KNYSNA HALF MARATHON AND GRAHAMSTOWN TO COAST G2C EVENTS JULY 2015 LOMBARDS POST 50KM FROM GRAHAMSTOWN.

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KNYSNA FOREST HALF MARATHON JULY 2015
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I was fortunate enough to secure an entry for Knysna. You have to be really alert to do this as the demand for the 21 and the 42k events exceeds the available places.

Thursday 9th July 2015..
I have an interview for a job. This was due to a recommendation from Marilyn and I meet up with Laura this afternoon. I chat for around an hour at the airport when Laura and Andy give me a brief overview of what is required from me. I am so excited that I may be successful in this application as it is a perfect fit for me. But more if this works out.

After the interview, Julia and I drive to Plett where we spend the night with Ena. Patrick; St John and Thomas are staying over for the week.
Friday morning I do a couple of chores including setting my Lap Top up for 3G internet connection. I have not had to do this for some time as we have WiFi at home and I rarely use the PC away from home..  Patrick leaves for De Rust where he will stay with a friend on a remote farm.
This afternoon Julia and I drive to Knysna for race registration. We miss Julia's friend and so decide to skip the festivities and head back for Plett where we have Pizza's for supper. In bed early with our Running Stuff all set out for an early morning start.

Saturday 11th.
Julia and I are up in good time for a wash and final preparations. We leave Plett at 6am and find parking easily in Knysna near to the Loerie Park stadium. We join the throngs of people in line for taxis and are soon aboard a really suspect looking taxi. It is not that cold and we have our Tog Bag to put our jackets. At the start of the race we both have a coffee and rusk and load our bag into the Tog Bag truck.
Things are moving well. The whole organisation of this event is slick and we are most impressed. We move into the group of runners waiting for the 21 to start. The 42 started an hour earlier. We have arranged to meet Stef and Andrea on the right hand side of the throng and start our journey to try and find them. I hear Stef's voice and we continue looking for Andrea and Brett. But finally give up. Julia, Stefany and I are about 1/3rd from the start and ready when the gun goes off.

Julia walks and runs alternatively. She does this at a good pace but we soon lose her. Stef and I jog on at a relaxed pace. I know this route and it cannot be taken lightly. The first 2 or three kays is back on the tar road before turning right into the forest. The road is crowded with runners and there is a huge amount of Banter back and forth. From the time we are on the dirt road; the undulations, up and down hills start. There are some hills steeper and longer than others but nothing that we really struggle with. Stefany battles with Asthma and uses her pump on the up hills.

 AT THE START OF THE RUN WITH STEF AND JULIA.

 ANNEKE HAD A REALLY GOOD RUN TODAY AND LOOKED VERY COMFORTABLE ON THE HILLS.

We see a number of people we know and recognise: Anneke De Jager (Nicky's friend from CT); Christy who was at school with Nicky; Male and Female Robin's, Susan Chapman from Achilles; Graham Channon runs in the opposite direction as he is not taking part in the event; Andrew Boshoff who has had some back problems; Stef's friend Melany; Tracey Gouws. Gordon; Brendon. Steve Mc Donald runs with his son in law Mike. Stuart and Maryka. Angela and Nicky from MPRG.

We are not pushing ourselves too hard but we run whenever we are able. With occasional walks. I am not good at walking at these events as I am much slower at walking than most people. My legs tend to seize up.

STEFANY IS RUNNING HER FIRST EVER KNYSNA HALF.

Finally we reach the Simola Arch and start the very steep downhill. I have to go even slower as I know that this can hurt me. At the bottom I catch up with Stefany again and we do as hard as we can over the last 6kays. A slight change on the route takes us onto the N2 heading in a Westerly direction, under the road and back up to finish the final 1500 meters. At this stage I move on as hard as I can and lose touch with Stef. I am greeted by Dean Gow and two of Anrea's friends who assure me that she finished ahead of us.
AD Cole is working in the finish area and greets me. Margie has also finished and tells me that both Brian and Brian Ross are in the event.

I hobble over to the Tog Bag Tent next to the bar area and change my shirt for a clean and dry one. Then I wait for Julia who is finished just a bit after me. We also wait for Kelly and Michelle Mortimer. Julia and I have a bit of lunch (Curry and Rice for me) and a beer. I am getting a lift home with Kelly so we all make our way to the line waiting for a shuttle service to take us back to our cars. The Taxi ride is a bit of fun as the men in the taxi egg the driver on to play the music loud.

Julia and I drive back to Plett, Shower and Kelly is there shortly afterwards. Julia goes off to meet her friend while the rest of us leave for PE.

GRAHAMSTOWN TO COAST  -- G2C
Sunday 12th July 2015, Morning.  Chris is fetching me at 5.15.  I had set my bike up for the trip but forgot that my alarm does not go off on a Sunday. So woke up at 5.00am   Had a quick wash and made coffee and was ready only about 5 minutes late.

WARREN; RONEL; PETER; CHRIS; IVOR.   AT THE START OF THE EVENT.
THIS IS A 58K CYCLE FROM PENNY PINCHERS GRAHAMSTOWN WAREHOUSE ON DIRT ROADS TO THE SHOPPING MALL IN PORT ALFRED.

Pat was due to come with us but not feeling well so stayed at home.  It was Chris; Elmarie and myself in his car and Ivor and Tina took Ronel and Gerald in their car.   We were some of the first to arrive in Grahamstown.  We found the Pennypinchers warehouse and registered.  I relaxed in the car with a second cup of coffee.  The west wind continued to blow and it was chilly. I had not prepared for a start with anything but my Cycling vest so decided to wear my old Comrades sweater.  John Stapleton was one of the race organisers. The event started at 8.30.  Simon was there with his bike with an engine. 

