Race to Willowmore 2021 - Part 7: Toekomst Ponderings

Llewellyn Lloyd -Reblex Photography

This time the support station was the Toekomst farmhouse rather than the lodge. I've only been to the lodge once and it was a fleeting visit. I arrived well after dark on a cold winters night to find a car sized fireplace ablaze and a number of riders luxuriating in its warm embrace. It was tempting but I had my mind set on moving through to Bucklands overnight and on to Cambria the following evening. I replenished my bottles, grabbed some food and left the lodge. I pedalled less than a kilometre and sat on the ground to eat, change my clothes and rearrange my kit. I knew that if I lingered in the comfort of the lodge my resolve would have cracked.  

This year we were at the house. No one was home but we found the dining room set up for us. We ate, had a cup of tea and replenished our supplies and maps. All the while keeping an eye on on the clock. 

Why was it so important to get here at 5pm or as soon as possible after that? It wasn't critical but it was a timeline checkpoint that I had established and calculated in the months leading up to the race. Would it have mattered if we got there an hour later? Probably not but it would have put us under pressure. I was a little uncertain of how long it would take to get through to Bucklands particularly as I have encountered headwinds on that section before but was confident that getting to Toekomst by 5pm would be safe. 

The thing about defining smaller incremental targets rather than fixating solely on the bigger target is that they are short enough to keep you focused on moving forward. If you do slip on your estimate you can always try make it up on the next section. I find that I need to stay focussed on each smaller deadline and don't fall into the temptation of giving up as that becomes a house of cards. Each small target matters. 

The other problem that I've face over the years is setting a critical intermediate target without a primary goal. For example, one year I was riding the Race Across South Africa with Trevor Ball. Our objective was to get to Rhodes under 3 days. Today that sounds simple enough but back then it was a big deal. Anyway, we left Vuvu with about an hour of daylight left and ended up going up Lehana's Pass in the dark. We make it to Rhodes at 5am the following morning one hour short of 3 days. It was close but we had achieved our goal. That very goal turned out to be a problem. Our only goal played out only as far as Rhodes. Beyond Rhodes there was no plan. We trickled down the trail for the next 3 days overnighting in Chesneywold, Moodenaarspoort and then Kranskop. These days I and many others routinely ride from Rhodes to Kranskop in a day. 

For Race to Willowmore I had a primary goal and a few critical sub-goals. The sub-goals, as mentioned many times before, was Bucklands by midnight and the Gate by 1pm. The primary goal was to get to Willowmore in 44 hours or less. The sub-goals were critical if I wanted to achieve the primary goal. 

The next issue I'd like to touch on is pacing. Roger and I have had numerous discussions on this very subject. One school of thought is that you start conservatively and keep some gas in the tank for later in the race. My strategy is to ride like crazy out of the starting gate and hopefully build up a lead over my competitors. A few days in everyone is tired. Then I do whatever it takes to defend my lead. There is a caveat, don't shred yourself. Riding hard is one thing. Riding to destruction is another. 

If you arrive at the start in race shape you can afford to push hard. As I've said before, fitness is not the absence of exhaustion but rather the presence of recovery. I didn't mind charging up the 20 kilometre climb out of Cradock because I knew I'd recover quickly once over the top. The ride through Grootvlakte was going to be hard but I'd be well recovered by then so there was no point in keeping myself for a later effort. 

In order to make the Gate there was no point in starting slow and warming to the chase. The chase started the the moment Chris Fisher said, "Off you go!" He also said, "I don't want any of that gentleman's agreement rubbish when you ride over the finish line together. This is a race."

Anyway it was 5:30pm and time to leave. As we pedalled back down the driveway I hoped the leg cramps were a thing of the past.