Freedom Challenge: Race to Rhodes

The Race to Rhodes is a 480km non-stop, unsupported and self-navigated mountain bike race from Pietermaritzburg in KZN, to Rhodes in the Eastern Cape. It is an incredible adventure yet also physically and mentally demanding. Riders have to be adequately trained, equipped, and prepared. The route is not marked and requires riders to navigate using a map and a compass, no GPS is allowed. Apart from fitness, riders also have to be proficient in bike maintenance, as no support is allowed along the entire route. The race is non-stop thus riders are not required to stop every day/night as with other stage races. There are 5 support stations, along with 4 interim stops along the route where riders must check-in and can find food and basic accommodation to sleep. Riders can send supplies in advance to the 5 support stations, providing that everything fits within a 2L ice-cream container. These are thus mostly used for snacks, medication, and parts such as a spare tube and lube.

The route follows the difficult first section of the Freedom Trail (see figure below). It consists of dirt roads, farm roads, footpaths, and animal tracks. There are many river crossings and portages that requires riders to hike and carry their bikes. It runs through some of the most remote and mountainous parts of South Africa and requires a total of 10750m of climbing. Riders can expect temperatures of -12ºC to 32ºC along with conditions varying from sunny and calm to heavy snow, rain, and storms. As this race is purely done by navigation, distances and elevations are relative. A wrong turn or navigation error could see you add serious distance and time on to your route. There are many horror stories of riders doing wrong turns costing them more than 40km’s or descending down the wrong side of the mountain and having to cycle/hike back up etc.

In June 2019 me and my dad, Nico Louw, set out to complete our maiden R2R. We had done months of training and preparation for this. Besides the time spent on the bike, it also involved spending plenty of time studying the maps and terrain along with researching and testing the right gear to take with. Besides completing the race, I had another goal which was to take a camera with to document the route. The race would take us to interesting places only reachable by bike and would present unique photo opportunities of remote locations and people.

This will mostly be a visual blog post highlighting the photos taken along the route. I'll link to some other blogs at the end that focus more on the race experience, mental and physical challenges faced on a day-to-day basis

Race overview (Source: Freedom Challenge)

Preparation and Gear

I could spend hours on the gear and research done for this adventure but to keep it short I will just highlight some of the key items and setups used to make this happen. If gear isn’t in your interest, scroll down to DAY 1 for the start of the adventure.

Bike Setup

  • PYGA Pascoe 140: 27,5" trail bike with 150mm travel up front and 140mm at the rear. This bike climbs like an XC bike and descends like a DH bike - ready for any obstacle in its way.

  • Tires and rims: 2.35 Shwalbe Rock Razor in the rear and a 2.3 WTB Vigalante up front. Stans Flow DH rims. Wide tires with strong side walls and strong rims is a must.

  • Shimano XT 1x11 drivechain.

  • Extreme Lights Baviaans 3600 Lumen Bike light with 2 x 6800mah battery packs. Incredibly bright on full blast and can last all night on lower modes. This is the ultimate light.

  • Add-ons: wireless speedometer, x-large Topeak rear storage, 2 water bottle cages and a homemade map board on the handlebars.

  • Swapped out my dropper post for a solid seatost to limit any potential mechanicals.

Whats in my backpack?

As the race is unsupported, we will have to carry everything we need for the 7 days with us on our bike and in a backpack. Here you have 2 options, either to carry enough gear and suffer from the weight or, take only the essentials and enjoy a light ride. From training with heavier packs, we realized how much it strains your back and slows you down over a long ride. Ideally, we would have liked our packs to be around 6kg but we set a more realistic 8kg target considering extras I would have to take with (i.e camera gear). Below is a list of some of the essential items we took with.

  • Backpack: Osprey Talon 33. I did a lot of research and tested many different packs - this one came out tops. I also have a 3l bladder filled with water in my bag.

  • Headlamp: Black Diamond Storm (lightweight, waterproof and bright).

  • Shoes: Mavic trail-type mtb shoes. Stiff enough for efficient riding yet you can climb a mountain in them. Along with this I took a pair of amphibious shoes for river crossings.

  • First Ascent leg warmers

  • Sea-to-Summit waterproof container bags.

  • HH Merino wool jersey + First Ascent puffer jacket.

  • First Ascent/K-way Thermal layers (top and bottom)

  • Black Diamond StromLine Waterproof jacket and pants (NB).

