Report from Offenburg World Cup

By now I'm sure you've seen or heard the stories from the 2nd round of the UCI World Cup in Offenburg, Germany.  After rain in the early part of the week, things dried up nicely on race day, and full fields of men and women attacked the course in search of speed and superiority.  The dry weather was welcome after rain last year turned the race into a slippy quagmire.

Our own Susan Haywood was 31st, building on her start position of 37th, and maintaining her spot as the 3rd American female in the World Cup overall standings.  So, she's basically right in the running for a possible Olympic bid!  The first selection criterion is top two Americans in the World Cup overall, so if she moves up just a few spots in the next few races, she's there!

Jeremiah Bishop on the other hand is struggling, and we all feel bad for him.  His lifelong dream is the Olympics, and he was OH so close in 2004.  This year was supposed to be about total focus, and I've seen his training data: he's focused all right!  But somewhere along the line this spring, between training, Cape Epic, and traveling, he's really tired.  We were all hoping that he'd come out of the Cape Epic with huge form, but it's turning out that he's just really zapped for strength.  A huge miscalculation somewhere along the line...

On the other hand, it's not as if things are living up to recent standards.  Most of the American men are suffering in Europe -- Todd Wells and Adam Craig being the notable exceptions.  Those guys must have stepped it up a BIG notch over the winter.  It's great for them!  But on the other hand JHK and Sam Schultz are not up to speed yet, so JB is not alone.   Racing in Europe is exceptionally hard.  There's just no way to understate the level.

I didn't come away with photos or video of my own, but here's something from Jeremiah's wife Erin:

Jeremiah Bishop's "Tunes to Ride By"

Biking, music, the environment: three things we all love.

Jeremiah Bishop and long-time Trek/Volkswagen Racing Team sponsor JBL are teaming up for an exciting

project: "Tunes to Ride By."

Now, in its third volume, "Tunes to Ride By" is turning its attention toward the environment. Mountain bikers are invited to share favorite songs, enter for a chance to win great products from JBL, and download rider-created playlists - all in support of worthy organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA).

For more information and to enter, check out the Tunes page at www.jeremiahbishop.com

The Grey Daze in Germany ...waiting on a World Cup

Well, I dropped my camera about 2 feet the other day, in Houffalize, and now it will not turn on.  Awesome.  It's pretty much what you want to have happen, while in Europe, for 5 days, between races, with no particular team related duty that can be performed other than blogging.  Yeah, it's just fine that I can't post any photos or lifestyle stories now.  Sheesh.

I guess when it rains, it pours, although the rain here is more like 200% humidity.  It doesn't so much pelt the ground as saturate the air and earth simultaneously.  We were walking the course the other day, and some German riders rolled up to look at the same section we were looking at, and one of the women was like, "Hey the forecast for Sunday is dry, so I think it will dry up by then."  And I was like, yes, it must be nice to be high all the time.  I should try that ...

No, seriously, all is not as bad as I like to make it sound.  I just had to catch you up on the last 3 days, which were in fact as gray and dreary as I've ever seen Europe.  Today actually is sunny, dry, and nice ... perhaps mild optimism is not so out of line as I thought.  I'm at a cafe/bar with free and fast internet -- something you would have thought was ubiquitous in Germany, but is not.  Sue rode the course and came back with only a few mud splatters, not nearly the 4" gunk layer we expected.  SO, despite the fact that we are here on business, the business of racing, things are going better by the day as it dries up, warms up, and we get to know the local layout.

We drove to Germany on Monday, slotted in to the Gasthaus Renate Meier in Ebersweier, and since then have been just kind of in limbo waiting for the racing to go off.  We don't have internet at our house, hence the daily visit to the cafe.  English language TV is limited to CNN and BBC, so I know as much about world news as I could care to ...and I'm almost finished with my one book.  It's about the slowest my life has moved in 3 years.  But, you know, I'll take it!  And now that the sun is shining, things are looking up!  Riders are training, bikes are tight, and all is well.  We picked up credentials today, tomorrow is registration, Saturday is managers meeting, and Sunday is GAME THE HECK ON!!!

wish us luck and continued blue skies!

Sea Otter vs Houffalize World Cup

With so many double-booked weekends this year, I should put some thought into a way of tabulating overall scores for each team at each separate venue.  For example, this past weekend we had Lea and Ross out at Sea Otter, competing in the Super D, Short Track, and Cross Country.  While this was going on, I've been in Houffalize, Belgium for the first round of World Cups, escorting Sue and Jeremiah through the weekend XC race.

If the events at Sea Otter are to guage, I would say Ross and Lea's team won the weekend!!   Lea won both the Super D and the Short Track, both first time wins for her.  The short track at Sea Otter is HUGE, because the crowds are great and all the Trek and VW people are attending.   She went on to take 5th in the XC.  Meanwhile Ross was 4th in the STXC, but faded in the XC to 25th place.

On the flip side, Sue and Jeremiah struggled over here in Belgium.  The weather was typical -- rain and gray made the course a slippy mess.  And the racing was typical -- over-full fields of rabid Euro mountain bikers elbowed their way around the course.  But the results here were not what we hoped:  JB in 77th, and Sue in 36th.  This on a day when other top Americans were riding just fine, in the top 20.

So as I say, cheers to the other team for pulling down some results for the weekend!!

We're off to Offenburg, Germany for the next World Cup, and hoping for better things.  No photos, sorry, my camera took a dive and won't turn on.  I'll try and borrow some during the week.

so what ELSE have we been up to?

At the same time Cape Epic riders were sending plumes of red dust skyward, we had the other half of our team in southern California and the desert Southwest, tackling the first 2 rounds of the NMBS series.  From my perspective it was a challenge to have 2 events running at the same time, but on the other hand, it will be a neccessary situation for this whole season.  I'm trying to wring the most out of our program, and that's going to mean MANY double booked weekends.  It means I'm doing everything twice!

But despite that challenge, we had great success in our first 2 domestic races.  Competing were Ross and Lea, and staffing were me, Dusty, and new guy Shep.  At the first round in Fontana, we were pleased to see a busy venue and a boost in attendance from last year.  The course was a little shorter, but the same fast urban singletrack. 

Lea kicked off the XC with 8th place, a solid top 10 to start the year.  Ross was stunned by the level and came in 16th, but made up for it the next day with the most exciting short track we've seen in years, landing on the podium in 4th.  Lea was right in there too on her short track, taking 8th again ... while our Canadian Mical Dyck was 4th.  So it was great to be in the mix on the first weekend!

From Fontana we drove across to Arizona, with a 2 night stop in Sedona.  The riding was part of the goal, but we also had committed to a school visit.  As it happens there is a great k-12 mountain bike league in AZ, and we stopped in on Scott Keller's group in Sedona.  The riders did a short ride with the kids, and we had a great time!

 

Finally getting down to business in Fountain Hills, site of NMBS #2, we pulled down a few more sweet results.  Lea broke through to the top 5 for the first time, taking 5th on the short track.  Ross was ultra consistent, just inside the top ten in all 3 events for the weekend, and taking 5th on the weekend overall.  Lea was 4th on the weekend overall.  For me and the team, it was a real breakthrough because it means our up and coming riders are now UP and consistently in the top 5.  That's what we need!

It's a wrap: the dust settles on Cape Epic

It's been 6 days now since the Cape Epic stage race wrapped up in Cape Town, South Africa.  I've heard from the riders and staff that they are finally back home, lost luggage has been reclaimed, and they are gradually adjusting to normal life.  It's fair to say that everyone is flat out exhausted and happy to be done.

Shortly after the finish of the final stage, I got the happy report that Chris and Jeremiah were 8th on the final stage, and Sue and Jenny were 2nd.  Each team solidified its hold on their overall positions.  From a racing standpoint, things went as well as we could have hoped.  I think the level on the men's side was higher even than we anticipated, and Chris especially was stunned by the level of the world cup riders in attendance.  On the women's side, we put up the best fight we could and made a great race out of it.  2 stage wins plus the prologue is really good! 

Plus, from a team and brand perspective, we gained a great deal of exposure.  Interviews and TV on Eurosport, photos in London Times, plus all the endemic cycling press covering the race.  While I personally was in the US working the first two NMBS events, it seemed like EVERY DAY people were coming up to me and asking how our team was doing in the Cape.  I think it's fair to say that the eyes of the mountain bike world were focused on the Cape Epic as a class-leading global event.  It's good for our team to participate at that level when we can.

In chatting with riders and staff, it's interesting to hear more about the race and the effort required.  Chris for one said that he's confident that the training benefit will persist through the whole season.  Jeremiah is likely to be on par with his world cup competitors, going into the first 3 rounds of the world cup.  On the other hand, the staff is just flat out exhausted.  Steve our mechanic said that he's never worked so hard in his life, and he's a really hard worker!  I'm glad that our first-year soigneur Laura hasn't quit yet ...

She commented on some of the things we DON'T see reported when stories of the race are published.  She noted how poverty and scars of war are easy to see just outside the race venue.  While the race traverses wealthy areas and is safe, there are places just beyond the course and camping that are riddled with crime and crushing poverty.  Laura said the contrast between rich and poor is stark, and hard to stomach at times.

I think it's important that we all remember these things as our sport becomes more globalized.  I hope that cycling can be an opportunity for our cultures and geopolitics to intersect in a positive way, that spreads a message of cycling as useful, fun, and exciting.  We as racing teams consider going fast on the bikes to be the most important thing, but perhaps we can remember that simply introducing the sport to other cultures and countries can solve problems of transportation and hopefully poverty someday.

Photo Gallery: Absa Cape Epic, Stage Eight

Photos By Sven Martin

Stage 8: "No flies on ME, mate!"

Yesterday saw the final stage in the Absa Cape pic 9 day race. Before the dust settles and event is just a memory in my 2008 season I want to share how happy I felt during the final 62km.

I pretty much drifted to the bottom and back over the final 3 and a half days of the Cape Epic stage race. At 115km of the 146 km stage 5,  I (as Sue ( my partner ) aptly said died 1000 deaths) and sucked wheels home to our third stage victory. That night I started getting sick and by stage 6 had a sinus infection. It was okay though we backed it off a bit and still rode strong to 2nd place on the day. Day 7 however was brutal for me. My respiratory infection had gone into my bronchials and I felt really grotty. So I counted down the kms all 91 of them knowing that all that mattered was the finish of the stage. I was a mess at the end but thats part of it eh?

Day 8 dawned and with it the last day. What a ride. It was what I came for and its is my drug of choice. The utter confidence of knowing I can do it. The absolute knowledge that 'its all good'. I was so happy. As I was riding I was thanking everything in my head. K'ms didn't matter, Terrain didn't matter, Riding a bike was fun and  I was loving it. Sign me up again. I want more.

I'm so thankful forthis experience. It was awesome!

The Trek/VW ladies ( Sue and I ) finished 2nd overall. The men ( Chris and Jeramiah) 11th. It was a great investment on the part of our team to send us here and it has paid enormous dividends in terms of PR, press, media and exposure. These events suit and need more top tier womens teams and it is great that Trek/VW and Trek/ Dolphin have invested in this event.

Following suit I wish to thank Steve and Laura (our mechanic and Soigner) as their respective role's where vital. Our bikes and equipment where basically problem free. We used the new 08 SID forks on our bikes here and I was very impressed. I have used Rockshox forksfor quite a few years now and in my opinion the  08 SID is by far the best crosscountry fork. Solid and dependable. I probably locked it out on average once a day only if it was a pavement climb otherwise I didn't give its function a second thought.

Happy riding
Jennifer smith

Stage Seven: Darkest Hour, Greatest Moment

Jeremiah Bishop reporting in from Stage Seven of the 2008 Cape Epic

Standing amid pre-race music and a predawn marine layer of clouds were just 900 of the 1200 riders who signed up for the hardest and longest event in the history of the Cape Epic. 

“Udo,” I called out from within the start box. “Which race is harder, this one or the Tour de France?” I asked with a smile.

In a thick German accent, Udo Boelts, a veteran of more than 10 Tours replied, “It is about the same. The Tour is longer, but this… in this you have no recovery, no smooth spinning and descents on which you can eat, drink and recover. This race, it is always go, go, go!”

Somehow, I suspected that might be the answer to my question. The Cape Epic is like the Tour without the chatty laughing from the peleton or occasional neutral pee breaks. At the stage finishes of the Cape Epic, you’ll never see sparkling clean bikes and fresh faced riders. And you’d better bet your ass that the riders in this race are suffering from the beating that close to 1000 kilometers of prehistoric red dust, sand and volcanic rock can dish out on your hands, feet and tail.

