THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
SA is famous for having some of the world’s best endurance races. Sandy Maytham-Bailey shares 10 hacks on how to do, and even enjoy, this type of extreme event.
Art framer and photographer Sandy Maytham-Bailey was the only woman brave enough to enter and finish a 2,300km mountain-bike race this month known as the Race Across SA. Riders ascend 3,7000m on the route which traverses mountains and valleys, from Pietermaritzburg to Wellington, and must self-navigate with no GPS nor seconds allowed.
When the 54-year-old athlete rode into Diemersfontein wine estate in Wellington on Thursday, she had defied the odds to earn her own Basotho blanket, awarded to the riders who reach the end.
“They say you can throw money at any problem,” Maytham-Bailey said, reflecting on how she got there. “In mountain biking that certainly applies but when you’re a novice — read that as you have not yet got your head around the lingo let alone the kit that goes with mountain biking (MTB) — there are limits to the budget.
“As a new cyclist, riding for three years, I at least had a good entry-level bike but that was about it. RASA is probably the most extreme MTB event for a mountain biker,” she said.
1. Attitude
When training for a big event you can be sure of a curve ball. How you handle it is as much part of your “training” as the hours on the bike. I developed a severe stomach response and basically had no stomach lining left to absorb any nutrients. My decline was radical, but your stomach lining replaces itself in six weeks — if you follow a strict diet and no training. The thought of not training for six weeks was unbearable but I used the time to focus on the navigation, low-intensity strength exercises and preparation.
2. Preparing to be self-sufficient
This meant concentrating on mapping skills, weighing everything that went into my bag and reducing kit to the bare minimum. I spent as much time on maps as on my bike training. I had time to focus on my nutrition for the race.
3. Fitness
Fitness is a relative term, it’s not only about the hours on the bike. Smart fitness is about the quality of the training, quality of sleep, plenty of rest and good nutrition.
4. Mental strength
Do everything you need to do to get your head ready for the race. Don’t bluff yourself, be honest … it’s hard and you’re going to feel pain. Speak to others. Chances are that if they wanted to quit, you’ll need to know why because it will happen to you.
5. Partner, family and friends support
A whole village rode the race with me — back home in Joburg there was a lively WhatsApp group that was called Sandy’s RASA but soon changed to the Dragonslayer, as friends saw what I was up to. That support of friends and family is beyond anything I expected.
ON THE RACE 6. Starting solo
I had entered on my own, meaning the prospect of huge portages or night riding on my own was a reality. This made me aware of the need to be completely self-reliant, including doing a bike mechanics course. But something happened on the trail, something quite unlikely…
7. Companions!
I rode the whole race with two guys. We were mismatched in terms of strength and technical riding ability but matched in likemindedness. To be present in your environment, to absorb what’s around you, to give each other space to ride in silence and with distance between, is the like-mindedness that I mean. There is incredible strength in this.
8. The routine
All the rest — checking the bike, the kit, consistent packing — became the routine that keeps you confident and safe every day.
9. Smart ideas
When you’re not as strong as the guys and your bike weighs the same, long portages and scaling impossible climb-outs are challenging. I used a wide climbing sling to loop around my handlebars and my seat to basically create a headband carry aid, much like rice paddy workers.
10. What did an average day look like on the trail?
Up at 3.45am, straight into cycling kit, eat breakfast, pack, check maps, and out the door by 5am latest. Typically we’d stop for a standing snack after two to three hours, with a one-hour break for lunch. Days were a mix of either long mileage, huge portages, river crossings, tricky navigation, lots and lots of gates and fences to climb (over 200), and sometimes all of the above in one morning.