  • Chlorine drops to purify water, thermal buff, hand warmers, skiing gloves, Suunto Compass, plenty of bike spares.

Nutrition

Besides breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the nutrition taken during the day is probably one of the most important elements of a successful race. Being out there for 12+ hours every day, your body takes some serious strain and thus requires you to have a proper nutrition strategy. Getting your nutrition strategy right is the difference between completing the race or ending up with a DNF next to your name. It is very personal for every rider but I try to stick to the rule of eating every hour. I spent a long time planning, testing, and experimenting with different stuff and ended up with more or less the following in my pack for each day. This mix ended up working pretty well as I had enough to keep me sustained throughout each day.

  • 5 x RaceFood FarBar’s

  • 1x mini UltraMel custard

  • 4 x ButtaNutt Tree Nut spread packs (this stuff is the bomb).

  • Trail mix blend (nuts, seeds, dried fruit)

  • Peanut Brittle

  • Energade jellybeans

  • Guava roll

  • Game / 32Gi energy drink powder

  • A pack of droëwors

  • Pack of Oreos

  • KitKat / Smarties / M&M’s

  • Hammer Recoverite (for the end of each day)

  • Premixed Milo shake x 2 (4tsp milo, 2 tb spoons milk powder)

  • Electrolytes

  • USN cramp block

  • Nougat

In terms of water: I will be carrying 2 large water bottles on my bike + a 3l bladder on my back. Water isn’t always guaranteed along the route and we had many occasions where we ran out. We used chlorine drops and a LifeStraw water filter for cleaning water when filling up from dodgy supplies. I aimed to use the bottles for energy drink mixes and my bladder for pure water.

Camera setup

Photographing the route would be a major challenge. Firstly, as I will be our navigator, it will be difficult to balance navigating, taking photos, and racing at the same time. Secondly, there isn’t much space in our packs or weight to spare for camera gear. Lastly, because it is a race, there is not much time to stop and open your backpack to take out a camera at every photo opportunity. I had to find a system that would address these challenges. Another question was - should I take a smaller compact camera that is more convenient yet at the expense of image quality? Or should I take a larger camera that would occupy more space but allow me to take better photos?

After much research and testing, the solution was to take a crop sensor mirrorless camera attached to a Peak Design camera clip on my backpack (see photos below). The clip has one piece that attaches to the base of your camera and another that fits on your backpack shoulder strap. Whilst riding the camera is mounted on my shoulder where I can quickly un-clip it with 1 hand to take shots and then pop it back in no time - amazing! 

The camera chosen was the Sony A6400 along with an 18-135mm lens. This camera punches way above its weight and size and is considered one of the best crop sensor mirrorless cameras of 2019. It has 24MP sensor, eye- and real-time autofocus tracking, shoots 8fps, 4k video and plenty more. The 18-135mm lens is sharp and highly versatile, the perfect 1 lens option. Considering the specs, and combined weight of 728g (when compared to my full-frame DSLR + lens of around 1.8kg) this is a powerful combo for any adventure or light travel situations. 

Big thanks to Sony South Africa for sponsoring the camera for the race. They sent me the a6400 kit as well as a more compact Sony RX100V which I also considered. In the end, I settled on the increased durability and performance of the a6400. 

 It is obviously a risk to have this camera attached to my shoulder strap whilst riding 12 hours+ per day through dust, rain, mud, thick bushes, possible crashes (spoiler alert)…but in my opinion it is worth it for this once in a lifetime opportunity to photograph the route. 

Last but not least, I will be taking my GoPro Hero 6 with a helmet mount for more in the moment photos and videos.

Day One: Pietermaritzburg to Allendale

An introduction to tough

Day 1 was no joke, a proper introduction with 100km distance and 2500m + climbing. I know this is meant to be a photo-blog but I didn’t even have the time to take 1 decent photo during the first day. We started at 6 am from Pietermaritzburg town hall and headed out into the bush in good spirits. We immediately noticed that the landscape looked nothing like what we had pictured during the hours of studying on Google Earth. Experience is key as riders who had done this race before carved out a clear lead. Nevertheless, our navigation was mostly on point and we were making progress. After having lunch at the interim stop we descended down into the infamous Umkomaas valley (pictured in the background below right).

The descent into the valley was so steep that it burned our brakes. When we got to the bottom, the terrain was practically unrideable. The entire valley was heavily overgrown, full of dense vegetation. No sign of a path of any sort. We spent the rest of the day bundu-bashing down the valley, getting cut up by thorns and wading through the water.

