BBC - 606 - - A30872739 - An Epic Mountain bike adventure

16 comments

An Epic Mountain bike adventure

Mountain biking

by Matt Davis - BBC News (U8672384) 09 January 2008

BBC News’s Matt Davis is keeping a weekly diary of his experiences of training for the Absa Cape Epic – a nine-day, 1,000km mountain bike race in South Africa at the end of March 2008.

There are about 12 weeks before my buddy Sean and I are due to start the biggest athletic challenge of our lives – and I’m still not entirely sure why we’re doing it. We’ve entered the Absa Cape Epic, which is a marathon mountain bike race along the beautiful South African ‘Garden route’. But we won’t be admiring the scenery. Instead we’ll be struggling to make daily 10-hour time controls over stages that cover up to 140km off-road, and have profiles that look like the readout from a seismograph.

In nine days, the route climbs twice the height of Mount Everest in temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Right now, it feels like a giant iceberg, looming unavoidably into view. When the race starts, ice is sure to be the last thing on our minds.

Now, I love mountain biking – exploring the countryside, riding the unpredictable terrain, getting knackered and dirty, enjoying a hard-earned mug of tea and a cake at the end of it all. That’s a big part of the reason I’m doing the race. But cycling isn’t my number one sport (that’s squash), and frankly I’m wondering if we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew. I’ve been reading a few of the 606 cycling pages, and it’s pretty clear we have nowhere near as much knowledge or experience as many people out there.

The Epic is definitely the kind of challenge you can’t get through on willpower alone – but fortunately I’m enjoying the discipline of training. We did a fair amount of social riding last summer – we even entered a World Cup race in the Dolomites – and we've been training properly for just over a month.

Putting in at least 12 hours per week - which they say is probably just enough to finish the Cape Epic, let alone race it, is proving hard though. I’m a new Dad (to Harry, three months old); I’ve just started a new job at the BBC World Service; my wife is already a sports-widow.

Frankly, life is busy (and expensive) enough already without getting up every dark, cold morning to get on the bike.

Maybe there’s something of the now or never about doing the race. At 34, I’m not getting any younger, and as Sean tells me, “We’ll do it next year” usually means, “We’ll never do it”. That must be what’s driving me on those boring laps around Richmond Park, or when I’m almost getting exposure in the Welsh hills.

But now January’s here, we’ve realised we really haven't got much longer to get into the kind of shape that will enable us to finish the race. The plan for the next 12 weeks is get as many hours in as possible – do some epic rides like the South Downs Way, and sponge as much advice and technical know-how as we can. Hopefully, by the end of March it will all come together!

If you’ve ever done anything like the Epic, then please get in touch. Likewise if you’re a mountain biker and know any great routes within a few hours’ drive of London. And if you’ve ever taken on a challenge you thought was too big, but have lived to tell the tale, we’d love to hear from you.

comment on this article | send to a friend

Latest 10 comments

view all 16 comments

Read members' comments or add your own

comment by Phil S - BBC Sport (U8520575)

posted Jan 9, 2008

Best of luck, Matt. I am no mountain biker but I can't see a bit of training on the road doing any harm. I'd imagine you need sessions that will raise your anaerobic threshold rather than lots of long, steady stuff. Of course, training on the MTB is also vital as it's specific to your event. I'd echo the above comments about nutrition - get used to what works for you now and start getting into the habit of on-the-bike feeding.

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by Craig772 (U10804492)

posted Jan 10, 2008

Good luck. Certainley get used to eating and drinking sports bars/drinks/gel on the move. I did http://www.roughride.co.uk last year covering 46 miles XC and had 6500ft of climbing. I was fine except for unexpected awful neck strain from lifting my head up to look ahead up the hills. I've eased this through doing a lot of road riding which makes you keep your head up. There's no substitute for time in the saddle!

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by paulthebike (U6811509)

posted Jan 11, 2008

Agree - time in saddle is key - get used to long rides first using road bike, then up the ante to include long rides and rough stuff and hills

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by lordpuzzled (U10830974)

posted Jan 14, 2008

I did this years Cape Epic - it really is awesome. Its very well organised. Fitness is one thing but it takes a fair bit of mental strength as well. Make sure you have comfortable cycling shorts (most ride in just lycra as opposed to baggy shorts etc) and I would seriously advise going with a UST system rather than tubes - there are loads of little thorns that will puncture your tubes time and time again. My partner and I both used tubeless + sealant and had no problems for the whole race - we passed lots of people that went with tubes..
You will do a fair amount of walking (if the 2008 route is anything like the 2007 route) as some of the rocky climbs will probably be unrideable.
Its fun though. All the nights riding around richmond park get paid off.. I used to ride from Tooting down the peaslake, do the circuit to Leith hill and the purpose built singletrack and back. A good 8 or 9 hours on the bike with a couple of climbs .
Good luck!

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by Corby (U2919688)

posted Jan 14, 2008

If you want to prepare for the cape the best advice i can give is ride as much as you can whether thats to and from work upto 5 hrs a day at weekend and will alot of the climbing at the cape from personal experience was double track fireroad type stuff and never to steep.

Would also say get a good energy recovery drink as sleep in a tent for a week isnt the best for getting your legs fired up after 5 day of riding.

best of luck you will enjoy and watch out for the odd elephant

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by hardflipman (U10831980)

posted Jan 14, 2008

you can find a whole load of pictures of the cape epic at www.flipper.co.za to give you an idea of what you face!

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by Matt Davis - BBC News (U8672384)

posted Jan 14, 2008

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the helpful advice and the training suggestions. Great to hear from people who have done the race before - lordpuzzled, definitely going to look into tubeless tires as boy do I hate changing those tubes! Corby - thanks for the elephant tip, we really should try to avoid that kind of obstruction

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by JB2008 (U10838108)

posted Jan 15, 2008

Hi Matt, a friend has just sent me the link to your story here. I rode the Cape Epic in 2007 and it's a fantastic event. I had a bad crash but slogged on, it was all worth it, unforgettable.

Me and my team mate put together a quick guide on what to do before, what to pack etc at http://www.kingstonwheelers.com/capeepicguide.shtml , it might be helpful to you.

Just remember to enjoy it all, yes it is hard but it's the ride of a lifetime, an amazing experience

add comment | complain about this comment

comment by OldSlowCoach (U11221025)

posted Mar 9, 2008

Matt, I would have thought by now that you should have realised that any association with Hayden will lead you into deprivation,obscurity,danger and general mayhem. Don't say I didn't warn you!! Seriously though I wish you both Go(o)d speed and may the road rise to meet you. You are going to have the adventure of a lifetime so go get it, suffer and enjoy. Take it slow and gentle and I'll be thinking of you each day.Remember ,"How do you eat an elephant?" - " One bite at a time!!!" Hamba Gashle! UJ

My 606

Browse 606...

More...

An Epic Mountain bike adventure

Latest 10 comments

Comment on this article

RATE THIS ARTICLE

Rate Breakdown