8 days of adventure, wonder, beauty, pain, tears, fierce determination and finishing the hardest most grueling event of a lifetime...Absa Cape Epic.

It didn’t take but a day or two to figure out that the race was not at all a watered down version of it’s reputation of being the ‘untamed African mountain bike race’ or the hardest mountain bike stage races in the world. Being ‘epic’ and grueling sounds romantic and enticing to the adventurer but once you get into the live moments, lasting for hours upon hours, you realize that this thing is for real. There are no words or accounts of mine that can really put into perspective what we went through as it was more than just physical, it was hugely emotional and mental…and more than I have ever in my life – I had to dig deeper inside myself to the depts of my being to find that spark that would keep me pushing through, one pedal stroke at a time, one aid station at a time, and take each day as it came.

Debra and I started preparing for Cape Epic in September. Of course we like all newbies coming into this race were a little naive and romanticized about it. I looked at the challenge as something awesome to dream about and also was very excited to create both Debra and myself’s training plan leading up to the event. The months that followed were full of many long hours on the bike and we tried to take every opportunity to ride together as we knew a huge important aspect of being successful in this race was working as a team.

Finally, the day came and we began our most epic journey together. The prologue started March 15th on Table Mountain. With this being the first year of having equal pay-out to the women, the women’s participation more than doubled from the previous year and there were 23 women’s teams starting including 12 UCI professional teams. Debra and I were the 4th team to go off for the prologue that took place on one of the wonders of the world. We rode very conservative and ended up moving to the very front within the first 10 minutes of the race as helicopters flew overhead and were recording our race live on international television! The euphoria was amazing! We were passed by the top UCI teams but right at the best moment as they were going head to head to get to the top of the mountain so we had more helicopter coverage than we could have ever imagined and were feeling like celebrities!! Our finish put us in the top 15 which we stayed very consistent with through most of the week.

After the Prologue, we were bused to Elgin where we stayed on a vineyard for 3 nights. The first day that we raced we had so much excitement that we were in great spirits and rode in sync. Debra had been getting over a cold that she’d gotten from the plane travel here, so she had some challenges dealing with congestion, but we took advantage of the buff’s that were given to us to cover our faces and keep out the dirt.

The ride took us to the top of a mountain pass that looked like the Isle of Man with breathtaking beauty. The wifi company that sponsored the race set up a huge screen at the top with a live skype feed to a UCI world XC champion, Rob Warner, who was in the UK and giving everyone encouragement and reading bits from family and friends that had been submitted for the riders. Not long after, we came through some misty fog and soon it began to rain. We were warm though and our gear seemed to be working just fine. It became hard to see at times as the glasses had been covered in dust and then water and were now a coat of mud. However the Oakley sponsor set up a glasses cleaning station at every aid stop so you could get them cleaned and see again! That day was long but we were excited about the adventure and how things had gone for us.

Day 3: Stage 2 was supposed to be the most climbing day however later in the week we found out (and I believe the promoters did too) that it actually wasn’t. This day started off with rain that soon stopped as fierce winds came and blew away the rain clouds. These winds were so strong, we were crawling from the start through some fields to make it to the hills in hopes for some cover. Once I was nearly blown off my bike and had to unclip as I hit a mound on the side of the dirt road. We finally made it to the trees where the climbing began. Debra wasn’t feeling it right off the bat so I would climb ahead and stop to wait. “I’m not feeling as good as you today.” She would say. I would ease up as much as I could but for some reason I just wasn’t in sync . The climbs were steep and long and with a large group of riders it was hard sometimes to go any faster or pass people. It was about halfway through this day that I started feeling more fatigue and when that happened, Deb switched gears and started pulling me along. “Your doing great girl!” she would say as I trudged along and she would stay strong. This day provided a lot of climbing but also presented some fun singletrack and amazing views that made it seem like we were going through several continents in one day!

