The South Africans are a pretty active bunch, with all sorts of outdoor activities taking up much of their leisure time. Sport is a serious pursuit by most, but in saying that, participation is the name of the game, and both the old, the very young and even the very fat seem to get out there and have a go at any opportunity.
One of the most popular sports around this area is mountain biking. Given the maniacal attitude of most of the drivers, road riding is not considered a sensible activity. Coupled with this, is the hilly topography, beautiful scenery and spectacular coastal forest of KwaZulu-Natal, which may explain why mountain biking is such a popular pursuit.
Simon has joined a riding group which sees him up at 4.30am on two mornings a week (ouch), doing hill circuits (ouch again) from the beach just near our place. They sound like a nice bunch, although they don't stick around for a coffee after their ride - a concept which eludes me. Hopefully Simon can educate them in this regard before we leave, although I suspect it may have something to do with the lack of coffee shop more than anything else (which begs the question of why you would bother riding at all?).
Zini Buffalo Classic
This weekend saw the commencement of the Big 5 Zululand Mountain Bike Series of 10km, 25km or 50km rides. It was an amazingly well organised race, with over a thousand competitors all up, leaving from the country club in Mtunzini (about 50km south of Richards Bay) and heading through the golf course, sugar cane plantations, Umlalazi Nature Reserve and a massive stand of giant raffia palms. Simon joined up for the 25km.
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| Here's the first wave for the 50km race heading off! |
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| And down the hill they all went - a cloud covered ocean in the background. |
Naturally, I managed to dob him in as the competitor who had travelled the furthest to compete in the race, which earned Simon a special "pre-race" interview over the loud speaker! The interviewer was a good sort and talked up Simon's participation, all the while knowing that the opportunity of a well paying job had a little more to do with us being in South Africa than the race itself! Nevertheless, a good laugh was had by all.
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| Post interview, getting ready for the start! |
During the race, William caught up with a bunch of his school friends who were there and was kept busy on the bouncy castle, watching a cute little mole dig into a hillside and playing chasey. I managed to meet a few more of the school parents while patronising the coffee van and various food tents around!
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| Here is the stand of Raffia Palms the ride went through - originally planted in the early 1900s to make brooms for the prison service. The enterprise failed and it is now a National Monument. Both the palms and the boardwalk through the area are very impressive. |
Results
At the ripe old age of 37, Simon fell under the sub-vets category (35 - 40) the fact of which appeared to completely mortify him! Shame. Despite this, he managed a very creditable 23rd out of the 100 or so male competitors from 17 to 40.
Even more amazing however, is the complete nut bar below who also competed in the 25km race on his Mountain Unicycle...insanity.
...the excitement is contagious and William can't wait for his bike to arrive in sea freight so he can join the 5 classmates of his who did the 10km ride! Despite having a tendency to ride into trees rather than around them, I may just have to give the women's veterans category a run for its money. Failing that, I will at least accompany WIlliam on the 10km. Unfortunately, my old hybrid would not have survived the rough journey by sea, so it's off to the bike shop for me (gee, bummer...) Keep your ears to the ground for a report on Race 2 of the series in Eshowe!!
