According to the sales guy, it does 55km/h and can go for 1h15 on a full charge. Great looking electric Specialized. About R 65,300.

I opted for the 2-day version. My day 1 ( day 2 for the 3 day riders) started at 07h00 on Friday 8 March from a sports field in Wellington. It was a 60km ride of which a total of 30km was made up of single track. It certainly was the most exciting ride I had done to date. The single track was SINGLE! Cycling through the mountains surrounding Wellington, including the excellent Welvanpas farm next to the famous Bainkloof pass was something to behold. The route winds through orchard, vineyard, waterfalls and pristine fynbos.

The water points cannot be called that. Refreshment stations are more like it. With cold water, cold energy drinks, sandwiches, banana bread, energy bars, fresh fruit and Medi Clinic staff on stand-by, it certainly raised the bar.

Multiple such stations as well as bike repair stops, gave me great comfort over taxing terrain in hot weather conditions.

The 70km of day two took us all the way from Wellington to Boschendal. Crossing underneath the N2 as well as the alternative to the Du Toitskloof tunnel got us on the other side of the road, cycling mostly through vineyards to the welcome end at Boschendal.

Arriving at the finish line I received a bottle of wine with my Nashua Advantage picture attached to it.

The meals at the camp area in Wellington were great. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily was better than expected and FREE beer was most appreciated, though not abused by any of the riders, always keeping the next day in mind.

To the question: will I do it again, my answer is a resounding YES!

Rugged but fun – that’s the Husqvarna Classic Mid-Illovo MTB Challenge & Trail Run which will kick off from the Mid-Illovo Club on May 19, 2013.

Designed to see the most resilient riders test their skills against what has been called “the best single track of any single day event”, the Husqvarna Classic Mid-Illovo MTB Challenge covers rough terrain in two picturesque game reserves – the Gwahumbe Game & Spa and iNsingizi Game & Spa. This year, riders who mastered the daunting hills and skimmed across the exciting 60 metre long floating bridge can look forward to more innovations – but the track designers aren’t telling yet!

While stretching the hard core participants to their limit, the event also offers a more social side. The 18km Gwahumbe Family Experience and the 10km iCycle Insurance Fun Ride give family and friends a special taste of the great outdoors.

Runners can venture out on the gruelling 14km iNsingizi trail run or take it a little easier with the 8km trail run.

Registration for the Husqvarna Classic Mid-Illovo MTB Challenge & Trail Run begins at 05h30. Water tables are sponsored by GU Energy.

Because this event is becoming increasingly popular, the field has been limited to 1 500 riders so get your entries in early. Enter online on www.roag.co.za or contact ROAG on info@roag.co.za / 086 100 ROAG/7624. Entries will close on Wednesday 16 May and late entries will be accepted on the day.

For accommodation in the area, visit www.gwahumbe.co.za or www.insingizi.co.za.

Entry Fees:

40km Classic R130
18km Gwahumbe Family Experience R100

10km iCycle Insurance Fun Ride R60

18km iNsingizi Trail Run R75
8km iNsingizi Trail Run R60

The first 500 online entrants will receive a First Ascent cap and goodie bag.

For more information, visit www.husqvarnaclassic.co.za.

While my riding partner, Omri Kleynhans, was responsible for the 50km road ride from Gordon’s Bay to Kleinmond and then the 25 MTB ride from Arabella back to Kleinmond, I did all the running work.

It did of course mean more energy during the runs and therefore better times too.

My first leg was the 13km road run from the outskirts of Kleinmond to the transition area on Botriver, next to the Arabella Hotel. It was into the wind all the way. With good family support and sharing some drafting with a fellow runner, the run was quite pleasant and I managed to do it in 1h03.

Omri was on his way into the transition area on the beach from his MTB ride while I was still chatting. I had to run alongside him to the the change-over in order to get the armband and leave for the beach. Having done quite a bit of beach running during December made for a slightly more interesting beach run. I was less intimidated by the 9km ahead and enjoyed the run much more than the two previous years.

In a total of 52minutes or so, it was a pleasant experience.

Overall we had a great event that was well organised as usual. Our team time was 1h13 less than my fastest time to date!

Yes, I will be back.

Once again, we raced for BeingSam.

So, here’s my plan as it stands now:

1. Bay to Bay 30km run. Did that one last week-end and yes, I am still suffering. Being more of a 10km runner and having only ever done 1 half marathon, 30 km is quite something for me. So, that should really be my ONE big event for January 2013.
2. The Totalsports Challenge, Terra Firma. I did the solo Terra Firma in 2011 & 2012 so decided to try the pair thing this year. I’ll be doing the 13km road run as well as the 9km beach run. My riding partner, Omri Kleynhans will take care of the cycling legs. Good to have him on board. This takes place on Saturday 12 January from Gordon’s Bay to Kleinmond.
3. Two smaller events for January are the 10km long course trail run at 7pm on 23 January at Constantia and the 49km MTB event in Paarl on 27 January.
4. In February there are a couple of trail runs and road rides I’ll be participating in. The main event however will be the 3 day Grape Escape. This MTB event starts in Riebeek Kasteel with Wellington being the race base. Day 1: 75km, Day 2: 60km, Day 3: 70km. It aint the distances or hills I’m worried about but the HEAT! Date: 28 February to 2 March.
5. In March there’s the good ol’ Argus Cycle Tour. I am not a huge fan and so far have only done 5 in total. It is a good day out, especially if you stop twice for coffee along the way….Date: 10 March.
6. Then there’s the Two Oceans Half Marathon on 30 March. I hear the biggest challenge is just to get away from the 16,000 strong bundle before one can actually start running.

