Average Guy Experiences The Sabie Experience

I was lucky enough to be invited by the organisers of the Sabie Experience to ride a stage of the race. But this report starts a week before the Experience. I was in Sabie to do a training camp with the good people from Fritz Pienaar Cycles and the second day of our camp, we ran into Dennis Lawrie. For those of you who don’t know, he’s one of the people behind the Sabie Experience. It’s only if you happen to be there the week before the event that you realise fully what it takes to put together an event like The Experience. Dennis was out there with some enthusiastic helpers doing everything from cutting the long grass, to removing overhanging tree branches from the trail, to getting some very keen dirt bikers to ride the single track, just so that it would be fresh. I often do races without a thought of what happens behind the scenes; but seeing all this hard work happening really hit it home how much we take for granted. Every cent of race entry is worth it in my book.

So, what about the actual event? I think The Cure song “Hot, Hot, Hot” would describe the 2006 Sabie Experience best. I was extremely lucky as the third stage I rode on the Saturday was by far the coolest day of the event… my Polar measured a sweat- inducing 38 degrees! The 7 a.m. start did help a little, but speaking to some riders who perspired their way through all 4 days, they would have even been happy with a 6 a.m. start. The vibe at the start was very festive; the voice of Mountain Biking in S.A; Paul Valstar adding to the atmosphere. Those riders who escaped heat exhaustion to make day 3 were looking surprisingly fresh; I think they were invigorated by the misty cool morning.

The mist was soon burnt off by the blazing lowveld sun and things were soon back to hot, hot, hot. Day 3 was 72km and 1400m climbing, and I had much respect for those who had endured similar stages for the previous 2 days. The heat really was stifling and some riders reported a remarkable 45 degrees on the previous day, so while I sweated like a Norwegian in a sauna, I still counted myself lucky.

The route was pretty standard Sabie stuff. Good long climbs and exhilarating downhills; with nothing too challenging for day 3 in terms of technical riding. There was a really cool (literally) downhill through a forest canopy, which everyone seemed to really appreciate and enjoy. The water points were some of the best I have seen at any race! There was plenty fruit, cold water and Powerade. Also, a nice touch was a tent, where riders could get out of the sun and have some Squirt administered to dusty drive trains.

The finish had all the vibe of the start and Paul made an effort to announce each team finishing by name which is a really great way to make each person feel like the champion they are. The bike wash (and at times, person wash) was really near the finish, so you could get your bike sorted and move on to relax with minimal strain. The start/finish venue at the school was perfect, with a shaded grandstand for spectators to await the dusty bikers. For me, the ultimate, was the Chelsea bun at the end! I love to eat straight after a ride and this was an awesome touch! For me this was simply the icing on an absolutely awesome event. I have managed to miss out every year since the inception of The Experience, but next year I’ll be on the start line as a competitor. Thanks so much to all the organisers and in particular, Fiona Coward for making me feel like I was part of the race. The race bag full of goodies, reminded me of a time when I started racing and part of the fun was looking forward to the race packs.

I managed to make it to the final 25 km time trial on Sunday and this is what makes the event a must do. It was extremely exciting to sit on the grandstand and watch everyone sprint through the finish, having their times announced as they did. When Greg Minaar and Brandon Steward shot over the finish line, I didn’t think anyone would better their time. But Burry Stander and J.P. Pearton smashed any hopes of a sneak win with an unbelievable time of 51 minutes. I must confess to getting goose bumps as the announcement was made.