Track Gawk

Registration took place on Sunday, which resulted in a rather frantic dash around trying to get our international racing licenses printed. Somehow Mark, Cobus and I had not put two and two together, and the angry man and bewildered young lady at the registration table managed to firmly tell us that showing a picture of it on our phones was not good enough. Note to self: if the CSA say “should you wish to have this licence printed you need to pay another R30 etc etc…” just make the effort to pay the extra R30 and the courier fee. Honestly, it’s not worth being scolded in French, Spanish, Catalan and English…

With registration out the way, we all eagerly bundled into the gondola to head off for track walk. Woo hoo! Glee! (PS Video is at the bottom of the post)

We’re so happy and Nigel just downed a beer!

Shortly after this picture, we were on track and analysing every rock, root, bump and possible line choice. This went on for about an hour as we happily and confidently realised we could totally manage this track. A mechanic at Cedricate (Cedric Gracia’s shop) had said “Do you ride Cedric Gracia trail? Yeah? It’s similar to that”…which had perhaps lulled us all into a false sense of security. Here are some pics of the merry old times…

Starting Gate

First bridge over the main road

Jo considering a line through the rocks

A gappy with no green line

Rika’s line choice…will I fit…hmmmmmm…

The start of the bermies

A wee road gap in the middle of the bermies…

Naaice…

I do love the grasses here…

Then stuff started looking more serious…Cobus is standing on a dark grey berm of rock covered in oily looking mud…

A rock chute one enters after ripping apart 10 metres of rock and fairy wonderland moss and ferns…

Deciding how to walk down what we have to ride down…

It was after this point on the walk when we all started to go quiet. It was all well and good analysing what root, bump, rock etc. to go around, over, next to…if we were just going to somersault down the mountain for the last 20% of the track. Nigel is typically a pretty positive person and sees lines for everyone…but when he just stopped and said “oh shit”…we knew that perhaps there was only one kind of line. The down line. Straight down.

Rika at the top of where stuff really starts to get steep. We puzzled this for ages, as it’s filled with roots and leads onto a bridge…

Roots. You’d think roots were good things, until you slip off them on to your face.

Ropes. For spectators and marshals to pull themselves up the mountain and lower themselves down…but why do that when you can just “roll down it”…

The ending chute. Originally we thought this was scary looking when we saw it earlier in the week. Now it’s the easiest part.

Rika loving the gradient

My new best friends – the medics

Uh oh

Beer for the Fear

Rika took much better pictures of the gradient…and these are her pics of areas we walked down.

Braap

This picture actually shows the steep gradient better than most…

Mark and I, specks in the landscape…I would later go head over heels in a similar area actually. My bike bounced like a rubber ball until it was lovingly caught by a tree.

Negotiating the first steep bank full of roots

Rock channel that is actually not too bad at all

Rock chute from Rika’s camera, looks more realistic!

Berms which are disintegrating as I type

Vroooom

And of course…the obligatory video: