Bredasdorp to Hermanus

We started today in the town of Bredasdorp. This town is the southern most point of Africa. Today the finish was in Hermanus where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. The town claims that fame, but it acutally happens out a ways where the currents come together. Apparently, there are a lot of whales offshore. This town looks a bit like California again. Bredasdorp looked more like Africa.

There were so many fans and spectators out on the course today. It was really nice to see. It really feels like we are getting to the finish in Lourensford. There are more wineries, wealthier communities and of course the ocean.

Jenny woke up with a bit of a sinus infection. Its not too hard to know why....miles of dust, comprimised immune system and lots of germs. So, we decided the best thing to do was take it as easy as we could. We want to finish the race, so its better to take a chill day, then push it and not be able to podium at the end.

Of course, an easy day at the Epic is 130 km. Actually, today's terrain was the easiest I thought. There wasn't much climbing. Actually the climbs were really nice. They were extremely scenic and real mountainbiking. The coolest thing was when the helicopter was hovering over us down the big downhill. It was crazy when I hit a little jump and the wind from the helicopter almost blew me sideways. But hey that is the price you pay for being a big superstar.

I heard a guy in our group say that the end of the race had a lot of corrugated road on it. I said what does that mean. He says, you know, bumpy. Well most of the gravel roads here are bumpy. Remember the last day of La Ruta when we had to ride like 15 miles on the train tracks. This was like that.

This was 15Km on severe braking bumps into a headwind, with long sandy stretches. So you had to stay on the wheel, go light on the front end, be in a big gear and have lightning reactions in case some one in front of you messed up. This was really intense mentally. Plus, the body is pretty tenderized, so it hurts the hands.

To get a better idea of the race, check out Chris Eatough's blog on cyclingnews.com He is one tough guy and he thinks this is a very hard race. He is looking pretty worked, but he is always so nice and gentleman like. Plus, those other 24Hour guys better watch out for this year. He is getting in some serious speed work. The same for Jenny's X-terra compitition. She has reached a new, superior level this year.

Also, for people who don't like to sleep, you have to check out the live coverage on www.cape-epic.com Laura's boyfriend has been an addict with it. He texts her from the states to tell her how we are all doing because the helicopters and motos show it.

Also, don't think that we are roughing it too bad. We are staying in an RV that the air conditioning now works in. We are getting massaged everyday. Laura has been washing our bottles and taking our laundry to the service. Bork has been giving our bikes the pro treatment. I've already gotten a new tire, chain and rear derailleur. There was a tiny pebble in my shifter that he removed. And of course the bikes look so shiny clean. And we are going out to dinner tonite!

So, its tough, but I can't help but thinking how tough those upcoming World Cups are going to be and it makes this seem not so bad.