Day #1: 6hr 38min/60 miles

The Cape Epic did not fail to live up to its name today. 1100 riders gathered in the pre-dawn hours on the main street in Knysna to await the starter's gun. The atmosphere was one of excitement and trepidation. Soon those feelings were replaced by suffering and fatigue as we left the start venue and immediately were smaked with a brutally steep paved climb out of town. At the top of the climb we veered off the pavement and began the 60 mile ride to Uniondale. For about the first 4 hrs the riders were in groups of twenty or so as far as the eye could see. However, once we hit the big climb of the day (7mile climb gaining 2599ft) the riders became strung out; teams of two grinding their way to the top side by side up the mountain. The weather was sunny but quite pleasant. The views were incredible but the ascents to the views were another story. (we did do some riding in the forest where we were told to watch out for Mr. Cobra. And in case of a bite try and identify the type of snake so the race medic can use the proper anti-venom). Jim was riding super strong today and carried the bulk of our group gear including a water bottle for yours truly. Our game plan has been to take the first three days as easy as possible to allow me to gain some of my endurance back since I was sidelined with knee pain for the past 3wks. However, it is pretty hard to let guys with hairy legs and backpacks the size of a student traveling across Europe pass you by. It's a tough pill to swallow, but we feel it will pay dividends later in the week after they wear themselves out and we get stronger. After a long long day in the saddle we were greeted by our hosts who wisked us away to a quaint farmhouse B&B (equiped w/windmill) in the middle of nowhere. (Jim and I, who are accustomed to living high on the hog, signed up for the "Premium" accomodation package. We have our own driver, receive a 1hr massage daily and stay in a hotel rather than a tent; well worth the money if you ask us or our legs). As an aside, the pros who won the stage did it in 4:17. So we will not be quiting our day jobs-yet. We've been getting some great words of encouragement from those of you reading the blog and have really enjoyed reading them before we head out in the AM. Thx.