Knysna RECM200 3-day mtb stage race

Jayde hooking it up a steep climb! And yes thats me the weekend warrior with a camelbak-full of supplies (tools and tubes for both bikes, food and jackets) to make sure the princess was light and comfortable under any circumstances...

June is a quite month on the racing calendar and in my case fortunately so, as it is a vital month of the year to regain composure after the busy first half of the year and before getting back into some serious training leading up to the second half of the year. Thus what better opportunity to head to Knysna and take part in the RECM200 3-day mountain bike stage race with Jayde!

This would be the first time we would be competing together as a team in a mountain biking stage race. The past couple of months leading up to this event I had her training on her mountain bike more often than before and her mountain biking capabilities improved in a big way! With a few rides up to the mast and down the single tracks her mountain biking capabilities significantly improved along with her confidence!

Beautiful farm lands as well as the weather playing its part

Stage 1: 73km, 1400m climbing
We started out from the Knysna Elephant Park and by not going flat box from the gun, as usual for me in a race, I got to see one of the mighty animals. At one stage riding nicely along an open stretch of road I happened to glance behind to see if Jayde was on my wheel and saw that not only Jayde was there but a huge peleton of riders! I am a little reluctant to mention that it was also at this stage my mind slipped into a little dream world as I was enjoying myself so much that I missed a turn and lead the entire bunch of about 30 people wrong! Fortunately we encountered a closed gate soon afterwards and were only a couple 100m off course so the consequences weren't too bad! The vibe was fantastic amongst the riders in the bunch all out there for a good time, with a bit of racing on the side. Much to Jaydes amusement while riding along a stretch of grassy jeep-track I was chatting to one guy who all of a sudden got a tree branch wedged into his front wheel causing him to be catapulted over his handle bars and his bike to fling over knocking me on my back and off into the bushes! Later in the stage Jayde took a bit of a tumble on a very slippery wooden bridge that rattled her nerves a bit, however, toughening up to be a true mountain biker all was good and we finished the day in a time of 4hr03min, 4th mixed team and 19th overall.

Crossing the finish line of stage 2

Stage 2: 66km, 1500m climbing
Any mountain biking race with 1500m of climbing is definitely not going to be a walk in the park. And this stage prove just that with some awesome climbing in the mountains behind Knysna. Jaydes naturally competitive spirit and always wanting to push her limits and do well resulted in me giving her a bit of a push here and there up some of the climbs. This was great for me too as I got to ride a bit harder and test my one-handed riding up 16% slippery gradients. We finished the stage in a time of 3hr35min coming in 4th mixed team again and 15th overall.

Cashing back hard after fixing a broken chain on stage 3

Stage 3: 59km, 1100m climbing
The final stage treated us to the magnificent Harkerville trails. Having done a training ride here in November last year (while away on our first wedding anniversary!) we were familiar with what lay ahead. Unfortunately my bike didn't seem to be enjoying the riding as much as I was and my chain decided to break early in the stage! A quick fix and we were back on our way to play a bit of catch up. This just added a bit of excitement to the race for us as we chased and caught up to and passed fellow riders. In the end we rode onto Thesen Island to cross the finish line in a time of 3hr08min, 4th mixed team again and 22nd overall.

All fun and laughter in the end

It was a great event for us and especially for Jayde as her first mountain biking stage race as we experienced the dynamics a mountain biking stage race has to offer. On the riding side it traversed awesome scenery with a great variety of terrain, a wipeout (as a mountain biking stage race doesn't come without a crash!) and a mechanical to fix resulting in a hard chase back. Off the bike we got to be apart of the unique vibe a mountain biking stage race possesses in the form of the post days riding congregation over great food sharing the days war stories amongst everyone.

Our total time for the 3 days, about 200km of riding and 4000m of climbing was 10hr59min. We were the 4th mixed team and the 18th team overall (out of 59 finishing teams)! It was also a treat to have my parents supporting for the 3 days, helping with logistics and being on the finish line to welcome us in each day!

Husband and wife combination