Why do a 50 km mountain biking race? Why not?!

So I’m writing this blog. That means I survived.  I wasn’t sure if I should do the 30km or the 50km, but what the hell you gotta dream big right?

I signed up on Friday and rode Saturday at 9:00. It was raining so I didn’t bring my camera so SORRY NO PICTURES. But matt and I are going to ride around the Knysna forest again with a co- worker soon and I’ll take a lot of them.

Here is the map and the elevation profile.

The first hill was insane. In fact I had to walk most of it. Then we got to the forest and I kept riding and riding and I thought to myself “wow I must be close to the end, but I didn’t see the water point” turns out I hadn’t even gotten to the water point. When I asked I found out it was still a couple of kilometers away I decided to quit when I got there.

I made it to the water point and had some oranges and a lot of coke. The caffeine and sugar kicked in and I changed my mind and went for it. It was raining on and off so some parts were pretty muddy. At the second water point I chugged more coke and are a bunch of delicious banana cake and that kept me going.

First I was worried about my legs, and then I realized that my fingers were cold and hurting from the vibration, I had a sharp pain in my shoulder and I don’t even wanna talk about my crotch.

The landscapes were absolutely beautiful, from deep forests to views of whole valleys and quarries, but the last peak was the most amazing. The sun came out and I got this view of the city, the lagoon and the islands and the hill was covered by yellow flowers. It was heavenly.

Then the moment I was waiting for came- The last downhill. I joked around with a few riders saying “It’s all downhill form here” at random points. But it turns out it was still challenging because it was so bumpy and fast I had to stand up but my legs were already gone.

Stats

Time: 4 hrs. and 53 minutes

Distance to water points: 25km and 35km

Total Distance: 50 km ~31 mi

Time spent sleeping after the race: 14 hrs.

I also went surfing last Monday after work with my coworker Liezl. It was so much fun I want to buy a board now. I’ll sell it on Action Ads (like a local craigslist) before I leave. I think we saw a shark, but maybe it was just a seal.  The only problem is that the days are short so I only have about an hour to surf after work.

Today’s word is BAKKIE which means Pickup truck. Like “Yea, we can all ride in my bakkie”