Sani2C Team Olympic Cycles

Wow wow wow, is 3 words (if they are really words) on how I would start to describe the Sani2C 3 day stage race.

I was lucky enough to obtain a much sort after international entry to the event based on my oversea’s race results and snapped up the relatively cheap R4000 race fee quick stix. As I raced the Cape Epic and Carrie supported us knowing her heart really wanted to ride the Epic this year, I choose this race to be a relationship-building event with my love. Some take there partners to Indo or the a chilled island the Philippines’s to sit back and sip cocktails we choose an endurance event which covered 300km’s of insane African terrain mixed with some of the best single track and loads good farm style kos. The Sani2C is one event I would say to anyone who is lucky enough to get an entry is a must do in one’s life.

It starts in the Underberg 1700km from Cape Town which is about a 24hr drive and end in Scottsburgh on the Natal coastline. Which also is a sick right-hander break that offers a super ripperable waves on most days. So plan was to take two days to drive up, surfing along the way. Had good Lookout on the new super bank along with all the newfound locals. But did get it late in the evening all to ourselves plus a few floating logs, trees, doors and even a dinghy which sat in the middle of the line up! The thought of those big fish did cross my mind as that river mouth has some serious shit float out it and is super wide at the mo. But didn’t bring that up with Carrie as she was having a blast on the mellow right hander running for 50m down the bank to ourselves. We camped down at the Keurbooms river and the Landies rooftop tent is just so insane, we are hooked. Next stop before hitting the next 1000 to Underberg was Jbay on the Tuesday, we rocked up and found 3-4ft waves with min Ou’s on it so surfed for 5 hrs till 4pm that day with only 6 others with some 6ft sets reeling down supers point. I just couldn’t stop saying to Carrie “this never happens, we so lucky!!!” Couldn’t get over that we had it so uncrowded.

Floating over impossibles (click to enlarge pic if wanted):

Snap snap at Supers:

Even snabbed a barrells all to myself earley in the morning:

Didn’t take pic’s but above pics are of on the return trip. Just can’t say no to surfing Supers. So this is where the endurance event started surfed Supers for 5 hrs got out once the car was packed with the bikes and boards couldn’t find the car key!Doh unpack and find key slammed in rear door and yes the PC chipset in the electronic key was toasted. So 5pm the day before “Voting day” so Wednesday is a public holiday (to courier the spare key would have been R3000min- no chance ) we are sitting in Jbay not being able to start the Landy…cut a long story short we couldn’t drive anywhere slept at the Dace’s in Cape St Francois (Jade and Tant our savoury’s) had to rent a car for PE airport at 10am morning and drive 12 hrs to Underberg in a Tata 1.1 engine with 2 bikes, 2 surfboards and all our shit – arrived there at 8.30pm and where the last people to register and had no where to stay (as had planned to sleep in Rooftop tent on Landy which was sitting at PE airport immobilized). But our Karma turned around and one of the organizers said “no you come stay with us on our farm after the hassles you have gone through to get here”. So rocked up to her farm 5km out and had set us up in a sweet rondavel with double bed and down doona and woke up at 5am to a full breakfast laid out for us prior to hopping on the bike for 70km for the day.

So to just start the race was awesome for us as things where looking pretty bleak at one stage in Jbay with no car, no key and a public holiday with everything closed the next day! Stoked to be lined up at the start line in our Offical race team Olymipic cycles kit http://www.olympiccycles.co.za/ with Carrie lining up at her first multi day race. Day 1- 87km was filled with some good flowing fast tracks which took us 4.11hrs to complete. Carrie rode well and recovered well for day 2 which was to be the best day in the saddle that any mountain biker could experience.

It start with 10km of fun flat tights single tracks to drop us down a fast 14km switchback groomed single track with breathtaking Umkomaas valley views…just so insane so I won’t rant on about too much!But Like I said you just gotta do it to experience it!Also had the best water stop ever at about the 60km point – I had 2 x Nando’s chicken burgers, 2 x Jam doughnuts, had my sunglasses polished by a 1st grader, some fruit, sweets and farm baked banana bread and some juice to flush down. Then hit the toughest climb of the day 5 mins later, love it, felt like bloated Wilderbeast climbing up a cliff. Finished riding a tough 96km in 6hrs ps: Around the 50km point Carrie started to realized stage racing is kind of tough, pps: around the 80km Carrie mumbled the words “ I am going to puke” followed 15mins later by “ I can do endurance” and little pushing and pulling from her beloved partner (after all this was a relationship building exercise) and yes finished within the top 20 mixed team that day and gained 50 positions overall. So a great day!

