this 8am cut-off from as
far afield as Gamkaskloof as the rest of the trail can and has been done in darkness. We
start looking at time in terms of hours and not days, as sleep becomes a non-essential
luxury.
Andrew will have as his first goal a finish on Saturday 27 June, and will see 8am as his
target. Any earlier and he could sleep at Trouthaven or get going up the kloof.
He has roughly 36 hours of riding time from Gamkaskloof(SS20) to the dam wall, and
about 50hours in which to do it. That’s probably going to have some 2/3 hour catnaps on
the way. Forget about even drying your clothes. This is easier said than done, and is
similar to his massive day in the Baviaanskloof, but then carrying on further.
His second goal will surely be to beat Tim James’ 2008 record of 14 days, 12 hours and
15 minutes. The cut-off for that is looming 6:15pm, on Saturday. However, one would
have to probably get to the dam wall by 5am to have a crack at this target.
However he’ll know only too well that another potential challenge follows about 3 days
behind him, and his tired body will have to get to the finish as soon as possible to secure
overall victory in the 2009 Race. That will be his third goal, the one he can’t fully control
(short of laying thumbtacks along the route!).
Tim James has the luxury of knowing what he has to beat. However he can’t sit back and
wait for the news, as he has to keep a pace up anyway. He has very kindly stopped in at
Doringrivier last night, which puts him on the same timeline as Andrew who was there
three days ago. He will most definitely not go all the way through to Willowmore, but
should be able to catch up to Andrew’s time on the next day. In a one on one race, Tim
probably has the edge right now, but there is still a lot of terrain still to go. The weather
factor is huge as well, and will definitely play a part in this piece.
Tim had stated a 12 day finish as a goal. That would be coming in on Sunday. Once
again, that’s roughly 65hours of riding in 72 hours. With the weather being what it is,
we’ve probably seen that plan fall away. A Monday finish would still see the current
record dropping by a full day. A Tuesday finish and we could have a photofinish with the
three day lag (assuming Andrew gets in on Saturday).
All I can really say, is watch this space!
The story of the day
Written by Allen Sharp
- Wednesday, 24 June 2009
The story of the day must belong to Derrick Baard. Remember yesterday we reported that
Derrick had broken his bike’s rear derailleur and had to watch as Carl disappeared into
the distance, well Derrick did not leave it at that. With his mind made up that single
speed to CapeTown was highly over rated, Derrick pulled into Slaapkraans with a plan.
He ditched his gear, arranged a lift up to Bloemfontein and bought a new bike, serious he
bought a new bike!! He then rushed back down to Slaapkraans and left the support station
just after 12h00. He was immediately challenged by the tricky Lautebraun and Bontehoek
portages and that in “not the greatest” weather conditions. He arrived at The Rossouw
police station after 22h00 last night still in good spirit Well Done Derrick!! Details of his
trip to Bloem and the bike he bought are sketchy but we look forward to his version of
the story. David was immensely impressed with Derrick’s resolve to stay in the race – I
just hope this does not inspire David to extend the Route to include a Slaapkraans-BloemSlaapkrans portage leg for next years race Well it seems that Barnesy has decided to hold
up at Rondavel rather than push through against the wind and rain to Prince Albert. After
yesterdays 250km odd push into Willomore he could do with a rest. Depending on the
weather Tim could use this to claw his way back into the theoretical lead. He has the
added advantage of sleeping between stations and this would allow him a few extra riding
hours per day. You wouldn't catch me straying too far from a support station especially in
this weather (from Steve Thomas) The last two days saw a number of riders withdrawing
from the race for various reasons but at one stage yesterday David was inundated with
SMS’s and messages that it felt like they were “falling like flies” in his words. The
toughness of Freedom Challenge was certainly raised a few notches with the adverse
weather conditions. As a result this years race will almost certainly go down as the
toughest in the races history. The race is also on course to be remembered for the
amazing duel between Andrew and Tim. David pointed out that it was so close that both
riders on their 6th day departed Brosterlea at 9h15. Amazing considering that they are 4
days apart and have yet to sleep at the same spot. David has been doing his usual by
appearing to be at every support station at the same time. I think that I have finally
figured it out; there must two or more David Waddilove’s. Seriously I’m not sure how he
gets around like he does, nearly every rider I have spoken to has just had a chat or seen
David. A departing comment on the weather also come from David, he say the riders are
arriving at the support station looks like the soldiers coming home from the war in the
Ingram's Camphor Cream advert, through the wind snow and rain with sore knees
elbows...
Day 11 and the breakaway chase is on
Written by Steven Burnett - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
There’s a lot to look at as once again we had some appalling weather putting the entire
field under strain. Having a look at a satellite image on the weather site, one couldn’t see
most of the country as it was just white. I thought I was looking at clouds, but it could
have been snow.
There was a little gap, and I think Andrew Barnes might have found that break in the
clouds. Not knowing what weather will hit on what part of the route, it’s a game of dice
deciding if an early or a late start batch will be quicker. For now it looks like Andrew has
thrown the double six as he has dropped off the high ground and the most of the field is
still sitting in a storm.
It is definitely easier being in a later start batch for the race snakes. You catch up to
people and any teething issues with Support Stations are ironed out by the time you get
there. The advantage to an early start are maybe getting a better weather window (and
getting first crack at raiding boxes of retired riders). However as I write this in Cape
Town, it’s howling outside and the rain is coming in sideways. That front will hit Andrew
first and he might not be so lucky with the next round of dice.
He had a monumentally huge ride yesterday. Doornrivier to Willowmore(SS18). 217km,
but here’s the kicker. Probably about 7000m of cumulative altitude gain, all with a loaded
pack! He got into Willowmore by 11pm, but must have been shattered. Today’s route has
the longest single stage, the relatively flat 167km to Prince Albert(SS19) which
comparatively has only 1038m of climbing. He should get there in daylight, but it sits at
the bottom of the Swartberg Pass, which is the final of our four Hors Categorie climbs on
the route. Another option would be to rest in, and leave at about midnight.
Tim has indeed finally got passed all the Batch A riders and is second on the road.
Between him and Andrew is about 450km, but he has a three day time cushion. It’s going
to be fun watching these two trading punches from across the country, and expect plenty
of wild speculation on the possible scenarios as they develop.
The real interesting thing is that they have been absolutely avoiding each other. Sounds
bizarre, but Andrew has been on the road for 10 nights and Tim for 7. They have slept at
17 different venues, as they have stayed half a day out of sync the entire way. Tim is still
about 120km ahead of where he was a year previously, and could be making some big
moves soon. He’ll be going from Stuttgart(SS11) to De Doorns(SS12, 48km) down the
Struishoek descent and probably past Van der Venterskraal (SS13, 78km) to get to
Toekomst(SS14, 49km). That move would put him level with Andrew at that time(SS14
in 8 days). It’s a game of leapfrog they play, with the starting gap factored in, and almost
like asking “who’s winning” on day 2 of a cricket test. Someone will probably be ahead,
but there’s still a lot of overs, new balls and bad light coming up to change things.
Coming up in a few days is the Osseberg Jeep track which I labeled a ‘loose dark zone’,
and it complicates the trip to Cambria(SS16) and the Baviaanskloof Reserve. Andrew
pulled up 3 hours short at Doringrivier (Alternate Station), and Tim could gain on this
section if he times it right.
The now reticulated Batch A and Tandem bus will have Elandsberg to De Doorns in
mind, but the brave might even push for a dark trip down struishoek to reach Van der
Venterskraal. Once again we look at the Osseberg dark zone, where a small gain here can
result in a much larger gain later if you can get past the dark zone whilst other riders wait
for the light.
Marnitz Nienaber is still sitting pretty in 3rd place by getting to Brosterlea(Alternate
Station), and will probably be aiming to clear Romansfontein(SS9, 73km) and get over
the Aasvoelsberg and down to Hofmeyr(Alternate station, 94km).
We’ve got a big bunch further back, and will bring some more new names into play soon.
These are the guys ‘playing’ in the snow, and they will have some stories.
Battles for the lead and survival
Written by Steve Thomas - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
From my cosy office in a cold and wet Cape Town
The battle for the lead sees Andrew Barnes ahead as he battles into driving headwinds across the sandy flat
corrugated karoo backroads towards Prince Albert.His tyres are shot and he is hoping to pick up some new
29ers there.
The bulk of the storm is yet to reach him and rivers and streams which lie across his route over the next 2
days might start flooding causing delays and detours.Tim ,I would think ,should be near Toekomst or
beyond hoping to get close to the Osseberg jeep track by tomorrow and then a clear run through the
Baviaans and like all the rest, the weather is upon him.Cold and strong winds with intermittant rain.
