Otium Sanctum - Riding 'Die Burger' mountainbike race
Sunday, August 1, 2010 at 9:42PM 
On Saturday the 31st of July 2010 I had the joy of riding my second 'Die Burger' mountainbike challenge in Stellenbosch. It is a truly superb race on the mountainbiking calendar - it is well organised, well supported and the riding terrain is second to none! Plus, it is in my 'back garden' so it is very convenient.
This year I did the 60 KM ride with my Wines2Whales team mate Greg Long. Greg is a great friend and an superb cyclist. He has super technical ability (mainly due to his experience as a national champion BMX rider in his youth). He is also very strong physically and mentally - not to mention that we get along so well. It is a joy to ride with Greg. He and I are quite evenly matched most of the time. I am quite strong on the climb but slow on the technical and he is superfast on the technical and steady on the climbs.
On this race, however, he was on top form! He did the 60KM course in a super 4h02. I on the other hand only managed 4h50 - I'll say a bit more about my time below. I ended up with a slit tyre, no repair kit and two flat tubes...
It was an overcast day with strong winds, but quite a lot of the course was sheltered. What also made the riding quite good this year was the fact that it had not rained for the 10 days preceding the race. Die Burger is known to be a muddy ride in winter! This year wasn't too bad. There was some mud to contend with, but on the whole the farm tracks, climbs through the vineyards, forest sections and single track were all pretty dry and well maintained. Much of the tract was quite new and it was clear that the organisers had done great work to get things ready for the race!
I rode on my trusty Mongoose Canaan Comp which I have had for about 2 years now. She is a trusty steed that handles the terrain much better than I do. I lovingly refer to her as 'the beast' because she carves up the dirt with ease! This range of full suspension bikes is truly exceptional value for money! I was fortunate to purchase my bike as stock from a previous year that had not sold, so I got it at a great price. But even new they are extremely affordable, well fitted, and durable. Perhaps the only thing that I would change on my bike is better suspension - to be able to lock out the suspension on the climb would be a great bonus! But, the bike is comfortable, stable, and fairly light.
Die Burger MTB challenge has 4 distance rides on the day - 15 KM for the kids and novices, a 30 KM ride for teenagers and more avid riders, a 42 KM ride for those who are hankering after a little distance, and then the 60 KM ride for those of us who really enjoy a bit of a leg stretch! There is also a 75KM ride, but that is by invitation only and caters for the more professional and skilled riders.
The 60 KM ride has plenty of variety - water crossings, farm trails, mountain tracks, jeep tracks, great fast descents, some fairly technical sections with steep dropoffs and switchbacks, and lots of single track (rolling track and some climbs and fast descending track in the forest).
It was this track that I slit my rear tyre on a root. I heard the air coming out and then my tube burst as it bubled through the slit. So, I changed it fairly quickly and started riding. But within about 50 meters the second tube also burst. That was when I knew I was in trouble. Both my tubes were flat, my tyre was slit and I didn't have any patches and glue. I asked all the passing riders for help and they were all kind, but most people ride on tubeless tyres so I wasted 30 minutes before someone came along with spare patches and glue! I patched the tyre first by sticking a patch on the inside of the tyre to strengthen the hole. Then I patched the tube and put it back in. It held for the rest of the race, although I had to underinflate the tyre to stop the slit from getting larger. I will certainly have to get another rear tyre when I have a few spare rand! I won't be able to ride another race on this one.
Here's my 'bush workshop'.
So, my time could have been 4h20 were it not for the breakdown.
Still, I am happy with my ride. It was good training for Wines2Whales later this year.
Most of all, I am grateful to have enjoyed nature, engaged with other riders, encouraged a few people along the way, and had a chance for some 'Holy Leisure' (otium sanctum). My body, mind and soul feel renewed!
Above is a screenshot of the route for the ride (I use a Garmin Edge 705 heart rate monitor and GPS - I sync the data to a program called Ascent on my Apple Mac that allows me to get routes, my speed, calories expended, average speed and a host of other data).
Over the 60 KM we climbed a total of 1519 meters! The worst climb for me was right at the begining (towards Hellshoogte - I think it is called Bosmanskop), and then the climb from Delvera farm through the Papagaaiberg before one descends into Stellebosch for the finish. My goodness, that took a lot of lungs and legs to keep peddling!
The image above shows the elevation, my heart rate, and speed throughout the ride. The slit tyre happened on the highest point of the blue graph (labels 6-8 if you can read them).
I'd love to hear about your rides if you have any to share - particularly if you're from elsewhere in the world!
Reader Comments (2)
No I avoid exercise as much as possible. I bought a bike 2 years ago and fell off once and have not tried to ride again.
I feel your pain, Dion. I rode the Sabie Classic this year for the 6th time and had a similar experience also around the 1/2 way mark. I fixed and patched but ultimately needed a gator. So I fashioned one from a piece of tyre liner to stop the tube popping out of the tyre. 3 punctures later the without the means to inflate the tyre (bombs all used, pump useless) and with a big hole in the tyre wall I decided to run the rest of the way - about 2km.
Not a pleasant experience from a riding point of view, but the scenery waqs fantastic!