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RESULT: 1st OVERALL
Finally its Imana Wild Ride time of year again. " Out there alone, racing the tide" is the race slogan and it couldn't be more fitting as you race approximately 200km from the Kei river mouth to Umgazi river bungalows over 4 days along deserted beaches trying to get through each stage before the tide comes in, making the beaches extremely difficult to ride. As much as everyone is at the race to enjoy themselves on some of the best mountain biking this country has to offer the real reason for the race is to raise money through WREC (Wild Ride Education Company) and give back to the less fortunate communities along the rural Wild Coast. They go about this by raising money through tours and through the race itself and use the money to build classrooms at schools along the route. Last year enough money was raised to build 4 new classrooms which is an amazing achievement for a race of 70 teams. The great thing is that the communities along the coast can see what WREC are putting in and welcome riders with open arms, making riding through their land such an amazing experience.
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After racing last year with Sean Merridew and finishing 2nd due to an illness on the the final stage, we came into the 2011 race with the goal of getting our first Imana Wild Ride win. Although we were the strongest pairing, winning would never be easy as the Imana is so different due to the fact that it is an unmarked route. There are 4 stages and each day you are given a start and finish point, the route you take is your decision. Every year there are new "sneaks" (which in any other race would be basically a cheat) but in this race they are embraced and kept highly secret by the guys who have tripped the route before the race. Trust me it is very frustrating to go out hard from the start and think you pulling a good lead to just arrive at the next beach and see tracks ahead of you. But this is exactly what makes this race different, you have to pay your dues before you get welcomed into the small tight knit group of Wild Coast specialists.
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Day 1: The day begins with an early wake up to drop the bags off at the truck and then take the short but very cold ride down to the Kei river mouth where everyone is ferried across to the northern side for the race start. It was a later start than years before due to low tide being later in the day. The race begins with a mexican wave and we're off immediately climbing up what is dubbed "Sunrise Surprise" a steep climb which wakes the legs up and gets you ready for what lies ahead. The route has been changed from previous years and this year we had to head straight to the beach from the top of sunrise surprise. The other new aspect was they started the men's teams 10mins behind the mixed teams, which meant our tracks were not going to be the first tracks on the beach and we would have tracks to follow. Sean and I got away up the first climb and decided to keep going on our own however we got to a point where we weren't sure whether to take off the beach and chose to wait. Iain Don Wauchope who was racing with 4 time Imana winner Nick Floros came past but was riding alone, Nick was no where in sight. This had us worried as we weren't sure what they were up to. We chased Iain down and tailed him, waiting to see what trick they had up their sleeve. However as the km's ticked by it seemed they had confused themselves as Iain wasn't sure if Nick was ahead or behind due to there being mixed teams tracks ahead of us. We continued to follow Iain as we were a bit flustered and still not sure if they were playing us. This turned out to be a bad choice as Iain wasn't sure where he was going and we ended up making quite a few wrong turns and this allowed another Wild Coast specialist Craig Woods and his team mate Jan Schutte to catch us at the first big river crossing of the day. After getting through the swim Iain was informed that Nick was in fact quite a distance behind us and he stayed at the river to wait for his partner.
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Sean and I continued on our own and settled into a great pace, working well together and finding our way with ease. We got to the end of the stage still feeling great and had managed to put 9mins into the 3 chasing teams of Nick & Iain, Pete & Mike Smith and Tyrone Bird & Warren Price. We were very happy with the gap we had opened up and this would allow us to race smart over the next 3 days. The other different aspect about this stage race is instead of sleeping in the usual tented accommodation all the teams are put up in luxury hotels along the coast, all with spectacular views and meals fit for a king. Every evening all the teams are spoilt with a compilation of the days spectacular photos by Jon Ivins as well as footage by the guys from Big Shot Media. This always provides some great laughs and entertainment as you watch how your mates suffered and smiled their way through the days challenges.
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Day 2: This is the shortest day of the 4, from Kob Inn to The Haven. From day 2 the top 10 teams start in real elapsed time or at 2min intervals which meant we would be starting 2mins ahead of the 3 chasing teams. To make the day even tougher a pumping head wind had picked up which was going to favor the chasing pack. We set off with the goal of trying to extend our lead instead of waiting for the other teams. This proved to be way more difficult then we had hoped. Between Seans one cleat coming loose and small navigation errors we just weren't opening up the gap but we kept trying none the less.
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Day 2 has the the first of what has been dubbed "The Mothers" which are extremely steep long climbs where you have to walk up carrying your bike, these hills prove to be serious calf busters. We seemed to get over the mother well and reached the last beach stretch with 2m30 over the chasers. Sean wasn't content with this and set a blistering pace on the front into the head wind and pulled an extra minute over the last 5km of beach. Always amazed by his sheer power.
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Stage 2 this year finished just before the mighty Mbashe River due to the unusual height of the river as well as numerous Zambezi sightings recently. I was definitely happy about that call.