Bruce and Gregg (of group C),wisely stopped short at Moordenaarspoort last night and are headed for 'the
railway line' before Brosterlea with Doug and Fiona 2hrs ahead of them.Hopefully they have also booked a
bed there for tonight.
Gawie,Louis and Pierre have probably formed a commando with Carl Crous as their leader and are riding
strong through the Stormberg towards Stefanie and her daughters at Romansfontein where they will be
pampered with incredible food ,washing,warmth and a cosy sleep. Carl is the one rider who actually revels
in this weather.Last year he roped himself and his bike through freezing rivers up Stettyns and the Eastern
Cape will have to find far worse weather to hold him back. Derrick, who was riding with Carl, dropped off
the chase with a broken derailleur and is most likely single speeding until he can make a plan to fix it.
Trevor, Steve, Eugene and Aussie Dave should be headed for De Doorns.
Francois looks to be making a move also for De Doorns and is now ahead of the tandem of Mike and
Forest(Glenn) who have set their sights on Stuttgart They are nursing some nagging knee injuries and need
to take it easy til they come back.
We have had 5 retirees, Grevile(Banchory), MarkF(Rhodes), AndreB (Vaalbank), Shane(Vaalbank) and
AndyM(Rhodes) so far with a few others on the brink and there is no judgment from me in my cosy office.
They have battled bravely 'til the last and I hope they are all planning to line up again at the start sometime
in the future.Glenn and Bruce have both been there before and are back out in the trenches as we sip back
our expressos.
Good bye and good luck
Day 10 and the battle gets dirty
Monday, 22 June 2009 - Written by Steven Burnett
Day 10 has dawned and the field is now really spread out. We have tortoise riders
approaching Vuvu(SS5) and our hare is over a 1000km away in the Baviannskloof. In
between a lot of batches have developed. The one thing that does seem to unite them is a
dose of bad weather. Terrible weather, and it puts some big variables into riding time and
conditions.
Still way out in front for his 8th day alone we have Andrew Barnes now turning due west
in the splendid Baviaanskloof. He'll have a strategy in place, but will be looking at backup plans as the weather changes everything. Certain sections take you longer and you
have to spend more time looking after your bike at every available stop.
My crystal ball did not get the weather report and Andrew did not push on as far as I
thought he might. On Saturday (Day 8) he actually got to Toekomst(SS14) in the daylight
and stayed there for a day of 122km with (only) about 10 hours of riding. There is a loose
‘dark zone' at the start of the Baviaanskloof, which means you will not want to do it at
night. This kept him out of the Baviaanskloof till this morning. He has however
commited to a massive day to get back on track. From Doornrivier (Alternate station),
down and back up the Grootrivier valley, down the Osseberg jeep track to the Grootrivier
again and crossing the Grootrivier 11 times to Cambria(SS16, 50km). Then he's going to
do the first 163km of the Transbaviaans MTB race (backwards) to end up in Willowmore
(SS18). If he still harbours record breaking ambitions, then this is the type of riding he'll
have to do, with only cat naps all the way to Diemersfontein. Alternatively he'll stop
89km shorter at Dam se Drif(SS17).
Romansfontein (SS9, one of my favourite stops on the trail) was a hotel last night. Tim
James, the Batch A bus (Trevor, Uge, Dave and Steve) were joined later by the tandem
bus (Mike, Glenn and Francois). On top of that, Ride to Rhodes guardian Steve Thomas
had R2R riders Di and Deon with him too on their way back to Cape Town. Today could
be the day Tim breaks clear and becomes second rider on the road as he aims to head to
Elandsberg (SS10, 129km) and push on the ‘easy' 68kms to Stuttgart(SS11). He'll most
likely ride the rest of the route alone.
The Batch A bus will most likely take the more sensible ‘tourist' option and bed down at
Elandsberg. From a highpoint of 2100m the route drops off the Bamboesberge and ends
at 1250m. This is fast going and the bunch could get some big average speeds if they
work together (and the weather plays ball). They should be joined by the tandem bus,
who have picked up a time penalty for going off the route at the Stormberg in the
deteriorating conditions and will start later. The final approach to Elandsberg is a bit
tricky as it's a flat 6km trek through some old wagontrail where one can get easily lost at
night. Mike might think better of it and rein in the beast at Hofmeyr (Alternate station,
95km).
Our big charger near the middle of the field is Batch D's Marnitz Nienaber. He's been
jumping bunches ever since Day 1 and finds himself clear of those three portages heading
for Alternate station Brosterlea. He's riding with Brett Rheeders(Batch B) and Mark
Mitchell(Batch C). We'll have a look tomorrow at what further damage he can do.
A bad days cycling?
Monday, 22 June 2009 - Written by Allen Sharp
Now just what does all this cold and wet weather mean to our riders?
I was commenting to someone about how lucky the riders have been with the weather.
They were fortunate with nice dry start with only early threat of snow that did not
materialize. I put the good progress the guys were making down to the good weather they
were having.
Then yesterday their fortunes changed, a horrible cold front blew in bring icy conditions,
strong winds and lots of rain. Checking the forecast for the week is even more
depressing. A high of between 1 and 3 degrees for Molteno area on Wednesday…
Now what does this cold and wet weather mean to our riders?
Firstly No matter how prepare you are you will still get soaked through. The 100%
waterproof myth is dispelled within a few hours of riding and one conjures up all sorts of
thoughts about getting even with the clothing apparel manufacturers. There is regret of
not packing more warm gear during the great tradeoff debate about gear/weight each
riders goes through when packing their rucksack
Navigation becomes a bigger challenge than it already is, except for Andrew and Tim
who have it all committed to memory. Not only do maps and narratives get wet and
soggy but landmarks disappear… “making sure the mast on the hill is on your left”,
becomes meaningless… is there is a mast? Is there is a hill? – You see nothing when
there is mist and rain!!
Bicycles take punishment as the mud simply clogs everything and the mud becomes a
grinding paste that can wear a set of disc pads out before the next support station.
Portages are the worst as the mud cakes on the bike and now the 10kg carbon bling bling
bike weighs 22kg and becomes impossible to lift over a gate… curse those farmers who
lock gates! Getting the bike clean and ready for the next morning becomes a laborious
task that is done in the cold and wet while the warm fire of the support station lures.
Your progress slows right down and a yo-yo of pushing and riding becomes the order of
the day. On the plus side you now walk and push through puddles and streams without
the usual effort and deftness of keeping your shoes dry. For those crossing the river 12
times on the way up to Cambria this is a great time saver.
Strategies of pushing on and making up time rapidly change to become a strategy of
getting warm and dry, eating, washing and drying clothes and cleaning your bike – not
necessarily in that order. Cape Town in x number of days is no longer a concern.
The support stations are geared to take care of your needs, some better than others.
Guaranteed each will get you started on an endless supply of hot soup and bread. One
becomes a soup connoisseur extraordinaire on completion of RASA. In most cases your
wet clothes disappear only to arrive before sunrise(sic) the next morning all crisp and
clean. Even if they are going to get wet again there is no better feeling of putting on dry
clothes to start with. Shoes are the worst and to get them dry near impossible, one really
needs to get them close to the fireplace or stove as possible at a big risk of getting them
burnt. If only now they can make SealSkin socks that are also fire proof!
For a brief second there I was enjoying the dry, warm comfort of my office but hey I
would give anything to be out there on the trail – like the old and overused adage …a bad
days cycling is still better than a good day at the office!!
To sympathize with your rider, check out the weather on the following sites and then LIE
when the sms you for an update – what you don’t know you cant worry about
Rhodes – hyperlink to http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Eastern_Cape/Rhodes/
Rossouw – hyperlink to http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Eastern_Cape/Rossouw/
Molteno - http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Eastern_Cape/Molteno/
Other places – Hofmeyr, Cradock, Pearston, Steytlerville, Cambria, Willowmore, Prince Albert,
Montagu, Rawsonville, Paarl
Musings of the Batch A Chaperone
Monday, 22 June 2009 - Written by Ben de Lange
The name Chaperone sounds more elegant than the job really is. Although there is no job
description, I think most of us play it by ear. Officially we transport the Ride-to-Rhodes
(R2R) participants’ overnight bags from one overnight stop to the next. And meet them at
designated lunch stops. I elected to also explore the route from a different perspective; to
meet riders at some unusual spots - like Black Fountain or on top of the Gxalengene
climb leading to the north entrance to Ntsikeni Lodge. Officially the Race across SA
(RaSA) riders should be unsupported, yet some of the RaSA riders new to the trail do
appreciate assistance. Sitting back in Midrand, one realizes that the Freedom Challenge
has an unbelievable allure to it. What draws people back to it year after year? It must be a
combination of the area, the physical endurance, the simplicity, the desolation, the fight
for survival, the people, the Coke stops, and the crisp morning air? Who knows? What
one realizes as the chaperone is the remoteness of the area that the trail follows to
Rhodes. Getting from A to B by vehicle often takes longer than the short route that the
cyclists follow. This means sometimes arriving at the overnight stops after the cyclists
arrive. It was a minor irritation when it happened during my cycle last year – this year I
was thankful for the understanding of the three R2R participants in my batch. Then there
was the group of navigator, motivator, commentator and observer: the Xtri/RaSA group
of Ugene, Trevor, Steve and Mark – loud, cheerful, friendly, energetic. The harder the
day had been, the happier Trevor would be. Steve slashed tyres until he learnt how to ride
a bike, got more spares and will now most probably have no punctures all the way to CT.
