Get ready for a wild ride of feelings and excitement as Saxby and I share our ups and downs from our Cape Epic adventure. We're not just bike lovers talking about the tough climbs and thrilling descents; we're storytellers bringing you into our journey through South Africa's tough terrain. With the friends we made on the trail and the surprising skills of downhill bikers from Oklahoma, this story is full of laughs, plans, and the truth about our toughest moments on the bike.
Even when we were exhausted and dealing with stomach problems, we share everything - from the funny moments of luxury services to the really tough times that even the strongest riders struggle with. Mr. Alan White, known as the Gravel Doc, joins us with insights that really make you think about endurance sports. We talk about the human spirit's strength and the careful balance of getting ready, recovering, and eating whatever food Africa had to offer (or finding plant-based options!).
But what happens after the excitement fades? We talk about the strange feeling of sadness after the event, when you're relieved it's over but also restless. As we think about getting new bikes and trying out other hobbies, we remind ourselves - and you, our fellow adventurers - that finishing one big adventure is just the beginning of the next. So, come join us for the journey; it's about more than just the trail, it's about always pushing yourself to reach new heights.
Get ready for a wild ride of feelings and excitement as Saxby and I share our ups and downs from our Cape Epic adventure. We're not just bike lovers talking about the tough climbs and thrilling descents; we're storytellers bringing you into our journey through South Africa's tough terrain. With the friends we made on the trail and the surprising skills of downhill bikers from Oklahoma, this story is full of laughs, plans, and the truth about our toughest moments on the bike.
Even when we were exhausted and dealing with stomach problems, we share everything - from the funny moments of luxury services to the really tough times that even the strongest riders struggle with. Mr. Alan White, known as the Gravel Doc, joins us with insights that really make you think about endurance sports. We talk about the human spirit's strength and the careful balance of getting ready, recovering, and eating whatever food Africa had to offer (or finding plant-based options!).
But what happens after the excitement fades? We talk about the strange feeling of sadness after the event, when you're relieved it's over but also restless. As we think about getting new bikes and trying out other hobbies, we remind ourselves - and you, our fellow adventurers - that finishing one big adventure is just the beginning of the next. So, come join us for the journey; it's about more than just the trail, it's about always pushing yourself to reach new heights.
What is up? Cycling Oklahoma. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. I know I missed one episode early this month. Clearly, when you listen to this episode you'll understand life has been a little crazy and just had to take a little bit of a break to get things back on track after our big epic adventure and epic is, I guess, the right term and, to put it mildly, so this episode.
Speaker 1:We've had so many people me and Saxby just got back from Cape Epic and we've had a lot of people ask questions and we just wanted to sit down and get it all out there and answer questions and people, things that people have been asking us on a regular basis and things that we thought we would like to share. So there's going to be a two part series, which I don't think I've ever done before, so we'll have two episodes back to back. So if you don't like listening to me and Saxby's voice, sorry about that you get two episodes of it, but this one is really good. Uh, the one and only great. Dr Alan White, um gravel doc. It sits down and interviews us and, shockingly, this is very professional. He did not pull out any fun shenanigans or screw with us, uh, like I thought he would. So kudos to Alan, and he is actually growing up and being much more mature. Who would have thought so? I hope you guys enjoy this. It was really fun.
Speaker 1:Uh, cape Epic was the most humbling, awe-inspiring, gorgeous, brutal, miserable, everything-in-one, life-changing event I could have ever imagined, and hopefully you understand a little bit more about that by listening to this. We just talked more about the race itself, the stages, the terrain, the tactics, those kinds of things are are overall experience with the event. Uh, episode two will be a little bit more of in the weeds as far as preparation, training, nutrition, recovery things that we did uh, equipment, setups, those kinds of things. We have a lot of people asking questions about that. So, uh, we just thought we'd tackle it all uh in two part series and get it all out there. So hopefully you enjoy this and, um, hopefully this will give you a little bit of insight to what kind of incredible adventure that the cape epic is and was for us. And, uh, hopefully it will inspire someone to go do their own cape epic, whatever that may be uh, it doesn't have to be, you know, going to Africa and riding your mountain bike uh, across the wild terrain for eight days. Uh, it could be, you know, doing red bud 50, or, uh, going out and doing mid South 50, or or, you know, just actually going and joining um, a local group ride that you've never done before and you're scared and intimidated to do that. So we really wanted to share our story, just cause we really want people to get out there, push themselves and go for it.
Speaker 1:And, as you hear in this story, saxby was able to make it to the end and cross the actual finish line. I crossed a different finish line, a little bit shorter than Saxby did, and I would say that I truly found my um, physical limits. I really did find that, which is really cool and frustrating all at the same time. And you know, it really was kind of life-changing in many, many ways, um. And so you know, if you dream big and shoot for really big goals, sometimes you're going to fail, and those fails are really big and they are on a grand stage in front of a lot of people, and that's totally okay and I'm wrapping my head around that and I think that the saying that has come up to me from very early on actually the day that I decided I couldn't keep going was um, it's just a chapter in the book, it's not the whole story.
Speaker 1:So you know, if you shoot for it, you it's just a chapter in the book, it's not the whole story. So you know, if you shoot for it, you go for it and it doesn't actually go the way that you anticipated and wanted. It's okay, sometimes it's not easy to come to that conclusion, but it's just riding a bicycle or it's just shooting for an adventure or a new job or a marathon or whatever it is. So it's just part of the chapter. It makes for more rocking chair stories when we all get old and we sit around and swap war stories about the stupid things that we used to do.
Speaker 1:So hopefully this inspires you. I really hope that you go tackle something that you're scared to tackle because we were very scared to go tackle this adventure. So if that does happen to you, or it does inspire you, or you do have a really awesome adventure ahead of you this year, let us know. I would love to keep tabs on that. I would love to talk to you about that. I would love to follow your journey and your story. So hopefully you enjoy this. I will quit rambling and thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for tuning in.
Speaker 1:If you would like to be a part of the podcast or you know anybody that is or that does want to be a part of the podcast or be a good storyteller, please let me know.
Speaker 1:Uh, we'd love to have that on. Have some great uh guests lined up for the next few months and, um, don't forget, uh, cycling oklahoma website is now up and live. There is a lot of things coming on that and, uh, we will be refining that and making changes to that, but you can find all kinds of gravel routes and mountain bike trails all over our amazing state. We have a big blog coming from a lot of different riders, so please stay tuned, check it out Cycling Oklahoma. You just have to join the team on Ride With GPS, which is totally free, but it also gives you some bonus things that you don't get on a normal free account, and you can download some routes there. So go check it out Cycling Oklahomacom. Go play bikes, go do something Epic for you and it has to be Epic for you, not for the world. That looks different for everyone. Have a great day and thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 2:Ryan Saxby oh how the tables have turned. Yeah, on the other side of the mic now. I think this is an episode people have been looking forward to for a really long time, where you and your partner in crime here are getting interviewed. Are you guys nervous?
Speaker 3:my mom, my mom's gonna be stoked yeah, I didn't sleep much last night I was, you didn't, so nervous yeah I don't know what's coming.
Speaker 1:Whenever I gave you open access to questions, I don't know what's coming. She'd be terrified she'd be terrified well, here's the good thing is is I have the final edit, so I'll just get rid of crap.
Speaker 3:I don't want to talk about brilliant should have had an out-of-bounds conversation before this yeah, I think this is the out-of-bounds conversation, to be honest with you, so I think people are gonna love this.
Speaker 2:so you two idiots um went and did a little bike race on the other side of the world recently and, for the folks who don't know, the Cape Epic has actually been around for a little bit in South Africa. So I did my research. So it was first staged in 2004. Guy that founded it, kevin Vermack, actually got the idea while he was racing La Ruta in Costa Rica. That's a miserable race. Yes, it is. Yeah, I have zero desire to ever do something like that. And it is accredited by the UCI as a beyond category race.
Speaker 1:I would totally agree with that.
Speaker 2:So let me paint the picture for folks, before we get into, you guys experience here, so so this race is not an international class race. It's an eight-day race consists of a prologue and seven stages. Is that right? Yes, you guys have memories, or you've blacked that out, yet it's all.
