Category
Adventure and Travel
The joy of exploring by bicycling.
Epic Insider: Tough climbs, fast tracks and pure elation on the final stage
Waking up on Sunday morning I realised it was the final day of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic. For a brief moment emotions ran high. We were almost there, but not quite yet. You pull back the focus and press pause on any premature celebrations. With 91 km remaining on the final stage anything can […]
Epic Insider: Cape Wineland and single track spectacle on Stage 6
Today was a truly spectacular day on a bike. The shortest stage of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic at just 71km, though still featuring over 30km of single track and 2000m of climbing. While the day started off a bit wet and gloomy, when the clouds lifted riders were treated to some unbeatable Wineland vistas […]
Epic Insider: Balancing pain and pleasure on Stage 5
Riding a bike, in particular a bike race like the Cape Epic, is something special. You put yourself through all sorts of pain with a goal in mind. That goal might just be the top of a hill to reach a trail head or to tick off a bucket list entry like the Epic. Not […]
Epic Insider: Finding our groove on Stage 4
Participating in a stage race usually means that you’re somewhat disconnected from friends and family. A few early morning messages and post ride chats keep you in touch, but for a good 5-9 hours you’re unaccounted for. Off the grid so to speak. Taking on our first Cape Epic, Dane and I have a small […]
Epic Insider: Battling heat, hydration and humour on Stage 3
With the colder conditions over the past two stages I found myself drinking very little, often arriving at water points with a full bottle. Today though was a different story. It was hot, dry and windy. A water soaked shirt was dry in a matter of minutes. Any perspiration near instantly lapped up by the […]
Epic Insider: More wind in our sails on Stage 2
Tent life is an interesting thing. For seven nights and parts of the day your domain is roughly a 1.2x2m nylon cave. Space enough for a mattress, epic kit bag and a small ‘general’ area to house anything you want easy access to. It only takes one tented multiday event to understand the ease with […]
Epic Insider: Slow and Soggy on Stage 1
No matter how comfortable the pace, spending over eight hours on a bike is seldom a comfortable affair. Aches and pains seep into the contact points: hands, bum and feet. Your neck, back and shoulders fatigue. And that’s assuming your legs aren’t already stealing the show. It was always part of the plan to take […]
Epic Insider: Intervals, injuries and the start of my Cape Epic
It’s just another stage race I was telling myself. A few more people, cameras and flashy lights, but nothing fundamentally different from what I have done. But the Cape Epic is not just another race. It has acquired a certain reputation. It has something special and has become a sort of mountain bike acid test. […]
Race report: Going for the win at 24 Hours of Oak Valley
When I was 8 or 9 years old, I won a competition in the jellybean journal; that’s the kiddies section of the newspaper. They called me up on stage at school to get my prize. The horror. That was pretty embarrassing. For the next twenty years I won nothing and did nothing impressive with my […]
Trail Daze: Rhebokskloof
There’s something truly special about riding unknown trails and new terrain. Whether you’ve traveled across the globe to get there, or it’s a local trail that you’ve overlooked or not had the chance to ride yet, it’s that feeling that reminds us why we do this. The uncertainty of how long this climb actually is, […]
Trail review: Garden Route Trail Park
There has been a lot of talk about the Garden Route Trail Park lately, so much so that Monster Energy Cape Town decided to take a road trip to find out first hand what it’s like. After a long drive, we were finally greeted by a sign letting us know we were in the right […]
2015 Mountain Bike Stage Race Calendar
2018 Stage Race Calendar: All the racing for 2015 is written in the history books. Take a look at our 2018 Stage Race Calendar. South Africa is undoubtedly the best place in the world to be if you live for marathon mountain biking stage races. The number of stage races you can ride is mind-boggling. […]