This morning was tough at the Trek team camp. Jenny, who is in second place on our women’s team, was sick and wore a look of dread on her face. I asked how she was doing. “Not good,” she said, holding back tears. I knew she was not only sick, but also run down. Who isn’t run down at this point? I know I am. Sleep deprivation, aching muscles, the hardship of brutal five-hour stages, the best competitors in the world; these things add up. I wasn’t much feeling like putting my raw ass on a bike’s seat for one more day, but I didn’t share this. Instead, I said, “I’m proud of you. There’s only one more short day after this! We’re almost done!”

During our race today, Chris and I fought to make the lead group. I helped Chris keep up with the pace on the steepest sections. We were riding close, always communicating and putting in a super-focused effort to make the jump to the lead group for the high-speed dirt roads that always links the jeep track trails. After Feed Zone One, we rode toward the tail of the leading group with Bart Brentjens and Alban Lakata of the Dolphin-Trek team. Apparently, Alban was another rider facing sickness. He was lagging badly behind Bart; Bart was too far ahead to help, so he just would look back with a puzzled expression. Alban looked green and his head hung in a strange way but he fought to continue and did!

In the second half of the race, Chris too was hurting. However, unlike Bart, I sensed my teammate’s condition and stuck as close as possible. Since I was feeling very good today, I pushed Chris to keep us in that top group.

With 10 kilometers to go, we were caught by four riders of the ETTO-Hoydahl teams (ETTO-Hoydahl has three teams in the race). Rune Hoydahl, the many-time World Cup winner was in the group. Nearing the finish, as they continued to work together, we suffered like dogs to stay with them. We raced down the last dusty dirt road to the finish, teeth gritting in the dust, not able to see anything. We were in the zone.

We put on some nice moves to beat the second ETTO-Hoydahl team for tenth place in the stage. After the race, I thought of our day and I knew we had ridden not only as well as we could, but most importantly, we rode though the toughest part of the Cape Epic as team and found our greatest moment from our worst.

We hope tomorrow will be a smooth and short stage to the finish.

Thanks for reading,

Jeremiah Bishop
Trek Volkswagen

Photo Gallery: Absa Cape Epic, Stage Seven

Pics by Sven Martin

Photo Gallery: Absa Cape Epic, Stage Six

Photos by Sven Martin

 

Chris checks in: trying not to crack!

Just when I thought we had seen it all here at the Cape Epic, the brutal race course found a new way to punish us.  The killer of todays stage was a 15km long flat wide road near the end of the 130km stage.  Sounds like a nice way to get to the finish, right?  We thought so, but this was the worst road I have ever ridden on a bike.  Deep sand, constant jackhammering braking bumps, and a strong headwind made forward progress very tough, and our close to broken bodies scream in pain.  For the fifth day in a row, I crossed the finish line and collapsed.  We just missed out on our new daily goal of a top ten finish, but there was nothing more that I could give.

The Trek/VW ladies team of Sue Haywood and Jenny Smith raced over the same course and conditions for over 6 hours, and no doubt encountered their own trials and tribulations along the way to finish 2nd on the day in the women's race.  As I pounded water, Coke, and recover drink in finish area, the question on my mind was one that I have contemplated often this week,
"is this the hardest mountain bike race I have ever done?"

It's not easy to answer.  I have raced over a dozen 24 hour solos on all kinds of courses, in all kinds of conditions.  I have also raced the Transalp, and the BC Bike Race, which have similar formats to the Cape Epic.  I have raced in freezing rain, and searing heat.  I have raced when very sick, and I have raced with injuries.  At this moment, I feel that the Cape Epic tops them all in terms of toughness.  Maybe my viewpoint is skewed because I'm in the middle of the race, and the most recent pain often stings more than the more distant ones, but I really don't think I've ever suffered more intensely than this, and for a longer duration.

24 hour solos include riding through the night, sleep deprivation and often disorientation, but the course is on a loop, and one more lap always seems reasonable.  Cape Epic is point to point, 9 days in a row, over all kinds of terrain, the nature of which is mostly unknown to us as we head out each day.  The level of competition is much higher and deeper than any other endurance race in the world.  Cross country and marathon world champions, olympic gold medalists, marathon and stage race specialists, and super fit, motivated South Africans with intimate knowledge of the course.  This makes the pace relentless.   My teammate, Jeremiah Bishop, and I are constantly amazed how little rest and recovery time we are finding in the 5 to 6 hour stages.  It is full throttle almost the whole time.

As I mentioned earlier, the course is brutal, and always changing.  One day the toughest part is the long, steep, rocky, climbs, then next day it's sand dunes that are almost unrideable, and another day it's windswept dirt roads that force us to lean diagnoally into the wind to stay upright.

The timing of the race is also a factor.  Starting in March, this is my first race of the year.  Where I live in Maryland, we are just coming out of winter.  After travelling for 2 or 3 days, we find ourselves racing across South Africa in 100 degree heat, with 1200 mountain bikers, many of whom are peaking for this prestigous event.  I never consider myself an early season peaker and always seem to struggle in my first few races of the year.  No chance to warm up into this one.  Every day has been a fight.  I have been at my maximum and beyond every day, spending by far more time in the red zone than I have at any other race.  Then we wake up at 5am the next day to do it all over again.

Maybe I should wait until the race is over and I've had a relaxation period before I decide on an answer to my question.  But I don't think it's going to get any easier.  With 2 days to go, I know the answer already.  The Cape Epic is the toughest mountain bike race I have ever done............yet.

Stage Five: another victory for Trek-VW women!

Stage 5 of the Absa Cape Epic was described as easy and flat by most people.  Looking at the profile cards that they give out to each team, it did indeed look easier than the last two days.  It only had 1850 meters of climbing down from 2300meters.  But it was 146km!

Well it was anything but easy.  The starts are coming earlier and earlier each day, not actually, but it seems like it.   Plus, there is no such thing as an easy start here at the epic.  Even though today was mostly a downhill start, it can be very nerve racking riding around on the road with 1200 mountainbikers.  There is always some kind of crash.  My friend Allan lost his partner Hillary and he continues to race, but he is obligated to start at the back of the pack.  He said that there are 5kms of riders it seems.  I can't wait to see some of the pictures from the starts.

My legs were not great again at the start.  Its hard with absolutely no warm-up and fatigued legs.  So, I was suprised to find ourselves riding with Pia and Alison again today.  Jenny seemed to be doing much better than me, but later she said she was in the pain cave as well.  There were all these big rollers on a bumpy gravel road.  It was pretty hard to just sit in and get the draft.  But we managed.  We were able to get to the first aid station with a decent group.  We are getting much faster at those, which helps to minimize work down the road.

Then to  my great suprise, there was some cool mountainbiking today.  We turned off the gravel on to dirt double track.  This dirt then turned to sand.  I got caught behind a very dramatic crash when a guy did a high speed sand wobble.  His bike bounced two times and he totally taco-ed his wheel.  Then another guy banged into me.  To make up for it, I made him and his teammate tow me back to the group.
The sand riding was actually really fun for me.  It was a nice change of terrain.  And for a change I was riding it pretty easily.  I usually am to heavy on the front wheel and end up messing up.  Maybe all that sand riding at team camp in Moab helped.  Alison got her first flat for the day.  She had a sidewall tear, so it wasn't a quick change, but they caught us right before the second feed zone.

The best thing about the sand riding was the view of the ocean.  It was so magnificent!  Gosh, how I wanted to go for a swim! .  Swimming was not on the agenda, though.  On the agenda, was hanging on the Rocky Mountain Girls wheels on the rough double track.  It was nice riding.  The only hard part was that the body was so tenderized that  the rough stuff, felt like a jackhammer.

Alison got flat number two...thats a bit unlucky.  It seems like when you flat once, the chance of flatting again always goes up.  We kept our regular pace.  Then back out on a miserable gravel road, we wanted to get to the last aid station before them.   As I looked back, I rubbed Jenny's wheel and nearly had a bad wreck.  A saddle in the butt and a tire scrape on the knee was about it.

We  regrouped and dug deep again to stay with the Rocky girls(Rockettes??)  Jenny had already died a thousand deaths, but kept digging.  18km from the finish, Alison flatted again.  That is really unlucky!  So we gave it a go in the wind and went for a stage win.  We could feel them breathing down our necks.  Did I mention how hard the finishes are here at the Epic?  The finishes are brutal.  They have massive head winds and are really long.

Anyway, we won the stage by 2 minutes.  That doesn't put a dent in the GC, but we opened the door when opportunity knocked.
-Posted by Susan Haywood

Photo Gallery: Absa Cape Epic, Stage Five

Photos by Sven Martin

Photo Gallery: Absa Cape Epic, Stage Four

Photos by Sven Martin

Sue and Jenny WIN STAGE FOUR!!!

