Cape Epic 2008 - Day 2 broke back mountain

Today was a really tough day out in typical epic style. A fast start into George and the lead up to montague pass. It was a long pass and we tried to maintain a good pace without over doing it.

Down the otherside and rolling dusty Karoo roads before we turned off and went through some fatm jeep treacks. This section of the route was nice because there were lots of technical bits to takes your mind off the 140km for the day.

The route became more and more technical and it got hotter and hotter. Eventually we got to the final climb of the day at the 102km mark. It was loose rock with 4 false peaks with a total ascent of about 1000 metres. Two sections were too dificult to ride due to the loose rock and gradient. The descent on the otherside was equally challenging with steep loose rock and concrete path sections. It reminded us of a route from one of our training camps that simulated the heat and conditions very well.

The last bit home was almost the worst with me running out of water and not able to stick with some passing bunches. I was very happy to see the finish to one of the more difficult days that I can remember. We finished in the top 50 but have taken the whole afternoon to recover. Candice and Belinda have been our saviours helping to recover as quickly as possible with plenty food and drink.

There were quite a few non finishers today and some very weary but happy faces at the 6pm cut off.