Speaker 3:It's a one memory, okay it's coming, coming back slowly but surely.
Speaker 2:Car wreck um covers over 680 kilometers.
Speaker 1:Oh wait, miles, 420 miles yeah, 400 ish, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Somewhere in that range and 16,900 meters, so about 55,000 feet of climbing. Yeah, you guys are idiots. Yeah, yeah, it was good.
Speaker 1:It was good in theory.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so pretty prestigious event Past winners. Well, we'll talk about this year's winners. So Maddie Beers and Howard Grotz, winners this year, on the men's side, and Ann Terpstra and Nicole Kohler on the women's side yeah, those are some pretty big names in the mountain biking world.
Speaker 1:Kind of like the best in the world. Yeah, and then us, of course.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. So there's you guys and Matty Beers, pretty much neck and neck.
Speaker 1:We were beside him.
Speaker 2:You were yeah, yeah. So just so you guys know, matty Beers and I are tight, ah Tight. So rule of three. In the year it was pouring rain. Um, he came back to the car to hand us the rain jacket. I took his rain jacket and tried to hand him up a beer, as he's at the front of this race, and of course he said no, but we've been best buds ever priorities are all wrong.
Speaker 1:I know that's cool, I didn't know he did rule of three yeah, he did well, he might be here this year then I think he will, because I saw that he just flew back over.
Speaker 3:Perhaps I can take my revenge on him.
Speaker 1:Maybe, of course.
Speaker 2:I like it, yep. So other big names from the past Barry Sander, famous South African racer, christopher Sozer, yaroslav Kulhavi these are all UCI World Cup guys and even two former Tour de France france guys george hencappi and cadel evans.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's been a handful of the pros, I think nibly raced it last year, nino's won it a couple times. Um, on the men's side, yeah, I mean um see who was there was a lachlan, was there again this year he's done it a handful of times. Uh, blevins won it last year, so he's the US national champion. So that's impressive kind of anybody that and everybody, that's really clearly since me and Saxby did. Anybody that's anybody in the mountain bike world has been there.
Speaker 2:So so, given that highly, yeah, highly prestigious field, elite of the elite, and then you two idiots, how on earth did you two decide to go do this and how the hell did you get in?
Speaker 1:I guess I'll start this part. Uh-huh, uh. Yeah, I had this idea that I wanted to do it. I don't know, maybe six, seven years ago I saw it, uh, somewhere online. I was like, oh man, that looks super cool and all the videos look super cool.
Speaker 1:I'm like that's a bucket list race but that's never going to happen. For one, like it's going to cost you much. Trying to find someone that's close to your skill level Cause you have to do it with a partner is probably going to be really hard to do. And find somebody that's willing to take that time off and put in the training and spend the money Like that's like a really farfetched dream. And, um, yeah, the me and Saxby uh have become really good buds over the last handful of years.
Speaker 1:And man, we were I don't even know what we were talking about, but I think I was just sending the messages showing it to him or whatever, and I was like, hey, I have this bucket list race that I want to do. It's kind of like the last event on my thing that I'm like I race that I want to do. It's kind of like the last event on my thing that I'm like I need to check that box. Um, I was like I just want to do it before I'm 50. So we've got five years to figure it out. And he I'd sent it was a text message, and then he wrote back, I mean less than 10 or 15 minutes later. It's like, well, we might as well just do it next year.
Speaker 3:Well, when in Rome huge dumb ass.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm like, oh yeah, that's funny hi. He's like, no, seriously, like I just look registrations in three days, like let's just sign up, I'm like yep, so registration was just a goat lottery.
Speaker 3:Go on, sign up and you're in yeah, it's like uh, you know, a land run you have to be, or mid-south you have to, like you know.
Speaker 2:Click register at like 801 01 am so you just got to beat the clock to get in on the registration.
Speaker 3:But it's like hyper competitive. Yeah, it's instant. It's instant because you only need one partner to get in, obviously. So we both tried to get in on our own desktops and we both clicked register and I got in. He didn't.
Speaker 1:Like that's how instant it sold out, that's how instant it is, yeah got in, he didn't like that's how instant, it's that's how holy crap.
Speaker 2:Yeah so, so who told who were you guys communicating via text at that moment?
Speaker 1:we were on, we were on speakerphone, okay so you knew you got in because I'm hitting enter and it's like not, let me, not let me, and he's like I'm in and yeah, so it was. It really truly sells out. The second it goes live.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, so when you got in, was that the oh shit moment of oh shit, we're doing this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, pretty much yeah, for sure it was definitely like oh this was this sounded fun.
Speaker 1:I'm like crap. Now we got to figure this out yeah, yeah, yeah reality hit quick we did not expect to get in. No, we expected this to be like a three year process yeah, I, I had no intentions of us actually pulling this off so let's talk about then.
Speaker 2:from that point to when you guys left to go do the race, how long was that training? What did it look like? So you guys were doing long bike rides together, like you're a couple of lovebirds riding on the river trail, I saw you guys quite a bit out there. You were doing races the six hour up at Arc arcadia. You guys were tooling around there together like you were dating so so. So what did your training look like?
Speaker 3:a lot of dating less, less romantic than that. But, um, yeah, I mean we had 51 weeks for fair, essentially. So, um, we just started, I mean, that day we just kind of committed to riding more. We rode a lot independently, especially on road, and then we rode a lot together on the mountain bike, obviously. So that just meant being in the spring, that meant committing to. You know well, instead of a maybe I'll ride Tuesday or Thursday group ride, like I'm going to ride Tuesday and Thursday group ride. So it was just a little more commitment in the spring. And then the summer we started ramping up volume. So then that meant you know, let's do the A group rides instead of the B group rides and going faster, and let's, you know, we both started riding two group rides and adding on mileage that way. And then, essentially, whatever event we would do, we'd inevitably just choose the longest distance and we just we were riding faster and longer, kind of in a slow build up through the fall and summer.
Speaker 3:And then, as we got into the fall, I started having a more structured workout. I think you were fairly structured throughout the whole thing. Um, but you know, I would keep four months out, I would keep a log and I'd write down every workout and then I'd you know I would keep four months out, I would keep a log and I'd write down every workout and then I'd you know his background in coaching, I would send him what I was planning to do and what I had been doing and he would provide feedback. But I would do, you know, structured trainer, ride indoors and I tried to do as much outdoors as possible just to stay fresh and we spent a lot of time mountain biking and we would try to go, we would try to go ride the most technical courses we could, and the reason for that is you know you touched on the 2024 or the 2004 um inaugural event, so this was the 20th year anniversary.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 3:They were advertising this as one of the shorter races but the most technical in recent memory. So it was shorter, it was more climbing and it was more technical single track. So all the course previews, all the rider communications we're getting, we're essentially all like emphasizing you need to be riding technical stuff before you get here. So, we would go find the hardest stuff we could to ride locally and so skip.
Speaker 2:Lots of skip, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So sadly not skip, but we would just try to find really technical stuff and just try to get a lot better. And we started riding with faster mountain bike riders and learning how to carry speed and then, yeah, doing day trips to medicine park to learn how to ride rocks and carry momentum Riding Crispin's RIP when it was available.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, basically what Saks covered. We just started riding a lot um and volume, lots of volume, yeah, lots of volume, and that's kind of I was basically normally, especially coming from multi-sport background or recreational guys we'd ride four times a week and that was a pretty full week of, say like five to seven hours a week was pretty typical and it was like man, we got to just ride six, seven days a week and we can't get enough yeah kind of the plan early on and so, yeah, I think the group rides, riding to the group rides, was a big help.
Speaker 1:And then, um, I went to bentonville probably, I don't know, over the past year maybe four times at least yeah, yeah, I would say five or six times, yeah, I went out there even just go visit drummond to try and get some wisdom from him.
Speaker 2:We did, we we got, we took a trip out interviewed every smart rider that we knew.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you didn't interview drummond then you said smart, right right yeah well, the good riders, let's say oh okay or faster than us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was pinging over the course of the year for for info yeah, yeah, and we went out there.
