It was a quick trip through the Joberg Airport and then to Cape Town. Once there, we were to pick up our motor home rental and drive 5 hours to Kynsna, the start of the Cape Epic. One of us (David from Motivity pictures) almost instantly got his money and passport stolen and it took us til the following day at the American Consulate to resolve.

Unlocking the key at the Knysna Resort townhouse was quite the experience. This place was plush, new, slept 6, on the water, fully equipped with kitchen, laundry room, great living room and a deck to the water. Our Rwandans were already reeling from the initial shock of South Africa and I think they were expecting us all to cram into this motor home we were driving. Everybody picked their room. Vedaste honorably chose the motor home and the riders were in their own private rooms with their own bathrooms.

It was too bad that we had only two nights there, but it was worth the stay and the experience for the riders. Their first Italian restaurant was a hit, too, and they had their first chandeliers, their first Salmon. The meal was exceptional, especially for the reasonable price.

Now, to tell you the truth I had not really read up much on, or about, the Cape Epic nor had I watched the CD that Tom had sent me about it. That probably was a good thing. If I had checked things out more I probably would have thought twice about putting these two talented, but very green riders into a race of these Epic dimensions as their pretty much first mountain bike experience. And when I say experience, I mean experience. Our MTB's did not get finished until we arrived in South Africa. Our first ride on them was the day before the race - on pavement. The last time the two riders were on a MTB was last September at the Wooden Bike Classic, which had been their first time on an MTB!

I did have some questions that puzzled as we filed for the registration tent. Were there really over 1,000 competitors in this event? Yes, actually 1,050+. How on earth were they going to stagger all the different classes? They didn't. It was a 07:00am mass start of 1,050+ riders every day. I had heard that there were tents available for the riders. Was this an option to some who wanted to sleep in hotels; was it team tents or one big dorm tent? Not much of an option. Almost all of the competitors slept in individual tube tents set up each day on big soccer fields. We would arrive and there would be this sea of 1,100 tents we could pick from. We had been given number plates we could attach to our tent so as to find them as we stumbled home from the pub - good luck!

If there were tents, how did we get cleaned up? There were big 18 wheelers set up after each stage that housed probably 30 showers. Big tankers nearby supplied the water and big generator trucks supplied the energy for the heat. That meant hot showers for everybody. It was clean, quick and very efficient. No need to think, just shower and back to your tent.

There were more questions, but there was way too much information to process as I gazed at all that was going on and the immense organizational masterpiece this Cape Epic was. It was obvious that this was no ordinary event by any means. When it came to looking at the daily riding "menu" whoa this was serious mileage and serious elevation gains, especially on a mountain bike. Fifty miles was our shortest and last stage; almost 90 miles was our longest with most hovering around the 70-75 miles. Well, we were here and all were physically fit. There were no question about our commitment. It was too late to reevaluate the timing of this event as being our "first" bath into the international cycling scene. I think that it served to our advantage that the riders had really no idea what they were getting into. They were already on system overload to really think about the physiological impact that this race would have on their lives over the next 8 days.

The wake up call we all will remember for the rest of our lives, having a 07:00 start each day the organization felt we needed to all be wakened up at 04:50 each morning, this was done by something that was probably called a horn but it was much more than a horn, it was so loud that it shook the ground we slept on and it was never enough to sound it once but several times. If the adrenalin had not kicked in the first blow it did the second. The first time I heard it this apocalyptical fear struck me, where was I what was I doing and what on earth was happening? I think that subconsciously it was so impacting that my body woke me up each morning several minutes before the blast just to prepare my body for the onslaught.

We were an invited team and the first Rwandan Team so we were slotted to start in the first part of this immense 1,050 strong peleton, whew! I was starting to fret on how on earth we were going to weave our way through the miles of riders. The start on pavement was a relief to us "roadies" too, but that relief was soon to be eclipsed by the pace up the first steep climbs. There was a break at the front. I couldn't make it. Adrie could, but he had to slow up a tad to stay with me. We were in the second group hammering away until I got a flat which put us into the third group. Doug and Rafiki were there and we were all on max hammering through every obstacle imaginable. Our group seemed to disintegrate as the day drew on. The last part was a difficult rocky climb where I got another flat. This time not too many people went by us. Finally, the finish after a hairy rocky, fast descent. Adrien and I finished 21st , a bit of a surprise to both of us. In this race, there are so many people that you are either passing or getting passed by somebody. Both of us were a bit trashed by our brutal awakening to this "epic" event. I was very glad there were no accidents on either of our teams and I was the only one that had flats, so that was good.

