Team Dew Point completed the 2009 Swazi Xtreme with a good mix of detours, solid mtb'ing and lots of laughs. Kelly flew out from Aus to do this race with me and we entered the PRO event as a ladies pair. We set off on the 60 hour race pushing to get only compulsory points on the first day of racing and then to judge pace and distance for the rest of the race and decide on which optional points to pick up. An unfortunate and annoying novice navigation error added an extra 4-5 hours to our hiking time after the urban leg in the centre of Mbabane which lead to us missing a compulsory CP late on the first night- so an unofficial status followed us all the way home. Despite the error and much cursing the rest of the race flowed smoothly and we picked up some optionals along with all the remaining compulsory points.
The route (which started and finished at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary) definitely favoured the mountain bikers and I enjoyed it alot, Kelly (who prefers hiking and paddling) had a few choice words about all the mtb'ing, but had alot of fun nonetheless. We both thought the kloofing leg was the best with awesome bum slides towards the end. A unanimous decision regarding the worst section of the race would be crawling under lantana and other unfriendly vegetation whilst trying to traverse the "rideable" railway tracks, but luckily we found the little jeep track which was a huge relief! Riding through the old railway tunnel was a bit surreal going from broad daylight to pitch darkness in an instant!
As a ladies pair the idea of safety did sit in the back of my mind before the race, but at no stage did we feel threatened or in danger, all locals that we came across were super friendly as usual and I wouldn't hesitate to race the same team format again.
We had super seconds Pam and Peter looking after us and catering to all our needs, thank you for all your help and support, you were fantastic!
Thanks to Darron, Anita and all your faithful helpers and marshals for another great edition of Swazi Xtreme. We look forward to the "big 10" next year and will definitely be back!
Lisa, Debbie and I raced as Team Triumph AR again in the second Kinetic Urban Sprint AR on Sunday 24 May. I was pleased to see a greater number of teams than the first sprint and once again we had such fun racing around the streets of Rivonia and Bryanston. We managed to secure a 10th spot overall and won the ladies category- come on ladies, let's see more all-ladies teams at the next sprints! It really is excellent fun and the 4 different legs of the race allow for quick changes in discipline all topped off by an entertaining obstale course at the end.
