If you read yesterday's post, you know how Stage 2 ended. A destroyed rim at kilometre 61, a 16-kilometre walk to the water point, an hour waiting for a replacement that didn't quite work, creative shifting on three functional gears, and a finish in 186th place
We started Stage 2 in good spirits. Jeroen had slept properly and we both felt ok, realizing we would fine out if the legs would agree with that position later. We were in start batch H, and as we arrived quite early, we were the right at the front at
It started exactly as Stage 1 of Cape Epic probably shouldn't start: Jeroen hadn't slept a single minute. On the way to the start — which was already hectic and slightly chaotic, the timing having been pushed 30 minutes earlier due to expected heat — he told me
Well, that was not how I imagined the first day of Cape Epic would go. Let me rewind to last night. About an hour afterdinner, I'm blaming a dish that was loaded with raw garlic, my stomach decided it wanted no part of this adventure. What followed was
The Day Before This morning we did one last proper ride. About 40 kilometers, with a solid chunk of trails around the Berg River dam. It was a good one, technical enough to feel purposeful, but not the kind of effort that leaves you wondering whether you've overdone
After a twelve-hour flight from Amsterdam, we landed at Cape Town International just after 10PM on Wednesday. My friend Darrel was waiting at arrivals, and it was great seeing him in person again. We worked out it had been 2,5 years almost... He and his wife have been extraordinary
Last Wednesday coming off the bike, I felt like I was hit by a train. After an easy endurance ride, it felt like I just completed the Cape Epic. I skipped 2 days to recover and tried again on Saturday. Same result.. Turns out I have a virus that attacks
Cape Epic — it's time! Yes, the time has finally come. All those months of preparing are over. I did my last ride yesterday, on a beautiful spring day in the forest. Jeroen skipped his last one — he finally caught a virus too 😉 — but he'll be fine.
A couple of days ago I caught myself doing something I hadn't done before. I started counting down the number of training sessions left until Cape Epic. Eight. Not twenty. Not fifteen. Eight. Funny how that number never felt worth counting at higher numbers. At twenty you'
I'm writing this from Switzerland, where I should be doing maintenance rides on the Kickr this week. Instead, the trainer is 900 kilometres away, back home with the bike still attached to it. And I'm sitting here feeling surprisingly good about that decision. Let me tell
But maybe not in the way you might think. I've reached peak fitness in the sense that this is it. This is what I've got. Work at Trippz has been relentless these past weeks, and the reality is simple: I can't commit the training
When Ingmar is explaining that that life gets in the way of training in all the ways possible, it may look like I'm not struggling too, well guess again! Training in the winter in the Netherlands with a bike that's falling apart is kind of challenging.