Paarl Mountain must be one of the most amazing spots to have on your doorstep, not only for mountainbikers, but also for hikers, trail runners, bird watchers, weekend warriors, picnic and braai enthusiast and even the culture vultures.
I regard the Paarl Rotary MTB race as my home race and even though we ride the mountain almost every day the opportunity to race it only comes along once or twice per year. I am used (if one can ever be!) to the amazing views that this race has to offer, so on this one day I focus on the road ahead and not the 360 degree views of the Cape and Boland.
This year saw me sick with a nagging cold that threatened to turn into bronchitis. This kept me out of the 24 hours of Oak Valley race, but there was no way I was going to miss the consolation of the Paarl race. I really didn't feel too well on race day, but decided to ride anyway and just take it easy and see how it goes.
It was one of the slowest starts I have ever been involved in in a race; probably caused by the short neutral zone through town and the "pace car" leading the pack. I was able to hang on to the lead bunch for about 8 k's, but then started to be worried about my heart rate and pulled back a little. I actually tried to wait for some friends that I knew weren't too far behind me. Some of them caught up with me on the way to the cement path (the highest point on the route) and this made the section quite enjoyable. I reached the top of the cement path on 1:08; almost 10 minutes off my pace of the previous year. At that stage I knew that my sub 2 hour target was not to be. From here it is mostly downhill, with the exception of a steep climb from the Bottom Loop to Krismiskamp. I flew down the downhills with good rhythm and flow and this made up for the slow climbing. Overshooting a switchback on the Bottom Loop almost saw me skidding down the mountain, but I managed to get a foot down in time.
The race incorporated a small section of singletrack near the end this year. I know these tracks very well and knew that I would be able to make up some time there. Unfortunately this section was not very well marked and some guys ahead of me got lost and ended up doing a 10 minute detour. I found myself all alone through the singletrack and all the way to the finish, with no-one to chase down or out-sprint. This was a weird feeling, but one that my legs were thankful for.
I ended up with a race time of 2:00:40 and 14th position according to Racetec. This position is flattering though because they only display paid up PPA member's results. I know that some Paarl riders like Noel and Louis definitely beat me, but their names are not on the list.
Congratulations to Dick and his team for putting together a great race day. Maybe improve the singletrack section next year with some better route marking. The heat also caught some back-markers unawares and a bit more than just water at the single water point might have helped them.
