For Carlo Gonzaga, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer in August last year and had one of his kidneys along with a 1kg tumour removed, the Race to Rhodes forms part of his personal road to recovery.
Carlo Gonzaga will compete in his second Race to Rhodes, which forms part of the Freedom Challenge, from Sunday. Photo: Erik Vermeulen
The non-stop endurance event, which covers 480km and features 10 750m of ascent, starts in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday and ends at Rhodes in the south-western Drakensburg.
Riders have seven days to complete the physically and mentally demanding adventure, which falls under the Freedom Challenge banner.
The route is not marked, so riders need to navigate by means of maps, compass and narrative directions. Significantly, the use of GPS devices is not permitted.
“Part of the motivation for doing this race is to celebrate how lucky I’ve been in both my treatment and recovery, and to pay some inspiration forward to others,” said the 46-year-old Gonzaga.
The Johannesburg resident, who completed the race last year in three days, three hours and 33 minutes, said he felt mentally strong enough to finish.
“Hopefully my body will oblige and listen to what I tell it. I am however preparing for some minor revolts from my body.
“The attraction of challenging and heart-achingly beautiful trails is hard to resist. As the race is self-navigated (compass and paper map) with no GPS, getting lost is guaranteed – finding yourself is the satisfaction.
“The Race to Rhodes, and the Freedom Challenge events generally, are unique for the self-navigation and good dose of hike-a-bike. Aside from actually doing these events there is little else that compares. Getting to the start mentally rested and having a good plan feels like good advice.”
Gonzaga has been preparing for the event by studying loads of maps on Google and reading the written race directions.
“In a race with planned sleep deprivation I also find it useful to think through what decisions I’ll need to make during the race beforehand. A tired mind rarely makes good decisions.
“Tactics-wise, I’ll try and ride as far as I can until I fall over. Sleep. Then try do that again. That’s the plan – reality will probably be a little different.”
Regarding obstacles, he said water levels in the rivers were higher than in previous years, which made for some tricky river crossings, especially at night.
“The legendary Umkomaas River valley section is full of ticks and there is a good chance of having rain along the route.
“I don’t think any part of the route suits me. I’m a novice at this and I’m learning about myself and the tricks of the trade all the time. It’s all hard – 6 000m of climbing in the first 200km and after 400km you will have ascended more than 10 000m.”
He says his Excel spreadsheet planning envisages him completing the event in three days.
“What Excel doesn’t know is that in non-stop endurance events over multiple days the weather plays a major role in any time objective.
“I’ve learnt to be more focused on riding as hard as I can under the circumstances on the day, as opposed to my relative position in the field. I will be satisfied with my effort if I can push close to my limits and it’s my best effort.”
Gonzaga said what he was most looking forward to was the blue shipping container at the top of Lehana’s Pass.
“This is 440km into the 480km route and signals about 12 000m of ascent completed. It’s also the end of the 8.7km section that has 1 000m of ascent. I’m sure I won’t be the first or last person to kiss it.”
He did his first endurance event, which was The Munga, in 2018, and placed 57th out of more than 100 participants.
“What I like about it is the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve wanted to quit but didn’t; the feeling of rejuvenation that just a few minutes’ sleep can give you when you’re hallucinating and having your existence reduced to the basic human activities of eating, sleeping and moving forward.
“You cannot train for these and everyday life doesn’t allow for these circumstances. How you react to these circumstances is the prize.”