It works that way. Andrew & Dave were part of Batch A up to Minerva, wherafter they
formed Batch A+ - not to be seen again until Dave rejoined Batch A at Malekgalonyane.
Some say he needs a navigator, mechanic and a translator so lets see how long the
alliance with Trevor & Co lasts. Working behind the scenes, one becomes somewhat
familiar with the nature of the organization. One realises the miracle of this trail existing
& being raced once a year. David Waddilove’s efforts are seen and experienced
everywhere. His dedication and enthusiasm for the trail and its people is difficult to keep
up with. What I most admired is David’s involvement with everybody on and along the
trail. He has a tab on the front-runners and the back markers. He is concerned (when
necessary) with those stuck on the mountain or temporarily lost in action. He visits
overnight stops, sees every batch off, and meets every incoming R2R batch at Rhodes.
He listens to (and is interested) in every story and opinion. Gives his hearty laugh when a
comment is possibly hurtful. He knows that the same hurtful comment will later be
brought into perspective and forgotten. Although riders may at time curse him, his reason
for some odd route choices is to give the rider the most complete exposure and
experience of the trail through areas that he deeply loves. (Like the valley floor route
leading into Vuvu!) Who do people phone when they are lost or when they feel aggrieved
in even a minor way? It is great that people such as Allen and Theresa are taking pressure
off David, but in the long term the trail will need more resources. If David were to
disappear, would the FC continue? I fear, at this stage, not. I was ably assisted by
Asanda, a trail guide and organizer from the Molteno area. A wonderful, intelligent &
energetic person – typical of the FC trail people. No job ever too humble or too hard. I
had a whale of a time.
Progress update
Written by Allen Sharp Sunday, 21 June 2009
See the rider progres as at Sunday 21 06h00
Leaders
Tim arrived in Brosterlea late last night and that about 720km into the race that for him is
now 5 days old. He is progressing at speed of 6km/h since leaving Pietermaritzburg.
Andrew who is now on day 8 has covered 1179 and has slept at Toekomst last night. He
is moving at 6.1 km/h. Both of them have had fairly easy days and have reported that
they are feeling good. You just get the feeling that both Tim and Andrew are getting
ready for another huge effort in an attempt to shatter the current record.
Batch A that left 8 days ago
Dave, Ugene, Trevor and Steve Honey are in Brosterlea (720km) with Tim and are
travelling along at 3.75km/h. There is a good team dynamic and they appear to be having
lots of fun. It will be interesting to see where they are heading as Romansfontein is only
80km away but Elandsberg with its tricky navigation is a futher129km from
Romansfontein. Siseko is at Vaalbank. Gavin was in Rhodes 466km travelling at
2.43km/h
Mark Fussel withdrew yesterday having reached Chesney Wold. His feet took an
enormous amount of strain from the first day when his cleats broke through the sole of
the shoe. He did get a new pair of shoes in Rhodes but the bruising has proved too much.
Batch B that left 7 days ago
Mike/Glenn and Francios made it to Vaalbank last night, that 673km at a speed of 4km/h
(that includes sleeping time of course)
Andre, Derek, Sean, Shane, Errol, Estelle, Brett stayed Slaapkrans 574km into the race
3.4kn/h. They face the daunting task of getting over the Lautebraun and Bontehoek
portages this morning in an area that is extremely cold in the mornings
Batch C that left 6 days ago
Bruce, Douglas, Fiona, Gawie, Gregg, Louis and Pierre all opted to stay in Rhodes to
watch the rugby. They have travelled 466km at a speed of 3.24km. MarkM pushed
through to Chesny Wold, now renowned for its extra warm hospitality and extra good
food – good move MarkM!
Batch D that left 5 days ago
Marnits has pushed way ahead of the group to Chesny Wold, 533km at an average speed
of 4.43km/h. Thats the 3rdfastest at the moment.
AndreE, ErikE, Estie, Carl and Derrick made short work of the trechorous Tina river
portage and arrive in Vuvu by 16h30 yesterday thats 416km at 3.47km/h
Mike Roy, Tim vC and AndyM should be in Malakholonyane by now and are bringing
up the rear at 344km at 2.87km/h
Day 8 rolls into view
Written by Administrator Saturday, 20 June 2009
Despite the slight hiccup in Molteno, Andrew Barnes continues his solo charge across the
country with a fair measure of intent. He's managed to cover great distances without
getting greedy and riding on into the dark. He rolled into De Doorns in the early evening
and might have the luxury of his last long sleep. He'll tackle the insane Struishoek
descent (carrying your bike down a hiking trail for 4kms not one my top 10 favourite
things to do!) and then the road really does open up. Brunch at van de Venterskraal
(SS13, 78km), tea at Toekomst (SS14, 48km) and once dinner at an acceptable time at
Perdepoort (Alternate Station, 54km). He could push on the extra 46km to Bucklands
(SS15), and if he does then it's a possible giveaway of his finishing strategy.
Still half a day ahead on the leaderboard, Tim James took things a bit easier and stopped
short at Slaapkranz (SS7). He's a wily fox, and took the rest option over stumbling around
the Loutebron and Bonthoek portages in the dark (and cold). Welcome to the Freedom
Challenge where a 109km with a full pack is considered a rest day. He'll be up early over
the portages and onto Vaalbank(SS8, 95km) and then push onto Brosterlea (Alternate
Station, 54km). The reunited Ventana circus (the tandem and the singlespeed, both bikes
made by Ventana) of Mike, Glenn and Andre as well as Francois and Mark Fussel might
follow him or pull up at Vaalbank as it is a ‘rof' 95km.
Jumping around a bit, there's still a group between this bunch and Andrew. I referred to
them yesterday as the ‘tandem' bus, but Steve, Uge, Balls and Dave have gone on without
the tandem so I think Batch A bus will have to do. They're shacked up at
Moordenaarspoort (Alternate Station) and should pass through Vaalbank(40km) and aim
for Romansfontein (SS9, 139km). Whoever falls short can always stop at Brosterlea with
war stories for Tim. This will probably involve doing the Stormberg blockhouse
‘scratchy' bit in the dark, but I've been hearing wide reports that adventure racer Ugene
Nel has been navigating expertly. In other news, Dave Barr is apparently overjoyed with
his new 'post office' saddle as it now just hurts new parts of his butt and the old sore ones
get a break.
Further back in the pack it get's a bit harder to see exactly who's racing ahead, but we still
have about 2000km for some riders, so I'll point my magnifying glass in that direction in
the coming days. The guys who will most definitely be racing, will be Steve Thomas'
crowd in Batch C. They're at Vuvu and will have to make good time up Lehana's Pass
and into Rhodes in time for kickoff against the Lions at 3pm.
Barnes blows up 2009 FREEDOM CHALLENGE
Written by Press Tuesday, 16 June 2009
A monumental effort. There is probably no more appropriate way to describe the first
few days of the 2300 km 2009 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race from
Pietermaritzburg to Diemersfontein Wine Estate outside Cape Town. A monumental
effort. There is probably no more appropriate way to describe the first few days of the
2300 km 2009 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race from Pietermaritzburg to
Diemersfontein Wine Estate outside Cape Town.
Friday 13 June 2009 saw a small group of runners take on the inaugural 85 kilometre
Duzi Trail Run from Durban up the valley of the Umgeni and UmzimduziRivers to
Pietermaritzburg. The event was won by Eric Zondi and Thomas Ngidi who form part of
the "Change a Life"
Foundation and now both boast top 20 finishes in the Dusi Canoe Marathon. Finishing in
joint third place were Pietermaritzburg local Andrew Barnes and Australian Dave Barr
who, after running for close to 10 hours had managed to close down the leaders only to
lose them on the last five kilometers uphill into the finish.
Despite the pain of the previous day, Saturday morning saw Barnes and Barr in front of
the PietermaritzburgCity Hall for the start of the
2009 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race across South Africa. The two lead
their group into the valley of the UmkomaasRiver and into the first support station at Mc
Kenzie Club 106 kms. They then pushed on through the plantations and indigenous
forests of Donnybrook before dropping down to the UmzimkuluRiver where they stopped
to sleep at the Centocow Mission, built by Trappist monks a century ago.