Day 4: Stage 3 was our longest route as we moved to Worcester. 80 miles (9 hours on the bike) and still plenty of climbing. I woke up feeling not so great with congestion and many allergy symptoms. South Africa is known to have the most diverse plant species in the world so this isn’t surprising my body was not coping well! Plus with all the dust we were breathing – everyone was hacking up a lung along the course! This day started off with some incredible views as we rolled through beautiful countryside. I took some mental images as I wanted to use these images as inspiration for my paintings. We had some fast rolling hills, dirt roads, climbs through orchards, up a road, and more climbing. The mornings were always the most pleasant for me as I always felt fresh and the wind tended to be a slight breeze however once it hit mid-day and we had been out for over 5 hours, my body started feeling fatigue (especially my upper body from all the descending). At mid-day, that’s when the wind started to kick up and create some challenges. This day was very tough for us as it became hot, windy, dusty and relentless. The watermelon and coke at the aid stations provided some much needed refreshment for my parched mouth. We tracked on and the trail turned into a 2K sand pit that we pushed our bikes through. Every day we were riding around the same group of riders from all over the world so we really got to know one another. The walking sections or climbs were where we’d all converse. The South African’s were so nice and would always say, “Great job ladies!” or “Great job Arizona!” and if it were a very tough section like pushing our bikes through sand, they would say, “Welcome to South Africa!!” The announcers would call the sand “taking a ride to the beach!” After the sand, the ride continued on mostly dirt roads but what always seemed like we were riding into a headwind. We teamed up with some other riders to pace-line as much as we could to conserve some energy. That day we finished in over 9 hours and were so tired I think we both were nearly in tears. I know I was when I phoned my husband Aaron. “Just hang in there, you’re doing great,” he’d say.

Day 5: Stage 4 we were in Worcester! This was basically a campus field that we were staying on. Whenever we moved to a new location it was sometimes hard finding things in the athlete village. The eating place was in a different location, massage, but once we figured our surroundings out it was ok. Every morning at about 5:20am we were awaken by the Scottish bagpipes that marched through every aisle of the tent city. I stopped setting my own alarm. Once you awoke, time just flew. It was off to stuff yourself for breakfast with croissants, butter (I put butter on everything!), coffee, oatmeal, eggs, toast, sausage, yoghurt, and fruit. Yes, we ate all of that and more! Then you were off to filling your bottles, grabbing your bike from the bike park (making sure tires and everything was good), lubing your chain and running back to the tent to quickly change into your kit, sunscreen, and off to the start! It went by so fast it seemed like most days we were at the back of our corral. Our home had become Corral ‘F’. This day was a pretty cool day as we were riding through a preserve with the chance to catch a glimpse of some real African wildlife and even the big 5! Early into the ride, I had a low tire in the rear but was able to top it off with some air and was fine for the rest of the day. We climbed a lot, just like every day of the Cape Epic and soon were flying through the conservation area. I caught a glimpse of some antelope and even a group of wildebeest. It was tough to look around as we were going kind of fast so I still had to pay attention to where I was going. Some riders saw elephants and even a rider had put his bike against a fence and a lion ended up grabbing his handlebars through the fence! Of course this photo became a HUGE hit on facebook!! There were always wild stories from everyone on every day of the Cape Epic! This day was especially good for Debra and myself as we had some new energy, both were feeling a little better health wise and were just in sync. We were climbing up hills people were walking and riding downhill passing ‘chicing’ a lot of guys which of course boosted our esteem and made the ride very fun. Debra was on fire this day and I was really stunned to see her technical skills at a new level like never before! We finished with super high spirits and very happy about how things went! We also moved up from 15th overall to 13th!

