The TransBaviaans Adventure

 16-20 Aug: The TransBaviaans 230km 24hour race is one of the most superbly well organized races and well worth doing. Several riders received a special plaque acknowledging that this was their 5^th time riding it … and I know of someone who has ridden it 9 times. 

But to ride it ... well, it is not an event to be undertaken lightly.  It is 230km long, and for most people it’ll mean riding at night, well into the early hours of the morning.  Sleep deprivation becomes a consideration as you’ve been up since at least 5 or 6am on Saturday morning getting ready. You need to get to start and drop off checkpoint boxes before 8am. Support team rider briefing is at 9am and the race starts at 10am, so be realistic about your avg speed.

Avg Speed	Hours to do
20km/h	11.50
15km/h	15.33
13km/h	17.69
11km/h	20.91

The winners took 8h38 and the last team came in at 23:30 (and apparently had an extra little detour of some 30kms). 

It is also cold and if there’s been a lot of rain in the weeks leading up to the race then there are lots of river crossings (and not just turn the peddle 3 or 4 times and you’re across – some it seems that you are actually riding through the river they’re so long).  In 2011 they did Langs Baviaans because the water levels made it impossible to pass, this year the levels dropped but there were 27 water crossings in the first 90km, and several more thereafter.   Apparently in years before it’s been dry, someone mentioned even a drought in the area.  But on Friday night at the Riders Briefing we watched a video clip of the Officials driving the route the week before and goodness I think wellingtons and a snorkel would have been needed.  Fortunately the levels had dropped, but there was a strong current.  Our riders were able to ride through most, but some they didn’t risk and got off their bikes and hoisted them up over their shoulders.  A buddy in another team wasn’t so lucky and went swimming – you do not want to be drenched all over and still have to ride with all your clothes wet.  This year there was no moon – not because the sky was cloudy.  But in years gone by they’ve ridden during a full moon, which sounds quite appealing, but if you’ve got the proper lights then moon or not is irrelevant.

The Mother of all Climbs is 9km of up, you fly down into CheckPoint 5 to where your support is waiting and then comes NeverEnder – and it is 15km of climbing. It feels like it never ends.  Climbing Fangs is also not to be sneezed at and neither is the last climb before coming into Jeffreys Bay as there was a lot of shale and that can be tricky to ride, especially as you go through water just before you climb it and of course the loose shale becomes wet because of all the other riders who’ve gone through ahead of you.   So in short, there’s a lot of climbing.

This is a nature reserve and you do need to be aware of animals … the video clip showed a buffalo standing in the middle of the road and seemed rather unwilling to move out of the way.  Fortunately our guys didn’t encounter any dangerous animals. 

The downhills are fast and the road had been graded a little while before so there was loose sand / rocks but mostly firm, compacted dirt roads. Oo there was also some thick sandy patches too on the route just before and just after the water crossings.  You also have to be very careful about hairpin bends. One of our riders stopped just in time as a few meters more he’d have over shot the edge and down some base jumping without the parachute.  Dry clothes are a must, but our guys felt that next time the dry stuff should be at Checkpoint 4 rather than at us. Reason: you’ve sweated and worked so hard up mother of all climbs that when you ride down to your support at CP 5 you freeze on the downhill.  They also didn’t start out with their lights which was fine as they reached their first box (ie. At CP 2) while it was still light.

So having been specific about the challenges, it seems that the consensus is it is SO WORTH doing.  The views are stunning, it’s a beautiful part of the E.Cape, it’s an incredible challenge but do-able.

I’ve put the route stuff together from comments the team I was supporting have fed back to me.  My experience is really from the support side.  Do you really need a support team? Some say not, some say yes.  If you’re driving from Jo’burg it’s a 11 hour drive and then afterward when you’re all tired and sore and you've got a 13hour drive back from Jeffreys Bay - better for the riders to be able to rest.

The Support members were able to make supper and get other stuff organized while the riding members discussed (at length) what was going into the boxes that are going to the 3 checkpoints (CP2, CP3 and CP4 – no boxes at CP1).  We then were able to double check with them what they had put in.  We also lifted up their hydration packs – which did not only have 3L of water in but their tools, warmer gear (like arm warmers, buffs etc) and sweets, sachets to refill their water bottles.  We did gently suggest that they try to lose a few kgs from those packs as they were pretty heavy for us to pick up.   The support team also get to take the photo’s recording the event and keeping in touch with friends / family / well wishers.

One of our team had to withdraw and so we were able to drive with him from CheckPoint 5 to the finish.  If you didn’t have support then there’d some real challenges to consider.  It’s so nice to have a smiley, encouraging, familiar face. Someone who’ll get your clean clothes, double check you have all your goodies with, put a chair out for you to sit on, some one to share the stories with.  Supporters – it’s best to have 2 of you – loooong hours of sitting waiting and also then there’s 2 of you to help get kit out / food organized for your team, someone to check in / out while the other one parks or sets up or packs up; some to share the stories with too, pass the time away. 

It’s a lot of fun to be Support.  There were stressful moments like when we arrived at CheckPoint 5 and our team weren’t visible on the tracker (no cell signal between CP1 and CP4) and they hadn’t been recorded as arriving at CP2. When they came into range on the live tracker we were soo excited and able to cheer them on (from about  30km away lol). It’s helpful having someone else to “worry” with J.  There’s someone to stand watch for the team as you duck off to the loo quickly or go get a refill of coffee. 

