Yes the winter solstice has come and gone and the nights will get shorter and the days longer (and hopefully warmer). Its been a challenge riding in the cold and dark - but a least I managed a few rides whilst others were sleeping. Last Sunday I entered the Olympic Footwear MTB Winter Challenge which started at Serengeti Golf Estate. It was really an awesome race, the best one I have done so far (finally broke into the top 100 and was in the top half of the race) - ok I must admit I did have a bit of a home ground advantage as these are the routes I have been riding for the past 3 odd years.
It was really cold when we started (about 2 degrees) and luckily the 60km race was shortened to 53km due to rain the day before that made one part un-rideable, so we didn't have to suffer for too long. I felt sorry for a guy that wiped out into the water at a river crossing, in front of me, at about the 20km mark - he must have been really cold the rest of the way. I felt good and was flying the first 40km averaging 24km/h and then I hit a wall and slowed down for the remaining 13km finishing on a respectable time of 02:20. It was great to ride with mates like Clint and Jacques and share this experience with them, overall I was pretty chuffed, my fastest MTB race to-date....
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