Below is a few GoPro screenshots from day 1. The top 2 images show the dense vegetation we had to face in the Umkomaas valley. Bottom left we are making our way towards Umkomaas valley and bottom right we had about an hour to go untill we reached Allendale.

We reached the end just before nightfall where the Hela Hela pass was waiting patiently, a steep 9km pass leading out of the valley. Low on water and energy, it was going to be a long dark climb to the top.

We reached Allendale farm at around 9pm, totally wasted after 15 hours in the saddle. Things were off to a tough start! After 3 full plates of chicken and rice, it was time for bed.

Day Two: Allendale to Ntsikeni

18 hours: the longest day

4 Hours of sleep later and it was time for day 2, our legs definitely feeling the wrath of day 1. This was to be another +- 100km & 2500m elevation day. When we looked at the distances and elevations before the race we predicted to arrive at each support station at around mid afternoon. We were slightly off on this prediction as we did not take into account navigation challenges and difficult terrain. This mornings terrain… thick wet grass with half frozen mud.

Unfortunately we had a major setback on day 2, my dad came down with tick-bite fever, contracted from a tick bite on his last training ride the week before. The heavy side effects of this sickness could make any man give up instantly, but my dad decided to push through. We dropped our pace and focused on getting the navigation right in order to make it to Ntsikeni.

As we made our way through the day, the landscape became increasingly more beautiful. Gone was the dense overgrown bushes of day 1 and in was the crisp winter landscapes of rural South Africa. Herders on horses were common-sight along with colorful rondawels and herds of livestock.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, we still had a long way to go.

Getting a last look at the landscape before nightfall.

Quick 20 min power-nap halfway up a long climb.

Navigating at night in unfamiliar terrain with only a map and compass is a real challenge and is what makes this race so unique and challenging. There are no landmarks visible to get your bearings and missing a turn could cost you hours - something you don’t want at night. This was real adventure!

screenshots-5.jpg

Late at night, somewhere up on a long climb.

As the night became longer we battled up hills that felt eternal. When we eventually reached the gate to the nature reserve we could taste home although it was still another hour and a half of riding before we would get there. As we were getting closer, there was movement in the bushes nearby, next thing we hear gunshots going off close to us and dogs barking frantically. Turns out there were poachers in the area and park rangers opened fire on them killing one of their hunting dogs. What a welcome!

Physically and mentally broken we reached base just after midnight after a monster 18 hours on the bike. I have no idea how my dad managed that on top of the side effects of tick bite fever but we made it. 4 Bowls of vegetable soup and 8 thick slices of homemade bread later and it was time for bed. At this point we had cycled 33 hours and had only slept for around 4 hours.

Day Three: Ntsikeni to Glen Edward

‘‘Recovery day’’

A cold front came through during the night and we woke up to cold and misty conditions, a good contrast from the heat of the first two days. Due to the rough first two stages and my dad being sick with tick bite fever we decided to split stage 3 into 2 parts. This would give us time to recover and regain our strength whilst still allowing us to finish the race in time.

We rode through the nature reserve with wildebees and blesbokke running beside us. The terrain was incredibly beautiful and unique with no signs of civilization for miles, just us riding through untouched nature.

This is a perfect example of a path that looks easy on the map yet in reality its something entirely different. There were many portages on the route that required us to carry our bikes on our backs.

After exiting the nature reserve, we crossed farmlands of the Sisonke region in Kwazulu Natal. We slept over at the interim stop of Glen Edward farm where we were treated to amazing food, great hosts and warm beds. We ate all evening and had the first good nights rest. This is just what we needed to build our strength for the next leg.

Day Four: Glen Edward to Masakala

New terrain, new challenges

Race2Rhodes_blog-58.jpg

Cold start to the day. .

It was -5ºC when we left Glen Edward at 5 am on route to Masakala. My camel-back pipe and water bottles were frozen solid. Some riders’ gears even froze up and they were stuck in 1 gear for most of the morning.

On these cold mornings, wearing the right clothes is essential. In this case, skiing gloves, shoe covers, a thermal buff and plenty of layers.

It was a bright day with the crisp winter sunlight slowly warming us up. The scenery was incredible as we headed through rolling hills, rural settlements and empty landscapes. It is a beautiful part of the country that one wouldn’t normally get so see. Exploring it on mountain-bikes was pretty epic.