Leaving early the next morning Barnes and Barr then crossed through the valleys of the
Ngwangwane and NgungunuRivers before climbing up to the Ntsikeni Nature Reserve
and continuing onwards through the district of Sisonke and across the floodplains of the
Umzimvubu river towards the escarpment of the southern Maluti Drakensberg. They
stopped again to sleep at the community run Masakala lodge near the town of Matatiele
before continuing on towards the Malekhalonyane lodge located on the Mehloding
Hiking Trail 370 kilometres from the start. Their unrelenting early pace meant that they
had already opened up a 100 kilometre gap on the rest of their start group. Troubled by
saddle sores, Barr was then forced to stop whilst Barnes continued alone to reach the next
support station in the village of Vuvu shortly after nightfall. Despite his demanding run
Barnes' pace matches that of the record-breaking ride of last year's Freedom Challenge
winner, Tim James.
With the field for the 2009 Freedom Challenge divided into batches that start a day apart,
Sunday and Monday saw further riders leaving Pietermaritzburg. On Sunday tandem
riders, Mike Woolnough and Glenn Harrison, single speed rider Andre Britz and
Freedom Challenge veteran Francois Riekert emulated the achievement of Barnes and
Barr in pushing through McKenzie and continuing on to Centocow for their first
overnight stop. However, their slower pace meant that they arrived later and despite
pushing through Ntsikeni Nature Reserve on Monday morning. With night having fallen
and temperatures dropping to freezing they were unable to make Masakala and opted
instead to stop at a farm near Swartberg.
The batch of riders leaving Pietermaritzburg on Monday morning all made good progress
through the UmkomaasValley. However, on arrival at Mc Kenzie all opted to stop for the
night with the exception of woman rider, Fiona Coward, and Doug Kennaugh who
continued on to stop for the night in the small town of Donnybrook.
The last batch of riders leaves Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday morning.
Included amongst them and returning for the third time is 2008 Freedom Challenge
winner and record holder Tim James. With mountain ranges and many miles separating
them it now remains to be seen whether James or any of the other riders who follow is
able to match the cracking pace of Barnes.
Day 7 and the pace has not let up
Written by Steve
Friday, 19 June 2009
Andrew Barnes made it to Hofmeyr (no, the other Steve has never played there, I asked)
and now sets himself up for some real long days...
This time last week, four intrepid souls (plus a few more) were running up the Dusi
valley. Three of them have settled in together, but the other one has had a really amazing
week.
Andrew Barnes made it to Hofmeyr (no, the other Steve has never played there, I asked)
and now sets himself up for some real long days if he so pleases. He has ridden well and
banked a lot of sleep. He'll most likely pass through Elandsberg(SS10, 34km) in the
morning and rapidly head through to Stuttgart(SS11, 68km) for a late lunch. Sometime in
the evening he'll get to De Doorns (SS12, 48km) and most likely call it a day (149km
total). It's quite flat, and includes one 6km section of overgrown oxwagon trail with
plenty of walking and only one real hill, the 400m high Cat 1 Schurfteberg after Stuttgart.
He could go further, but probably won't for a few reasons.
*The Struishoek descent is right after De Doorns and he'll want to do it in daylight.
*He got a time penalty for popping into the town of Molteno and accidentally taking the
wrong route to Romansfontein(SS9) instead of backtracking to the trail. He'll have to sit
out at Elandsberg for 2 hours (during daylight). That's the rule, and a silly mistake that he
probably wouldn't have made if he wasn't in such a rush to get over the Aasvoelsberg
before sunset.
Breaking with my tradition of going west to east, I'm going to look at Tim James next.
That's mainly because it's become a two horse race for first (and the rate he's going pretty
soon he'll be second on the course too!). Tim did indeed put that big final piece of the
‘Rhodes in 3 days' puzzle into place.
That's one helluva achievement.
However, I'm not entirely sure if anyone will ever try it again, because he must be really
tired now. Of course I look forward to him proving me wrong, again.
He did end up doing Lehana's Pass in the dark, and got to Rhodes by about midnight. I
think he's the first to try that move, maybe it's easier when you can't see how high up it is!
I was kinda hoping he would stay in Vuvu, because then he would be back in sync with
Andrew's progress and I could just cut and paste my predictions from three days
previously. However from Rhodes he'll be looking at getting to Slaapkrans(SS7, 109km).
That includes the Kapokkraal portage. He'll get there close to dusk and will think more
than twice about attempting the Loutebron and Bonthoek ones at night. They are both
easier to get up than down as it can get steep and clifflike at places. If ever there was a
time to take a bit of a rest day, this is it. If he does push on, he'll probably only make the
Moordenaarspoort (Alternate Station, 59km)well after midnight. It's hard to predict what
Tim will do (and possibly a bit unfair), but faced with the same situation last year, he
stayed in Slaapkrans and went first thing in the morning.
Back to the rest of the riders, they mostly all avoided my comments about Rhodes being a
cool night spot and headed off to Christo's Pub at Chesney Wold instead. Mike and Glen
got there first on the tandem, followed an hour later by Steve Honey, Ugene Nel, Trevor
Ball and Dave Barr. Quite often, riders are told to be careful about spending too long at
Chesney as lunch becomes an all day affair and Kapokkraal is further down the road and
not advisable in the dark. It's one of the lekker(for want of a better word) spots on the
trail and Christo has about 1000+ peak caps from all over nailed to the roof in his bar.
They will have enjoyed watching the T20 Cricket last night (well maybe only Aussie
Dave, because the Proteas did their best to earn a week of Lehana's training drills). Back
to the race, I think this group will stick to Mike (and therefore Glenn) as he's the only one
who has done the three portages and should get to Vaalbank (SS7) just like Andrew did.
A day behind them, Brett and Shane should do what the tandem bus did yesterday, and
get from Vuvu to Chesney Wold (in time for the Windies/Sri Lanka game).
I'm not sure of the details on the other breakaways, so won't speculate but I can close off
with an interesting plug. Molteno is a little ‘out of the way' karoo dorpie that is seeing
some mtb development through the trail and the establishment of a riding centre there.
However it is also home to one of South Africa's best rock bands, the Southern Gypsey
Queens. Would you believe it, a blues rock outfit from the Karoo?! Check them out here:
http://www.sgq.co.za/
Breakaways on day 6
Thursday, 18 June 2009 - Written by Steven Burnett
My crystal ball was on song yesterday, as all the breakaway riders ended up at the places
I thought they would. The one exception there is Andre Britz, our singlespeed demon
who seems to have decided that racing through the Malutis is overrated and he’s winning
his category anyway. Francois Riekert followed suit and they have both chilled in at
Malekholonyane (SS4)
Once again starting from the west, Andrew Barnes made really good time over the three
portages and was at Vaalbank(SS8) by 7pm. He surprised me with how quickly he got
through these rough parts, but probably was too tired from the effort to push on another
54km to Brosterlea (Alternate Station). He’s got a big decision to make today. He’ll be
heading to Romansfontein (SS9) near Molteno which is 132km from Vaalbank. Given
good time he’ll get there by 4pm. The next stop is another 95km away in the dorpie of
Hofmeyr(Alternate Stop). As long as he can get over the Aasvoelsberg before dark
(which is going to be very tight on this schedule) then it’s easy night nav to Hofmeyr.
The Assvoelsberg descent is not hard to follow, but it’s really steep and one would have
to be really cautious riding down this in the dark.
Our next breakaway riders are now a full two days back at Vuvu(SS5). They all took it a
bit rough getting there. The tandem will be hotfooting to Chesney Wold (and Christo’s
world famous bar) if they survive getting their 24kg ‘farm gate’ up and over Lehana’s
Pass. Whoever has recovered from Batch A would be wise to follow as they will build up
a head of steam pretty soon. For the rest, the stop at Rhodes(SS6) is quite a highlight. It’s
the end of the Ride to Rhodes, and our three (by my reckoning) remaining R2R riders
from Batch A will be getting off their bikes here. They’ll no doubt have some family or
contacts there and it’s a festive evening.
Batch B did the ‘easy’ ride to Malekholonyane(SS4), but new breakaway Shane Harrison
(no relation to Glenn of the Ventana tandem fame) and Brett Rheeders elected to push on
through the black fountain section. They ran out of daylight, and fell 8km short of the
mission station of Tinana(Alternate Stop) and might have had a very cold night in a hut
on the mountain. They should be able to get to Rhodes from here, Shane did the R2R last
year so will know a bit about Lehana’s.
Batch C has one lone ranger, Gawie has tagged onto Tim James’ wheel and hopefully
made it to Malekholonyane. Tim won’t mind the company as racing like he does has its
long and lonely stretches later (plus he makes it into some photos too!).