Speaker 1:we did. We spent, um, some time and drummond was very gracious with this time and took us out. I thought we were going to get like an hour of him showing us a few things. I think we spent like four or five hours out there that day on the pump track and out on the trail, and he really helped us a lot and showed us how to manage obstacles and things like that. And so, yeah, he was awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we just try to do that as much as possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we just tried to do that as much as possible and Sax got in with a group of really fast dudes out at Arcadia doing the night rides through the wintertime.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 1:He's got huge improvements out of that Doing the market-to-market ride.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we just tried to ride as truly as much as we possibly could. So, for the folks that listen, the crazy thing about this is that, essentially, calendars were flipped, so you guys were training for a race you were building up to, as everybody else here. Season is starting to come to an end, yeah, as we're coming into winter and people are sort of tapering off for the deep, dark winter, and you guys are building up.
Speaker 1:I spent a lot of time on Zwift.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember talking to you about that of dude. That's brutal.
Speaker 1:It got to where it was okay. Yeah, it was tough to get to that spot, um, but I got to where a two hour basically every single day we rode was an hour and a half to two hours every single day that we got on the bike. Pretty much, um, minimum of that. And so, yeah, I think I, when it was all said and done, I think I looked back and I averaged between right at 13 hours a week for the entire year last year Wow, wow, which was a lot. Yeah, it was a lot. And then, I think, my biggest week we did the festive 500. That was our biggest volume week and I think I ended up with like 22 hours I think you were right at like 18 ish or something like that. Um, so, yeah, we just just as much as we can get in.
Speaker 2:Okay, so We'll skip forward here. The race was on. Started on what date?
Speaker 3:March 17th.
Speaker 2:So when did you guys St Patrick's Day? Yeah, see, South Africans know they love their Irish.
Speaker 1:I don't think we even knew that. No, I don't think anybody acknowledged it.
Speaker 2:So how far before that date did you guys fly out to South Africa?
Speaker 1:Saxby was in charge of logistics, so I'll let you cover this he basically did. Here's the thing everything you see for this race. It says pick your partner wisely. Pick your partner. What everybody says pick your. I'm like dude, I picked the, I picked the right he got screwed. Yeah, I picked a great partner. Yeah, he did not pick a great partner, so he did all the planning and logistics.
Speaker 2:So he could cover some of that. So Saxby's now Expedia, yes, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was not a natural in that role. My wife handles that in our relationship, so this was a bit odd, and mine as well, in this relationship. So how far before the event did you guys fly out? We flew out on the 11th, so six days yeah, we did an overnight.
Speaker 3:We had a great itinerary. We went from here to atlanta, atlanta, cape town, so had a fantastic flight itinerary, and then we were in cape town, um, for five nights before we went to the race course. So we figured that was enough time to, like, do a little touring. We were there more for acclimation to weather, water, food. We also wanted to have some buffer time in case we missed a flight or the bikes didn't make it or the bikes made it and they were all broken.
Speaker 3:So we wanted to put in enough buffer there that we could have some oopsies and still show up, because priority numero uno from essentially like February onward was a lot less. Hey, we need to get in miles, it was. We need to get to the starting line with our equipment in order and, more importantly, healthy. Yeah, bodies, squared away, bodies squared away and gear squared away, you get to the finish line or the starting line on time on the bike. That was a priority from like Feb 1 onwards.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So the other thing, and we'll talk about it here when we get into the actual race itself. So you guys leave here early March, where it's cold, as balls arrive into Cape Town, that's essentially into their summer 70 yeah, cape town is like a like southern california.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you're on the water beautiful perfect little breeze that it was magical, yeah, magical weather yeah inland is not so much a little hot, a little warm.
Speaker 1:It warms up quickly, yeah yeah, but cape town was wonderful. But yeah, that was one of the things that we we talked a lot about was getting used to the heat. Um, sauna sessions. We did a lot of sauna sessions. Um, he, you know I have I'm very fortunate to have one at the house and he would come over and sit in it. And you know you guys were dating, you had saunas together. I knew you're gonna say well, I would just sit outside and talk oh okay, it wasn't actually together yeah, because that's not weird.
Speaker 1:No, um, but yeah, I mean just doing trainer rides with no fan towards the end and then going straight into the sauna, and days I didn't ride or whatever, I'd spent 45 minutes to an hour in the sauna, like I mean, we just did everything we could to try to get ready.
Speaker 1:For yeah, you can only do so much and he's kind of a genetic freak, where he doesn't really affect him as much. Um, so he kind of gets a little bit of a a good thing there, but I don't think the heat was a determining factor for me. Yeah, when it was all said and done, I think we prepped for that as good as we could have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so so you're in cape time prepping for race day, getting nutrition already, everything sort of dialed in. You have a plan. Race day comes. What happens to that plan?
Speaker 1:I think in the prologue we nailed it. Yeah, the prologue wasn't one of the most fun times on my bike, so how long was the prologue? Uh?
Speaker 3:145 on bike.
Speaker 1:It was 14 miles oh that sounds wonderful and a thousand feet of climbing, no well, it was the total for everything I think no, a thousand meters of meters. Yeah, yeah so it was like right three thousand feet of climbing, yeah, yeah. And 14 miles metric system, yeah, that's math yeah, it was a lot of climbing and not very much, I mean, and we rode it pretty aggressively, like comfortably, yeah comfortably.
Speaker 3:So was it. It was it a mass start.
Speaker 1:no, it's time trial start and not very much I mean, and we wrote it pretty aggressively like comfortably.
Speaker 3:Yeah, comfortably, so was it a mass start.
Speaker 1:No, it's a time trial. Start, which was very cool. Yeah, you're in the box. You roll down the ramp. It's just like the Tour de France time trial. It's very cool With your name on the screen behind you.
Speaker 2:That's awesome your name.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was super, behind you announcing your name. Yeah, it was super, and we started. Our start time was between the women pros and the men pros oh wait, cool 45 minute gap between the two. So we started between them, which was super cool, um, but yeah, that was cool. But to tell you how hard that course was, we rode comfortably hard and I feel like we're decent riders and we did it an hour 45. The pro men did it an hour and the time cut off was like at 208, like it's. Yeah, it was no joke, but it was so fun yeah, it was awesome yeah, so.
Speaker 2:So that leads me into the question and we'll get to the other stages. Was that stage your favorite stage out of all of them?
Speaker 1:for me I would. I would say it was the most fun and least amount of scary and most enjoyable from start to finish for me. He may have a different answer because he did different things, but for me it was because it was some really hard climbing, like 17% grade on one stretch. Some good solid, hard switchbacks. The descents were really fun. Yeah, clutch, some good, solid, hard switchbacks. The descents were really fun. Yeah, that the toyota. They had toyota tough section every single day, which is like the iconic section of the day, and that one was not super long but brutally technical with rocks and drops and things like that.
Speaker 1:I wadded it up like 20 yards into it and I'm like, oh my god, I'm gonna die here. But then, shortly after we got through the technical stuff listening to, he was in front because he descends much better. So I just follow his lines and listening to him squeal and yell like a child going down and like laughing brilliant exactly like like the first time on a bike, like it's just like yelling and we're having so much fun that's awesome it was so much fun.
Speaker 1:And then you have a floating bridge which is kind of iconic for the race, yeah, so we got to go across one of those at that day, like it was. For me it was the most fun.
Speaker 3:Yeah so so my wife and mother-in-law were at the finish line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it was cool. We got the best of everything there With no real suffering.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you finish the prologue and you're both sitting there going this is awesome, this is amazing, we got this. This is the next. I wouldn't say we got this.
Speaker 3:That wasn't your thought. That wasn't on the ticker. Were you starting to get nervous at that point? Well, stage one was always stage one. Two and four were always kind of like mental hurdles for us, one being the first marathon stage.
Speaker 1:So you get your teeth kicked in.
Speaker 3:But then you know what the expectations are to having a wagon wheel which is a seven, seven mile, three, five thousand foot climb right out of the gate and then four being the queen stage, so the hardest one. So I mean, we, we didn't go into stage one like confident. Yeah, very, we were still like very uh cautious, cautious, yeah, yes, very much so interesting we knew.
Speaker 1:We thought we would know a lot more after stage one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that was the plan so at the end of each stage you end up back at the same place.
Speaker 3:Ish right uh, every will you start and finish at the same race village every stage, with the exception of one which is a which is an on-bike transfer uh, okay so the prologue was in one area.
