Professional endurance competitor Rebecca Rusch has tackled her fair share of adventure races and 24-hour mountain bike races throughout the years. Now, the Idahoan is in South Africa, at the Absa Cape Epic, a nine-day mountain bike stage race across the country’s scenic Western Cape. Following an accident that resulted in a broken collarbone, teammate Cristina Begy withdrew from the race, but Rusch decided to continue, albeit unofficially, on her own. — Editor

Stage 8 was a fantastic three hours and 40 minutes, the 68km finale to nine intense days of racing across the Western Cape of South Africa. It was largely ceremonial for most people, with some sections of no-passing zones. I still tried to put the hammer down and squeeze out the last bit of training benefit that I could. My perspective regarding mileage and time in the saddle has been refocused this week. Anything less than 100km and five hours now seems short to me.

I chose to ride across the finish line instead of ducking under the ropes for this final stage, crossing the line with Danny, the Specialized distributor for Brazil. It did feel good to cross the line with a friend instead of alone, and I felt I had earned that right. Besides, what could they do? Kick me out of the race?

Ryan, Cristina, Claire and the whole Specialized crew were there to greet me. I felt a bit wobbly after nearly 1000km of riding, but elated about the effort I had put in, the tour of Africa, and the friendships I’ve established out here.

Now that's a full work week.

My body held up surprisingly well for this early in the season. My quads were slightly sore, but I had no knee, back or wrist pain, saddle sores or other bodily issues.

The week of strong riding really boosted my confidence and psyche for the upcoming racing season. I’ve logged every single minute of racing on my Suunto T6, so it will be very interesting to look at all the heart rate stats when I get home.

I also did not have one mechanical the entire race. I rode a brand-new, beautiful carbon Epic that I had not seen until I arrived in South Africa. She treated me very well for all those kilometers and has now earned the name Black Mamba after the deadliest snake in South Africa.

The finale was held in an outdoor jungle venue with tents, drumming and dining tables up in the trees.

The absolute final stage of the race was the party at Moyo near Capetown. It was an outdoor jungle venue with tents, African drumming and dining tables up in the trees. They played a running slideshow of race pics, but the highlight of the entertainment was watching the African dancers. It was also pretty entertaining to see all the cyclists cruising around in regular clothes, without helmets. I recognized very few people in this state. We listened to war stories all night and shared experiences.

This morning I awakened at 5:30 a.m. in the B&B and could not fall back asleep. My body needed the rest, but was still in race mode. Instead of hopping on the bike at 7 a.m., we packed bikes, dirty laundry and souvenirs for the long trip home.

Tomorrow I begin the 40-hour trek back to Idaho where spring skiing awaits. I will take home with me the snapshot memories of so many school kids cheering for the riders, the amazing countryside, the camaraderie of the worldwide cycling community and the strong desire to come back here again next year.

Thanks to Specialized and Red Bull for sending me to the Cape Epic. Thanks to the whole team for making it such a blast. And thanks to VeloNews readers for tuning in and sharing this adventure with me!

Rebecca Rusch

Claire’s post-race perspective

So I’m sitting in the camper van with a glass of wine and a cheese-and-ham sandwich, surveying the destruction that is the post-race state, trying hard to hold onto the dregs of racing life and avoid the inevitable reality.

Sadly, the race is over.

Benno lends a hand — two of them, actually.

On reflection it has been a fabulous Epic for so many reasons. There have been high and low spots, for sure, but it’s been a great experience. We have a good team and work together well, which makes life more enjoyable and generally a lot more fun. We laugh so much, and that’s so important.

After day one I was wondering whether I would make it through. Working with two teams, I needed more hours in the day, and all the small chores I do couldn’t be done so easily when the sun went down or the riders went to bed.

I stayed in a tent for the first half of the race. Everybody is up and moving around in the tent camp from 5 a.m. when the alarm — a truck horn — blasts three times. Some of those early morning tent conversations are classic and worth lying there a little longer to listen to.

Washing race kit was the worst job because the dust, sweat and sunblock was difficult to get out. I’m sure everyone struggled with it. Fortunately, the weather was great, so drying kit wasn’t a problem.

Finding water could also be an issue. Most taps had hose pipes attached to them and some days a grumpy man came with that attachment. Now and then you had to walk a ways or sweet talk one of the mechanics into helping you — or better still, fetching it for you!

What follows any good party? The cleaning up, of course.

Cooking and shopping was great — lots of steamed vegetables, butternut squash being our favorite, I think, especially with some nutty brown basmati rice. I didn’t make it to the food tent for the first half of the race, I was so busy, and it was nice to have a little time to myself and get tidied up while the rest of the team disappeared.

I have some lovely spots to set up for massage. At Calditzdorp the view from the massage table was really beautiful; I was there until the sun started to set, too!

Working this race has given me the opportunity to see some incredible scenery, wildlife and and bugs (of which there are many). But seeing how some of the people here live makes me appreciate all the more the life that I have.

And for that, I am grateful.