Well what can I say except that the last three days of the J2C has some absolutely awesome riding man !!!
The campsite at the Underberg polo fields has magnificent views of the berg. Chris & I obviously made it despite our troubles but to make sure we took precautions and went and got a vitamin B shot each from the race nurse -Yeeow !!! If it wasn't already bad enough having a sore butt from the riding it sure got worse then. Anyway the shot gave us both a much needed immune system boost.
The singletrack is quite legendary once you leave Underberg and it certainly didn't disappoint. We got to ride the bits that the Sani guys couldn't because of the inclement weather earlier in the year. It was amazing riding although quite a tough day 7 to Mckenzie club after the previous days riding through the berg. The weather was bloody hot down in the valley and the climbs were tough as a result.
Mckenzie to Jolivet farm was again awesome riding with fantastic singletrack through the forests. It really was great especially since I had no one in front of me through these sections which meant that I could finally rail it through the trees like a bat outa hell. It sure gets your adrenalin going when you scare yourself silly around those corners with the trees catching your camelback ! When we got to Jolivet farm we saw visitors with some monster burgers and we had to have those. They were of course not on the lunch menu in the tent so we hunted them down and had several. Real meat monster patties with onion and tomato on huge buns ! And then fillet steak for dinner too with ice-cream cones, a flake and a caramel dip for afters !!
Our final day's riding was quite short by comparison and the day ended all too quickly actually. A bit of singletrack to start and then some wonderfull riding through sugar cane farms, the Crookes nature reserve before heading down to Scottburgh at the seaside.
All in all it was an extremely well organised and exceptionally pleasant 9 days riding with the local communities really going the extra mile at each and every water station. It was like the Royal hotel at tea time every day 3 times a day. The atmosphere was superb and the batching ensured taht everyone could ride their ride their way and get to the finish every day having had an awesome day out.
I'll be back next year !!!