Rolling into town for our nights stay in the Masakala guest huts. Here we would have a traditional evening’s stay and were treated to some incredible food that came out of a tiny kitchen with 2 stove plates and basic supplies. Enough food was made in this tiny kitchen to satisfy 14 hungry riders with left overs to spare.

At the end of the previous day, I felt a slight irritation in my left knee. The first few days were pretty rough on my knee’s, not only the distance and time pedaling but also the strain from jumping over farm fences carrying my bike and backpack on my shoulders. As we arrived at Masakala, my knee was swollen and on fire - the diagnoses: Patellar Chondromalacia. This is where the cartilage on the under surface of the patella softens and deteriorates due to overuse. A common sports injury which can easily be treated by rest. However, with 3 full days of riding left, rest was nowhere in sight. In the coming days, the intense pain would be something that I would have to endure in order to complete this race.

Day Five: Masakala to Malekgolonyane

Pain and Gain

Another freezing start as we headed out for a big day to Malekgolonyane.

The hospitality and friendliness of the people out here never ceases to amaze us. Below, a grandfather and his grandson, both wrapped in blankets on this cold morning.

Race2Rhodes_blog-91.jpg

A broken rear derailleur is not the best way to start the morning.

Luckily we were prepared and had carried a spare.

Had we not had a spare, this could have been a race ending mechanical.

This day would be one of the most magical days of riding on the Race2Rhodes and probably the best stage of the race in our opinion. We rode across vast floodplains, one after another, each separated by a different village. One the right side you had the stunning Maluti mountains, bordering Lesotho, and on the other side, vast plains of open fields. We followed the cattle track and footpaths across these plains.

This is what it was all about - just you, your bike and some friends riding across these incredible remote landscapes - true freedom! Navigate the slideshow below to get an indication of just how vast this place really is.

The map eventually took us away from the floodplains and more inland towards a ridge leading up to the mountains. We rode a jeep track running right on the apex of the ridge. This was some incredible riding and one of the highlights of the race. The views were incredible and the riding was epic. In the near distance, the Maluti mountains gave us an indication of what was to come.

After descending down from the ridge we headed up the final hill before reaching our accommodation for the night in Malekgolonyane. The last rays of sunlight cutting across the landscape. This day was something special, on no other occasion would you be able to ride through these incredible landscapes and in these remote places.

Sunset views from camp.

Race2Rhodes_blog-118.jpg

Discussions on how to approach the notorious Vuvu valley the next day.

Day Six: Malekgolonyane to Vuvu

Pretty Rough

screenshots-4.jpg

This was a big day of riding with some seriously challenging terrain and plenty of difficult sections to navigate.

As soon as we left we got lost for 2 hours in the early morning darkness. As the sun came up we found our bearings and were back on the trail. The landscape became even more remote and wild as we headed closer towards the mountains.

Its incredible how, even in some of the most remote areas, you will find people going about their daily routine. In this case a young boy and his horse out on their own in the wild with not another soul in sight.

We made it our goal to try and reach Vuvu before sunset to tackle the notorious Vuvu valley during daylight - the main challenge of this leg. This is a 13km long valley with false valleys leading off from it at every odd kilometer. Its a difficult section to navigate and is not advised in the dark, especially for first-timers.

I had to put down my camera for most of the day to focus on navigating. The terrain was mountainous and the riding was incredible. We were shredding down rocky ridges and sections of cattle track. We had a great pace and were having so much fun that we but ended up loosing track of where we were on the map. Rookie error. We ended up wasting precious time getting back on track. As the sun crept closer and closer to the horizon, our chances of reaching Vuvu before nightfall were slipping away.

We reached the start of the valley just before nightfall. We stopped to eat some snacks and suit up with warmer clothes for what could potentially be a long night. We headed into the valley as darkness fell. The valley floor was covered with patches of dense trees making it difficult to see where you are heading. At some points it felt like you were navigating through a jungle gym of branches. We zig-zagged across the river multiple times in pursuit of the best track. Some sections were too steep, others too dense and it took plenty of trial and error to make progress. We thought we were on the right track when suddenly the trail ran dead. By now it was pitch black and we were truly lost. In my head I was thinking, ‘we’re not even 2km into this and already struggling, we are for sure sleeping in this valley tonight’. The next bit was rough as we battled through the tough terrain in order to find our way. Our only light coming from our headlamps and bike lights.