It was a very exciting day for us. Our initial plan to get a good start today and my personal goals to ride smart with the descents into the climbing transitions turned into a fantastic position riding in the leading women's group with Alison Sydor and Pia sundset ( Rocky mountain) - the overall women's GC leaders and several of the strong mixed category riders. Our race plan evolved as we went to stick through aid station 1/aid station 2 and 3 and finally up the 12km climb to the finish. It was super exciting to come across the line in first with Alison and Pia on our wheels. Great racing and what we came for. Today's win solidified our overall place in second.
The Trek VW means team of Chris Eatough and Jeremiah Bishop finished in 12th and moved into 11th in the GC.

Today's Stage four was just another day in the very fast and brutal Cape Epic Stage race. It is one thing to have pre conceived expectation about an event and quite another to learn the reality. Each day is another day and each day is long, hard and HOT Africa Hot. ( 40 degrees plus Celsius today - and if you want to know how different that is from Gunnison Colorado right now check the weather on the internet). Its also very important to get in a good group of riders however it is a dirt and mountain bike race so its always challenging and not a road race.

It is fantastic and everything about this event is somewhat mind blowing. The 3000 tents and 2 dining halls that leap frog each other. Last nights camp is at tomorrows venue. The food is exceptional, media impressive and Vibe pretty great 5 days in.

I am wearing a heart rate monitor with Polar that you can view live as i race from the Absa cape-epic website. My condition to use it was that I would not be able to see my heart rate during the race, however you can, or you can check it afterwards.   It's part of the live rider tracking on the site.
Thanks everyone, its awesome.

Jennifer Smith

Jenny Smith phones it in from Cape Epic

Jenny Smith used the satellite phone to call in yesterday, because one of the recurring themes of Cape Epic has proven true once again:  hard to get internet service!  Apparently even all the media guys were struggling with getting their material posted.  So, I chatted with Sue and Jenny for a few minutes and took notes on their story.

The first thing Jenny said was, "We worked our asses off today!  It was SO HARD, Zack."  Evidently there was a crash in the group early in the stage.  Sue and Jenny didn't get tangled, but they were delayed, and wound up riding alone most of the day.  Riding alone is quite normal in most mountain bike races, but the Cape Epic is different.  With many long sections of road and dirt road, riding in a group is key to saving energy and going faster.  So riding alone, trading pulls in the wind, basically doing a 120 km 2-up time trial on mountain bikes, Sue and Jenny tackled the stage.

To make matters worse, while riding in 2nd place on the day, Sue flatted and they had some trouble with the change.  This was with about 30km to go.  They lost about 6 minutes and were passed by the Dolphine team for the 2nd place on the stage.  However, after changing the flat, they put things into overdrive, and put everything into the chase.  They were catching groups and making up time, despite crosswinds and again working alone on the roads.  They managed to recover all but 30 sec of the deficit by the finish.  But again, Jenny emphasized how hard it was, due to the crosswind and heat.  It's been 40 C there (around 100 F.)

When I spoke to Sue, she commented, "It's not like La Ruta hard.  Its not brutal in that kind of way.  It's just a different kind of race, due to the riding in groups, the wind, the tactics.  It's really intense for the first race of the year."

On the plus side of things, both Sue and Jenny commented that they are settling into a routine.  The days go by quickly when wake-up call comes at 5am, quick breakfast is followed by staging at 6:30am, then the start goes off at 7am.  The race finishes around 1pm.  The race organization is apparently top notch, really slick.  For example, they have 2 sets of dining tents, so that one can leapfrog the other, and always be set up ahead of time. 

Team Staff Laura Downey and Steve Borkoski are also working their asses off.  Laura hand-washed everyone's team kit yesterday!  We'd have to hear from Steve, but according to Chris, the bike was is the best he's ever seen ... and I reckon Chris has seen a number of bike washes in his days.  While driving the RVs from start area to finish town, they have seen zebras, monkeys, and springboks.  So it's quite the safari experience as well!

All in all, when I asked Sue would she do it over again, judging by this point in the race, she slowly said, "yeah, I think I would do it again.  It's hard being the first race of the year.  You'll have to ask me at the finish!" 

Stay tuned for more - posted by manager Zack Vestal