Ready for Stage 1

Driving to Knysna

Thanks to United I had to find my own way to Knysna. This ended up being a good thing as the fastest option was to rent a car. It took about 4.5 hours vs. the 6,5 it took the shuttle. Flying to George might have been a bit faster although I would have missed seeing some beautiful country along with the misadventures of driving on the left side me the road in a car with a steering wheel also on an unfamiliar side.
What I did when I got there is a blur. After getting situated and having dinner i crashed out hard! Some pics from the day...

The Prologue

The day had finally come. The first day of Cape Epic was the prologue, a short 16k loop to establish the seedings for tomorrow's Stage 1 start line. I was pretty confident going in despite two things untested prior to the start; the bike and my partner. It would be the first time riding the new Ahren bike hard and also really riding with Stefan. We did get a good 40 min warm up on the ride out to the start at a beautiful venue on a mountain overlooking the Indian Ocean in a very upscale estate.
The setup and production was as impressive as any Ironman i've been to, maybe better. A lot of excitement and good action watching riders going out and coming in. Right when we got there we heard the announcer say the a new best time posted of 31 min and change. Jim and JD were already back at the hotel having completed it in a nice time of 41. Stefan wanted to aim for 48.
In the start gates I was a afraid my rear tire was too low so i gave it more air. This turned out to be a bad call as I had poor traction and was bouncing all over the place. Same with Stefan. The first 2k or so was on rolling golf cart paths before taking a swift descent through some trees. I was flying and almost lost it. the bike was quick but tires too hard! Stefan unfortunately took a spill and we lost some momentum. The rest me the way we were a lot more conservative. In the end we made it in a respectable 49 min which seeded us in the 6th grouping row. Our overall placing of 314 is something we intend to improve on. A lot me riding to do. Tomorrow's stage is arguably the toughest with 3091m of climbing and covering 123km. It will be true test for us as a team. We ride at 7am. Time to go to bed.

The atmosphere that surrounds this race is amazing. There is a something so pure and genuine about this race that i can't really put my finger on. All i can say is this is so damn cool to be a part of it all!