Sunday Tribune/Jeep Hill2Hill MTB

The event started at Hillton in Pietermaritzburg and took the riders all the way to Hillcrest in Durban, the finishing venue for the race.

We had a very early 6am start and the weather conditions wasn’t exactly morale boosting.
It was freezing outside and a strong wind made it even worse. Luckily the car had enough space to get dressed in before we left for the start line.
Warming up for the race seemed easier in the car than outside on the bike.

The race started very fast and my legs couldn’t respond to the fast pace. I saw Samantha Oosthuizen and Tanya Raats up front but didn’t notice any other ladies as I was concentrating too much on the technical downhill start.

I tried to get into a good rhythm, despite my legs feeling very sluggish. To stay motivated I just focussed on doing my solo effort as best as I could.

Being a first timer at the event I found the route very interesting. The first part of the race included a rocky descent, a very dark tunnel, steps, and even a slippery bridge thrown in for good measure.

Then for a few kilometres’s the route went on tar road through Pietermaritzburg.

The second part of the race was on district roads as well as jeep and singletrack through sugar cane plantations. It included more hills, which got quite technical on some of the singletrack littered with rocks.

To see the finish line after 105km on my mountain bike made me very happy!
I didn’t manage to get a good results and I feel very disappointed. However, it was my first time competing in the event and at least now for next year I know the route and what to expect. I’ll put this one down to experience.

It was a nice event with an interesting route. I would really like to do it again next year and hopefully have a better day out on my bike!