Teresa Coetzee is a lifestyle journalist for the Afrikaans newspaper Beeld and is currently taking part in the Old Mutual joBerg2c mountain bike race. She shares her experiences with us after the seventh day of the event.
Photo: Kelvin Trautman
I cannot believe I’ve been cycling for a week already.
And I can hardly imagine that, by this time next week, I’ll be caught up in the mad city rush and that the Old Mutual joBerg2c will be a distant memory.
If you do a multistage mountain bike race all you do is cycle, eat, sleep and relax really. If you did it once, you’ll understand why it’s so addictive.
The freedom that I experience so often on the road on my bicycle cannot easily be put into words. It is then, in the heart of nature – when it’s just me, my bike and the universe – that I can almost hear myself think.
Usually, when mountain bikers start chatting, one of the first questions they ask is whether you have done the Nedbank Sani2c.
And after this I can proudly answer, “No, but I have done the Old Mutual joBerg2c and the last three days of that is apparently the same as sani2c.”
Those who have ridden sani2c will tell you about the manicured single-track and today I have experienced it first-hand.
We left Hazeldean farm for MacKenzie Club and the 81km was really nice with a good balance between single-track in the pine forests and district roads.
The climbs were not as bad as yesterday (we had a total of 1 364m of climbing) and there was definitely more downhill than uphill. And, once again, the views that greeted us were breathtaking.
At one point we climbed out of a pine forest and from the top we could see a verdant valley with small hamlets below.
We are nearing the end and every day I feel a little more grateful that I’m healthy and fit enough be part of this unforgettable experience.
Can almost smell the “c”.
Click here to read Teresa’s blog after day six.
