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Veteran Rider Breaks the Record

01.07.2009

4,3,2,1,1 – those were the hours of sleep that veteran mountain biker Tim James of Team Squirt riding Scott had over the last 5 nights of his record-breaking ride to the finish of the 2009 Freedom Challenge.

Having left Pietermaritzburg on 16 June 2009 with the last batch of riders to start, James set the early pace in the race. On the first day of riding he pushed through the initial support station at McKenzie Country Club situated on the watershed between the Umkomaas and Umzimkulu rivers and arrived at the second support station in the Ntsikeni Nature Reserve at midnight, having ridden 203 kms and climbed over 5000 metres. He arrived at the village of Rhodes 500 kms from the start in 3 days – an achievement that was only made possible when he took on the 1000 metre climb up the escarpment of the Maluti Drakensberg on the footpath of Lehana’s Pass at night.

This initial effort appeared to be taking its toll as James’ progress then slowed over the next three days. By the end of the sixth day of riding the lead shifted to Andrew Barnes. Barnes, who is 20 years younger than James, left Pietermaritzburg four days before him and was riding about 400 kilometres ahead of him. For the next five days the initiative lay with Barnes who appeared to be riding strongly and consistently. Maintaining a punishing schedule of limited sleep James not only managed to hold to his own strategy for breaking the race record but also to keep in touch with the pace of Barnes.

However, he admits that the effort was taking its toll. Approaching the town of Willowmore late at night on the 11th day of the riding he was physically and mentally depleted and was tormenting himself with thoughts of withdrawal. However, he was then buoyed by the news that Barnes up ahead of him had been delayed in the Swartberg by a snow storm and he continued onwards.

Rather than stopping at Willowmore James’ began a really big push. He slept for two hours at Rondawel in the Moordenaars Karoo. He then rode for 22 hours and 237 kms through Prince Albert, up the Swartberg Pass, into the Gamkaskloof and took on the portage up Ladder. He arrive at Rouxpos on the slopes of the Swartberg after midnight. After sleeping at Rouxpos for 2 hours, James continued on to the Anysberg Nature Reserve, where he catnapped for an hour, before riding across the Little Karoo to Montagu.

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