OntoBatch D, and it looks like Carl, Marnitz and Derrick will team up. They regrouped
at Banchory and will be aiming for Malekholonyane (which should have a lot of tyre
tracks leading the way by now). I was under the impression that Carl and Marnitz would
be riding together, so who knows what happened on day 1?!
Finally we look at Tim James. He’ll have got to Malekholonyane (or at least a hut very
close). It’s a record pace at this stage, and his day 2 will have been 142km with 2700m of
cumulative altitude gain. That’s a whole lot easier than his day 1 and only includes 2
‘category 3’ climbs. However he only had 5 hours of ‘rest’ at Ntsikeni. That would
probably only include about 3 hours of sleep, as there’s dinner, unpacking, sleep,
breakfast, packing all in those 5 hours.
He’s gone out very hard, and one really hopes he can sustain it. He’s put together part 2
of the magic ‘Rhodes in 3 days’ puzzle. The final piece is a huge one. He could make
Vuvu by nightfall (despite what Mike has blogged about it) and could back himself up
Lehana’s Pass in the dark. That would be a bit of a pity, as it is one of the highlights of
the trip and the view goes on forever. He does appear to have some fair weather (if not
just a little cold). One can actually ride around it, but it’s going to take longer. I also
happen to know that Vuvu is one of his favourite stops on the route. Here’s the big
question mark on today’s move for him - if he did end up at Vuvu he’ll be back on par
with Andrew in terms of scoreboard. Is he racing the clock, or the field?
Update from Trevor Ball of trailrunning.co.za - 2:30 p.m., 18th June:
News from 2500m on top of a peak. This is one tough event.
Last night ended at 10:30 p.m. after a 5 hour bike portage up a valley. Today, climbing to
Rhodes. Thin air, heavy breathing and lots of cursing. Stunning views.
Stop press, just made it to Rhodes. Sunny day. May press on after lunch.
T
Amazing Maluti
Thursday, 18 June 2009 - Written by Allen Sharp
The riders are currently cycling through the Maluti section of the Freedom Trial. The
scenery is rugged but absolutely stunning!
MALUTI : Little Umzimvubu - Matatiele - Ongeluksnek - Tinana - Vuvu - Naude's Nek Rhodes
Entering the communal lands of the Eastern Cape at the Little Umzimvubu River a gravel
road climbs up to Taylerville before the trail follows cattle tracks through to the Masakala
village outside the town of Matatiele. From Matatiele the trail passes through villages and
bypasses mission stations as it follows cattle tracks and rutted dirt roads across the
floodplains of the Knira River towards the Mariazell mission station at the foot of the
Ongeluksnek Pass. From Ongeluksnek the trail then continues in the shadow of the
escarpment as it runs through to Tinana Mission, allowing for an optional but impressive
detour to Black Fountain. Cattle tracks carry the trail through to the Tina River where it
then climbs up to the village of Vuvu. From Vuvu it's then a major climb up to the top of
the Drakensberg escarpment in the Naudes Nek area from where the trail descends on the
dirt road into the small town of Rhodes.(Freedom Challege website)
The leaders
Tim went straight past Masekala yesterday afternoon and headed off to Malekholonyane
last night. We lost signal with his tracker and I'm still struggling to pinpoint his position.
I'll update this page later rather than wait to hear where he is. If he got to
Malekholonyane he would have done approximately 344km in 48h - unbelievable!
Andrew has made it all the way to Vaalbank, he was hoping to push through to Brosterlea
but the long days have caught up with him, maybe he is human after all? Thats 673km in
120hours
Batch A
This group of riders have now been out there for 120 and have covered the approx 416km
to Vuvu. Gavin Greig, remains further back at Masakala 290km into the race. The rest
have bundu bashed their way through the Tina River portage mostly in the dark. This is a
compulsory deviation and distance wise (15) it is shorter than following the district road
via Upper Phirintsu (26km). Siseko took the later an incurred a time penalty and can only
start day 6 at 09h00. The section is relatively simple but offers many many opportunities
to mess up. You criss cross the river a number of times and there is also a "lovely"
sandstone hillside to climb. This year it is particularly overgrown and this will slow the
riders down. There is not much riding opportunity especially in the dark. The overnight
stop is with locals in traditional mud huts with outside long drops. It is a fantastic
experience.
A late first hand update from Mark Hi, tucked up in an African hut under a Lesotho
blanket after a long day to Vuvu. Spent 16h40 out there today. Basically pushed or
carried bike for 84kms. Climbed 1600 odd metres and spent 6800 kcal. Leg warmers keep
sliding off my legs now.....Stunning scenery but would have preferred some more riding.
Off to Rhodes over Lehanas pass at 06h00, 3 hours climbing up over the mountain
followed by the most awesome descent of 30 odd kms. Looking foward to a decent stay at
Rhodes hotel, good food, first shower in 6 days and hopefully some laundery.
Batch B
The Tandem boys have joined up with Batch A in Vuvu and have sensibly decided not to
push on to Rhodes. Another brave move in this group saw Shane Harrison and Brett
Rheeders push about 36km past the SS and are spending the night in a Shepard hut about
8km from Tinana This is a difficult section in the dark. The rest are in Malekholonyane, a
distance of 344km and they have been at it for 96hours, an average speed of around
4km/h. Just a reminder that this group is made up of Francois, Andre singlespeed, Derek,
Sean, Errol, Estelle,
Batch C
These riders left on Monday 15th are all at Masakala, a distance of 290km in their 72
hours.
This is the social group for now and are happily riding together - Must be Steve's (R2R
guardian) laid back attitude rubbing off on them. Fiona has a sore knee possibly due to
new pedals and Doug had some admin with his whell- these two are blogging if you want
to read more. Gawie has decided to hop onto Tims wheel and is headed for a long long
night - Tim is polite and accommodating but he does not wait for anyone when he is on a
bicycle.
Batch D
My spreadsheet saboteurs, have now covered 203km in 48h and are overnighting at
Ntsikeni. I don't have much info on Andy but it look like he is in Centocow. Mike left
McKenzie at 2.35 am he is in high spirits. Marnits Nienaber has not slept for 48h due to
getting lost, sick baby and a"simple hoender haan" I can only imagine... It looks like he
reached Banchory - For some reason Banchory has been extremely busy this year (?) Carl
and Derrick who left at McKenzie at 1h30 this morning made it to Banchory - well done
guys a really good move.
The Weather
I have had so many conflicting sms's about the weather That I have no idea anymore.
Best is to check out the weather links on the site and make up your own mind. It has been
a lot drier than last year so the conditions have been near perfect.
There was quite a strong wind at one stage, when Andrew went over Lehana he was
blown over twice and really struggled to carry his bike.
Admin
The tracking is improving in leaps and bounds, please check it out on the website by
clicking on the Live Tracking link.
I've based my feedback on a 24h day cycle from the batch starting time. Its just an easy
way for me to keep track at this point and its not the official time keeping mechanism.
Naude's Nek
Naude's Nek Pass connects the village of Rhodes with Maclear (approximately 95km
apart) and at 2 740m is the highest mountain pass in South Africa. The riders will hike up
and over Lehana's Pass (14km) and then enjoy 30km down Naude's Nek to Rhodes awesome riding!
In 1896, the Naudé brothers built a rough track across the mountains. Using picks,
shovels, and a horse cart, they followed the route that their horses instinctively took when
they were driven up the mountain. Now a monument remembering the brothers can be
seen at the foot of the Naudésnek Pass (1920 m). Following much of the original route,
road engineer George Mandy constructed a military road linking Maclear with Lundin's
Nek in 1911. From the foot of the pass, the road climbs steeply out of the Bell River
valley in a series of switchbacks to the 2500-m-high summit of the pass, from where
there are spectacular views over the undulating countryside to the south. Naudésnek Pass
is the highest road lying completely in South Africa. It is flanked by stunted alpine
vegetation and on days when the summit is not swirling in mist you'll find stunning
mountain scenery in all directions. The gravel road that snakes over Naudé's Nek Pass is
also one of the loneliest in South Africa.(Touring in South Africa-Willie & Sandra
Olivier-Struik)
"Apart from the occasional botanist and tourist attracted by its remoteness and the
possibility of new discoveries, you'll only hear the wind and the cry of an eagle. Winding
over a high nek between Rhodes village and Maclear, it qualifies as a day outing by itself.
Along the way are plenty of places to stop and take in the scenery and the roadside
vegetation varies constantly with the changes in altitude. The pass begins at the tiny postcard pretty Rhodes, following the exquisite Bell River Valley (a place to see some
magnificent rock art) before climbing sharply to the summit and then descending through
Elands Heights to Maclear. There are several clear streams near the summit which are
ideal places to stop and take in the dazzling scenery, crisp mountain air and a cup of tea.
