The Freedom Challenge - Race To Rhodes 2019
The Freedom Challenge - Race To Rhodes 2019
After 6 months of planning and countless hours of training I found myself under a space blanket, spooning, with my dad, desperately trying to fight off the cold. It was just before dawn and -7 degrees, it felt like my body was being closed in a vice.
We were not lost but the possibility of getting lost was real, if we tried to continue on across the frozen river and through the endless maze of wattle in the darkness.
I wanted to see what was involved in undertaking an endurance event and this is how I found myself in the “spooning predicament.”
During Grade 11 at Michael Mount Waldorf school I was tasked with a research project, I chose the topic 'The Mental and Physical Aspects of Endurance Sports', and as for a practical component to the project, I participated in an event called Race To Rhodes, which is part of the Freedom Challenge. I was intrigued by the event as my father has participated in it previously. The event involves map navigation, self supported mountain biking and even some mountainous portage sections. I have ridden a bicycle since the age of 3 but only infrequently and socially.
Pre-race/Training
I started riding with ICG (Illovo Cycling Group) in late January. They are predominantly a road cycling group, I joined them on my mountain bike in the mornings. On my first Friday morning, supposed “coffee ride” I was shocked to find myself spat out the back of the group even though I thought I was physically fit and strong. After a number of training rides with them during the week, I decided to see if I could keep up on a longer Saturday ride - Cradle B. We rode 120km from Rosebank, through the Cradle of Mankind and back. After about 80km I “hit the wall”. My legs had no peddling power and I had completely run out of glycogen as I did not pack enough food. I had also been trying to keep up with the others who were on road bikes. For the last 40 odd kilometers my father and some of the other riders in the group had to physically pull and push me home.
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| Emmarentia Dam Wall |
In the weeks leading up to the race, My father and I woke up at 04:02am on weekdays, which gave us enough time to be out and on the road by 04:30, we then rode to the groups meeting point in Rosebank and I would ride 35 to 50km before school. As well as most days I had 2 hours of basketball practice in the afternoons. On one particular weekend we were participating in an Open Men's Basketball Tournament at Wits University. I had a long training ride scheduled for the same morning. I ended up doing a 120km ride early in the morning and managed to rush home, shower, eat, change and get to basketball in time for the warm up. I did not say anything about the morning cycle to my coach as I still wanted game time. I felt constantly exhausted but always keen for the next training session.
Between late January 2019, when I started training and the start of the race, I completed 89 rides - an accumulation of 222 hours and 48 minutes of riding. Over 4088km with an elevation gain of 51918m.
A week before the Race to Rhodes I participated in the Magalies Monster MTB race. Due to my age I was only allowed to participate in the 35km race, as it was a Cycling South Africa sanctioned event. I had no previous seeding races so I started in Batch B. I managed to finish 17th overall and 9th in my age category. I was pleased with my result. It was an interesting comparison between racing in my age category over a short distance to what I was about to experience on Race To Rhodes.
A week before the race, I lifted a heavy stage prop incorrectly which resulted in a lower back injury. I could barely move. I spent some time at the biokineticist and doing exercises to try to get some movement through my spine. Getting to the start of the race was a whole journey in itself.
Freedom Challenge Race to Rhodes 2019
14:00 - We were the first of our batch to arrive at the Sleeping Bao in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday 11 June. I was feeling very excited, and a bit nervous, as we unpacked and prepared our bicycles and kit. We met the Race director and organizers, Chris and Julia Fisher and drank coffee while the others arrived.
18:00 - I sat around the dinner table while observing the other participants, some who seemed to be feeling very nervous. Being a fair bit older than me, I thought to myself “they must know better” and again, “what have I gotten myself into?”. Race briefing began, where we were given all the rules and regulations again. Chris also explained how to use the GPS trackers we had been issued and reiterated the safety proceedings and the importance of closing farm gates. My father and I had only been issued one GPS tracker as the terms of my entry was that I had to stay with him at all times, due to the fact that I was only seventeen.