Speaker 1:It was on a, on a winery. Yeah, um, what luck. Oh yeah, and it was lawrenceford. Lawrenceford, and it's beautiful, it's a huge property, yeah, golf courses and villas and wine. It's incredible. So it was like an hour and a half, I think. So Toolball, which is where our next stage one, two and the start of stage three is, stage three ended in Wellington, even though you started there.
Speaker 2:So all within 10, 20 miles of each other-ish, maybe a little bit more.
Speaker 1:No, I would say, if you went as the crow flies.
Speaker 3:As the crow flies. Yeah, I don't know. Stage three was pretty direct. Yeah, I would say they're probably.
Speaker 1:As the crow flies.
Speaker 3:It took us 50K.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you were probably Every day. Every time we transferred somewhere between it was 45 minutes to an hour drive, An hour and a half drive.
Speaker 2:So it used to be in the early days of the Cape Epic. When you finished the stage, folks camped.
Speaker 1:Those fools still do that.
Speaker 2:Do they really? So you idiots didn't camp. What did you?
Speaker 1:guys do.
Speaker 2:These geniuses didn't camp. Yeah, I would say not idiots. So where did you guys stay at the end of each stage?
Speaker 3:We would stay at a local. The first place was it kind of a vineyard slash wedding venue slash hotel guest suite nice, and then this sounds bougie dude, so bougie huh.
Speaker 1:The accommodations were it was not not nice the accommodations were from the time we landed in cape town to the time we left. We're so far beyond anything I've ever stayed in and nice it was.
Speaker 2:It was incredible were your bed sheets turned down?
Speaker 1:uh at the last and uh stool at selling they were because we walked in and she was in there and I was like what are are you doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah?
Speaker 1:Who are you? Yeah, she's like I'm here for a turndown and Zach's like can we just go to bed? She's like well, I need to turn it down first. Yeah, I'm confused. What? Why is that? That's awesome.
Speaker 2:That is the right way to do it. By the way, dude, yes.
Speaker 1:For recovery. Robin was our concierge. Yeah, um, and that was it. We did several upgrades for the for the race that we paid for uh, paid for mechanic service, massages, laundry and the concierge yeah, all are an absolute must if you even consider this race. You could not, it would be miserable without any one of those. Um, so robin was our concierge. She met us on at the prologue and she was basically in charge of us until she dropped us off after the race. Yeah, um, and she did everything, from taking us from place to place, taking our luggage from place to place, um, she's the one that did our massages after each day.
Speaker 2:She did our laundry, she picked up our food for us, water, like everything so you guys got a little taste of what the pro life is actually like it's not that hard, is it?
Speaker 3:it's really not interested in it. I'm out, I'm not interested.
Speaker 2:Yeah but we were treated and raced very much a pro lifestyle, probably better than a pro life yeah yeah because we stayed in really amazing fancy places yeah, yeah, from uh stuff I've seen and read like in the in the big world tour races those guys stay in some crappy-ass hotels. Like there's nothing fancy about it.
Speaker 1:Ours were luxury, yeah, luxury, yeah, it was beautiful.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So stage two starts.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Stage two you climb up and out of the valley and into the next valley, which is a kind of a plateau at a higher elevation, so you have a huge climb up which is all single track that they. The trail is called wagon wheel and it wasn't as bad as we thought. There was a pretty big backup of riders because there's like a few technical sections so we had to hike a bike in a few places just because there's literally a conga line of 100 riders waiting, waiting um, but for the most part, you know it was all rideable.
Speaker 3:Uh, it was just seven miles of uphill single track that's all it was.
Speaker 2:Did people behave themselves? Because a lot of times you find like, like ledville is a perfect example. You get in that conga line at ledville, going up Columbine, where it's, you know, 100 people backed up, yeah, and you get idiots that are like, oh, and you're right. It's like where are you going, dude? There's 100 other people in front of us, you're not riding past anyone here.
Speaker 3:Well, I learned towards the top of that hill that if you are conga lining and like walking your bike, it's very like no one's expecting anything Like. It's very polite, but walkers will get out of the way of riders. Ah, okay.
Speaker 1:Everyone is very respectful.
Speaker 3:And I would say 90% plus of riders were really good about like if I was riding on the bike. Of course I'm going two, three miles an hour in my smallest gear. Yeah, if people are pushing the bike I would just yell out like rider back and almost always people would get over and in two instances a guy or whoever I passed pushed me like in a good way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Like push me up the hill.
Speaker 3:Um, and it was very rare that you just kind of have some convergence in the way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause I walked. It was day one is the one that ended with a really big climb. Um, no, yeah, it's such a brutally steep climb and I walked most of that climb and Saxby road most of it. And, yeah, climb, and I walked most of that climb and saxby rode most of it. And yeah, when you and like as people, I would hear riders coming, but walkers were communicating rider back, you know. So everybody's trying to get out of the way and be respectful because things that it was so steep that if you stopped, you couldn't really get started again for sometimes quite a while. Yeah, so everybody was really respectful of each other. Um, which was really nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was 1.3 miles, 14 and a half percent average grade in the heat of the day?
Speaker 2:yeah it sounds like hill jam on a thirsty night kind of.
Speaker 1:That's something I wasn't expecting because, uh, robin, our babysitter told us she's like, because we're talking about climbing, yeah, and I was like, oh, like the longest climb I go to mount scott. It's like 20 minutes, yeah. She's like, oh, we wouldn't even consider that a climb, yeah, and I was like, okay, whatever, she was right, she wasn't, she wasn't wrong, because climbs lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, minimum, like that segment was 27 minutes yeah to go 1.3 miles brutal
Speaker 1:brutal, brutal. But then the hard part was you think that's the hard part? The hard part's going down a 14 grade with rocks and stuck in traffic, yeah, and what we learned. Who would have ever thought this? But the two dudes from Oklahoma descended so much better than almost everybody there. Huh, shocking. Can't climb, for shit, but can go downhill. But can go downhill On technical stuff, yeah, and they can climb, yeah, but they cannot descend, yeah. So when you're stuck in that going down, that's when it was sketchy and more difficult. Heart rate was higher, it was very hard.
Speaker 2:So that is something I've noticed over the years is as much as we say here, sort of Oklahoma and Arkansas. We're like we don't have technical trails, we have technical trails.
Speaker 1:Yeah, different kind.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, technical trails. We have technical trails, yeah, different kind, yep, yep. Um. That actually helps you. Um, like riding back home and riding in europe. There's not a lot of true technical trails and so you have little small rock gardens here and there and that's really about it. Um, but riding around here, riding turkey back in the day when it was super technical medicine park, places like that, when you go ride these other places, you're like, oh wait, I can actually ride this stuff fairly confidently, even the flat single track.
Speaker 1:We were getting held up by people when it wasn't even like sketchy to sense. Yeah, they just I said it was a very strange thing that we did not expect. Yeah, we would be the ones that were like people are waiting behind you, yeah it wasn't the case really ever.
Speaker 1:That's awesome that's awesome, yeah but go back to stage two. I mean, you can get back into that with wagon wheel and and that day. But yeah, I was, it was a good day, but that's when reality had really kind of hit us of like what you're into we're in it now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yep, so, so I'll. So I got two questions there, so one of the and it may be later on. I think I know your answer to this. What was your darkest moment in the whole event? What was the point where you started going, oh shit, we may not do this.
Speaker 1:What was your darkest point? I'll let you think about it, because mine's right at the top of my head or your ass. Yeah, yeah, I had, um, I would say one that kind of became one long one. Um, I think it was at the end of day three, our fourth day of writing, I think, is the day that I cramped so bad that was the end of stage three.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was our fourth day of writing um, and it was like just a few miles left and I got this brutally stabbing stomach cramp in one ab and it was like 5k from the finish and it was like I got shot.
Speaker 1:I just let out the loudest moan. He's like, okay, I was like dude, I got this. Weird. That's where it started. Yeah, get done, get back to the hotel and I can feel the cramps coming. You know everything's moving and not good and yeah, just know what's coming.