During December and January the high ridges and peaks come alive with flowering
orchids, gladioli and everlastings. Many of these species are found only here and along
the mountain summits of the Kwa Zulu/Natal Drakensberg."(Getaway Magazine)
Cheers
Early stock take
Tuesday June 17 - Written by Allen Sharp
With all the riders out on the trail lets get a perspective of whats transpired so far...
Believe it or not but the race leader at this stage is Tim James(who only started
yesterday). Based on distance covered during the time on the trail, Tim has overtaken
Andrew Barnes as the race leader. At the time of writing Tim had covered an at least 203
km in his first 24hours. I could be uderstating this but I could not pinpoint his exact
position because of the limited Tracker functionality.
Batch A, that left on Saturday 13th, have been out there for 96 hours with Andrew
covering 532km and sleeping at Chesny Wold last night. The other riders are in
Malehkolonyane a distance of 344km and Gavin Greig, further back at Banchory 233km.
Andrews overall speed is around 5.5km/h, compared to the 3.8km/h of the rest of the
group. Gavin is moving along at 2.4km/h and remember, Grevile has withdrawn. Mark,
Trevor, Ugene, David Barr, Siseko and Steve Honey are included in this group.
Batch B riders, apart from the Tandem of Mike and Glenn are all in Masakala. This is a
distance of 290km and they have been at it for 72hours, an average speed of around
4km/h. Mike and Glen had a strong cup of tea, braved the winds and headed for
Malekholonyane giving them 344km in 72hours The group includes Francios, Andre,
Dereck Hall-Jones, Sean, Shane, Errol, Brett and Estelle
Batch C, the riders that left on Monday 15th are all at Ntsikeni, a distance of 203km in
their 48 hours , traveling at 4.25km/h. Bruce, Doug, Fiona, Gawie, Greg, Louis, MarkM
and Pierre make up this group
Batch D that left yesterday morning have really messed up my spreadsheet. With only
24hours under their belts they have attacked this race aggressively, apart Andy Masters
and Mike Roy who did not make McKenzie last night (they are ok, just had an early
sleepout). Marnits Nienaber put in a big effort to get to Centocow but last I heard was via
twitter "Marnitz finally arrived at Mr Dlamini's at about 22h15 after an hour long search
for his house.
The rest of the group were at McKenzie 107km traveling at around 4km/h. The
spreadsheet saboteurs are Carl and Derrick who left at 1h30 and of course Tim James
who rode 203km in the 24hours giving him a speed of nearly 8.5 km/h. Hopefully he will
sllep now so that my spread sheet can recover. Others in this group: ErikE, TimvC, Estie
and AndreE
I previously made reference to Rudi, Dr Rudi de Wet is our medical man from
Molteno,will be conducting research on riders in the 2009 race. (fortunately he is a keen
Mountain Biker) Rudi is a general practitioner currently busy with a M. Sports
Med.degree at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. His reserach project will
be focused on the section from PMB to Rhodes. The research will be about traumatic &
non-traumatic injuries and illnesses sustained during the 2009 event. A cyclist's profile
questionnaire will need to be completed at registration. Rudi and his co-workers will
interview cyclists at the overnight stops. A short questionnaire will be completed. We
urge all cyclists to kindly participate in this research.Participation is voluntary and all
information will be held as confidential. However, there are aspects of the research that
arelikely to help future Freedom Challengers and other endurance athletes.
Coinciding with youth day I fondly remember the Malekholonyane SS, a really peaceful
spot overlooking the rugged Maluti landscape. A group of us were lucky enough to visit
the Maria Zell school not far away to see the work of an 82 year old engineer who had
made it his life work to make the school as self sufficient as possible. I don't recall his
name but the petite little Polish man had dedicate 50 years to the school. The school itself
was inspirational to see what can be done to educate our youth in rural areas
Mariazell celebrated 100 years of existence in 1994. It was discovered by the Roman
Catholics in the 19th century hence a mission and a convent is still in existence even in
the days of today and promises to exist for the 100 years to come. In the 20th century
they decided to enhance South African education by building long existing walls of
education i.e. a college which produced lot of teachers and other professions for South
Africa and the nuns and monks were educators themselves. Later in the years they
decided to change the educational institution into a secondary (high) school. The co-ed
school currently has a capacity of approximately 500 learners. Many of them are
predominantly from the Eastern Cape, and a few of them from other provinces and
neighbouring countries. Mariazell offers boarding facilities to about 90% of its students,
while the other 10% live close to the school. Parents are attracted to the school by its
academic excellence and its ability to assist the development of its learners. Over the last
decade, Mariazell has consistently been receiving the award for the highest pass rate in
the Maluti District. This prosperity is attributable to the hard work and high motivation
instilled into the students by the principal and his supporting staff. It is fitting to say that
Mariazell has managed to live by its motto "Ora et labora", which translates into "pray
and work hard", hence students are also obliged to attend church everyday.
Tucked in and Sleeping tightly
Monday 15th June - Written by Allen Sharp
Another long day for our riders although tonight everyone is tucked in and sleeping
tightly, and at a very reasonable hour. Last night was different story as riders were
arriving way into the night, in fact two did not even make it...read on
The XTC Boys
Andrew and Dave left Masakala around 6am and Andrew got through to Malekholoyane
around 11h30. About 6km before lunch the two XTC boys split. From what I understand
Dave had been struggling with saddle sores and had to stand and pedal for long stretches
After a fall on the frost and then dropping his chain and getting it jammed he made the
call to let his "Navman" go. He had a chuckle when he looked down at his maps and
realized they were still for Day1.Dave spent the rest of the day at Malekholoyane (a great
place to be stuck by the way). He got some medial care from Rudi (the
doctor/rider/researcher - more about him later). Dave must have spent the day pondering
what to do next, should he wait for company (at least a full day behind) or should he
press on. We eagerly wait to see.
Andrew is without a doubt in a hurry, he arrive at Vuvu around 19h18 after a difficult +/130km . I am impressed with his strategy so far as he has managed to get a good nights
rest every night since starting. This is vital as ones body needs recovery time. I'm
speculating but Tim must of raised an eyebrow watching Andrews progress so far.
Batch A
Ben the batch R2R guardian did not get much sleep last night. Two of the A batch riders
slept over at some locals near Ntsikeni. Gavin and Rodney simply ran out of time and
would never have found their way in the dark. They were exhausted and their spirits only
started lifting after the second cup of coffee. As a result they stayed over in Ntsikeni and
took today as a rest day.
Siseko is a happy man tonight, he is from Masakala so he was hoping for cheerleaders
and traditional dancers to provide him with local support. Siseko is riding a solid race and
what impressed me is that he is doing so without maps. I suppose being a tour guide
helps.
Mark, Trevor, Ugene and Steve have got a nice group effort going, they arrive at 20h00,
another long day but I think they are being conservative and this will pay off later in the
race. This SMS from Mark sums up their race rather well " Hi all, a quick update. Day 3
complete after 3 hard days of averaging between 13 and 15 hours. Completed 290 kms ,
climbed 7100 metres and burnt over 21 000 kcal. Weather has been fantastic altho we did
see snow on top of the Berg this morning. Have settled into riding with a group (Trevor,
Eugene and Steve). I have my work cut out as they all very strong. Eugene a fantastic
navigator. Relatively easy day tomorrow as we head into the outskirts of the Malutis.
Cheers for now, Mark"
Unfortunately Grevile has withdrawn from the race, he has not been well and believe me
it is not an easy dicision. He has done the R2R before so I believe it is dicision based on
experience.
Ben's feedback has been fantastic - thanks Ben!
Batch B
The "oddballs" have turned into real racing snakes. Firstly "oddballs" because there is a
Tandem (Mike and Glenn), a single speed (Andre) and Francois who is odd because he is
the only normal one amongst them. Secondly, racing snakes of note. They went out hard
and reached Banchory in good time. It was only strong words of wisdom from David that
brought them to their senses not to push on to Masakala. As David pointed out, one has to
look beyond the next SS and even the next.
The rest of B Batch, the normal ones, appear to be making good progress having
obviously mapped out a 6 Day strategy to Rhodes. Very sensible as there is still over
2000km to go. Unfortunately I'm getting no comms on Estelle at this stage. It will be nice
to see how the ladies are tackling this adventure.
Batch C
Batch C with Steve Thomas as the R2R guardian made the first day look easy. They
mostly rode in a group and later in two small groups getting to McKenzie between 16h00
and 18h00. Fiona and Doug continued on to Donnybrook and are spending the night at
the Donnybrook Inn. In doing so they might be setting up a long ride to Banchory
tomorrow Its a tall oder but Fiona and Doug are strong and good navigators. We will
keep an eye on this development. Fiona rekons she got the best toasted sandwiches and
tea before leaving McKenzie. Once again everybody has been so complementary towards
Dhana and her team for the spread they put up at SS1 once again.
