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Robert Dempster
The SAFIRE Berg 100The toughest one day MTB race in South Africa |
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Nine months ago I had a L3/4/5 Laminectomy and that put paid to me riding the 2014 Amashova Durban Classic from Pietermaritzburg to Durban during October 2014. When that was settled, I decided that I should return to Cape Town in 2015 to ride the Argus (Cape Town Cycle Tour) again in March 2015. I needed to do this in order to establish that I could still ride these 100 km road races. Unfortunately the route that the Argus follows is around the Cape Peninsula mountains that were ravaged by fires the week before the event. So I ended up riding the Argus Lite i.e., 48 kms from the start to Muizenberg and back to the finish. The net result of that was that I failing to test my ability to finish a 100 km ride / race.
IN order to compensate on having missed out on the Argus, Bruce and I decided to ride the 2015 SAFIRE Berg 100, a race that is billed as the toughest one day MTB race in South Africa. I did this race in 2012 when it was first launched as an easy training ride for the multi-day, paired mountain bike Sani2C race. It took me 8 hours and 4 minutes to complete the ride on what was a very hot day. Way beyond the 5 to 5.5 hours I would normally take to complete a 100 km road race. So overnight the SAFIRE Berg 100 became one of the toughest one day MTB races in South Africa. Regardless of whether that is true or not, it is not at all easy, and I was more than please to have completed the race ridden in the opposite direction yesterday in 7 hours.
The race started under cloudy skies and the cloud got lower and heavier towards the finish. While the clouds spoilt the spectacular views of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg escarpment to be had along the way, the cool weather did make the going easier. Basically the route follows a path parallel to, and some distance from the uKhahlamba Drakensberg escarpment. The net result of this is that the route crosses a number of valleys through which rivers that originate in the mountains flow. The two distinct lowest points during the first half of the ride correspond to the Umkomaas and Lotheni River valleys which both support very well established rural communities. Exiting the Lotheni valley involves an energy sapping 600 m climb over 17 km. The total climb during the ride as measured by Sports Tracker on my phone was 3000 m. Fortunately this ascent was matched by a descent of similar proportions.
Three quarters of the route is over regional dirt roads which were mostly in a good condition. There was also almost no other traffic on the road and so I guess the cyclists participating owe the organizers and the local residents a big THANK YOU! This made it easier to negotiate the corrugations and because I was riding at the back of the field, it was relatively easy to follow the path in the dirt of the road that was created by the hundreds of bikes that had proceeded me. The descents were of course a real pleasure despite the shake-up they provided, and the odd moment of anxiety that would occur when I thought my uncleated Jim Green Boots would leave my pedals.
Quite clearly it is a difficult ride, and so the pace is undoubtedly slower. While my climbing speed was largely unaffected by the nature of the surface of the dirt / gravel road surface, the speed at which I descended the hills was at most 75 % of what I would achieve on a tarred surface. The countryside traversed was superb, and I would go so far as to say that it rivals the scenic beauty I would associate with the Argus. The organisation of the race was also superb and the support and encouragement at the water tables vital for those at the back of the field.
In the hope that I would be able to convey some of what I experienced on the ride, I decide to stop occasionally to take some photographs. As I mentioned earlier, it would have been great if the uKhahlamba Drakensberg escarpment could have appeared in the background of some of these photographs. So while I am hoping the photographs do succeed in conveying something of the nature of the ride, I know in my heart of hearts that it is never going to be the same as being there.
Ultimately what impressed me most during my ride was the number of women I ended up riding with at the back of the field, and I could not but admire those that were coming in right at the end after nine hours on the road. I am sure that they too like me felt it was great, especially when it was over.
In closing I have a couple of votes of thanks. Firstly to my wife Edith, for getting up at 3:30 AM to get Bruce and I to Himeville, and then for driving up to Nottingham Road in the afternoon to collect us. Then to the all those involved in the organisation of a great event. And finally to the Neurosurgeon who worked on my back, it did not bother me once while I was on my bike!
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Takes a while to load, but then proceeds quite smoothly. Looses image aspect ratio for portrait images i.e., squashes them.
If you have any comments, corrections, suggestions or plain criticism, I would appreciate it if you would communicate the same to me.
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[email protected] |
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Google+ | www.robdempster.com |
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