Day 6: Stage 5. This was deemed by the promoters after the race as the hardest stage EVER in the history of the Cape Epic. It turned out to have more climbing than on the 2nd stage which was supposed to be the most climbing day, and this was also a very long day as we rode over 120K’s from Worcester to Wellington. Debra and I started off the day very strong and climbing like queens. But within only the first 30K’s, I flatted which was a mechanical that ended up costing us 40 minutes! I stopped to air it to see if the tire sealant would seal the hole, but with no luck, I tried gluing the hole with my handy super glue. No luck. Then we tried putting a plug in the hole. Still no luck and by then, we were in dead last as every rider had passed. I finally said, “Ok, let’s just tube it!” so we checked the tire to make sure there were no thorns and put a tube in. Very ironically, the other Bitty’s, Jeff and Randal had the same issue only 500m away from us!! Somehow our paths never crossed but we found out about this later from our South African friend Tim who had been riding with us and had passed Jeff and Randall too. With some crazy luck, my tube ended up holding up! But because I was so worked up about holding us up, my adrenalin had gone crazy and I was rushing to get to the aid station or at least catch a group, I looked back and had dropped Debra. I realized this wasn’t a nice move on my part or a great way to work as a team but for probably a good hour, even though I tried to hold back, I kept the pace too high. Debra finally said, “Melissa, I don’t think my legs can hold up at this pace. Let’s just put this flat behind us and take it conservatively.” “Sorry,” I said, “I am just pissed at myself, worried about the time cut and mostly my adrenalin is going crazy.” I eased up and started riding back at our pace. When we hit the aid station, I asked the mechanics if they should swap out my tire and make it tubeless again or if I should grab extra tires. Since my tire had held so far, they told me to just take the tubes. The added weight in my pack wasn’t what I was looking for as it was going to possibly be a 10 hour day but the security of having the tires gave my mind a mental rest. This day we passed through a few water crossings and long bumpy and sandy roads through vineyards. All along the route, the workers from the vineyards would cheer for us and the kids, all barefoot would try to high-five us or sometimes they were asking us for sweets or chocolate. The kids were so cute and always brought us higher spirits. When we still had a very long ways to go, we came to a road that took us up through a gorge and over the pass. At the bottom, Debra said, “we sure could use an angel today.” I said, “Well, let’s ask our angel Gianna to help us.” (Gianna is our mountain biking friend who passed away a year ago to cancer.) We were both very tired and mentally digging to find that thing that would keep us moving. “If we can just climb this road over the pass, we will know that Gianna is watching over us today,” Deb said. I wasn’t sure if that would actually happen but sure enough, two riders came along, one guy giving me a push from behind, and a South African, Pierre, let us grab onto his wheel and he pretty much paced us to the very top. “You are our angel Pierre! Thank you!” Debra said. Getting in those fast miles along with a little break from the beating on our bodies was a huge blessing. We talked to the other riders and learned a little more about the area and the gorge we were riding through. It reminded me of southern France where I had ridden many years ago. Once we reached the top, there was another aid station followed by a downhill on the road and then we turned onto a dirt forest service road for another 6K climb to the top. My back tire started going low again so periodically I stopped to top off the air. I knew it was a slow leak and could make it to the finish. My arms were dirty, wet and at that moment, I felt like we were on the TV show ‘survivor’. We were so dirty!! When we finally made it to the top, we had some fun singletrack all the way down with lots of berms, some bridges and again we were passing guys. We were very tired as this day we were out for almost 9.5 hours however Aaron had made it and seeing him made me feel so much better.

Day 7: Stage 6. This day was again long with lots of climbing but was only a 6 hour day – much more reasonable than the day before and was filled with beautifully wineries that we rode through, lots of cheering children, more families had come to watch and cheer, and almost half of the race was very awesome singletrack!! Our bodies were tired from the day before but it was so beautiful that it was like we were on a very amazing and fun ride with our friends. I was surprisingly climbing well so Debra decided to name me the “Bitty Goat”. I had put a new tire on my back wheel and bike was riding good. There was one point in the race where we were climbing up a road in a vineyard and some little kids gave the guy in front of us a push. He was South African so he spoke to them and told them to come back and push us. I had a little boy about 5 yrs old who ran beside me for about 25m and with his tiny hand on my back, he tried to give me a push. It was the cutest thing ever!! I pointed to Debra and he ran back and did the same for her. It totally melted our hearts and put big smiles on our faces. Since we finished this day in a reasonable hour, we had some time to recover in the afternoon. I went with Aaron to see where he was staying in Paarl, have a glass of wine and some pizza too. It was nice to get out!