Batch D
Batch D has, unintentionally, been overshadowed by Tim's presence. I for one cant wait
for him to start. I haven't managed to speak to him yet so I got no idea of his strategy or
intention of breaking the record. Along with the rest of you' I'm sure I wont be
disappointed. For those who dont know, Tim did break the record last year but suffered
mechanical problems and fell short of his original goal of 12 days. I'm sure Tim will push
all the way to Ntsikeni on day one, thats 200km of hard cycling and 5000m of climbing.
It took him 18hours last year but I reckon he is in better shape this year. I hope the
weather is as kind to Tim as it has been to the others
Support Stations
No update on the SS tonight, I have been chasing my tail with the twitter feed to the
website the whole day and Steve has been on Netstars case to get the tracking sorted out.
We will have more for you tomorrow. Also the first of many thank-you's to Theresa at
the Race Office - boy has she been busy!
Cheers for now
Sat 13 - 06:00
Last Known SS
Andrew
XTC
Vuvu
In
2009/06/15 19:17:00
Dave
XTC
Malekholoyane
2009/06/15 11:30:00
Siseko
A
Masakala
2009/06/15 18:15:00
Gavin
A
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 09:15:00
Grevile
A
Banchory
MarkF
A
Masakala
2009/06/15 20:00:00
Steve
A
Masakala
2009/06/15 20:00:00
Trevor
XTC
Masakala
2009/06/15 20:00:00
Ugene
XTC
Masakala
2009/06/15 20:00:00
Ben deLange
GUA
Strategy
16
18
20
26
ETA
Mon 29 Jun
Wed 01 Jul
Fri 03 Jul
Thu 09 Jul
DNF
20
20
20
20
Fri 03 Jul
20
20
20
20
20
20
Sat 04 Jul
Fri 03 Jul
Fri 03 Jul
Fri 03 Jul
Sun 14 - 06:00
Mike/Glenn
T
Banchory
2009/06/15 19:30:00
Francois
B
Banchory
2009/06/15 19:30:00
Andre
B
Banchory
2009/06/15 19:30:00
Derek
B
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Sean
B
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Shane
B
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Sat 04 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Errol
B
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Estelle
L
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Brett
B
Ntsikeni
2009/06/15 17:15:00
Ray W
GUA
20
20
20
Sat 04 Jul
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Sun 05 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Sat 04 Jul
Mon 15 - 06:00
Bruce
C
MCKensie
2009/06/15 18:15:00
Douglas
C
Donnybrook
2009/06/15 17:00:00
Fiona
L
Donnybrook
2009/06/15 17:00:00
Gawie
C
McKensie
2009/06/15 18:15:00
Gregg
C
MCKensie
2009/06/15 16:00:00
Louis
C
MCKensie
2009/06/15 18:15:00
MarkM
C
MCKensie
2009/06/15 18:15:00
Pierre
C
MCKensie
2009/06/15 18:15:00
Steve Thomas
GUA
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Sun 05 Jul
Roll on Day 3
Sunday 14 June 2009 written by Allen Sharp
It is still early days and we are trying to establish a daily update routine. Its a bit difficult
while the batches get going in their staggered starts but I'm sure something will evolve.
Feel free toSMS any suggestions or things you would like to hear about to the race office
SMS line on 082 306 1239.
The threat of low lying snow disappeared as quickly as it arrive, David the race director
remains concerned about the weather. We are trying our best to resolve the tracking issue
and Steve Burnett is onto Tracker first thing this morning to see if they can sort it out. For
there is an overall view of the riders progress below
The XTC Boys
Andrew and Dave continue the blistering pace they set on day 1, they are in good spirit
and Dave refers to Andrew as his makeshift GPS. Andrew, still on local knowledge, has
not yet used a map or the race directive and this has really impressed Dave
Batch A
The Ride into Ntsikeni once again proved to be one of the toughest on the Freedom
Challenge. Batch Guardian Ben deLange has had his hands full as his riders are spread all
over the place.
Batch B
The riders were much more aware of the Hella Hella section and all made good time into
Mc Kenzie. A few more racing snakes emerged as the Tandem of Mike and Glen, Andre
on his single speed and Francois pushed for Centocow and arrive late into the night.
Rumour has it that Andre is on an "upgraded" single speed (hence the racing). I thought
that a single speed upgrade was "Real Gears"??.
Batch C
Batch C get off to their start today albeit with a bit of experience gained from the
previous two batches. Apparently the race narrative has been updated for the Hella Hella
section
Batch D
Batch D's time is drawing closer with the news of bad weather arriving on Wednesday.
The racing snakes must be checking their strategy carefully after the blistering pace st by
the XTC boys. Send us some info please!
Support Stations The riders are heading for the following support stations
Ntsikeni :This beautiful place resides on a high plateau between Franklin and Creighton
in Southern KZN. It comprises a large wetland of some 1200 ha., "one of the most
important in KZN" according to Wetland ecologist George Begg, and is at a key position
on the Umzimkulu catchment. It is surround by impressive buttresses with evocative
names like Mangeni, Tsawule,and Elephant Hill. Visible forever,Ntsikeni Mountain
towers above all, with its unmistakable shape making sense of the name. The central
support of a traditional home is an ‘ntsika' .
Although a provincial reserve since 1978, it has enjoyed a natural protection and secrecy
due to its remoteness,isolation and inaccessibility until recently, when a reasonable
access road and lodge were built. With a core management principal of ‘Minimum
Impact', hikers, mountain bikes and horse trails are the order of the day. It is
understandable how and why, numerous, very sensitive, endangered bird species, have
managed to evade detection thus far. Yellow Breasted Pipits, Cape and Bearded Vultures,
Black and Montagu's Harriers, African Marsh and even the rare Western Marsh Harriers
and other exciting large species like breeding Wattled Cranes,can be found.
Ntsikeni Lodge is run by a local community trust and comprises four family chalets with
16 beds (a double bed downstairs and 2 singles upstairs all share a bathroom). All
bedding and towels supplied. There is a fitted communal kitchen with stove, fridge and
deepfreeze, and dining area with fireplace. Lighting is by means of lamps and candles.
The reserve is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
Masakala : Located on the extensive floodplains below the Southern
Drakensberg/Ukahlamba mountains, Masakala guesthouse is situated in the village of
Masakala, 8 kilometres outside the town of Matatiele. and about 285km into the race.
Accommodation is in two rondavels specially designed and built using local architectural
ideas and skills, provides dormitory style sleeping arrangements. Traditional yet
comfortable, the accommodation offers hot shower and bath and four rooms. Meals
prepared by the local catering group; home grown vegetables, fresh produce and African
recipes are on the menu,managed by the cheerful Nomonde Makaula.
The guest house is run by the Mehloding Community Tourism Trust is comprised of two
main ventures, the Masakala Guesthouse and the Mehloding Adventure Trail situated in
the Eastern Cape province on the borders of KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho facing the
Southern Drakensberg mountains. Having begun in 2002, the Trust is held and operated
for the communities along the trail and run by 4 Community Tourism Organisations that
co-ordinate local SMME's to provide services for the guesthouse and trail. The aim of the
Trust is employment and training in an area that suffers 60% unemployment. It aims to
facilitate work for 400 people in the communities around Masakala and to generate
income for Trust members while also preserving the local environment. The project is
community owned but subsidised by provincial and local governments, affiliated with the
Eastern Cape Tourism Authority and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal that work on marketing
and recognition is and directly subsidised by the Alfred Nzo Municipality.
Saturday 13 June Written by Allen Sharp
The XTC boys
The bold opening move by our XTC leaders Andrew Barnes and Dave Barr puts them
half a day ahead of the pack. Once again they have a few options for today's ride and will
surely want to capitalise on their break and put some distance on the chasing pack. They
will surely reach Ntsikeni(SS2) by late morning and push on. A further 30 km of
relatively easy riding is Banchory (an alternate station). That would be considered a full
day's riding as the route into Ntsikeni includes scaling two really big climbs. However if
their Day 1 is anything to go by, I suspect they will be aiming for Masakala Community
Guest House(SS3) which is near Matatiele. This would put them a full day ahead of
schedule and in an excellent position to strike further on day 3.
One mustn't forget that they are now racing on their own ahead of the pack. Some of the
riders leaving in later batches and attacking will have the luxury of some lunch stops as
they haul in previous batches. Andrew and Dave will also be the first to each support
station, so teething issues of any sort will affect them first.
Batch A
All arrived at McKenzie club in one piece and stayed there (Siseko got there by 5 and
decided to spend the night). Trevor Ball and Ugene Nel took a bit of strain on the hills
but should recover from their massive run effort in a few days and have already shown
they are not scared of long days.
The R2R guys are all hanging in there and if any of you speak to them, tell them to SMS
the race office. Everyone has got through the initial navigation challenges but then this
has been the easy day. I'm sure Hella Hella has new meaning in their lives - there is more
to come.
