Candice and James have been training pretty seriously for the past six months as they gear up towards the start line of the “Magical Untamed African Mountain Bike Race” that is the Cape Epic. Apart from frequently seeing them along the roads of Cape Town, we crossed paths at the 3 day Tankwa Trek MTB race in February, a race many Epic riders use as final tuning. After a fairly tough second day (although not, in my opinion, of Epic proportions) Candice was shattered. So it got me wondering – what is it that motivates a cycling enthusiast to push themselves to the brink in order to turn said enthusiast into a hardened endurance athlete capable of 8 days of grueling MTB stage racing?

This is Candice’s story…..

I have asked myself many many times why we are doing this. I have phoned various family members, in tears, just to ask them them to please remind me never to do this again. Fortunately though the real doubts have been infrequent. A few bad days, some tears here and there, and only one meltdown (who’s counting) in the 6+ months that my fiancé James and I have built towards riding our first Cape Epic. 739km over some of the most rugged terrain the Western Cape has to offer. In just 8 days. On a bike!

Having a previous Cape Epic behind me, I was surprised that the rather obvious question had crept up from behind – silently and stealthy like. It was a dark, mid-week early morning training session (of which there had been many).  Derek came riding up alongside me, wanting to know if I would write about why James and I are doing this. While I might have been physically in a dark place, I  was happily chilling, enjoying a glorious start to the day, waiting for the sun to rise over the 12 Apostles. I was certainly not in one of those dark mental places I mentioned before so the question wasn’t top of mind! I felt quite honoured to be honest, by Derek’s request. Who would be interested in reading about us, non-racing snakes? [Translation: regular cyclists; basically normal people – EWM]  But I was intrigued as I realised I wasn’t sure I had a solid answer. 

Along the way to the Epic (note the helmets)

I spent the remainder of my ride pondering this question. And if just Derek and James read this article, I’ll have at least maybe answered the question for myself.

I think it’s all very personal. The driving force that makes any of us do things like this. Especially extreme sports, that physically and mentally push us to our limits. So I will attempt an answer. Why are James and I riding Cape Epic. 

Firstly, Cape Town makes it easy to love cycling. We live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Within 15 minutes of leaving our front door we can be cycling along the breathtaking coastline. It’s magical. What better way to start the work day then feeling the crisp ocean air tickle your face, the sun having not quite yet made an appearance over the 12 Apostles. Then on the return leg watching the glorious rays pierce the morning sky and forge their way over the rocky towering mountains. Coming down the road from lundadno and watching all the city lights still flickering with the ocean and mountains engulfing it in blackness. Its just a truly magical view. Why wouldn’t you want to ride your bike is really the question?

Living and riding in Cape Town

But yes I know Derek’s not asking me why I ride my bike, he’s asking me why we are riding our bikes to complete the Cape Epic. 

I have ridden it once before with my friend Maryke. We had an incredible journey. We were polar opposites in ability and somehow managed to pull together through sheer force of our will powers and get to that finish line together! An event like this teaches you a lot about yourself and other people. It takes you to places that you may never encounter with people in a life time. I have often thought that in a sense, sports even the playing fields of life. From the CEO of a company, to an 18yr old physics student, to a development rider. We all sit at the same tables, we all eat the same food and we will endure the same hardships. I love that about riding. You meet people that in everyday life circumstances you wouldn’t meet or possibly ever even engage with. It’s exciting and interesting and inspiring. 

Eish but I digress again to the love of riding as opposed to Cape Epic. 

When James and I entered Cape Epic we had some wise words from a friend who said make the next few months a whole journey. It’s not just about the 8 days from Sunday to Sunday. Make it about the whole experience and all 6+ months. So from the start we set out to do that. 

James and I love being on our bikes, especially fun technical single tracks. We can lose ourselves for hours in the mountains like kids at Christmas! So we started off this journey by making a list of all the places we had been saying we wanted to ride and hadn’t yet been to. We asked for recommendations from friends and pulled together a calendar for the year. We plotted out the weekends, ensuring we planned in visiting a new riding location and a race to take part in every month. That overlaid with a training programme and we pretty much had our blue print to Cape Epic start line. 

All I can say is wow. It has been the most incredible journey. It completely changed the way we approached the preparation to the race. We have had one big adventure!!! We have finally ticked off riding in some seriously incredible places around this amazing country. We have discovered new wine farms, tasted amazing cheeses, travelled to places we might not have gone to, uncovered hidden gem restaurants and met some incredible people. That’s just scratching the superficial surface.

It has deepened our friendships, bonded us deeper as a family and taken us both as a couple on an incredible mental, physical and emotional journey together. The love and support from everyone in our lives has been truly overwhelming. I get emotional just typing this. 

Another experience has been the change in our bodies. It’s been amusing.  My best chirp yet came from Daryl who hadn’t seen James out on the bike in a while. He exclaimed “James what’s happened, your muscles have relocated from your upper body to your legs”. This chirp has amused James and I for months as his body went through the biggest transformation. Aside from losing loads of weight his whole physical make up completely changed. This did not come without its challenges! There have been endless google searches, (James officially has a Google PhD) doctors room visits, chiropractors, massage therapists and even a radiologist! I too haven’t had the easiest ride. Through it all somehow James and I have tried to remain focused committed and ensured we had as much fun as possible along the way.

Yes it’s been a mad crazy rollercoaster of a journey. There’s nothing like entering the Cape Epic to force yourself to rework your whole life for a few months to ensure you are fit enough to tackle it. It’s a mammoth, daunting and terrifying prospect. That sheer fear kicks your ass into a gear that it wouldn’t have otherwise been! But we both wouldn’t change it for anything.

So I guess I now find myself asking why wouldn’t you do this? 

On the finish line of prologue today (and look Derek matching helmets just for you).