Pickfords Double century = Ceres Area (SA)

Entries close today.Anyone doing it ?

 

Yup, madly enough I'm doing this thing, as unfit as I am and with a group that is going to be much stronger than me. Entry is in now and in a months time I am going to be in a world of pain. I'm off to buy some chamois cream now, and a hidden motor. I take it you are doing this pothole?

 

I did it this year. Me and 5 of my team mates(prowealth Maties) teamed up with 6 riders of another local team(unicyc). Our goal was to be the fastest full amateur team in. We started at 5.37, 7 minutes after the first team. After 8k's we where the first team on the road(others looked with disbelieve at a single paceline moving at 45k/h with still 195k's to go. On of our rider struggled already on swaarmoed(we also missed the turnaround(went to far) and lost a minute) with the pace after the downhil he gave his wheel to a rider wo buckled his seriously.

On therons we lost a second one(we where fearing we went out to fast). After 90k's we where still the first team on the road but 9minutes of Sub3(2001& 2002 winners) their pace. After 120k's we where only 30 seconds down on sub 3(with pro's Douglas rider and travis Allen) and narrowly in front of the Cylelab-Barloworld team(with david george uci rank 260 and ex-us postal)

with 70 k's to go we lost our third rider and tehn disaster struck I and willie punctured both got a wheel from another rider(no assisatnce allowed outside of feeding points) so we where down to 7(6th riders time counts).
We took Therons the second time easier to make everyone survive. We got the time check(one minute lead) and we decided to gun it like mad.

We lost one with Cramps but came in with 6 in a time of 5h37 for just less than 200k's and 2500meters of altitude difference. We where the surprise of the day, a full amateur team that beat the mixed amateur/pro teams in a new record time.

 

Well done Maarten!! Nice to see you guys showing up the semi-pros!

Our team managed to come in at 6:05, I think we grabbed 5th place, although I lost them on the last climb and finished 15mins after them.

Nice and hot, wasn't it?! Nothing quite like 200kms in 35 degree heat!

 

I had to abandon at 130km due to Hyponatremia. Couldn't keep food down, and over compensated with far too much water. If any of you noticed a rider on Therons or the flat sections to the turn-around point vomiting along the road, that was me.

MidBunchLurker knows me quite well (yes I watched you come through while lying sick in the backup vehicle), and of the 11 people starting in our team, the other 10 finished together. Not in a great time, but we had 4 people doing their 1st Double, and it meant a lot to them to finish together in a team.

An interesting question arises. I feel like utter crap for having to abandon, and it took my team captain about 5 minutes of telling me I was going to die if I went on before I would get in the backup van. How do I combat the feeling of having let the team down? I actually don't feel like doing any of the league races for the rest of the month, much less like getting back on a bike. I watched my team come in together, and I was really happy for them, yet I can't help feeling I should've been there....

Any advice...do I just write this one down as a 'bad day'? Comment welcome...!

 

Ah one off the vineyard guys. You guys have a very strong rider (Alaistar) If he would ride closer on the wheel he would be flying at the end of the race.

It was quite hot indeed but with our early start and fast pace we missed the hottest part of the day(luckily). I have lots of respect for the guys/girls who do it in 10 hours and battle with the heat, although if you see the slow pace of some people it might be smarter for them to asses their fitness before(pushing your body over the limit is very unhealty)

Chris was the engine of our team he finished 2nd for to many times in the double and was eager to change that he stretched us to the edge but it was worth it beating the teams who imported reinforcements(according to cyclingnews we had guest riders to, I don't now who or they must mean me because of my passport)


Fooz,

People do have bad days, you can only do your best. Its not letting the team down if you tried. If your ill its the wisest thing to do to abandon.
I had my of day on red hill finishing top 10 in almost al my other races I droped on the 3d corner it happens.
Our best rider in the tour the windhoek 4 weeks ago, popped already on swaarmoed.

Sometimes you have one of those days just try to forget them as fast as possible

 

Well, I was there last year. I climbed into the van at 150km cos I couldn't physically lift my leg over the crossbar without cramping up horribly. It felt crap - the team finished with 7 men. But then **** happens.

This year I made damn sure I was in better shape, and I also knew to do less work early on. You live and you learn.

There's always a next time!!

 

One trick is to imagine it was someone else. Would you blame that third person? Of course not! So why be harder on yourself than you would be on someone else?

Next time you'll be so well prepared, so fired up, they'll be calling you to slow down all the way round...

 

DC 2004 entries are opening soon... whos doing it this year! i plan to if i can find a team!