Sani2C - Day 2 - Umkomaas Valley

Sani2C Day 2 - the heaven & hell stage and the reason the Sani2C is famous. A long 100km stage, starting with a stunning single track descent into the Umkomaas valley, the track then crosses the valley  taking the riders over the Umkomaas river and out the other side with a monster climb back up the mountains.

Our good ride on day 1 meant we were bumped up from Group J to Group E for day 2, meaning the slower riders were now behind us and not in front of us when bombing down on the long downhill single track sections.

Day 2 started early and Group E were off at 8h00. The first few kilometers took us into a fun dual track section through pine plantations, suddenly the trees opened up and words can't adequately describe the scenery that unfolded before us. A beautiful valley with a big river snaking kilometers below us, and we were descending right down the "walls" of the valley!

The beautiful Umkomaas valley at sunrise

What follows is about 30km of the most spectacular mtb'ing you can have in South Africa, great views, fast & fun singletrack, quick switchbacks and all to soon you are at the bottom of the valley.

At the bottom the scenery transforms into typical African savannah, the pace slows down a bit and once you cross the Umkomaas river on a wooden bridge, you know there is only one way to go from here - UP!

Crossing the Umkomaas

It's also about this time of the day that the heat in the valley start rising, making the climbs a bit tougher, however the climbs are not particularly steep so by just keeping a steady pace we were making good time and passing a number of other riders. After 68km we reached the second waterpoint, waiting for us besides the free Nando's burgers -  were our 2 most devoted supporters - Corlia & Nadia.

2 tired riders at the Nando's Waterpoint

The climbing wasn't done though, and after leaving the waterpoint we encountered the steepest & longest climb of the race - the aptly named "Push-of-a-climb". My partner suddenly found his climbing legs and was deftly spinning his bike uphill, passing admiring bike-pushers congratulating him on his prowess. Unfortunately my climbing legs completely deserted me, and I had to join the line of pushers enviously watching Pieter conquering the climb.

After about 80km's the route flattens out, but after a long day the last 20km feels more like 50. Pieter was going strongly and I had to dig deep to keep up. The stage ends at Julivet after a long downhill called Charlie's Catwalk, an easy end to a long hard day.

Stage 2 done & dusted

Corlia & Nadia was waiting for us at Julivet, and we spent the afternoon trading war stories (Being a supporter on the backroads of KZN is not as easy as what it appears to be in theory, even with GPS). Afterwards we camped out under Jolivet's macadamia trees and that evening were treated with a dinner of steak & mushroom sauce.

Campsite at Jolivet