It was at that moment that we heard sounds in the bushes behind us. Suddenly 2 Sotho horsemen emerged out of the thick bushes. Long story short, turns out they were also heading to Vuvu and their horses knew their way through the technical valley floor. We ended up following them through the valley and out towards Vuvu. By following the horses we were through the valley in 2 hours flat. A rough night on the valley floor was avoided. What a miracle!

We reached Vuvu school at around 8 pm. The support station here was quite an experience and one that I would never forget. The local villagers were kind enough to let us stay in their homes for the night. There is no running water and we showered outside in -1ºC with half a bucket of water and a cloth. My spare pair of shoes disappeared somewhere in Vuvu Valley. They were fastened to the side of my backpack and must have gotten flicked out by a branch at some point. With my riding shoes soaked and full of mud I had to walk barefoot at night through the village.

Day Seven: Vuvu to Rhodes

Conquering Lehana’s pass

This was it, the final day. Up to this point, we had conquered some of the toughest mental and physical challenges we’ve faced on a bike and there was only challenge remaining between us and the finish line - Lehana’s pass. Lehana’s is an old smuggling route that the Basothu people used to smuggle livestock from South Africa over the mountains, and into Lesotho. On this last day we would have to carry our bikes over this mountain to reach the top of Naude’s Nek and descend down the other side to reach Rhodes. It is the shortest stage of only 50km but it has over 2000m of climbing and we would reach a max altitude of 2,587m above sea level during our ride. Normally during this time of year, there is a high chance that this pass is covered in snow, luckily we had good weather on our side.

We left Vuvu early in the morning and reached the base of Lehana’s as the sun crept over the horizon. There are many routes to the top but you basically have to aim for that blue container which is just visible in the photos below. It is a radio station and police lookout used to monitor livestock theft in the area.

Spot the riders carrying their bikes in the two top photos below. This is basically like hiking up Table Mountain except its a few 100 meters higher and you have a bike + backpack on your shoulders.

A lot steeper than what it looks, and this is just the ascent to reach the start of the first ridge!

Standing on top of the first koppie, the views were unreal. Even on these high altitudes and rugged terrain (frequent to extreme weather) there are still signs of civilization. A herder was taking his flock of sheep up the mountain whilst his dogs stood guard at the shelter.

Below are 2 GoPro screenshots of what it looks like to ride on the ridge - pretty epic!

Photos often struggle to give justice to the steepness of the terrain but the shot below does a pretty decent job.

The town in the upper left-hand corner is where we started at sunrise and here we were on the final push to the top.

Big birds up here.

This next slideshow puts the scale of the terrain in perspective. Watch how the rider carrying his bike disappears against the backdrop.

After reaching the summit of Lehana’s pass, a dirt road took us to the top of Naude’s Nek - one of the highest passes in South Africa. The high altitude landscape was incredible. Throughout the day we climbed up to 2500m above sea level!

What goes up must come down, after climbing for most of the day it was time for some downhills, a 1000m drop over 5km to be exact. We flew down the many twists and turns of Naude’s Nek pass with only 30km left to Rhodes. You really have to trust your bike and brakes during this decent!

The last 15km was painful. It was just flat gravel grinding to the finish but my legs felt like I was doing a category 1 climb. I had to focus all of my mental power just on getting through that next pedal stroke. It was painful.

Race2Rhodes_blog-193.jpg

Arriving at Alpine Swift Resort in Rhodes, the finish line of the Race2Rhodes after 6 days and 8 hours of riding.

We couldn’t believe we made it. We were dirty, tired, hungry and physically broken but we had massive smiles on our faces! It was an incredible feeling to cross that finish line after putting your body through 7 days of punishment.

It is pretty amazing what you can accomplish on a mountain-bike and the places it can take you. This was by far one of the toughest challenges, both mentally and physically, that we have ever faced but it has also been one of the most rewarding. There were times we thought we wouldn’t make it and every part our body wanted us to give up, but pushing through made us realize that the best rewards are on the other side of discomfort. The adventures had on the freedom trail will always be remembered and will serve as an inspiration for future pursuits. However, this won’t be the last time we set foot on the freedom trail. The next races run to Craddock, Willowmore, and Paarl and are in need of exploring. Perhaps, one day, even the full Freedom Challenge will be considered.

 

Useful Links

Videos

Race2Rhodes Highlight Reel

Collection of raw and unedited clips of the race.

THE END



Enjoyed this blog post? Leave a comment or share it with a friend.
Next
Next

Overnight Mountain Mission