Another little small-town race-slash-festival which came up on the horizon was the Piket-Bo-Berg Cycle Challenge which was part of the Zebra Fees. Again, this was a nice opportunity to head out into the countryside and give something to the smaller communities. Yes, most of these “small” races and festivals are all about raising funds for local schools, communities and charities. It’s a win-win really.

The surrounds are everything you’d expect from your most romantic notions of SA countryside which is borderline Karoo. Except, in Spring, when everything is green and lush, it doesn’t look anything like Karoo.

In fact, this looks more like English countryside, just with lots of sun.

Getting used to riding through tons of pollen in and around the orchards. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, make sure you pack plenty of anti-histamine!

The MTB race itself was fast, but gruelling. When it is 30 degrees celcius by 08h30, 30 minutes before the start, you now it’s going to be HOT. And it was. By the finish of the 21km it was close to 35 and for the tougher riders out there tackling the 50km, they must have had a near-impossible conditions at over 1300m above sea level.

The start was innocent enough. Under the cool shade of an avenue of oak trees- bliss. Little did we know 500m down and UP to the left would be a different reality altogether.

Another surprise for me was that non-PPA licenced riders start 2 minutes behind the main pack. We were already seeded in rows, so when the GO went, I went- only to be called back again to wait to GO again.

Never has an ice-cold coca-cola tasted so good! The finish line at last…

See you there next year!