Race to Willowmore 2021 - Part 3: The Preparation

I'd been in Cradock for a few days before I started prepping my bike for the race which was starting the following morning. Llewellyn Lloyd, the official race photographer, was bemused by my lack of race prep. He asked, "I don't mean to be rude but why are you only getting your stuff ready now when you've had days to do it?" That's a fair question.
My answer, "It's all part of the race ritual."

There are a number of pivotal steps in the journey from 'what a nice looking event' to actually applying pressure on your pedals in said event.

It's easy enough to head on over to the event page and click on the enter race button. It's equally simple to peck your way across your keyboard before confidently clicking again to confirm your details. However, after you've played your fingers over the number pad and entered what seems like far too many trailing zeroes there is normally a moments hesitation before you're able to click on the confirm payment button. This is the start of the journey which is immediately followed by a sense of trepidation that hopefully eases over the next few weeks.

The next this-just-got-real moment is when you've closed up your 2 litre resupply tubs and you watch as courier tosses them in the back of their van and seals the deal with the clack and squeal of closure bolts. Before you know it they fire up the engine and soon the van is around the corner and out of sight. What follows is a tingling sensation in the pit of your stomach as you start questioning if you put the right maps in the right boxes. Eventually you realise your fate is as sealed as the boxes that are now well out of reach.

Thus the race ritual has been set in motion. For me the choreography dictates that I leave everything until the last minute. I'm good at this. The last minute thing that is, not necessarily getting everything right and ready in time.

I'd just finished Race to Cradock and my bike and equipment were not up to scratch as I shared on the Whatsapp group:
The Freedom Challenge fraternity is a special family. After a muddy Race to Cradock combined with a total lack of forethought on my part I found myself at the start of Race to Willowmore with a bike that was suboptimal. Without hesitation the FC family came to my rescue.
I thought the problem I experienced with my light on RTC was to do with the lamp. Colleen Cawood, a RTC mentee, immediately offered me hers.
Nicolle Weir, another RTC mentee, had a new spoke which was gratefully accepted and fitted to a wobbly rear wheel.
Peter le Roux, a RTW competitor who I'd never met before, quickly offered up his spare battery once I realised that my bike light issues were due to a faulty battery.
Janine Stewart stripped bits off her bike after her win on RTC so I could replace a broken bottle cage, fit a speed/distance gizmo and fit enough bike bags to avoid taking a backpack.
Roger Nicholson supplied me with a new shifter cable, inner and outer after mine got sticky from the RTC mud.
Best pit crew ever. Thank you one and all.

My bike was ready but apart from Bucklands by Midnight and make the Gate by 1pm I hadn't figured out how the race was going to play out. Sitting in a coffee shop in Cradock I scribbled down a basic plan on the back of a till slip and the die was firmly cast when I posted my predictions on the Whatsapp group.

It was an aggressive timetable not least because I'd penned in Bucklands by 11:38pm. Although my plan was to be there by midnight I decided I had to get there before that as Pieter and Henry had made it to Bucklands at midnight and I had to show Henry that it could be done quicker.

The last pre-ride ritual is race briefing. This was my 19th Freedom briefing and it brings closure to preparation. We all paid attention as the details of the changes we could expect were discussed. While this was going on I decided that I should make up a condensed navigational guide... Jakkalsfontein 31, Pearston 20 Straight, Grootvlakte 6.2 right...

All that remained was one last big sleep before it’d be time to deliver.