I have figured out after finishing day 3 of the Absa Cape Epic that they call it the "untamed African mountain bike race" for a reason.

Yesterday was the first long day of 70 miles and about 2800 meters of climbing. We started off with lots of dusty roads as over 1200 riders took on a week of challenges. Our faces were immediately covered in dust as well as our glasses. We climbed a pass that looked like we were in New Zealand and as we crested the false summit (there were more!) a world cup mountain bike champion, Rob Warner, was skyped in live on a screen to give everyone bits of encouragement.

The rain started about 2 hours into our 8 hr day but we both felt awesome and weren't cold. It was foggy and our glasses were starting to fog and get very dirty however thanks to the awesome aid stations we had a glasses cleaning station from Oakley, a chain lube station from motorex and of course food and water. I usually don't care for marmite but for some reason the marmite sandwichs were great! Deb did not agree! But we rode strong and felt better than anticipated.

Today was a new day. The rain finally stopped but huge gusts of wind came in right before the start. We started into a massive wind, just fighting not to fall over! I saw the trees and knew once we reached them we would be protected. I marched forward however Debra wasn't feeling as fresh as me so I kept losing her. I would pedal soft and wait for her to grab on but as I literally felt like a spring chicken, I would continue to drop her. I remembered the advice Rob Walton gave us before we headed on our trip that the weaker teammate needed to lead so I got behind Deb and made her set the pace. This seemed to help us keep together.
We passed through forest that had burned and amazing singletrack. We were back and forth with another South African women's team but they finally pulled away.

That was the first half of the day and then we hit aid station 2 at about 4 hours in and all of a sudden Debra and my roles flip flopped. I became fatigued and she became the spring chicken (she would say summer hen). She noticed I was not talking and started to stay behind her and soon realized I was really in the pain cave!

We rolled through vineyards and on singletrack that had lots of bridges (I have never ridden bridges like this!) It was awesome but again I was in a pain cave and mentally pushing myself through every mile. Deb would block the wind as we rode through incredible head winds and give me encouragement.

The grasslands we rode through looked like Africa. We went back through vineyards and into the trees for more singletrack. The last part seemed to go on forever but we made it! I was thrashed but thankfully Debra helped me out. So, Debra has been awarded MVP for today!!

The guys had a great ride too but challenged by the wind as well. Tomorrow is a new day. We will get some rest and be ready for the next challenge ahead!

Announcer said "those are the greenest socks ever!" Love my Swiftwicks!