Batch B
Looking back to Day 1's route, we have the same options for the new riders in Batch B as
they start today. We've all been waiting to see what returning riders Mike Woolnough
and Glenn Harrison can do together on their Ventana tandem MTB. They have been
training hard and will definitely be pushing for Centacow. Some riders might try and
jump on the back and follow their slip. Another rider in this Batch is Andre Britz, the
only rider on a singlespeed bike. He knows the route extremely well (he's one of the men
behind the mapping) and we'll have to see if his claims of limited training are of any
substance. From the rest of the pack we will have to wait and see.
Batch B have been less liberal with the SMS update, I suspect that they are all running
scared of the new Hella Hella section as some of the guys in Batch A took some serious
strain. On the flip side, some of the real chirpers are putting their heads down to get to
Centocow - we will see tonight
Support Stations
Along the route there are 26 Official Support Stations, where riders must check in to, can
replenish their stocks from their pre-sent boxes and have a meal and a bed to sleep in.
Between some of these stations there is an ‘alternate' stop. This caters for riders following
more aggressive strategies and enables one to do roughly an extra half day's riding. There
is no guarantee of food, but beds are provided. Centacow Mission station is one such stop
between McKenzie Club (SS1) and Ntsikeni Lodge(SS2) and will be a lunch stop for
those on their day 2 ride.
Mc Kenzie Club (SS1) is better known to the SANI2C guys and is new on the FC as I
have heard that there are renovations at Allendale (my favorite from 2008) I havent heard
who is catering and what the setup is like at Mc Kenzie, every body was either in a hurry
or were just to blown to care. Can somebody please update us)
Centocow (alternate SS) This is an alternate support station that offers the Freedom
Challenge riders basic accommodation only. There are no meals provide, and I don't
recall any shops. Its usually just used by the racing snakes as an overnight.
Centocow Mission was founded in 1888 by Trappist Monks and presently it is served by
Missionaries of The Order of St. Paul the First Hermit (Pauline Fathers) from Poland.
Centocow Mission is dedicated to Sacred Heart Of Jesus and to Mary, his Mother called
Our Lady of Centocow - the Mother of Africa (seehttp://www.centocowmission.org/for
more info)
St Apollinaris hospital is a district hospital with 155 beds located at the Centocow
mission, Creighton, within the Sisonke health district. St. Apollinaris hospital originally
began as a clinic when the Mission of Centocow was founded in 1888. The clinic was run
by the Precious Blood Sisters. Dr. Max Kohler, a trainee from the Medical Mission
Institute in Wurzburg, worked at Centocow from 1925 to 1935.
In 1920, Fr. Apollinaris Schwamberger, a Marianhill Missionary, came to Centocow. He
drew up the plans for the first hospital which was built by Brother Leodegar with the
assistance of local workers, with the bricks being made locally. On the 23rd August 1930,
the foundation stone was laid for "St. Joseph's" hospital, as it was supposed to be known.
Since Fr. Apollinaris had suddenly died of an asthma attack and heart failure on 13 April
1936, the people insisted that the hospital be named "St. Apollinaris hospital" in grateful
memory of their good Father and Parish Priest
From a social development perspective the Freedom Trial is involved in the creation of
an Art gallery where Gerard Bhengu will display his work. The old rundown church
building near the bottom road has been earmarked for this project. I will try to get more
info on this. Ask Father Ignacious to show you around
More from Steve and myself tomorrow
Saturday, 13 June 2009
With the Dusi trail run successfully completed yesterday(Friday), the Freedom Challenge
moves on to mountain bikes and the trail from Pietermaritzburg to Paarl. The four lead
legged runners have been joined by a further five fresh legged riders in the Race across
South Africa(RASA) section and four riders in the Ride to Rhodes(R2R).
The R2R riders tour the route, with a single stage to the designated stop each day. If they
so wish, the RASA riders can elect to jump ahead of schedule and race ahead. In terms of
the first day, there are three options for the racers.
Most will do the 106mail.gookm stage to the McKenzie Club. There is the first week
luxury of a soup stop at halfway, but it involves a 600m ascent to a communications mast
near Byrne Village and is well deserved. As the odometer hits 70km a new section
descends into the Umkomaas river valley where it is a real slog up the other side. This is
in itself an incredibly tough ride, and transcends a massive 3600m of cumulative altitude
gain. A good riding time for this section is 8 hours and most riders should make it by
nightfall. There is a very loose grouping of riders on the route, the ‘race snakes' are there
for the quickest possible time and the ‘lounge lizards' are out to enjoy it and finish in one
piece.
The first batch is roughly weighted to contain more lounge lizards, but we expect a few
race snakes to push on past McKenzie club. No race snake is normally happy to sit
around in the daylight, and a few might push on with a view to reaching the alternate stop
of the Centacow mission station, another 48km on. This would involve a quick pitstop at
McKenzie Club and some tricky navigation through forests in the night time. In 2007 a
few of the leading bunch took this option and got horribly lost, some of them even opting
to check in at the Donnybrook hotel only 20km down the road.
Of our first batch, Andrew Barnes and Dave Barr look like possibly taking this option
despite the 88km run fresh in their minds. Andrew is a Pietermaritzburg resident and this
will be the fourth time he's doing the section to Rhodes. Dave has only been mountain
biking for two weeks, but brings a serious Ironman pedigree to the race. He'll be only too
happy to follow the local knowledge and both will benefit from the company. Time will
tell if any of the other racers follow this tough route, with Matatiele trail tour guide
Siseko Marareni being a definite candidate. Breaking news Andrew and Dave have
pushed on to Centacow and should be there before 19h00. THATS 157km after their
10h30 run yesterday!
There is a third option, pushing on till Support Station 2, Ntsikeni. This involves a
mammoth day of 202km with 6600m of cumulative altitude gain. It was thought to be
impossible, until Tim James did just that in 2008 and we'll take another look at this on
Tuesday when he comes back to try it again.
Regards, Steve Burnett
Friday 12 June 18h00
Written by Allen Sharp
Thomas Ngidi and Eric Zondi from Martin Dreyer's "Change a Life Academy" arrived at
Bishopstowe Hall first in a time of 10h28min to claim the inaugural Dusi Trial Run title.
The clearly elated Thomas and Eric were pleased with their performance but made it
quite clear how hard the event was. The two ran together out in front right from the start
of the race. They both struggled towards the end and were eventually caught and passed
by Andrew and Dave. Pure grit and determination saw them regain their lead and finish
10min ahead of the second group.
Eric has certainly redefined his limits as his previous longest run was a mere 25km. The
pair only committed to the race 2 weeks ago but in Martin's words "it's character
building" Martin admits the ultra distance might have been a bit of risk but once the guys
got wind of the "race in their back garden" they were adamant that they were going to
win it. Such was their dedication that they were up at 1h30 this morning to get from their
home in the Valley to the start in time. At Mission Rapid their mate Michael Mabanja
showed up out of nowhere with some ice cold water and a ton of support - good on you
Michael.
When I spoke to Martin he was very excited about the event and the prospects of what a
race like this can mean for the Valley. He believes that there is huge potential for this
race especially with the involvement of DUCT and The Freedom Trial. He is really
excited about the whole social upliftment component that the event offers the valley. He
was full of praise for Thomas and Eric and was proud to see them doing so well. There
are many of us who believe that this race would suit Martin perfectly but right now he is
heavily involved in the Change a Life Academy - We hope to see Martin on the RASA
sometime soon.
Andrew Barnes and Dave Barr finished strongly. Andrew was very happy with the run
and said it had all gone to plan. "Knowing the route was a huge advantage" he said. He
also commented that the Aussie was "a tough bugger" and was happy for the company. Is
this a partnership for the rest of the race? If it is they are going to absolutely cream it!!
Andrew's immediate concern now is with the rest and recovery before tomorrow's start of
the 2300km cycle leg.
Without a doubt Dave Barr is one tough Aussie. He was happy to tag along with Andrew
to benefit from local knowledge. With 1h30 to go he had to dig deep as he had not
experienced this kind of distance before but he still claims that it was a magnificent
experience. At one stage there were about 20 kids running along with them - a moment
that will stay with him forever he says. Terry, Ugene and Trevor stuck together for most
of the race and have not yet finished
David commented that the run was absolutely fantastic and the organizers certainly
achieved their goal with the Dusi Trial Run. The run will now become a integral part of
the Freedom Challenge Race and will definitely be developed further. He is also very
excited about developing the Freedom trial to include a Mountain Bike section from
Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Joining this section up with the existing Freedom Trial.by
involving the local communities is high on his agenda. Emulating the community
upliftmet model in existence on other parts of the Freedom Trial will be fantastic
opportunity for the people of the Valley.