Stage 7: Last day!! This stage was the very last day but nonetheless one of the more grueling challenges as we rode from Wellington to Meerendal Wine Estates. The distance was 92K’s and only 1500m of climbing (not much compared to most days of over 2000m)! The ride started off fast through dirt roads, farms and we were cruising fast in a long group of riders. In my head I was thinking, “This rocks! We are going to be done in 4 hours!” But of course we were riding in the Absa Cape Epic and had some incredible challenges including a very steep climb which involved a bit of hiking to the top and some fierce winds on very rough cow trails and washboard dirt roads. We were so eager to finish and were very tired so we took every opportunity to grab onto a group and hitch a ride. The final climb was ruthless! It was basically a very windy and exposed dirt road with several false tops. You could see the helicopters ahead so you knew you were so close to the finish and the top but every time you thought you were at the top, you would look left and see a trail of riders climbing high. Your heart would sink as you just wanted to be at the top and on the way to the finish. Finally, we reached it and they finished us up on some fun singletrack which was basically a bike park with lots of berms and even routed us through the pump track. Deb and I finish holding our arms together. We crossed and were just relieved to be done. It didn’t’ hit me until we parked our bikes and as we grabbed some water from the tent, Debra put her arms around me and I felt my throat tighten and the tears well up. “Thank you for doing that with me. You’re amazing.” I could barely speak back as I was welling up with tears, “You’re amazing.” I choked. We grabbed our water, got our pictures taken, were serenaded with a bottle of champagne, photos with some pro dudes, finishers medal, huge cooler of food for a picnic from the Woolworths sponsor, then of course the t-shirt. It was all a rush to get the bikes, get a shower and get out of there. After my shower, Aaron and I stopped at the winery for some food and a glass of wine. It was really hard to comprehend all that had happened in just a week. All I know is that this race was for real. Not for the faint of heart. It may not have been fun all the time as we were pushed in ways we never imagined possible but by finishing, there is certainly an indescribable and priceless feeling of accomplishment.

Thank you to everyone for your support!! The wishes and cheering from afar have certainly gone a long way to keep us going. We also want to thank our sponsors as our equipment held up beautifully and helped us in many aspects of the race. Sponsors are MVP’s!!

Reynolds – Wheels were awesome! Rolled super fast and handled the terrain. Still true and bearings are fine after all the torture I put them through!!

Kenda- Tires were amazing! Only had one flat due to a thorn but no side-wall tears or any other issues. Honey Badger seemed to work the best for the terrain.

Swiftwick: Compression socks are a MUST for an endurance race! I rode with the tall socks most days and it kept my legs from swelling, calf always felt fresh and they also got a lot of attention as people would always say, “Nice socks ladies!!” Also used the recovery socks post race to keep my legs fresh and recovered.

Giro: We used the Giro Synthe helmet and mountain bike shoes. Helmet is one of our favorite pieces of equipment as it is light, looks great and feels great. It is so nice to have a light and well ventilated helmet when you are riding for so long. Also I love the glasses holder. It was easy to put my glasses on my helmet when they were too dirty to see through. The shoes held up beautifully and the traction was amazing for the steep hills we had to walk up!

Rotor Components: Q-rings rocked for all the climbing!! My bottom bracket and rings all held up and performed excellent!!

JLVelo: Kits pretty much rocked! Chamois was amazing and never had any saddle sore issues. Comfortable and light and perfect for riding for hours in the heat.

Osprey Packs: I rode with the Raven and it worked great! I needed to keep the weight lower on my hips to take the pressure off my back and with this set-up I had little back issues for the long days and climbing. I tended to fill my 3Liter reservoir 2 liters full and was able to carry our pump, some extra tools, our tracker, and kept food in my side pockets for easy access!

Husband Aaron: Aaron ROCKS - for first of all letting me do this race, making the sacrifices for the training, travel, and financial commitment. Aaron also happens to be the best bike fitter out there! He set me up on my bike (and Deb too!) and we did not have any saddle sore issues and bodies held up pretty well even with the beating it took. Also Aaron took care of my bike mechanics before heading to South Africa and bike worked beautifully! Love you Aaron!!