Our other concern was that with one team member withdrawing, what if the 4x4 vehicle didn’t arrive by the time the other team member did.  The Support has to leave with the team (actually just before) and so the other rider would arrive at CP5 and be all alone – not lekker if you’re cold, wet, miserable and have no change of clothes or worse if you’ve got an injury.  We’d agreed that I’d stay behind to wait for him while the driver went on with the rider to the next checkpoint and the end.  Fortunately that didn’t happen and we were able to go on to CP 7 with everyone accounted for.

I don’t know how it worked previously but wow, it was incredibly well organized.  The food available for the riders at the checkpoints was incredible.  Rooster bread, sosaties, jaffels, tea & coffee, energade, coke etc.  You almost don’t need Support from that point of view.  CheckPoint 5 was at Hadleigh trading store and there was such an incredible vibe there.  They were so organized and what was an immense relief to us was that there were lists put up detailing what time riders were checked in at the earlier points.  So at least we knew where our team were and they were coming along at the pace they’d decided on.

The people working at each of these checkpoints need a special mention – they were incredible.  Friendly, organized, and patient.  I must have gone to the radio receiver team at CP5 at least 3 times with different questions; the man who served me hot chocolate at CP7 at 1am was so friendly and chatty – he must have been there all day and it was cold and windy (they were in a marquee but still the wind gets through).  Even the night before the race, we’d booked the pasta meal at the church hall.  The ladies serving there were also so hospitable, kind, encouraging and nothing was too much to ask. The food prepared was so yummy – mince and pasta or cheese pasta and sweet oranges, potato salad and koeksusters that were out of this world, freshly baked home made bread with jam or cheese …. Ooo I’m drooling just thinking of it.  The lady at Navrae on registration must have had quite a hard job but she was soo friendly and helpful and willing to make a plan and I had to go back to her with several questions about different things.  It was a blessing to have such kind, friendly and knowledgeable people doing this – and they are volunteers.  And one of the ladies told me that she was marshaling at CP3 and would be sleeping there – camping. In this cold weather. My goodness what a champion.

The route for the supporters is easy to follow and the 2 check points well marked.  From Jeffreys Bay going out to CP 5 we passed CP7 and marked it on the GPS which made life easier on the return ride when it was almost midnight and we were cold, tired and relieved to have our one team member with us alive and well. 

Our team had decided on renting the live tracking unit – it was great, but as there is no signal between CP 1 and CP4 you only get to follow them before CP 1 and after CP4.  Thereafter it was good and friends and family were able to track them from the comfort of their lounges.  Some brave souls were still up at 1am tracking them as well.  But the battery did die before the end of the route so it’s not geared for the 15hr+ team.

Would I support again – definitely but I do want to ride it too. Funnily enough we were chatting to the organizer the night before and he said that every year he gets volunteers and then the next year when he asks if they will do it again the answer is no … because they’ve entered to ride it J

Signing in at Registration

The boxes for CP2, CP3, CP4

 

   

 

  

  

 

  

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Excerpts from my “diary”
Friday 4pm:  We’ve  been packing and preparing .. The guys have been sorting out what's going in their camelbaks, what's going in the 3 boxes that go to the checkpoints that we can't get to and what they're going to leave with us. We see them at checkpoint 5 which is about 176km. They're hoping to reach us by 6pm. They're hoping to finish by 2am. At each chkpt there is food like roosterbrood, sosaties, jaffels and and and. The adventure begins at 10am tomorrow :D .. Lee+I have a Support Driver briefing at 9am and will leave after the guys leave and go to our B+B at JeffreysBay, drop some stuff off and then go to all those factory shops, ooops I mean we'll go to the first checkpoint that we are allowed to get to. The BaviaansKloof is closed to all traffic cos of the high water levels in the river. We saw a video clip of what the crossings looked like last week and it looked more like they were riding in the river than across it. The water levels have dropped significantly since then and parts that were "flooded" are now dry.

Sat 7am:  We’re driving into town now.  (guest house was 40km away). The guys are definitely a mix between excited and nervous. I think when we're at the start they'll feel better and once the race is under way they'll be fine. It's 3 degrees outside but the sun is up and there's only a light scattering of clouds. We managed to repack the car but each of us (excl Lee) has one of the boxes needed at the 3 checkpoints. Its unbelievable that the day has come

Sat 2pm: TeamBrightSparks was last seen on the tracker at 11.38 at checkpoint 1 .. They out of cell signal until checkpoint 4 so we don't much about how they'ré doing. The Support Team has arrived at Jeffrey's bay and the sun is shining and we're in our t-shirts - first time in months. We've dropped our togbags and extra cooler box off at our stunning accommodation. Now quickly to re-fuel, stock up on cold drinks and avert our eyes because in less than 25m we've seen 2 billabong shops. We're hoping to get a chance to also pop in at the beach for a few minutes :D .. We have 60km to go to get to check point 5 where we will actually get to see them and chat. They have left clean gear, spares etc with us just in case

Sat 4:30pm: So we've settled in nicely at chkPt5. Got here about 4pm. And found a lekker spot to sit at. They are super sorted here with things for sale for us supporters - all the food for the riders is free. They were planning to ride about 15km/hr and seem to going according to plan. They arrived at CP2 at 16:35 (about 105km) and we are at CP5 at 176km .. We expect them about 18:30 or so

Sat 7pm: Just seen they've checked in CP 3 .. Earlier than we expected .. 17:46 Woooo hooooo

Sat 9pm: Weather’s not tooo bad. A bit chillerz and a light breeze, but sitting in car is good :D .. Have 2 layers and a tshirt on but will need an extra layer in a bit :D - beautiful clear sky - apparently NO moon in the sky tonight (maybe it's sleeping hehehe) so good view of stars.