Speaker 1:And and it was just a true complete body fatigue issue, muscle fatigue, because I still we were, we never had issues with hydration and peeing and sweating and any of those things, which was awesome. Um, but he, as soon as we'd get back the way that it went, he would go get in the pool because the water was always really cold. So we kind of do a little cold plunge situation. Uh, robin would kind of set up the massage stuff. Um, usually I would jump in the shower and get my massage while he was, you know, getting ready or whatever. Um, I was like you're going to have to go first, I'm going to lay on the floor and so.
Speaker 1:But my feet were cramping so bad that I would lay up next to the wall so they wouldn't curl underneath, so I'm laying in there by myself. And then I was like, oh, I got some salt over there. I need to get that salt. That'll help my cramps. But when I set up to grab that, when I did it, my right quad locked up and the moans that were coming out of my body involuntarily and I was in the room by myself, somebody probably had to think somebody's getting stabbed, yeah. But I couldn't move. I couldn't get to the stop and it lasted. I had cramps like that for several hours. I couldn't take my socks off. Robin had to take my socks off. I was was scared to do anything. That was the beginning of the end for me where I was like this isn't good.
Speaker 1:And I'd been having some stomach issues with just typical bathroom issues, but not horrible. But my problem was I couldn't eat. So anytime I would eat anything, I would get brutally stabbing cramps in my stomach, like W over cramps, yeah, and I just couldn't swallow food Like it. Just, you know, it was just like that and so that had been happening for several days. So when this started happening, I was like man, as soon as you start getting behind on calories, man and I was behind from the beginning. Like we would go to breakfast and I would eat like a cup of yogurt and like two pieces of bread. Yeah, that was like two pieces of bread. Yeah, that was it. And then you, of course, you burn 5 000 calories a day and then for dinner we would get pizza or something and I would eat like two slices. Yeah, I could get in. So I'm getting in like maybe a thousand calories a day off the bike, yeah, and I'm like this isn't good that gas gauge is going down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was my first signs of like this isn't good, um, and then the truly the. The end of it for me was the Queen stage, stage four, yes, stage four, our fifth day of writing. I woke up that morning and I hadn't eaten at all, really, and I ended up couldn't get much in for breakfast and I threw up my breakfast and I had it coming out the other end as well and he was like man, just just put your kid on. Yeah, I wouldn't have gone. Yeah, we can get into that later. I wouldn't have gone. Yeah, we can get into that later. But that was the beginning of the end for me yeah, yeah, those two times.
Speaker 2:What about you, Saxby? What was your darkest moment?
Speaker 3:I mean, you know, probably emotionally, that component right there where, like I could kind of feel the beginning of the end to us both being able to complete. That was pretty challenging, yeah, emotionally to complete that was pretty challenging, uh, yeah, emotionally. But for me personally, mentally my darkest hour was the morning of stage six at breakfast.
Speaker 3:Um, I had a really tough time. I would like I would. I was telling some friends last night like I would essentially lie to myself, like how to set up these stages in my head so that they sounded easier than they were. You know, like stage five is really short. I mean it's 70K long, it's five hours of riding, but I would just say it's a short day. I'm just going to push through it and get another day behind me, boom, knock it out. And uh, I just couldn't grasp on anything. For stage six Mentally.
Speaker 3:Mentally.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It was a 100K day. Of course it was the penultimate stage, but at that point in the week I could only look 24 hours ahead yeah Like mentally, I only allowed myself to look 24 hours ahead and, yeah, I was grasping at straw ways, ways to get hype for stage six. And then I was also having my own GI issues which, um, I'd pretty much just eat and it would come out immediately, um, and so kind of couple those two together and I woke up the morning of stage six.
Speaker 3:I'm sitting there at the breakfast table like head against the, propped up against the wall behind me, don't want to eat anything, just generally miserable yeah um, and then I went upstairs, got my kit on and we stepped out of the doorway of this hotel in stillenbosch and a raindrop comes down and hits me on the head. I'm like, yep, this is the bottom, this is the bottom right here. So I mean everything from there was got better. The rain never came.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:We had 70 degree weather I say that that makes it sound nice Like the humidity was a hundred percent and I was sweating profusely. So it's Houston, but the mean was 100% and I was sweating profusely. So it's Houston, but the mean temp was in the 70s. So yeah, I mean that was by far the darkest day for me. It was the morning of stage six.
Speaker 1:That was the spot where I saw him and I was like because his attitude was always off the charts, good every day, never said a negative thing, never had a negative moment or thought, but you could see it building. Yeah, that morning I remember when we walked out the hotel because robin met us and I looked at her and I was like this isn't good yeah and she is like he's gonna make it. I was like he's gonna make it, but it's not good, it's not good, no really yeah, I was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a pretty rough spot for him and he was moving pretty poorly. Yeah, the miles and and the uh climbing had finally caught up to him and yeah, it's pretty pretty sad, pretty tough to watch and so, even though it is a, it's a two-person team event.
Speaker 2:If one member of the team, uh like, if they miss a time, cut off, if they're, if they drop, the other person can still finish right yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you get one freebie, essentially Okay. So the day that I stopped was on the fifth day of writing and I pulled the plug at the first water stop, and this is on stage four. Yeah, Queen stage. So you were suffering before starting that day. That was the day I threw up in the morning, had no calories, and then we started.
Speaker 2:He was like just get to the start line and get to the start and you knew stage four was the queen stage and you're like I gotta start this thing yeah, at a minimum.
Speaker 1:I gotta start this thing well, I wouldn't have started if I would have been by myself really yeah, because I was miserable.
Speaker 1:I was laying on the bed like tears in my eyes. I'm like, dude, I can't. He's like, just put your kid on, yep, just one thing at a time. So, being the teammate that he was, he got me to the start line. I didn't want to do that. And then he goes if you just get to the first water, stop, then you can make your decision. I won't say another thing Just get to the first water, stop, then you can do what you want. Yeah, like okay, so we didn't talk much. A lot of quiet writing, a lot of quiet writing.
Speaker 1:And I knew he was so bored because we were going so incredibly slow and I'm giving it all I have, and it's not even steep. I mean it climbed for 15k at probably, like I don't know five, six percent the whole way, which there is nothing. Yeah, and I had to take two breaks and I mean we're going like I'm in my easiest gear and I can't even climb up like a six percent grade on my mountain bike. Yeah, and uh, we get about, uh, maybe 2k from the water stop, and it's a flat ground. I'm riding as hard as I can. We're going like 10. My heart rate's only like 120, because I can't put any power out. And I just told him it's like, I'm done, like it's not.
Speaker 1:It's not when, it's not when, yeah or not if it's when yeah it's gonna happen, yep, and he's like just fill up your water bottles, let's go from there. So get there, I fill up my bottles and I'm like dude, I can't. And they backing up one stage the day before was really hard. Um, with a big climb.
Speaker 1:It was a transfer day that we rode and then at the top of the of the biggest point, right before we descended in, it was like 115 degrees down in the valley was 100 degrees, so it was brutally hot yeah the next day, the hardest day, was the same temperature and it was so hot and miserable that they took 15k off the day holy crap and so, but then they totally took out basically the flatter area yeah, so none of the climbs. Yeah, it was supposed to be just under 100k at like, um 9 000 feet of climbing, wow, and I think it ended up being it took uh 15k off and 500 meters of climbing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so grief yeah.
Speaker 1:So I just knew that there's no way I was making that yeah and then talking to him when we got done he's like yeah, you made the right call because he can tell you about that day, in that stage, because that was like the stage that everybody sees and the commercials.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was that day ah so, yeah, I was, but basically they told me we won't be an official team finisher, but I can start the next day and go forward, yeah, and we can both finish, I and still everything's the same. You're just an official team finisher, so you get one freebie for a mechanical or a got it something, um, and then when I didn't start the next day, it was well, he can still be an individual finisher and then that goes from there. Yeah so.
Speaker 2:So you got to the point where you're like f this, I can't go anymore. It was impossible.
Speaker 1:Like I truly, truly hit the physical limit. Yeah, my abilities, yeah, and yeah, I learned. So you stop tell him I'm done. Yeah, that was on on that day. I that was like I just can't just go, because if we stay going I'm probably going to pull it eventually and I don't want to miss the time cut off for both of us and screw us both. Yeah, because we're we're going to maybe we get through it, but man, we're going to be here for like through it, but man, we're going to be out here for like nine hours. I don't want to do that to you. It's stupid.
