I mean, it really should be achievable for us beer swirling mortals.
Really!
Dave "Chuck" Bell had a major mechanical, so we'll never know what time he was going to post.
I know Kevin "Long Range" Davie did it in 61h15, but by his own admission, he left a lot of time on the table due to some navigation errors. His should have been a sub 55 hour ride.
So I challenge all my average, human, mortal, contemporaries, to break the 60 hour mark.
What am I talking about?
Late last year Elton "Foot" Prytz, Colleen "The Rooster" Cawood and I, rode Elton's Ermelo2Richards Bay railway service line route.
Shortly thereafter, "Chuck" and "Long Range" did a ride from Heidleberg, joining Elton's route at Vryheid and followed the remainder, on to Richards Bay. In my opinion, this route is ideal to be used, in a challenge of human endurance.
Come ride it and you'll see what I mean.
The .gpx track can be found here:
Download .gpx
The basic rules are:
FOLLOW THE .gpx TRACK. The intention is to keep adventure cyclist off the tar wherever possible and to follow a standardized route.
Routes in and around towns/cities are discretionary, but it is kinda obvious that you must follow the railway service roads and gravel roads as soon as you possibly can, once you have left the confines of these built up area's. SNEAK ROUTES and opting for tarmac riding goes against the spirit of the event and is considered cheating.
RIDE UNSUPPORTED AND CARRY ALL YOUR OWN KIT AND SERVICE ITEMS. Tour Divide type rules. You can make use of all the resources that are available to all other participants. Feel free to leave the official route, but you must rejoin at the point that you left the route, in order for your overall time to be considered fair. Your boyfriend, wife or life partner cannot be there as a seconding team. That's CHEATING! You know how it works.
THERE IS NO OFFICIAL STARTING DATE, AT THIS STAGE. Start when you want, but you should notify the Massive Adventures Cycling Group and a member of the Cyclopaths MTB group.
As you know, these events or attempts have a large following. Following the dots is an integral part of what constitutes our slice of the cycling spectrum.
So, all interested followers need to be able to track you/your attempt and your final .gpx track MUST be available for scrutiny, on completion.
THE CLOCK STARTS TICKING WHEN YOU START NEAR HEIDELBERG AND STOPS WHEN YOU REACH THE LIGHTHOUSE ON THE PIER IN RICHARDS BAY. STOP WHERE YOU WANT, SLEEP WHERE YOU WANT, DRAFT IF YOU WANT AND DRINK DRAFT IF YOU WANT.
Its about having fun. Nothing else matters!
P.S The original wager, was for a plate of prawns at the Troyville Hotel, on breaking 60 hrs.
