Finally a mtn biker's day

Up until today the majority of the Cape Epic entailed huge pelotons of riders hammering down dirt roads at breakneck speeds. In fact the Cape Epic is often frequented by "roadies" who are able to make great gains by simply riding fast and in groups along the long long long road sections and then fumbling their way through the technical sections. Today, however, it was time for the mtn bikers to take the race back. The morning began as usual: Jim and I waking at 5AM grogy and tired from the day before. Then it's time to brew a cup of coffee aka nature's laxative (brought from Seattle) brewed in our own French press that I brought along (can't take any chances with our coffee). This particular day we stayed at a gentleman's home and he prepared a magnificant morning feast. It's almost as if the competition starts here as we try to consume as many calories as possible to get us through the day. Each day it's the same: granola, yogurt, ham, cheese, bread, whole milk, some type of juice, cooked tomatoes and some sort of bacon type substance. Trust me, this stuff does not go down easy. After eating, we must quickly dress, lube up our riding shorts, lather on the sunscreen and then head off to the start line. At the gun, it was business as usual as the riders formed into packs and raced into the countryside. Jim and I held back to give my "cooked" legs a rest. Lots of people whizzed by us, but I was confident we would see them again. Sure enough within a few hours we began picking off our competition. The thing we are finding out about this race is that the moment the terrain become even moderately technical, we begin to excel. Today our allie was sand. Lots and lots of sandpits. Suprisingly no one could seem to figure out how to stay upright in the sand. Luckily I have taken many "business trips" to Salt Lake City and have been known to get down to Moab from time to time. All the practice finally paid off. Jim and I felt really strong and passed no less than 100 teams within a few hours. This day was relatively short day: 74 miles in 5.5 hrs. That sounds crazy as I write this because I don't think I've ever ridden my mtn bike for than 45 miles in any given stretch prior to this trip. My, how a perspective can quickly change. So now we are resting on another farm someplace far out in the countryside. It is so beautiful out here as we relax in the South African summer sun. Soon it will be time to eat as much food as we can consume and then, in a few short hours we will be waking up to do it all over again.