Memories Epic story #3

Points that I learnt from my Epic journey written 2022

Riding on instinct. One of the biggest parts of the Epic preparation is to build the capability to ride on instinct. All the hours training, but also racing prior to the Epic, is to be able to condition yourself to ride, even when extremely fatigued, to ride on instinct. All reactions must be instinctive and must not require conscious thought and decision making.

Partner for support only. You are partners in the race, but you have to be able to ride your own race as well as take responsibility for your own race. Your partner is just as tired and fatigued and dealing with their own issues. It is not possible to “carry” a partner. So, the partnership is definitely to guide and support each other. To pull each other through the down patches, to have a camaraderie, to listen and guide – as what happened when I was too hot. You are a team but, in the end, you have to be able to do your own ride. I was very lucky to have Andy with his experience with previous Epics but I still had to do the miles and look after myself. Why I say this is that partner choice is critical and should not be taken lightly. I think of the possible ride with JP as partner and it was doomed from the start.

Andy: This is a fascinating dynamic, we are not always on the same energy levels so be considerate, look out for each other all the time, we have a very mature team outlook which I really enjoy with Scippy.

Talking on the ride. We found that we actually talked a lot about any number of topics. It took one’s mind off the pain and distance. Also talking with other riders. When I was struggling on a climb, I always asked Andy for a fishing story and Andy obviously obliged. Andy and I also found that we had a very natural way of alternating the lead. This also happened as one goes through various lows and that is often where the other partner to the initiative or lead.

 Riding rules with partner We established right from the beginning that we would always wait at the top of major climbs and or a water point. This rule was essential as one often gets separated and it ensures that you re-engage. We also found that we had different climbing styles where I started slower but finished stronger.

Leaving a riding gap The Epic is actually quite hectic with a lot of riders also from around the world. Many are very fast on the flat but technically not used to the Cape conditions. When Andy and I ride on our Yeti bikes we have a great confidence in each other’s riding and because of this, often ride quite close to each other. We had to quickly learn to leave a much larger gap when riding with riders we didn’t know. There were many near misses with other riders on a daily basis.

Absolute musts

Bib shorts must be the best you can get. You are going to get sore it just delays the inevitable.

Your bike must be sorted with correct tyres and kit.

Must have a technical support crew. Don’t take chances as you don’t want to be dealing with technical issues on a ride. We had GearChange who were superb.

Many foreign riders and also pros ride with lighter thin wall tyres to save weight. Don’t even take this chance in Western Cape conditions and make sure that you have strong wall tyres.

Be able to make decisions when tired

I described my overheating with the compression vest. One has to be able to make decisions, challenge the norm even when tired and under stress.

Also changing my front sprocket from 34 to 32 just to give that little extra relief with multi-day racing definitely helped.

I can talk here about my shoes. Over the last three days I thought I had ingrown toe nails I was so sore. I used to put my feet into cold rivers every chance I got. I damaged a cleat on the second last day and after the race went to GearChange to get it fixed. They looked at the shoes and said they had shrunk – apparently a fault with the shoes. I tried to put my feet into the shoes and couldn’t get them in it they were so tight. How I still managed to race with them I don’t know. It says something about the extent that one endures pain on such an event.

Heat management

This is not only about hydration which I will talk about separately. It is essential to keep one’s core temperature down which we went out of our way to do on the Epic and since. Get yourself as wet and cool as possible. On the 100 miler from Clanwilliam we also had extreme temperatures and we swam in the river clothes and all.

Nutrition, hydration and drugs

As I have said at the start I was riding on Hammer which I had done on all my preparation rides. On the Epic and extreme heat, it just became too sweet, and I really struggled to drink it. This is a problem as one can easily not drink enough fluids. As the ride went along, we increasingly ate a lot of fruit, even picking apples from the orchids we rode through.

Andy: Natural foods like fruit packed with glycogen and fibre are very easy for the body to absorb, the apple and pear orchards we were riding through gave a plentiful supply.

After the Epic I spoke to my Gear Change team what they do – they are professionals. They use Skratch which basically is like drinking water but is a mineral supplement with a bias to salts. This is so easy to drink. Add to this Christmas cake (nuts, railings, carbs – Pen makes the best). Lastly lots of fruit – love watermelon.

I started this approach on the 100 Miler and this has been my nutrition base ever since. I do drink some coke at the stops – normally ice cold. The key is to eat natural foods earlier and on a more regular basis as it has a slower release.

It makes a huge difference on ones stomach with a more natural bowel movement even when racing. I have thrown all the other products and gels away. It is definitely a natural path now and it works for me. (now using gels again as cannot get enough nutrition without – see later articles).

Beer for rehydration. Beer is the best or rehydration and Andy and I did this on every Epic day and every race. We also have a glass of wine at night to detox but also to relax to be able to sleep- I still take a tablet to knock me out which works for me.

It is not recommended to take drugs and painkillers top overcome fatigue. I saw how JP swallowed these at random. Andy and I didn’t use any painkillers, and I still do not (other than for my back since my accident but never while on the bike, normally evening). I think it is very dangerous and I would avoid drugs if at all possible.

Riding to finish Riding at 80% to finish. It is really important to have a plan and ride your plan starting with the prologue. The plan needs to be there to finish. On some of the days the starts were very fast on open roads and the tendency to want to stay in the bunch. This can break you in the first 10km of a long day. I also divided the race into fractions and counted our progress this way. It definitely helped me with my mental approach in counting down the ride.

Epic looks after the Pro’s

Epic is there for the pros not for the rest of the riders. It is on the pro’s that all the hype, attention and media is focused. Because you have paid all the money, don’t expect to be treated like a king. The Epic is your personal challenge where facilities are provided but that’s about it, you are otherwise conquering your own Everest.