MMC at the Cape Epic in South Africa by Harry Johnson
The Cape Epic is one of those legendary mountain bike races that you read about in cycling magazines. Considered the Tour de France of mountain biking, this South African event is the most famous mountain bike stage race in the world. A “team race” (you must race with a partner and not be separated by more than two minutes), it is truly EPIC, with eight straight days of racing over a total distance of 412 miles and with 50,000 feet of vertical climbing. A total of over 1200 racers and almost an equal number of race crew and volunteers and a virtual race village at each stage location add to the EPIC nature of the race.
I am a “junkie” for these kinds of events and when the opportunity arose for me to race for Qhubeka and World Bicycle Relief; I was up for the challenge. Challenge number one was to find someone to race as my team mate and who better than my daughter, Heidi? She has just enough of my “kind of crazy”, as Scott Selle describes it, to join me. We were the only father/daughter team.
Another challenge was to arrange all the travel and logistics for the race. We would be joined by my wife, Diane, and Heidi’s husband, Josh, and her family. They proved to be invaluable in moving stage locations, helping take care of bikes and gear and simply for moral support. As is often the case in stage races, the logistics are as much of a challenge as the actual racing. Maybe not for the Pros, but it is certainly the case for us normal guys and gals. The Cape Epic organization did an amazing job in this regard, but having Diane, Josh, Emma and Corbin there to help was terrific.
Of course, another serious challenge is how to train for a race like the Cape Epic. It is really quite simple, ride your bike a lot and then ride more. Climb a lot of vertical feet and then climb more. Short of burning yourself out physically and mentally, you simply cannot train enough for this race. We spent over 50 hours in the saddle, or just over six hours a day average.
The first day of the race is a Prologue consisting of 16 miles of mostly single track and 2500 feet of climbing. We went out on 20 second intervals with a crowd of thousands cheering in the starting area. It was a relatively fun day and a great chance to shake out the last minute jitters and bike issues. We finished in great spirits and were quickly in our motorhomes and on our way to the Stage One location, some hour and a half away in Saronsberg.
Stages One and Two were challenging days with temperatures in the 90s and Heidi feeling the effects of doing most of her training on a trainer in her garage in Montana. We were in the saddle for almost 8 hours on Stage One and climbed up and down the wine country of South Africa for almost 8,000 feet over 67 miles. Heidi crashed hard early in the day and was a real trooper as she regained her composure and carried on for the long day. Our third day of riding, or Stage Two proved to be our hardest day of the Cape Epic. It was another very hot and dusty day with another 8,000 feet of climbing. We struggled a bit with maintaining hydration and nutrition, but were able to finish strong after another eight hours in the saddle.
Stage Three saw us ride from Saronsberg to Wellington, the site of the next staging area. It was another long day of 64 miles and 7,000 feet of climbing and our third day in a row of eight hours in the saddle. The day was made even more difficult by the seemingly unending sandy areas that forced us to push our bikes. Heidi seemed to be getting stronger with each stage and we moved way up in the standings with strong climbing and a solid finish. The highlight of the day was the group of baboons on the trail as we neared the summit of Bain’s Kloof Pass and began the mostly single track descent into Wellington.
Stage Four, our fifth day of riding was considered an “easy” day as it was only 50 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing. The day was spent almost exclusively on a mountain bike trail network and included the Aap d’Huez climb with its 29 switchbacks. Although maybe not an easy day, the short five hour saddle time felt good.
Stage Five was labeled the “Queen’s Stage” and considered the hardest day of the Cape Epic. The day was just less than 60 miles long but had over 8,000 feet of climbing. It ended in Stellenbosch, a beautiful vineyard area just north of Cape Town. Heidi was an animal and we had a great day. I truly think it was a case of her getting fitter with each passing day. We crossed the finish line strong and enjoyed an afternoon at the century old winery, celebrating our granddaughter (Heidi’s daughter) Emma’s thirteenth birthday. It was, after all, the Queen’s Stage and Emma was the Queen of the day.
I was actually beginning to think that we might finish this thing. After six days of racing, including some really hard days, some bonking, and some real low points, we were actually feeling stronger. Our Scott Sparks were performing perfectly. We had no mechanical issues, no flats and were riding a “high” of enthusiasm. Over 100 teams had already dropped out of the race or had not made the cut off times.
It rained the night before Stage Six and the trails were the best we had seen during the race. That, combined with a relatively short day of 45 miles and only 6,500 feet of climbing had us on a “rider’s high”. We rode the mostly single track day with delight. Forest trails, vineyards, wooden bridges, hard climbing and a crazy descent aptly named the “Skyfall” made for our most fun day of riding at the Cape Epic. AND there was only one day to go. We celebrated that evening at the winery by sampling all their desserts.
The final stage of the Cape Epic is a 54 mile ride from Stellenbosch back to the Prologue site of Meerendal. With only 5,000 feet of climbing, the stage was expected to be an easy one. There was one last big challenge in the works for us. On a short and steep climb early in the day, Heidi tore a quadricep muscle and was barely able to stand. As she sat in the medical tent with tears rolling down her face, I couldn’t help but think that finishing that day was out of the question. But, she was determined to finish and after the doctors taped her leg she limped to her bike and we were on our way. By this stage of the race, you are familiar with many of the other racers. You have seen them and ridden with them for a week. During the next five and a half hours, the comradery of mountain biking was amazing. Other riders encouraged her, helped blocked the strong Cape winds, and even helped push her bike on the steep single track hills as we neared Meerendal. She gritted it out and as we approached the thousands of spectators in the finish line area, she even had the presence of mind to pull the tape off her leg. She didn’t want it in the finish photos! I couldn’t have been more proud of her, my team mate and my daughter.
The Cape Epic is truly an amazing race, not only for the incredible pro teams that compete for the titles and money, but also for the “normal folks” that are there to test their courage and character. We were very fortunate to be able to participate in this Tour de South Africa of mountain biking and were particularly proud to sport the colors of McDowell Mountain Cycles half way around the globe.