Race Day - Wednesday 12 June 2019
03:45 - We ate breakfast, packed our things and all headed in convoy to the start. My batch consisted of Nic Adams, Stuart Roos, Ivor Jones, Chris Neethling, Shaun Tischendorf, the brothers Bruce and Shaun Knowles, my dad Merak Greaves and myself.
06:00 - Pietermaritzburg City Hall. As the town clock struck 6am, we rolled out for the adventure ahead.
11:00 - In the beginning it was very social as we all rode along getting to know each other. We arrived at the first interim stop - The Old Oaks Hotel in Byrne along with the Durban Boys (Stuart, Ivor and Chris) and Nic. We all rode at a similar pace so ended up spending a fair amount of time together on the trail. We ate soup and headed out as the others were coming in.
12:00 - We headed down the notorious concrete strips of the Umkomaas Valley. A lot of riders carry a spare set of brake pads just for this downhill. I was advised to “feather my breaks” to avoid them overheating. The route went from a dual lane dirt road to jeep track, to single track and finally to no track in no time at all. The narrative suggests “You need to scramble over the back of the rocks and then the river bed opens up again into a grassed section. Once you reach this grassed area you should see cattle tracks going left into the bushes on your left. Put your bike down and follow one of these tracks for about 20 metres. You should find a jeep track in the bushes. Retrieve your bike and follow the jeep track across the base of the spur. When you reach the river again the track splits with the main track going to the left alongside the river. However, there is also a track going off to the right.”
The Umkomaas is a monster on its own. You carry your bike for ages, over rocks until your ankles ache from walking at unusual angles, while trying not to drop your bike in the river and with branches scratching your entire body. And it was only half way through day one. Eventually, we got to a point along the river, where it was about 50m wide and safe enough to carry our bikes across. It was hip deep and freezing cold. A few days later, one of the other riders decided to attempt to cross the river where it was much narrower, just above the rapids. He proceeded to be washed down the rapids. From this I learnt to always cross a river at the widest point.
14:00 - The next challenge was Hela Hela Pass. This is a massive climb which is 5.9km long with 592m of ascent and a maximum gradient of 20.5%. It was tough, many riders suffer cramping legs, while even some of the “racers” walk parts of it.
16:00 - After Hela Hela we had a couple of rolling hills between us and Allandale farm. It should have been an easier part of the day but I had underestimated the amount of calories I needed so I completely “hit the wall” as I had nothing left in the tank. My dad tried to keep encouraging me but I just had a glazed look.
18:00 - Safe and sound at Allendale farm which is the family farm of David Waddilove, the original founder of the race. It was warm and snug.
Day 2 - Thursday 14 June
04:00 - We wake up to pouring rain with a 9 degree high forecast for the day. We had no choice but to pack up and get going.
05:00 - The exit out of Allendale farm is tricky in the dark and it is almost like a swamp to get out of. Although, luckily we managed to find our way and headed for Donnybrook forest.
08:30 - We were through Donnybrook. It was cold, rainy and misty. I could not feel my hands. I had taken one layer of gloves off for some silly reason and could not warm up again. It was terrible.
11:00 - Centocow Mission is an old Catholic mission in the middle of nowhere and was our interim stop for the day. The Nuns fed us soup, orange juice, curry and rice and a selection of cake. This time I made sure I was not going to run out of calories. Then the sun came out just in time for the hills.
From Centocow Mission to Ntsikeni was just huge climbs. One uphill after another, sometimes on very rocky paths. The section from Allendale to Ntsekeni is 96km with around 2480m of ascent. After this I felt like I could climb anything.
16:30 - Ntsikeni Lodge lies in a grassland and is well known for its birding. This grassland means that the last few kilometers were also pretty hard but well worth it as we arrived at this beautiful lodge and were welcomed by the clapping hands of the legendary Mr Nqobo. We sprayed down our bikes as they were muddy. It was very cold but there was a roaring fire going and food was ready straight away. We were pleased as we wanted to get a few hours sleep, our intention was to ride a bit with Mike Woolnough, who had started the day after us and was riding non-stop to Rhodes.
