KAROO NEWS - Petrichor Adventures have just successfully hosted its fourth edition of the SEESA Trek 2 Teebus, a 3-day MTB Stage Race.
It is indeed a stage race, however, the race organisers prefer to call it an MTB Karoo Adventure.
"After having been there this year, I agree with the latter name. It's much more than a Stage Race - it's a full-on Karoo experience," reports Simone Sharpe, media representative.
In addition to the Trek 2 Teebus, this year, Petrichor Adventures (PA) also hosted a 3-day Trail Run Adventure, called the Trail 2 Teebus.
This has been a goal of Rohan and Emmie Germishuys, the owners of PA, for several years now and they were most pleased to make it a reality this year.
The two events happened side by side, with both mountain bikers and runners sharing the race village and mingling.
Riders arrived on Thursday afternoon, registered, and received their Goodie Bags, which featured two Tees, a pair of specially designed Trek 2 Teebus socks, and various "goodies", all in a handmade shweshwe bag, made by the Hugs of Hope ladies in nearby Hofmeyr.
Stage 1 kicked off on Friday morning at 08:00.
Day 1
Day 1 was 72 km with roughly 800 metres of climbing. It was a challenging day, but not too much so, to leave some strength in the rider's legs for Bulhoek Pass the next day.
The first day also included, what was a highlight of the event for many, the Waterpoint at Unie Laerskool, where all the learners came out to cheer the riders on, and to serve them at the Aid Station.
Grade 1 learners received a new pair of school shoes from Trek 2 Teebus, sponsored by SEESA.
Having grown up in Steynsburg, this has long been a dream of Emmie, to provide a new pair of school shoes to learners at the local schools, especially to do so in time for winter.
Day 2
On Day 2 the cyclists finished 52km.
They rode to the top of Bulhoek Pass and then along the foothills of the mountains, before taking on a steep mountainous downhill. At the previous nights' race briefing, it was made clear that there will be no judgement for those who chose to get off their bikes there. Everyone handled it well and made it back to the village in one piece, with no need to call on the medics from Frontier Medix.
Once the riders arrived back each day, they could take their bikes for a bike wash and lube, courtesy of Squirt Cycling Products. Those that had booked packages with Enduroplanet also received bike servicing by the defending champions, Charl Coetsee and Ockert Struwig, who both participated and worked at the event. They would ride hard each day, come in first, lead by a good 15 to 20 minutes, get cleaned up, and be ready to service the bikes of the other riders.
On Saturday afternoon, Rohan arranged a tour of the Orange-Fish River Tunnel for those who were curious to see the fascinating underground tunnel that diverts water from the Orange River to the Great Fish River.
Day 3
Day 3 was a long one, but a flat one. The Enduroplanet Racing Team came in in under three hours, as per their goal, once again taking the win at the Trek 2 Teebus. Less than 20 minutes behind them was the "Mad 40" Team of Morne Van Rensburg and Duncan Palmer, unsurprisingly.
"The Swiss Guys" - a Mixed Team, from Switzerland, took third place overall each day and were the first Mixed Team over the line.
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