Being my first Duzi Mfula I really didn’t know what to expect. Even though the morning was freezing cold at the start the atmosphere was so warm and welcoming. It was clear that everyone was there to go out and have a fun day. The start was delayed by half an hour as according to the race organizers the markers on route were moved by the local inhabitants. This needed to be sorted out before the race could get on its way, as well as the clearing of some taxis on the roads. The ride was sorted into batches to avoid congestion in river crossings and single track. According to other riders this made the ride much more enjoyable and spread out.
My partner, Gregg McDonough (one of the makers of the course) and I started in batch B on day 1 (78kms). The start wasn’t fast like most races which showed that everyone was there to enjoy rather than to race. Starting on a gravel road it was very dusty but soon all the riders spread out so it was less dusty and easier to see. Probably one of my most challenging parts of day one was the grassy section in the beginning. What felt like miles and miles of riding on grass was really tiring. There were some incredible hills (Ngumeni for example) throughout the day there was always an awesome descent to recover on and enjoy.
Through the whole ride the course crossed over the Duzi meaning we would have to get wet. This made it very uncomfortable to ride with wet shoes which made it even colder too! But coming down into the valley closer to Inanda dam were some of the most breath taking views I have ever seen. This made me forget any discomfort of a long challenging ride and being cold! Closer to the finish it was tar road which was probably the fastest part of the course (although it surprised us with some frighteningly steel climbs!) The course took us on and off this road into awesome trails until eventually we could hear the music and loud speaker of the finish. After a hard days ride it was the best sound ever! Everyone was very supportive at the finish and we were welcomed home by Doug Bird and given a food pack and energy drink which was greatly needed! Greg and I completed this day in 5 hours 6 minutes. This is what we were aiming for. The day definitely had the most amazing riding I have ever seen!
There was camping at the finish of day one next to Inanda dam but we decided to stay in Kloof.
Day 2 (40kms) was a much warmer morning although the weather report said rain. Starting in batch B again we got on our way. Day two took us up probably the longest hardest climbs of the Duzi Mfula. It took forever for my legs to warm up as they were so stiff and sore from the previous day! As soon as I thought the course had started to even out it hit us with the dreaded Burma. Famous for the Duzi Canoe Marathon (where the paddlers carry their boats over the mountain as one of the portages) we had to pick up our bikes and hike up the+- 4km steep mountain. At the top we were eventually welcomed by the USN water tables where they had (like day 1) cooked potatoes, muffins and USN energy bars and juice.
After Burma the rest of the course was equally as tough and bumpy making it harder than usual especially with tired legs from the day before! On day 2 we climbed a total of 1225 m compared to 1378m the previous day!!! Riding changed completely along day 2 between the scenic inland areas, the rural settlements and the polluted areas closer to Durban. The coarse ended going through the Durban Motor Cross track and onto a golf course right next to Blue lagoon finish. Gregg and I finished in a time of 2hrs 58. Coming 80th overall.
Roan Exelby and David Leiman took the win in a time of 3hrs19 on day 1 and 1hr 55 on day 2.Carl Calverley and David Lowe came in second with Craig Stone and Nick Floris in third. Shawna Thunder (the first lady) and her partner Mathew Goetsch came in an amazing 7th place over all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment