SingleTrack Mania
By: Ryan Hodierne
Team: Adventure Inc. Red Ants
It was off to the Transkei Wildcoast for the Adventure Inc. RED ANTS, as the 250km Single Track Mania adventure race was to be staged there. We were up at the crack of dawn and raring to go on Friday the 21st September, all very eager for a longer race, as we had been doing a number of short sprint races since Swazi this year, keeping our true adventurous hearts and minds at bay.
The potent RED ANT team for this race included: a well rested and enthusiastic Brian Gardner, the ever calm and collected Gert Forster, Nicky Booyens the TURBO dwarf and Ryan Hodierne, who’s not a roadie yet and never will be.
We arrived at the Cremorne Lodge Estate just outside Port St. Johns at around mid-afternoon, had a look at some of the local hiking maps then headed out for a little warm up paddle on the beautiful lagoon on which we were to start the next morning. Once the maps and routes for the race had been finalized, it was to be an early night for the Ants, we needed every little bit of shut-eye we could get to prepare us for the expedition that lay ahead.
22 September at 05h30, 12 teams of adrenaline junkies from around South Africa start the race and paddle out toward the ocean to take out at the quant little town of Port St. Johns. There we were met by our faithful and friendly seconds positioned at T1, Louis Mulder and Garry Townsend who set us off with great encouragement.
From here, the longest bike leg of the race lay ahead; we were positioned in 3rd place. Soon we caught up to the KZN team, Team Cannonball Fly, and were in hot pursuit of the McCain Adventure Addicts, whom we caught and joined for the majority of the ride to T2. After some serious climbs, we dropped down from the Transkei settlements into the direction of the Mzimvubu River, which marked the start of the mammoth paddle leg, 37km!! The paddle included some awesome rapids, a “trillion” sand banks to keep us portaging, and best of all loads of amazing scenery. Nearing the end of the paddle, both Brian and I were experiencing a slight sense of humor failure and couldn’t wait to relieve our numb bums as we took out at Cremorne Lodge where we had started earlier that morning.
After a speedy transition, we were off on a short little bike leg toward the coast line en route to T4, at Poenskop. Being strong hikers, it was time to catch the 2 teams who got away during the paddle leg, who were now well on their way up coast. Single track Mania this year included 3 lengthy hikes, from T4 we headed off into the night for a 21km coastering leg, the scenery was truly out of this world, what an unbelievable coastline we have!
T5 was our first unassisted transition, and after a quick gathering of bike spares, we left, now in 2nd place, for the short but incredibly steep bike out of the coastal village of Mbotyi. We pushed hard and arrived at T6 round 21h30 on Saturday evening, where dinner was served. We hung around transition for a while to gather our thoughts and pluck up some courage, as a @!#$*% long abseil was next in line for conquering. We descended into the kloof for 140m before our feet were on firm ground, this came along with the smell of hot rope and uncomfortable harnesses… it was truly awesome! The kloof was very wet and terribly slippery, managed to tweak our ice skating and bum sliding skills. After 4.30hrs we exited the kloof and jumped with joy, we were on dry even ground!
The section after the kloofing, proved to be a bit tricky on the navigation side of things, so many paths to follow!? After knocking on a number of local huts, a very surprised but willing local would direct us onto the right path, to get back to Mbotyi. We entered the little town at about 06h00, and the “sleep monster” was getting to the Ants. After freshening up at the campsite, we headed out onto the coastline for a lengthy but breathtakingly beautiful stretch to T7, passing Waterfall Bluff along the way.
From T7, we were on our bikes again following a bumpy 4x4 trail onto a well used dirt road, with the wind gusting from behind. We made short work of this bike leg and were very aware of what lay ahead, the long 27km hike to the town of Port Edward. As we set out we knew it was going to be a long drag home to the final paddle leg. The rain clouds gathered, and the wind drove us up the coastline, the odd shower pelted down on us and the weather took a turn for the worst. Cold, wet and windy, all the miserable elements an adventurer has no option but to deal with.
The glow of lights from Port Edward never seemed to get any closer, and the feet could stand no more. Eventually we rounded the last corner and spotted the Wildcoast Sun, Hallelujah! After a tricky little escapade with security guards, we found our boats. I have never looked so forward to a paddle leg in my life. The final paddle of 3km up the Mtamvuna River, led us to the finish at Port Edward Caravan Park. Our seconds and fellow adventurers were there with smiles and praise to welcome us home, we had arrived in 3rd place, 41hrs 29 min later. Trailing 4hrs behind the winners, McCain Adventure Addicts, and 3hrs off Kinetic USN’s pace.
Well done to all the teams that completed the race, it was a tough but spectacular one!!
Just a word of thanks to Fred Richardson, race organizer at Single Track Africa, this is a race we’ll remember for a long time. A huge thanks to all our sponsors, Adventure Inc., Buff, Body Glide, Montrail, Black Diamond, USN supplements and Bruce Reyneke Cycles for your amazing support and belief in our team. A special thanks to our trusty seconds, Garry and Louis, without your assistance, we would never have made it.
Happy Adventures!!