a roadtrip: episode 2

behind us the high speed gully which Elite riders race through with 70km/h

So we arrived in Pietermaritzburg for the Masters World Championships downhill race. Being held in South Africa made it a once in a lifetime opportunity. After watching a few Downhill World Cup races on TV over the years, we never thought that we would actually be at a race. And definitely not to participate! But thanks to Paul and his constant nagging , we eventually did sign up and here we were feeling a bit out of our depths.

spotting lines through cloud 9 steeps: this is the B-line

ahhhhh, gobsmacked?

After registering and getting our personal number plates, yes with our names on them, we missioned out for the official course walk.

the first rock garden 50m after the start 

3 hours later and having the strange feeling of being totally out of place wondering how we would manage, we went home to digest what we would be riding the next day.

littered with jumps, the aerodrome earns its name

setting up for the step up to come

The next morning, after a rather poor nights rest but totally amped to ride, we jumped onto the shuttles to get a lift up the hill. Our strategy was to put together a solid run and then build on it, conquering more technical lines and jumps. There was quite some carnage on the track during the day. It was very dry, and a nasty layer of sand on the rocks made it slippery as hell. Seeing a bad crash at cloud 9 put us off trying our line that day. But we still needed to get the rock 'sloot' into pebble beach dialled because the chicken line was crazy slippery and too slow. Thanks Pete for getting me through it! At the end of the day we washed away the dust with a well earned beer. Reflecting on the progress left big smiles on our faces.

ready?

Another training day followed and we loved the track even more. After sussing out cloud 9 again, it was time to man up and ride the B-line and send some of the jumps in the lower section. There were some huge jumps which we didn't even consider, as the speed they were designed for was just not in our league. So we just cruised and kept it safe, and had loads of fun. The vibe was electric, with many a good laugh in the shuttles.

Friday was coming up fast, and with it the race got slightly more serious. After two warm up runs in the morning we were as ready as we could be. We both had a great seeding run, Pete 6:01 and me 6:31. Six minutes of giving everything, and fighting our way through the pedally section in the middle, left us pretty buggered. But immediately after we started thinking how we could go faster and shave seconds off our time. Race fever is contagious.

focus, focus... rock garden at the top

fast section over the 3 steps: it rocks!

2nd place and a silver medal for me

Race day on Saturday was truly an unforgettable experience. What a race, we both scraped off 20 seconds off our seeding times, still don't quite grasp how though. The crowds were amazing, shouting and screaming as we rode past. Some even managed to bring a chainsaw along! And every time we passed a marshal they cheered and whistled to push us on a little more. Our personal fan crowd made a lot of noise as we passed the last corner before the finish line. Thanks to Billy, Sharon, Juju and friends, you rocked! Winning a silver UCI medal felt pretty good too.

[this is what was going through our heads during the race]

bite me

a video clip we put together from some of our training runs

now you know why my hair is green!

Arriving in Durban felt good, being around family and chilling out after 4 physically and mentally demanding days of riding. Soul food included a swim and surf in the warm sea, good food and a fun jacuzzi session. We indulged in doing just about nothing.

up we go

Our first outing was to a local market in the Umhlanga area. A great place to stroll around and have lunch before heading out to the Moses Mabhida Stadium, newly built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A sky train takes you up to the top for a magnificent view of Durban. For the adventurous ones, another way down is a bungee jump into the stadium. But we had already had too much excitement.

downtown Durbs

Pete still struggling with reality

pronunciation?

After the mandatory morning surf at Bronze Beach just down the hill from Sharon's place, we headed out to Ushaka in downtown Durban. We had actually planned to go on the water slides but they were unfortunately closed on a Tuesday.  After a stroll along the promenade and checking out the guys building incredible sandcastles, we decided to go to the Sharks Board instead.

Durban beach promenade

watching the shark dissection: little love to give with such a small heart

due for an upgrade?

false teef

The Sharks Board maintains shark safety gear at 38 localities of Kwazulu-Natal coast lines and is the only institute of its kind in the world, offering safe bathing to tourists while also conducting research into shark life history. We could see a live dissection of a shark which had died in one of the nets that day. Unfortunately, it was a rather tiny one but still very interesting to learn about. What an experience it must be to see a great white on the table, probably scary to find out what is in its belly!


The next day we explored the north coast of Kwazulu-Natal. Umdloti, just a short trip from Durban, is a very remote place with just a few holiday homes and some restaurants. A nice day out at the beach!

Umdloti beaches

enjoying chilling out at the beach

We still felt pretty tired and worn out, but decided to go riding the next day anyway. Some of our friends were still up in Maritzburg and we wanted to see what else the place had to offer. Well, it never happened. 35C was just too hot for what we had in mind. Arriving at the festival area just in time to watch the elite riders on their training day was spectacular and it made up for not riding ourselves. Seeing them bomb down the track just put things in perspective: these guys and girls are really fast! Watching the training got us excited for what Sunday was going to be and we couldn't wait to watch the elite race live. And as expected it was mad and the crowds went wild as Greg Minaar came riding down the hill to claim World Champ 2013!

reality just around the corner

Filled with euphoria it was time for us to say goodbye. Our trip was coming to an end. We decided to pull through and drive the 16 hours back to Stellenbosch that night on the off chance that we could still get in 1 more ride before reality dragged us back to our daily lives.

[episode 1 of the roadtrip]