So, now I am looking for suggestions for the second quarter of 2013. Any suggestions / ideas will be welcomed.

The only other definite for 2013 is the Big 5 at the Oyster Festival, 28 June to 6 July 2013:

• Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna MTB race - 80km
• Pick n Pay Rotary Knysna Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Road race- 100km
• Salomon Featherbed Trail Run – Coelacanth - 14km
• Totalsports XTERRA: Full (3km trail run, 23km MTB, 7km trail run)
• Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Half Marathon - 21 Km

So, one week later and I am ready to put my thoughts on paper…or online, should I say.

What a great day! The weather was just great. Sure, the temperature at the start was almost 30 degrees with no shade. Yet, as we got further into the ride, it was either cooler or we had shade for most of the route. In bullet points, here is what I liked most:

• The route had something of everything. The 1400 meters of climbing was evenly spread and nowhere did I feel that it was too hard on my body. Olive orchards, fynbos, gumtree forest, protea farms, grass, river crossing, jeep track, it was all there.
• The refreshment stops were even better than last year. I made a point of stopping at every one. The first stop had coke, water  very tasty crunches, jelly babies and wait for it: crackers with thinly sliced Camembert topped with sliced green fig preserve. Wow!
• There were marshalls aplenty and they were very friendly.

The view from the top was absolutely awesome and seeing that I was in “ride” mode and not “race” mode, I had to stop and take this pic.

At about 7 km from the end, we hit the long wide and open ( read no shade) uphill . This is a toughie. Even more so when my rear derailer packed up and caused my chain to hang very loose.

This meant I had to ride in the biggest ring in the front and smallest at the back. Not the most ideal gearing for that section.  Once we hit the jeep track and the final excellent single track, it was much more bearable.

Well done to Geddan and the team.

It was an excellent event, and though I always make a point of stating what I did not like, I can’t fault this one.

( The only entry mechanism failed BIG TIME. I entered and paid 5 times, only to be informed at  registration that I did not enter at all. It really should not detract from the ride on the day, but please can some-one test these things beforehand?)

• Salomon
• Karhu
• Vivobarefoot
• La Sportiva
• Saucony
• Patagonia
• Asics
• Brooks
• Mizuno

Your favourite?

The 45 km will expose you to some of the best scenery in the area, with great views of the winelands with Table Mountain in the background. The roads are 80% jeep track with some single-track and open roads in between. Expect some solid climbs, from meandering S-bend climbs to murderous little bumps with fast forest road downhills to recover. The 45 km, in particular, includes a long continuous, steep climb of 630 m  – ONLY FOR VERY FIT AND EXPERIENCED RIDERS – IT IS VERY TOUGH, you could be walking quite a bit on this climb!

And no, they did not lie! I did this event last year and it was extremely muddy. So much that the mud clinged like clay to my tyres. I had to stop and literally scrape it off at one point. I also rode with lots of wet lube and had to stop often to use it (and share it).

This year I came well prepared for the same and I am happy to say that I did not once have to stop for any lubing. Riding the same route in dry conditions was a great pleasure. Make no mistake, that famed uphill must be the longest one on any W.Cape MTB event. If you know of a longer one, please share with us.

And no, I did NOT walk at any time during the ride.

Cycling all the way to the top of Kanonkop and then through some awesome S-bends on a serious downhill section made for great riding. It also caused two serious crashes, one I witnessed!

In the last 12km or so, we rode through some beautiful estates such as Wiesenhof & Neil Joubert. The water crossing was great fun and the only way to ensure you did not become the laughing (wet) stock ( yes, there was an audience) was to pedal fast and in the centre.

Sitting in the sun afterwards at Backsberg and enjoying a cold beer, something to eat and reliving a tough 42km with my friends was a great way to end a beautiful morning out.

I was not too happy with the food and drink set-up, compared to last year and also shared some concerns with Simon Back regarding the kids event. He promised to look into it.

Sure, it had been raining heavily on the days leading up to the event but on the Sunday however it was a cool yet mostly dry day.

The Saturday featured the MTN Ultra and the MTN Marathon as part of the national series with the half marathon and fun rides on the Sunday, 26 August.

The distance totaled just over 42km with plenty of everything. It was a great experience for me to ride an event and area I have never  ridden. Having no idea what to expect and where, certainly added a great deal of excitement to my ride.

In brief: great downhills, plenty of stream crossings, no serious uphills, some mud, great single track and awesome scenery.

Cycling through a guava orchard, an orange orchard, Bluegum forest, vineyards and fynbos, all in one ride with cool weather and clear skies certainly made this a memorable ride and one I will do again.

The waterpoints were great with a variety of drinks and snacks including potatoes, bar-ones, oranges & jelly babies to help with restocking the depleting reserves.

In general the route was well marked and the day was a great success.

My 2 gripes: R 40 for a bike wash was a bit much after having paid R 200 for my entry fee. I can also not find my event results on the Advendurance web site or the SA Cycling site. I have sent Advendurance an email, and well….I’m still waiting!