Sani2C - Day 3 - Sugarcane & Sea

Sani2C Day 3 - The adventure is almost over! The last 84km is supposed to be a fairly easy descent from Julivet to Scottburgh with a few pesky climbs in between but nothing like the long climbs on Day 2.

Team Racemiere were again bumped up a few batches, this time from Group E to Group C.  However this was as good as it going to get for us, as our bolt was shot after Day 2, and clearly our fellow riders had more effective recovery regimes!

The route consists of mostly of long sections of gentle farm roads sweeping through valleys of green sugarcane plantations, today we were the team enjoying the scenery being passed by the faster teams.
Team Racemiere looking strong!
The route had it's fair share of exciting downhills, racing downhill with sugarcane leaves flapping into your face definitely a new experience. Crossing into the Vernon Crookes nature reserve, the trails got a bit rougher but we saw the sea for the first time and it was good knowing the end is not too far away.

Still smiling!
After Vernon Crookes we descent into some indigenous forest for some more bumpy singletrack. By now almost every bone in my body was sore and I was praying for the single track to end, I was definitely preferring the smoother boring district roads by now. After what felt like an eternity we were spit out on the final short section of gravel and then onto the highlight of the day - the Nedbank360 floating bridge!
Team Racemiere on the floating bridge
The Nedbank 360 floating bridge is 800m long, crossing the lagoon at Scottburgh with the final section making a turn beyond the high water mark on the beach to finish at the Scottburgh beachfront. Initially I was extremely confident riding onto the bridge. However this confidence eroded quickly when I realised the narrow bridge was alarmingly unstable beneath my bike! Keeping your bike in the middle of the path was nigh impossible and it soon dawned upon me that the probability of falling into the lagoon in front of the small crowd was a distinct possibility!

With a big prayer, mighty concentration and a good dose of luck I made it out of the lagoon onto the "sea" section of the bridge. Luckily it was low tide so the "sea"-bridge was merely an easy crossing over wet sand.
At the finish!
And so ended 3 amazing days of mtb'ing, definitely the highlight of my short cycling "career". Thanks to Pieter for being a great partner over the 3 days, and thanks to my wife and the rest of the Van Heerden clan supporting us along the route. Having your family there to share an amazing experience made it extra special.
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Comments

  1. Elma van Heerden24 May 2013 at 23:36

    Dankie vir jou stories. Ek het dit weereens geniet om saam te ry en jy skryf so lekker loslit.

    ReplyDelete

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