Day 1 of the Cape to Cape can be summed up in three words: dust, hills and sand.
We started at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse just after 12.30pm. It was great to see the long line of riders waiting to head off. Very classy by the organisers to have a jet fly around the headland, timed exactly with the start of the elite field. Something special to start the event.
We started towards the back, as I knew my technical skills wouldn't be as good as most people, and I was already getting annoying at guys with big egos passing us heading to the start line.
Not long after the start we headed uphill on tarmac then on gravel. Our ride plan was to enjoy it and not race it, so we rode a good tempo pace up the hills - and still passed lots of riders. Then we headed downhill on a fast and very dusty section - and all those riders passed us again. I have this crazy notion that I actually like to see where I'm going, so I was trying to ride slow enough for the dust clouds from other riders to settle. That was definitely not fast enough for most other people!
Then we got to a sandy bit with lots of people walking, which turned into an endless sandy hill with lots of people walking. Me included. It was so tough I had to take a break partway up and take some photos. This was Heartbreak Hill.
This pattern continued for the next 20km or so. Ride down some dusty and sandy hills. Get passed by a bunch of people. Get to a tough uphill and ride as far as you can then walk the rest, gasping for breath with calves burning. Get back on the bike and ride some more.
I was very happy to be able to ride up some of the steep sandy hills and I got better at going down them as well. I was feeling pretty confident ... then we reached the pre-dunes before the beach. They were properly steep with deep sand. Impossible to ride up. So trudging uphill and downhill in shoes filling up with sand.
Then ... the beach. One of the most anticipated parts of the whole course. And we were in luck - apparently it was the firmest the beach had been for all the years of this event. I knocked the sand out of my cleats, clipped in and headed off. It was great fun! I was passing everyone, timing my speed to avoid most of the waves, and with some good momentum I managed to pedal through the boggy bits of sand. I rode the whole way along the beach, then got some photos of Annie as she approached the end of the beach.
We had some more food - then more trudging uphill through deep sand. Eventually I got to some rideable sand so back on the bike. Good thing I was getting better at riding on sand because there was still lots of sand, downhill at speed and uphill at a snails pace riding around people who were walking.
Annie was struggling a bit with cramps in her calves and quads by this stage, so I found a good shady spot to wait and empty the buckets of sand from my shoes. Annie had caught me up on the downhills though so she was there in moments.
The next section was The Farm. This was quite fun, riding along ruts through grassy fields with sheep in the next paddock. It was a little undulating but I was still feeling pretty good so I set a good pace.
Then we came to Hamstring Hill. I started trying to ride up it, but it was sandy and steep and I was getting tired. Plus I knew Annie wouldn't be able to ride it. So we trudged some more up another long tough hill.
Finally, back on the bike for the last downhill section before the finish. I got stuck behind a guy who had broken his chain (he was using his bike like a scooter) and a guy on a handcycle. I was super impressed with how fast the handcycle guy went downhill - much faster than me, and he would've been eating loads of dust!
I got round those guys and re-joined Annie and we finished together. Very happy to reach the finish in Hamelin Bay. Today was 42km. I don't even know how long it took, my Garmin was so dusty at the finish that I couldn't read it. We were given a sticker for Group 6 for our seeding for the rest of the event.
Today I felt strong almost until the finish. I was very happy to improve my ability to ride on sand and extremely happy to be able to ride the whole beach section. The weather was also awesome. A great tough day on the bike.
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