Speaker 2:Did you try and talk him into more or did you just accept it and go?
Speaker 3:No, I respected that. I told him I would give him my blessing at the first water. Stop whatever he decided to do.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:And we just had three. We had two big climbs coming out of the water stop, and then the last climb was Alpe d'Huez, so it wasn't going to get any easier.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's only harder from there on out, huh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was the easiest part of the day. Is what we just done? Yeah?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you pull the plug. Feel any relief at that point?
Speaker 1:No, I was kind of a wreck there for a while at the, until the guy told me that I could start the next day and I was like oh, new hope, new life. I'm I'm good, I'm gonna get back, I'm gonna rest, I'm gonna eat like yep, I'm gonna figure this out and that dawned on me as well about halfway through the ride that he could start the next day yeah, it's called a blue board rider
Speaker 1:ah, okay, yeah so I was super pumped about that. So, yeah, I just went and jumped in with robin and went and watched him and and checked him out.
Speaker 2:So and that was at the end.
Speaker 1:So finish stage four yep, that was him finishing stage four.
Speaker 2:So you guys get to the hotel that night.
Speaker 1:Well, he needs to tell you about stage four. Oh yeah, because that's the iconic one of the race is that it's towards the end?
Speaker 2:yeah, okay, yeah, how long is the climb? Um do you even remember?
Speaker 3:I remember the climb. Uh, it's probably at least seven to nine miles straight up, pretty much it's. It's hundreds upon hundreds of switchbacks.
Speaker 2:Oh, and there's a water stop On single track.
Speaker 3:On single track. And there's a water stop at the bottom and you actually it was incredibly hot. That was why they did the extreme weather protocol. But the climb was 98% in the shade in the forest. So you were climbing. I wouldn't say it was a technical climb by any stretch. It was just single track forever. Yeah, and it got steep in places. You know, sometimes it's like hard to make the hairpin turn if it's too steep.
Speaker 1:Because their single track switchbacks are like they're 180 degrees and they're like five or six percent across the middle.
Speaker 3:So you're like cool, but then the switchback is 180, at like 15 to 18 percent kick up off camber yeah, switchback brilliant so you have to like find the rhythm and then like, as you change areas of switchbacks, like the switchbacks kind of have their own flavor, like they have their own, you know, angle of entry. So it's I wouldn't say it's technical, but you can't Like. Some guys asked me last night. Like you know, it's a long time to be alone with your thoughts. I'm like, well, I'm thinking about the trail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're so focused.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean unless we're riding pavement, which was 5% of the time. You know you can't take your thoughts off what you're doing or you'll lose your line, and I would say that's true for like 90% of the race. It's like you're focused on what you're doing, You're looking at your front wheel and where you're going. Uphill or downhill.
Speaker 2:Did you have a Garmin or Wahoo?
Speaker 3:Garmin.
Speaker 2:Did you have the course profile on it?
Speaker 3:No, you can't download the course. Oh, you can't. It's not available, really.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:So you've got we're going off stickers with profile and elevation on it that are taped to our top two. That's awesome. So you've got.
Speaker 2:No, you have no idea when you are on that climb. Well, if you look at the sticker and you look at your odometer.
Speaker 1:You can back into it and get a rough idea. Yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, the climb went on forever and then we broke tree line. But yeah, the climb went on forever and then we broke tree line, and then you got into some bench, cut stuff like at what is their version of high altitude, and then you get on a cliffhanger.
Speaker 1:And that took you what like an hour, hour and a half to do that entire climb.
Speaker 3:It took over an hour, yeah.
Speaker 2:Oof Just going up. Yeah Huh, that's brutal man.
Speaker 3:But then it got super dramatic and it opened up at the top. It opened up at the top and you did another 20 or so switchbacks on the back side of the mountain and then you cut across the saddle and then you did switchbacks on the front side and that is like the dramatic cliffhanger downhill section.
Speaker 2:So is that you had all the helicopters flying around you with the camera crews?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then you hit some bench cut stuff on the side of the mountain to get back down in a tree cover, but yeah, that was pretty spectacular.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 3:Very dangerous?
Speaker 2:Was that your favorite stage or favorite section Was?
Speaker 3:that your favorite stage or favorite section? Yeah, I'd say. I'd echo Ryan's comment that probably the last 5K of the prologue was the most fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But the Alpe d'Huez and cliffhanger was the most epic by far. I mean it's the most epic mountain biking I've ever done. Yeah Period and I probably ever will yeah.
Speaker 2:That's badass, but it's dangerous yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean it is really, really dangerous. So you know, you had to have 100% wits about you because that was. You know it was 100% rideable. Yeah, don't get me wrong. I mean there's nothing out there.
Speaker 2:But you're fatigued, you're exhausted, yeah.
Speaker 3:You're 70K into this. Yeah, you're fatigued, you're exhausted. Yeah, you're 70K into this, you're five hours into this thing, and there's a sheer drop off a foot away.
Speaker 1:Yeah, huh.
Speaker 2:Sounds fun.
Speaker 1:I'm not sad I missed that yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's dangerous. Yeah, do you have a few pucker moments?
Speaker 3:Yeah, for like 45 hours Brilliant.
Speaker 1:The whole race I was puckered.
Speaker 2:Brilliant For sure, hours brilliant the whole race I was puckered. Yeah, really sure. So you guys get back to the hotel that night we're in pretty good spirits yeah, because we're thinking he's gonna start tomorrow gonna go the next day start
Speaker 1:and refresh yeah, and so, yeah, and then that night we he took the massages all day for that day and uh, to get him recovered, and well, since I didn't really do much. And then, uh, yeah, we had a good night and, uh, we finally got some food, um, and that was one things I didn't I kind of planned for, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, since I don't eat meat, um, I just always assume beans and things like that, for whatever reason in that that area, that that's not really. Don't really do beans in anything, yeah, or lentils or anything. It was like more vegetables and mushrooms and things like that. So I struggled with getting protein in where he was eating.
Speaker 3:I was eating a lamb shank in bed.
Speaker 1:He was eating every animal that Africa had to offer. Well done.
Speaker 3:No fork required. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so don't even bother cooking it no.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was just killing it, and so, literally I had an Asabuku every night. So, but that night we I got a lentil patty and I'm like man, I just got to cram this in as fast as I can before I start cramping and I ate that piece of bread and a couple of fries and then I proceeded to stay awake for the next seven hours because I just cramped so bad I couldn't function. So I didn't sleep much that night, but I kept it down. Um, so I didn't sleep much that night, but I kept it down, everything was fine. And then next morning, when we, when he woke up, I was like, dude, I'm done, he's like what I was, like that I didn't sleep last night. Yeah, my stomach is every time I take in anything.
Speaker 1:I just can't stand up yeah, doubled over, yeah, just cramping so bad I was like I don't, I'm not gonna go out there for like six hours and be miserable and hurt and it just, it's just, I'm done. Like and he's like you sound very sure of yourself. I'm like, yeah, I've been laying here thinking about it for seven straight hours. I've come to terms with it yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm good. I came to terms with it. My attitude instantly switched. I was good, it was all yeah and I, you know, and after we talked about a lot, I was like you know, if I would have been perfectly healthy, everything would have went perfectly great for me. I would still probably give myself a 60 to 70 chance of finishing, because it's that hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my skill level, my endurance level and I think I could have we would have been out there a lot more hours than he would have finished in. Yeah, um, and that's if everything went absolutely perfect for me. Yeah, so it was just. It pushed me to my absolute, maybe not my mental limit, but for sure my physical limits. Yeah, so, yeah, at that point it was like all right, how can we get him to the finish line? How can I assist in that? How can I help in that? Do something, do nothing like whatever, but one of us has to cross the line yeah yeah, and he and he was riding really strong at that point.
