Sabie Experience
It was my first time participating in an event during December and since December is the time to put in some base miles it was exactly what I planned on doing at the Sabie Experience.
My main reason for riding Sabie in the first place was because my partner, Dave Leiman, and I are keen to ride the Epic together in 2010.
I’ve heard a few stories about this event and it sounded like the ideal stage race to see whether Dave and my riding styles were compatible.
The first stage was a 30km time trail. Dave and I agreed from the beginning to ride the event at a steady comfortable pace and so we did. I still don’t even know our result on that day which is a nice feeling. For a change I didn’t have to worry about my placing and could only enjoy the beautiful scenery, the event itself and my new Specialised ERA which is a woman specific mountain bike.
Unfortunately I only got to ride my ERA on two occasions before the event. This didn’t give me enough time to set my bike up properly. But once on it I couldn’t get myself to leave it behind and my ERA travelled with me to the Lowveld.
The difference from riding a hardtail to a PROPER full suspension bike is incredible. For the first time I could actually ride over rocky terrain, grass patches and tricky descents without being thrown all over the place. It’s really an awesome bike.
The second stage was a very muddy, cold and wet 65km long stage. I managed to survive it but won’t like to repeat it any time soon. We were climbing solidly for the first half of the stage. Upon finally reaching the summit we crossed a plateau called the ‘Hartebeesvlakte’ where it was freezing cold. The 2nd half of the stage wasn’t easy either. Although we were gradually descending to the finish, the muddy terrain only made it feel like a second climb seeing to it that you have to push just as hard on the pedals to get through the sludge.
That afternoon my knees started to hurt, even making it uncomfortable to climb the stairs which lead to my bedroom. I kind of ignored the pain and thought some extra stretching would do the trick.
The third stage started straight up a climb and sadly my stretching didn’t help as much as I hoped it would. My knees started hurting again on the climb so much so that I decided to rather stop and turn around before I end my season before it even began.
I felt bad leaving Dave to continue on his own. Until then we had a great ride together. Dave was very supportive in my decision as he himself went through a stage where he struggled with his ITB and I guess that’s why he also understood what I was going through.
I knew before starting the event that it might be a bit too much too soon, especially with my knees being so sensitive. But one always hopes for the best!
The reality was that I only started training the week before and I was on a new bike which I haven’t been properly fitted on. I think a combination of this and the cold weather lead to my knee problems flaring up again.
A lot of positive also came from this. I learned that Dave and I can be a good team in the future and what I have to do to be able to be competitive in a long stage race. Also that its not a good idea to ride a stage race when you aren’t used to your bike, I know this but still I do it!! (That’s why I am writing it down, hopefully then I will remember it in the future)
Shortly after returning home from the Lowveld I went for a BG bike fit at Specialized.
The BG bike fit is really great. They examine your anatomy and fit you on your bike accordingly. If they find problem areas they can correct it through the right saddle width, supportive shoes, wedges, inner soles etc.
It may sound too good to be true but by only putting on the correct saddle and riding with specialised inner soles it has fixed a lot of my issues.
It’s important to feel comfortable on the bike and get yourself to ride as pain free as possible!
My first race for the new season will be on 16th January (Attakwas)
Until then HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