22:00 - My father had been sleeping with one eye open, to see when Mike's light appeared in the valley. We slept in our clothes, so just jumped up as soon as we saw him and headed to the lounge to wait. When Mike arrived he was freezing and his gear cable had frozen so he only had one gear. He immediately put his bike at the fireplace to thaw out. Suddenly, we remembered that we had sprayed our bikes down and they now would also be frozen, so we too put our bikes by the fire. I was amazed to see that Mike had such a calm mentality even though he was “racing”.
22:30 - We left the warmth of Ntsikeni into the pitch dark, wearing all our clothing. Even though it was a full moon, I could see little but darkness, stars, the odd silhouette and the fine beam of my bike light. For hours I felt like I was in my own little bubble. Although Mike was exhausted he was like a tour guide, teaching us to navigate with the stars and imparting many valuable tips from the trail.
01:00 - After Politique Kraal there was a short portage option, which took us up to a dirt road. Here Mike taught me to always “think like a cow”. To follow cattle tracks when possible or to imagine what path they might take as it will always be easier.
03:00 - We arrived at Glen Edward where we woke up our hosts, Charles and Sheila who quickly greeted us and started warming up a meal for us. Sleeping at Glen Edward were 4 riders who started the day before us but opted to take a half day from Ntsikeni; John Bowen, Wade Mostert and the other father and son team of Nico and Nic Louw. Sheila was incredibly friendly, we drank tea with milk and sugar which was delicious. It was difficult to leave but they packed us off with some fruit and homemade biltong and half an hour later we headed out into the darkness.
05:00 - We crossed the Mzimvubu river, which is the border between Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape. The roads on the Kwa-Zulu Natal side of the border were nicely graded but immediately the road surface deteriorated on the Eastern Cape side of the bridge. The temperature had now dropped to -7 degrees. It was here that I started to take strain and became worried that I might slow Mike down. I was exhausted, I could not follow the maps anymore and felt disoriented. In the last 24 hours I had ridden 192 km with 4115m of ascent, with only 2 hours of sleep. This was way more than I had ever ridden in a single stretch before, never mind the terrain, lack of sleep and extreme cold.
06:00 - In order to not hold Mike up, we found a secluded spot within a wild wattle plantation and stopped to wait for sunlight so we could find our bearings. Mike went on to win Race To Rhodes 2019. It was just before dawn, so it was very cold. We had made a Futurelife shake in a water bottle, the water was full of bits of ice. We placed our bikes around us and snuggled under our space blankets. We lay there shivering for the next hour. It felt like my body was being closed in a vice. It was quite unbearable but there was nothing we could do but wait for light.
Day 3 - Friday 15 June
07:00 - We woke up covered in frost. I paced up and down wrapped in my space blanket trying to warm up. Our water bottles were frozen solid but at least now it was light so we could be on the move again. The rest of the morning is a bit of a haze. I was cold, sleep deprived and hungry and we were just trying to navigate to the next support station. I do, however, vividly remember being chased by a large pack of dogs.
12:30 - In Masakala. What a happy moment. It was so nice to be inside out of the elements. Masakala is a traditional guest house in the middle of a village. The house across the road had about 50 little lambs in their yard. Cute and noisy.
16:00 - Late afternoon the other riders started arriving. The Durban Boys, Nic Adams, John and Wade, Father and son - Nico and Nic, Shaun and the Knowles brothers and then later Axel Poser, who started in the same batch as Mike. It was a full house and rightly so, as it was Nic’s 60th birthday so there was a huge celebration to be had.
Day 4 - Saturday 16 June
05:00 - We were well rested and looking forward to a good ride to Malekgonyane. Also, it was not particularly cold.
07:00 - At sunrise, as we hit the floodplains before Queen's Mercy it became freezing. It looked spectacular with the frost across the landscape. It was here where we put Mike’s lesson to practice, by urinating on our shifting cables to defrost them. It worked like a charm.
09:00 - We stopped for a coke at a spaza shop in Queens Mercy. I was surprised to find that the children playing around the spaza shop were listening to music I knew.
10:30 - The Mparane ridge was fun to ride, as the track is smooth “drag paths” created by centuries of cattle dragging wattle branches across the landscape to the local villages. It was here that I took my first Myprodol as I had agonising pain in my knees which continued on to the finish. I had felt them for a while already but was hoping I could ride it out.