Speaker 2:Nice. So then you're starting by yourself the next day, Saxby.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had five framed up pretty well in my mind because it was the second shortest at 70K. Yeah, I was pumped the night before because I thought Ryan would start with that. I was surprised that morning I didn't put up too much of a fight because, like you said, he told me he'd been thinking about it all night, so I acquiesced. Uh, so it was a little sad, yeah, at the starting line, to be starting. Of course, that was the first day that I started alone and um, but I had a good day at the office. Nice, I was like I getting. I felt like I was getting stronger, yeah, and getting faster.
Speaker 2:Everything felt smooth yeah.
Speaker 3:Everything felt good.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:There was no crazy anything that day and I was just moving through traffic. I was just I was having a really good day at the office.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So stage five or six, we'll'll start. We'll talk about this a little bit. At what point did smoke and morris show up?
Speaker 3:that day, that day okay, which was my birthday was it really?
Speaker 2:because when that starts popping up, it's like that was the coolest effing thing ever. Because it was. I think you posted the story.
Speaker 1:You're bawling your eyes out, bawling which shocker, because I cry all the time and everybody's sitting there going wait.
Speaker 2:Is that brother? Is that morrison?
Speaker 1:smoke yeah like wait.
Speaker 2:They went to south africa holy shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we were totally shocked and yeah, it was so you guys had no idea they were coming. No clue, none whatsoever no, they had planned this since december and the only people that knew was their spouses.
Speaker 3:That's it, and you're riding yeah, I'm riding and that last stretch coming in, I'm pretty sure this is stage five yeah I had the, the uh helicopter following me and it was just me. There's nobody around and you know I'm sure there's no photography of it, but I mean the helicopter is like following me and waving at me and like you talk about the hair in the back of your neck standing up and you're on a bike. So I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna look really professional and ride really fast.
Speaker 1:This is awesome.
Speaker 3:So it's just like an incredible day of riding, yeah. And then I finished up at the helicopter and I'm like wow. And then I finished up at the finish line and I see our buddies there and I'm like this is the best birthday gift of all time.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. It was cool, yeah, so you were at the finish line and they walk up behind you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we were sitting there. I knew that he was probably 5K 10K out. He was probably 5K 10K out. And so I'm just standing there waiting, killing time, waiting for him to come in. And, yeah, I don't know why, I just kind of turned and started looking around for some odd reason, and they were probably 20 yards behind me, walking towards me, and they both had their cameras out and I could see them and I was like that's really weird, because that looks like them.
Speaker 3:And then I see they have Ellis Endurance Lab shirts on and I was like but that can't be.
Speaker 1:That's really weird, uh-huh, and I just was so confused, like so confused, and then, yeah, of course, I cried like a baby, which wasn't the first time.
Speaker 1:I was probably like the 10th time I'd cried that week at least it didn't go up on social media no, no on like five different profiles so yeah, it was, and so whenever he was coming across the line, I was trying to do everything I could to get his attention so he could see them coming across the line and see his face. Um, so yeah, I got a video of that too. Yeah, yeah, so that was really cool to brilliant.
Speaker 2:It was shocking like amazing one of the questions I was told to ask was how much did ellis cry off camera whenever those guys showed up?
Speaker 1:um, I think I did most of my crying on camera for that situation. Yeah, for crying off camera and other situations.
Speaker 2:A lot.
Speaker 1:It was quite a bit Quite a bit, yeah, quite a bit I mean I remember distinctly remember it was on stage one day two we were 10K into the ride and we were going along and you could hear school kids I mean I could tear up right now, oh boy so you'd hear them screaming and cheering and stuff. And so we get there and these kids are at their school and it's kind of out in the middle of nowhere and they're all cheering, going crazy. And we get around the corner and then it's like this most epic view, yeah, like the rolling vineyards and the mountains, and it's like the sunrise. And we just seen these like sweet little kids and I'm in front and I was like dude. He's like are you crying? Maybe kind of. I was like but look at this. Like this is like that's iconic, like I just can't believe we're here like I can't believe this is when life was still good and happy.
Speaker 1:I was like we just saw those kids look at these views, like I'm riding with you, like this is amazing. And he's like, oh my god, pull it together. I'm like I can't.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that was that was one of many brilliant yeah, so, so, so give me that I've got a bunch of questions which are going to be good ones and so well, I want to get through. So you finish stage five feeling pretty good. Give me the summary of six and seven and eight to where you're like, okay, I can finish this and then talk a little bit about, uh, stage eight is the last stage seven, seven, sorry day, eight stage seven so really six and seven.
Speaker 2:You come across that, that finish line, or you're at a point towards the end where you're sort of thinking I got this, I'm going to finish this effing thing.
Speaker 3:Talk a little bit about that well, and I mean stage five, physically, I knew I could finish. Yeah, um, my only risk which was a pervasive thought, uh, for the entire year was risk of injury so like saddle sores no, uh, like wrecking oh yeah, so not as bad as saddle sores.
Speaker 2:I mean, I did have saddle sores. No like wrecking, oh yeah, so not as bad as saddle sores.
Speaker 3:I mean, I did have saddle sores and lower back issues, both of which I was able to manage. Those were kind of my Achilles heel for the trip. But no, I was terrified of crashing and I dialed down my riding to like optimize speed and safety. So you know, if I were to go ride today, don't worry, I won't, but if I were to go ride at Arcadia like I'd ride much more aggressively.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I would run the risk of like laying the bike over in a turn and then in Africa, you know, I would like back it off a mile an hour or whatever, and it's just not worth like the marginal gains.
Speaker 1:I mean I wasn't riding slow, but I was not like peak speed yeah, the amount of injuries that we heard of a lot and or saw and or saw just people eating shit.
Speaker 3:Just yeah, it's brutal it's an incredible opportunity to get hurt over there. Yeah, I mean there's about 400 places per day to eat shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's like hospital hurt. It's not like, ah, skinned up my leg.
Speaker 2:It's like I broke something.
Speaker 1:And you got to figure out how to get off the spot for them to get you. Yeah, I mean, in the first place that we were at, the first town we were at, we got reports that the hospital was at capacity and that was two days into the race, there was two people in ICU with kidney failure.
Speaker 1:Um, ivan, he was there with his partner. So Ivan and Saks are about the same. Me and his partner were kind of about the same. His partner had what I had and he ended up two days in the hospital cause he kept riding and went five hours without food and water and put him in the hospital. I mean, that was happening everywhere. Yeah, shoulders, collarbones like broken ribs. He saw somebody like 20 feet, 30 feet, down in a ditch off the trail like walking out without his bike, like how we got there? Like this, it's, that's wild, wild.
Speaker 2:That is wild.
Speaker 1:The Jeep road. Going down on that stuff was just as scary because of the ruts. Yeah, yeah, going down on that stuff was just as scary because of the ruts, yeah, and the loose over.
Speaker 3:That's almost more dangerous because it's single track. You at least are expecting it, and these jeep roads like you're going 25 miles an hour yeah and you hit a rut wrong you're sailing you're, yeah, you're gonzo. So, uh, risk of injury was on my mind until and that being a threat to me finishing was on my mind until I hit the grass before the finish line.
Speaker 2:So really that grass at the finish line was the point. You were like, okay, I'm safe, I'm good.
Speaker 3:Because coming into the Stellenbosch race village I told you this the 1K out there was like a two foot drop coming off the single track onto the fire road yeah and I just thought it was. I mean, I I wrote it, but I just thought it was funny like yeah, this is such a cape epic mood to have a two, two foot drop off 1k before the end of this entire race.
Speaker 3:And then even when you got off the fire road to like come down into the race village, it was essentially kind of like stair-stepped, so I mean nothing super challenging. But you know, yeah, you could screw that up easily, lay it over and uh, yeah, I didn't feel good about me finishing until I hit the grass nice.
Speaker 2:So you come across the finish line feeling like I did it yeah, I was pretty elated at that point.
Speaker 3:I like threw both arms up, you know, simultaneously was there a helicopter behind you at that point? Oh, I'm sure but uh yeah, I was just like so happy I threw both arms up, which I always think whenever I see that on the tv with like two or three somebody's gonna crash I always think I'm like man, you.
Speaker 3:You get both arms up and then you're gonna hit that timing mat which you know has a bump to it, like wheels gonna go off. It would be so embarrassing, but I was so elated, like in the moment I put both arms up, I didn't even think about it so that's awesome.
