The Sunday Tribune Jeep Hill2Hill

The Sunday Tribune Jeep Hill2Hill MTB Marathon started in Hilton, KZN and finished 105km later at Hillcrest sport grounds.

It started raining non-stop two days prior to the event so I knew we were in for a muddy ride on Sunday. Waking up on the morning of the event without the sound of rain drops falling on our cabin’s roof did a lot to lift my spirits.

It was still very cold at the 6am start when the ladies category was set off 5 min after the Elite men. I managed to take the lead into the first single track section and was surprised when I saw that I had opened a small gap to the rest of the field once through the opening single track. My surprise turned to dismay when I punctured 200m down the following jeep track (about 2km into the race). Upon inspection I found a porcupine quill was the culprit. Only in Africa....

At first I managed to plug the hole, but the tyre kept on deflating as too much sealant had already leaked and the gash wouldn’t seal properly. Luckily the plug lasted me long enough to get to the next spectator point.

Here I managed to borrow a proper hand-pump, put in a tube all while running around asking for extra bombs (as I finished all mine) just to help me get to the finish line. 

I felt really bad to ask people for their spares realising that they might need it themselves during the race. Thank you so much to the two spectators for lending me your hand-pump and the two riders who gave me a bomb and a tube. Without your help I wouldn’t have made it to Hillcrest!!

By the time I got going again I had lost over 40min to the woman’s race leaders and was only 18km into the event. From here on it was a lonely ride to the finish as I negotiated my way through a very muddy course.

While riding I realised how nice the Hill2Hill event actually is, no matter what the weather brings. The race organisers put together a fun yet challenging course adding a bit of single track each year. The route markings were also clear despite heavy rain showers throughout the 2 days prior to the event.

Luckily my teammates (Ischen Stopforth and Nicci Grobler) evaded any similar encounters with African wildlife (and their residue), and were representing the team at the front of the race.  They both had a sterling ride finishing together in 1^st and 2^nd place with Cherise Taylor rounding out the podium in 3^rd.