I tried, I rode hard, but I failed.
60 hours was not going to be. The Challenge Ride for the Amorphic Prawns, had me beat.
 |
| My schedule with a 2 hour buffer |
Rain had set in prior to the Wednesday depart. The first stage, was to be from outside Heidelberg to Volksrust. The early part of this route was muddy, but it improved from Balfour onward. At Val, I had to do a chain swop, because it sounded as though a failure was imminent. I lost all the time that I had made up and was virtually back on scheduled pace all the way in to Standerton. There I reduced my food break and pushed on to Volksrust arriving about 45 minutes ahead of schedule.
Stage 2 from Volkrust via Vryheid to Zulurock was my undoing. Approximately, 200km of the toughest riding I have ever experienced.
It was raining when I started out at 01h20, twenty minutes late and the wet gravel roads, mud, and headwinds made the going really difficult. I had lost about 2 hours by the time I had reached Vryheid at 130km, but I still had this fanciful notion that I could make it up. All I had to do was try a little harder and be more positive.
I gritted my teeth, pedaled harder, tried some words of encouragement, swore at the elements when encouragement failed, walked when I could not ride, lubed the chain and plugged the tire leaks. Again and again and again.
I came off the bike on numerous occasions. Soft dismounts mainly. I was not going fast. I couldn't. I made a few small navigational errors and finally ran out of battery power from the dynamo hub, which fed my lights, phone and GPS.
Finally comes the moment, when you know the target time has gone forever.
That night at Zulurock, I had to admit that 60 hours was no longer possible. I was already 4 hours behind schedule and the another hour by the time I got up to my accommodation.
The days effort left me broken.
The following day I rode to Ulundi, where I treated myself to beers, wine and a comfortable bed at the Garden Court Protea Hotel.
I started the final 130km in to Richards Bay on the Saturday and got progressively stronger as the ride went on. With temperatures topping out at 38 degrees C, cold beer at a few Taverns along the way, became mandatory. The last 40km's I had finally recovered from my 200km effort and I managed to average about 14km/h inclusive of stops.
I sat down to a meal at the Waterfront, still in my dirty, smelly clothes and had a few cold beers.
Content and with a smile on my face, 'cause although I failed in doing 60 hours, I had given it a go!
I challenge you to the following:
Bronze Category: Less than 60 hours
Silver Category: Less than 55 hours
Gold Category: Less than 48 hours
You can find the .gpx track below.
Download .gpx
Sharing the experience with a riding partner is recommended.
HeidelBay 60 Hour attempt - 2018 from Buc Caneer on Vimeo.