Speaker 2:yeah, it was really cool. Yeah, so you see him coming across. I cried again. You did, of course, yeah, nice.
Speaker 3:Well done. Threat of dehydration over here, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, question time. Okay, these are good questions. Oh, I'm sure Any lion or wild animal encounters.
Speaker 3:Yes, baboons on trail, stage six.
Speaker 1:Ooh, and we cartoons on trail, stage six and we saw one in the prologue that went up the tree. They were on. It was on the trail. We came around a corner, was on the trail and then went up a tree and I was like oh my god, I saw a monkey go up a tree. This is amazing, yeah. Yeah, I didn't cry at that, but I was, so you didn't yeah see, we tried to train you guys at arcadia by making lion noises.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we mean you, yeah true me?
Speaker 1:yes, I don't think. Uh, that was the only things that I saw. Yeah, yeah, awesome. See, we tried to train you guys at Arcadia by making lion noises. By we, you mean you? Yeah, true Me. Yes, I don't think that was the only things that I saw.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, awesome. Okay, overall vibe of the whole race and would you do it again?
Speaker 3:I'll go. The overall vibe was incredibly professional.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It was very well done. Everyone was excited to be there, you know, and kind of sharing the the co misery as you get deeper into it, but still like there's a ton of zeal to be had because, like, this is the biggest mountain bike race in the world, like we're all blessed to be here, um, but yeah, I mean just a incredible production.
Speaker 1:I would agree I've never seen anything like it. Somebody asked me if it was like Kona and I'm like it was at least Kona, but it traveled and it was eight days of it and I would say Kona at the minimum. The efficiency that the event runs with and the attitude of everyone there. Like you go to Kona people, you got the big timers, you know people kind of like, um, I'm cool and whatever. I didn't feel like that anywhere there with anybody we made friends at, cause the hotels we stayed in was, everybody was racers, you know. So we made friends of our neighbors and we never saw him again and out on the course everybody's talking to each other and making friends and, um, you know, sitting around in the tent when you're done, getting cleaned up and stuff, everybody's super nice and happy. Like off the charts could never. There's no way I can imagine an event being more fun, cooler, more well done than that one was.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:I would never do that again.
Speaker 2:I would never, ever do it again. So that was the follow up question.
Speaker 3:Never do that again, I would never, ever do it.
Speaker 2:So that was the follow-up question.
Speaker 1:Never do it again one and done, got my t-shirt. Am amf.
Speaker 2:I didn't get my t-shirt, and I don't want one, nice, no, and I wouldn't.
Speaker 1:We've talked about this like and it may be a question you have is recommending it? Um, my, I think our responses are going to be very similar. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone at my skill level or worse. Um, I would say you need to be a very solid cat one to consider it. And then I would say at that point, for a team of two from Oklahoma or this part of the country, I would say you're still 50, 50 of both of you finishing your team because of sickness and injuries and things like that.
Speaker 1:But I would say you need to be a solid cat one to even consider doing it and then I'm not sure you would enjoy it, but you would get through it. Um, but yeah, it would take the special person for me to say, yeah, you should go do that. It's just it's just it's. It's just a grind.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the entire day, every day, as a grind, from the time you wake up till the time you go to sleep.
Speaker 2:Would you recommend anybody go do it?
Speaker 3:There are only a few sickos in town that I would recommend. Go do this, probably like Rob Bell and Ben Matthews, and make a good team.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, really just kind of the tip of the spear for local mountain bikers wanting to do this.
Speaker 2:Nice. So two last questions, for you Met people from all over the world there interacting with them. Apart from the Irish, what was your favorite nationality of people?
Speaker 3:Not the Dutch.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:Is that the one I almost got beat up by? Yeah, that dude wanted to punch me right in the face. Dutch guy I don't know.
Speaker 3:The Americans were very few and far between. There was like six other American teams that we were seeing, I'd say between the Dutch and the South Africans, that probably made up 75% of the field. We did see a couple Patricks. They're all named Patrick, of course.
Speaker 2:First name Saint.
Speaker 3:What was our favorite?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know, or who was the one that you thought those dudes are crazy.
Speaker 1:I think we had a lot of good conversations with the South African guys. They seemed pretty cool and pretty nice, pretty welcoming, very, very nice. The guys that were next to us in Tuolbao were great. The guy that never wore a shirt. Where were they from?
Speaker 1:greek god, um, they were swiss maybe northern european yeah, northern europeans, and they were like in third or fourth place in the master's division. Um, and this dude looked like straight out of a gq magazine, really never wore a shirt, so we always give him a lot of shit about that um, but they were super cool guys. Yeah, I don't really think we met anybody that wasn't, I mean, other than the guys that wanted to beat me up. Why did they?
Speaker 2:want to beat you up.
Speaker 1:I don't know why anybody wanted to beat me up.
Speaker 2:Were you crying again.
Speaker 1:Probably because I was running my mouth because they weren't getting out of the way. Ah, yeah, that'll do it. Probably that. Well, again, I'm not faster than anybody, except when we went downhill at this race and they wouldn't get out of the way and he got around him and I was stuck behind him and I kept saying, hey, let me go here, let me go here. And they wouldn't even acknowledge that I was saying anything and he had kind of gotten away at this point. But I could not get around him on a single track and it was flat like plenty of space. They wouldn't even acknowledge I was there.
Speaker 1:And then finally I said said hey, I'm coming on your left. And then he yells at me because there you have to pass on the right, because everything's backwards. And when I went on the left he started yelling at me for passing on the left and not on the right. So then I get past them and it was, I don't know, 15, 10 months later we're going down a descent and I are on a tight single track and I bobble and they're behind me. I jump off the trail to let them go. The first, his, the first guy gets passed. The second guy runs into me.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, oh boy, well I.
Speaker 1:that's when I thought he was going to punch me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:He did. He was not happy he spoke.
Speaker 2:they spoke in their language not in my language on his face. If he would have had the opportunity, he would have totally thrown me off the side of that single track. Um, yeah, but his partner made it around, so it was his fault. That's awesome he had room. Okay, last question for both of you. So you've been back from south africa high long? Two weeks, two weeks have you ridden a bike in those two weeks?
Speaker 1:not a mountain bike we get back within days. His is online for sale really. Yeah, yes, and I was like what are you gonna get? He's like I know what I want to get, but I don't have a clue when I would actually buy it. Brilliant, he's done for a while. Yeah, well, he's got other stupid goals that he's got to do. Um, yeah, I actually rode the trainer, yet I haven't been on the mountain bike. I actually put mine up for sale. I bought a new one. I haven't ridden it yet. Um, I think I've ridden outside twice and on trainer twice, so right now I desire to ride a bike pretty low pretty low.
Speaker 1:It's low priority. I would say like to go ride, I'm okay with that yeah but I'm like I've gone to the gym again. I went hit golf balls one day. I went for a short run one day, peddled around the house like it's nice to we talked about. I was like what do people do that don't like after work every day I have so much time uh-huh like it's strange.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's weird. So, yeah, we got to get back into it because we have a few events or I don't have anything coming up, but he does so I talked to some of the guys that they finished uh, that was our gravel doom, like the big one.
Speaker 2:And they talk about like the post-event blues are real man for real, for yeah, yeah, it's like, what do I do now?
Speaker 1:yeah, I had like a week of total like fat kid friday, every day, yeah and drinking, and a gummy here and there and like laying on my couch.
Speaker 3:You like candy, that candy is good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just being worthless for a week. And finally one day I was like I feel awful, I feel like just a total slab of junk. So I finally started moving again. But I don't know about him.
Speaker 2:Good stuff Well congrats to both you guys. That's a hell of an accomplishment, even just getting to the start line, um, and the fact that you finished at saxby, it's a pretty big deal, it's shot selling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really is. I can't believe how good and tame the questions were I was impressed.
Speaker 2:It was like this is nice I'm very shocked. It's just because saxby's here. Yeah, it's more sense and his mom's gonna listen to it yeah, I can send this to my mom.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true, I didn't think that this was gonna be possible to send to your mom.
Speaker 3:To be honest with you it's okay, she cusses like a sailor brilliant, we'll make up for it on the next one, okay perfect, awesome well, thank you guys, both thank you I'll catch you later. Thanks alan.