The days to follow got harder and harder. The starts were furious. Either you got to the front and hung in until you blew with the pros or get lost in the quagmire of the multitudes behind you. The first three days we were plagued by countless flats. We topped out at over 15 flats in one stage. At that point I switched all our tires to tubeless and though it helped, we still did get flats every day except for two, and on one of those I broke a front derailleur in the middle of the race and had it replaced. With each water/food point there were mechanic stops which made it possible for so many of us to continue racing.

The courses, though brutally difficult both uphill and downhill, went through some fantastically beautiful countryside! Each day the riders were on a vertical learning curve. There were the days of sand pits, river crossings, technical up and downhills. We how to deal with multiple flats and, most importantly, riding with masses of riders.

On stage four, we were able to be without incidents in the first part of the race. We hung in with the pros and by the time we hit the long pavement section there were only 14 teams in the front group. It was fantastique! The pros had a great paceline going which Adrien was terrified to mingle with. He hovered 10 to 15ft off the back of the pack and wouldn't come into the group until I went back and told him he had to get in the pace line. He looked very happy and surprised as he pulled through like he had been doing it all the time. Another hurtle was cleared and we sailed into the feed zone followed by this enormous sand pit.... still in his big gear he dug in and had to stop. We were soon distanced and by the time we hit the longest "hike a bike" section of vertical rocky terrain impossible to ride of four miles (yes four miles!) we were too far off the back. We hammered the last 30 miles and finished 13th , our best placing. We were ushered into the "winners lounge." I could tell that Adrien was just realizing that being in front was an actual possibility. He could see what it took and grew in his confidence. Brett, Tom and Thomas (Frischnecht's) soigneur had just started rubbing the riders and told me that their legs were incredibly supple, meaning their recovery was very good.

Each day Adrien seemed to get stronger. We still battled the rapid, rocky descents, but each day we got a bit better and faster at them. We had stans in our tubeless tires, so when we did puncture we did not have to change any tubes. I, at this point, had my focus on survival and finishing this brutally difficult race. Hard tails were not a good choice for the terrain we were going over.

The last day we were met with the US Team Rwanda contingent of Dan Cooper, Peb Jackson, Tom Veigh and John Russel. They brought with them our Louis Garneau helmets, other odds and ends and most of all incredible enthusiasm, support and encouragement. I was very glad that the last day and shortest day of 50 miles was finally here. We all were in a state of disbelief as we lined up for the last time. I could not see any nostalgia on anyone's faces just, "thank God this is finally over." The memories would satisfy us; no need to wish for more pain and battering. The punishment of the last stage just sent those sentiments home. Looking at the profile, we thought that this stage was going to be a fun end of the race - not so. It started fast, was hot, hard up, hard down no flats and a long mandatory downhill hike-a-bike near the finish. But the end finally came and all of us were painfully elated. No more tents, 04:50 wake up calls, burning starts or just waiting for the moment to loose contact with the group, for whatever reason. And yes, no more hissing sound of another tire down for the count! What an experience. Both Rafiki and Adrien looked as if they couldn't believe they finished this epic race in the positions they did. Both were instilled with more confidence than they ever had and both were determined to succeed in the races to come.

It still really had not sunk in how well they both did. Adrien and I finished 23rd overall and Rafiki and Doug were 32nd overall in a field of 524 teams! Wow what a feat for their first MTB experience and with equipment that was not the most ideal for this race. Vedaste, as exuberant as always, kept mentioning the impact these performances would have, not only on the rider's lives but their families, supporters, and Rwanda as a whole. Weeks later, it was President Paul Kagime himself who congratulated the team on their performance. I thought about how these now confirmed heroes would relate their experiences to the cycling community, their supporters and their families. Their position was well earned. It was they who had used their gifted talents to these ends. Their humility and gracious appreciation of the chance given to them was so apparent in their attitude. I was so proud of them and how they had gotten to where they were today.