Day 3 was relatively short and fast 78km through the cane fields with some fast descents, however became fun when we started to ride along side another mixed team who where also trying to race for top 20 spot. Out came the fire and the will of the two girls (us guys just chatted and shared nutrition advice while the girls sweated it out) even to the point of them both riding through the water points and leaving us guys to stop and grab food and then catch up. Yes the race was on and now it was fun (yes I love to race and beat people!!! But turns out Carrie does too) so the relationship building excerise is really working now! So we raced head to head for +-40km to the last 2km where they sent us over the Scottburgh beach (where the sweet right hander is) and had built a scaffolding structure which we had to ride over. Carrie infront me behind – looking at the surf then rode off the side of the structure to slam dunked myself so hard off the structure –blood everywhere, baseball size nugget on my leg muscle, camera’s everywhere and crowds of people all gasping – yes I AM A MUPPET! 2km from the end after 300km I eat shit hard! In front of the crowd- yes MUPPET. Now the race with the chicks is still on and I have to pick myself up wipe some blood off and chase Carrie who certain didn’t wait for her competent boyfriend (Not) to find there was a 1,5km 15% uphill to the finish line. My leg is feeling like hulk kicked me with steel toe boots and now have to pull Carrie up the hill out the saddle as the other guy is dragging is chick up the hill 20 m ahead of us –pushing his limits…and that’s where I end this story as there was no happy ending…I didn’t catch him and we didn’t beat them but finished 20th in the mixed couples with blood all over me and not being able to walk or surf but with a big smile and a partner who gave it her all and push new boundaries…and the relationship still in tacked! Success in anyones words…

P

The hill after 2 xburgers + everything else on the table : note Carrie not smiling
as the hill was named " A Push of a hill":

Fresh start after endurance driving of note in TATA 1.1 at 120km

The 100m man made bridge to cross-awazing

Sleeping amoungst the Maccadamia trees:

Waves waves waves

Well been doing lots of cross training for the Sani2C mtb race in 8 days time, well mainly just surfing a hell of alot!!! With the odd swim at Silvermine reservoir.

Below is a certain town wave which a Ryan and Shaun Payne, Sean Holmes and I surfed the other day. Tonymalony Fox was the brave soul who swam out and snapped a few pic's into the sun, as you can tell the waves is pretty hardcore on the take off and then runs into dry reef just to keep it interesting!



And to top the week off we have had one or two sweet Kalk bay days which the whole of Cape Town got to enjoy!!yes slightly crowded but happy to get some fun cover up's. Here is the a sequence Chappy shot on one of the smaller days. As my mind works backwards here is the sequence as I remember it!

Winter starts

With a flick of a switch the cold chills of winter where felt in CT. Although winter is on it's way by no means are the waves subsiding. We have had awesome waves every week on both Altantic and Indian oceans. We had a pretty good False bay swell last week, but due so many public holidays – Freedom day producing the best of them all the crowds where around lapping up waves in Nelsons memory. Amongst the many lenseman shooting Kalk Bay Greg Chapman – Chappie endured the longest session to snap some epic pic’s:




Whilst most people are at the grind, I have been on the bike doing the miles in the mornings and then sneaking off to find a secluded wave- o how I love my life right now.

Here is a taste of the East coast late night session in a pretty well known location for it's shark infested waters but all I saw was crisp clean 6-8ft waves on an awesome evening:

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Another isolated day on a random beachie with some round glassy bowls:




And then we have had big storms and wild sea's, this day saw two of us paddle out at about 10 foot plus with some shifty righthanders breaking off some vertical cliff's:




Hope everyone is bring out their ugg's and waxing up the guns, next up for me is the Sani2C MTB stage race on 19th-21 May... laters

Westkis

Well I think everyone in Western and Southern Cape has a tale to tell about the past swell this week! It was soild for two days with some spots going dilly and many surfed out bodies around the place. We drove a few hours up the west coast and got some fun waves.. Totally unprepared with no sleepbags or sheets but with the joys of having the rooftop tent we managed to get few good hours sleep and get few fun waves on Sat morning and then rushed back to CT for Sowing the Seeds which lined some of South Africa's top bands (aKing who played a sweet mellow set, Hot Water and Jeremy Loops)in an epic location near Cape Point which turned out to be a great day/night!

A certain town waves we surfed on the Friday with a bit more size on it on the Saturday morning:

Sowing the seeds festival, great bands, great vibe, great mates and few too many beers to flush it all down on a windy CT evening in Cape Point:

First Kalk Bay session 7th April

So it feels like summer in Cape Town although it's not!With howling SE'ers and a flat Alantic ocean there could only be one spot to score once the tide pushed. I checked it in the morning which was no good but the late arvo session offered lightish winds and some fun late drops. The whole crew (Warren, Andrew W, Mickey D, Alan Robb, George, Steve Gadd just to mention a few) where hungry to score some waves at the reef which hasn't really broken for the past month. The contours didn't really happen but was good to find my feet again at my childhood local after a year of not surfing the Reef. A few fun bowls to snap: Theres not many waves that deliver such a thrill in such a short ride: After riding 38hrs and 707km in the Cape Epic my legs still felt good to do few turns: Even found the odd right, only because was too late to go left! Hidden away from the Howling SE while Chris Bertish was using himself as a sail to SUP 110km from the Waterfront to Langebaan! More late drops and stoked to get out with one board: Hope everyone is having as good a time as I am, will keep you posted...