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Day 3: From The Haven to Coffee Bay. This was a day that is notorious for being full of "sneaks" so Sean and I made a tactical call to rather play it safe and sacrifice 2mins by waiting for Nick and Iain rather than going out alone and risking losing 10mins from a sneak we didn't know about. It worked out very well for us as they only had a 1m30 lead over the 3rd placed team of Mike and Pete Smith so they couldn't really afford to play games with us as they would risk losing their position.
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This ended up being a great day for us as it was not done at a very fast pace and we could save our legs for the 12km district road section from Hole In The Wall to Coffee Bay. This is a section with 2 very big climbs and where no sneaks can be taken. After traversing 2 "mothers" we got our first view of The Hole In The Wall, and what a magnificent view it is. We knew our work was cut out for us if we wanted to win the stage as Craig & Jan were chasing and had made up 4mins to be just 2mins behind us. Sean again was on a mission and proceeded to take off like a racehorse as soon as we hit the road. We powered over the climbs and came into Coffee Bay pulling an extra 2mins over Nick & Iain but only beating Craig & Jan by a mere 7secs for our 3rd stage victory. We were now going into day 4 with an overall lead of about 13mins.
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Day 3 is the traditional fines evening which is usually held by the notorious "Spider" however this was the first year that Spider had not managed to make the event and a replacement was needed. Luckily there were Imana newbies, Songezo and Loyiso Mabece who were given the opportunity to run the fines evening which they did as a court hearing, and what a night they made it. No one can emulate the great Spider and they didn't try, instead doing something completely different and bringing their own spin to the evening. Fines were thrown out like mad and everyone was whipping out their folding money. Which in the end would be going to a great cause. After a magic night of fines and charity auctions of 3 guaranteed 2012 entries, 2 amazing Jon Ivins pics on canvas, 1 large painting by a Zimbabwean and an Ispyderfly 29er mountain bike. The goal was reached and another 4 classrooms will be built at a school on the wild coast.
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Day 4: the longest day of all from Coffee Bay to Umgazi River Bungalows. This day involved the least amount of beach riding and more cattle paths, jeep track and district roads. We had a good cushion over 2nd place but we still didn't feel comfortable as anything can happen in this race. We decided again that we were going to ride with the guys in 2nd and not risk getting lost. We chose to wait at the first major river swim as we knew that it was the only place teams could swim the river and we weren't at risk of Nick and Iain sneaking around us. This actually proved to be a great plan as Nick and Iain had taken the " anchorage" sneak to avoid the first usually very soft beaches and confuse us into thinking they had taken a faster route, however the beaches were way harder then they have been in the past and they ended up getting past by Pete and Mike. We joined in with them and rode steady until Nick and Iain caught back up. It was now 3 teams up front, although everyone seemed to be a bit tired after 3 extremely tough days of riding and Craig and Jan were slowly catching up.
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Day 4 provided us riders with the best weather out of all the days, the sea was dead flat and the water crystal clear. I couldn't help but admire the spectacular views every time we crested one of the big portage climbs. We are so lucky to be able to experience this part of Africa whilst doing a sport we all love. Craig and Jan eventually bridged the gap and didn't waste any time, they immediately went to the front and picked up the pace dropping both the other teams. It was now just Sean myself and Craig and Jan. Craig is a route specialist and had been helping us out with ideas each day along the course, knowing it was a huge goal for him to win his first overall stage we were more than happy to work with them and help him achieve this. They were very strong and we seemed to be opening up the gap over the chasing teams.
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We reached the last beach with no one else in sight and spent the last few km's of beach smiling and celebrating. We allowed Craig and Jan to ring the iconic Ferry gong at Umgazi first and take the stage. They deserved it after putting so many years into this great race. Sean and I crossed the line in 2nd filled with relief, we had done it. We took the overall win with Nick & Iain 2nd and Craig & Jan clawing their way into 3rd with their final stage performance. Everything had gone to plan for us with only minor mechanicals, but our tactics had worked perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2011 race as I had a great team mate as well as many friends who had managed to get into the race this year. After the evenings dinner and prize giving came the one tradition we were worried about which states that the previous years winners get to shave the heads of the new champs and obviously a normal buzz cut just isn't enough of a humiliation and many odd styles get shaped onto our skulls before finally reaching the end product, providing the very full bar with many laughs. Then it is onto what many call stage 5 of the Imana which runs to the early hours of the next morning in the Umgazi bar.
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What an experience this week was with so many new friends made and old friendships made stronger. Huge thanks to my awesome team mate and mechanic, Sean. He was faultless throughout the race and managed to keep me calm when my crank arm fell off and I thought our race was over. Also thanks to the organizers Bex, Steve and Glen for putting on such a fantastic event.
Jon Ivins for all the breath taking pics. The whole crew from
Big Shot media for the good times and great footage they provided for us each evening. And also to Coach Russ, Warren, Fifi, Brenda and Craig for all the fun and guidance along the way. My Dad and his racing partner Brenda Potts managed to take out the mixed team win as well, very proud of them for never giving up and taking the win comfortably in the end. This may be one of the most difficult stage races to get into but do yourselves a favor and get onto the waiting list it is definitely worth the wait.
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