ROB AND MEGAN ERMES IN GRAHAMSTOWN  -- ROB HAS THIS FANCY NEW BIKE. 

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 CHRIS AND PETER AT THE START EARLY MORNING -- OVERCAST WITH A FRESH WESTERLY BLOWING.

 FINALLY HOME. MY REAR END IS SO SORE THAT I DID A LOT OF STANDING ON THE BIKE TOWARDS THE END.

 RONEL APPEARS TO BE HAPPY AT THE FINISH OF THIS DIFFICULT EVENT

CHRIS HAD AN EASY RIDE AND TELLS ME THAT HE REALLY ENJOYED THE OUTING.

The ride starts with us riding onto the N2 and in a westerly direction for 100m then we turn left up the Mountain drive.  I start to warm up  with the wind on our backs.  Over the top of the hill the views are quite spectacular to the west across the city and to the east you can almost see the Sea.

The First Downhill took me quite by surprise. It was steep with loose sand and gravel.  I started to speed wobble. I was so scared that I would fall. I tried to break gently and finally managed to get the bike under control.  The next steep down I got off the bike and pushed down.  from there we ride a section of tar road downhill,  I should have been able to take real advantage of this but the wild ride I had just experienced held me back and I braked down the hill.

 CHRIS AND RONEL WARMING UP BEFORE THE START.

 IVOR AND TINA PASSED ME WITH ABOUT 10K TO GO

 THE BANDIT BICYCE BABE.

 

SORE AND TIRED BUT HAPPY TO BE HOME

 WELL DONE IVOR DERBISHIRE. FINISHED A TOUGH 58K RIDE

 TINA LOOKS FRESH AND TELLS ME THAT SHE HAD A WONDERFUL RIDE.

This first part of the ride has a number of ups and downs.  Nothing too difficult and I seemed to be managing quite well.  I knew that I was at the back of the field but did not let that bother me at all.  I took a drink at the first water station with 36km to go. And pressed on. From the start I never saw Chris and Ronel had passed me earlier. Ivor and Tina came past me in the second half.

AROUND HALF WAY I MEET UP WITH OLIVER AND MATTHEW.  AND STARTING TO TIRE.

I met up with Oliver and Matthew Cartwright. Oliver is a Grahamstown man.  Also retired and does one ride a week of about 40k.  He seemed to be coping well. I continued to eat chocolates and bananas at every opportunity.  The second water table was with about 21k to go.  I see a sign for a Monument -- Lombards  post, a tribute to an early farmer, pioneer and local Boer commander.  The settlers when under attack used these building as a refuge and link in the defense of the colony during various raids and wars. Peter and Helen Keeton with their children, descendents of the original settler family still live and work Lombard’s Post.

The farm roads are soft and muddy and corrugated. This bumpy ride makes riding difficult. The mud clogs every thing up and slows you down.  I am getting tired and sore. The tops of my thighs are sore and I stop regularly to stretch and for a drink.
I see many brave cyclists riding back to Grahamstown.  This impresses me as I simply cannot wait to get to the finish. With just a few kays to go we make a left turn into a single track section. Peter Lessingh is a tall young man who sticks with me over the last grassy section. It seems that he was with someone who could not make it and had to play catch up.  We come over a rise and below us we see the mall where the race ends. Peter goes ahead and I follow....... TOO fast. A sweeping left turn.  Wet and Muddy.  I loose control. Veer onto the grass on the right. Brake with my right hand. MISTAKE. That is my front wheel.

BANG. Over I go.  fall onto the grassy field on the right.  Winded but not hurt badly. (although the following morning I think that I may have a small fracture on one of my left hand  fingers as it swells and is painful)  I pick myself up. No one saw me. Thanks goodness. Get back on the bike and ride the final 500m  to the finish behind the  Mall.  Our group is waiting.  It has taken me 4 hours at an average of 15kmph.  The front riders did it in half the time.  But I had a good ride.  Despite being tired and sore; I am happy to have  completed the event.

EXTREMLY HAPPY TO HAVE COMPLETED THE EVENT.

THANK YOU ELMARIE FOR SECONDING AND SUPPORTING US.

We load up the bikes and Chris drives home with a stop at Nanaga.

Thanks to our support group of Elmarie and Gerald.  

Rob Ermes   2.18
Olivia Read   2.07
Philip Nienaber  2.029
Liesl  Nienaber 2.36
Chris Lovemore  2.39
Kevin Campbell   2.50
Paul Lynch  2.56
Jill Dunlop  2.56
Matthew Petzer  2.59
Chris Botha  3.20
Ronel Scheepers  3.22
Warren Collier  3.34
Tina and Ivor Derbishire  3.41
Peter 3.59
Oliver and Matthew Cartwright   4.01

Around 336 finishers.  There were about 5 or six behind me at the finish.  The Cut off was 4.30h.

Below is some history of the Frontier wars.  Grahamstown  is known as Frontier  Country.  It is also known as the  "City of Saints".   This is nothing to do with the Godly Nature of the citizens.  Early in the 1800's the workmen required tools and submitted a request to their  headquarters.  The response came back that they should purchase tools locally.  To this the reply from the workmen was that "There is no Vice  in Grahamstown"  and hence the title "City of Saints"

Grahamstown forts posts and signal stations THE FRONTIER FORTS,  POSTS AND SIGNAL STATIONS Fort Frederick, Port Elizabeth FORT FREDERICK – Algoa Bay The advantages of Algoa Bay as landing place for the defence of the country up to Graaff-Reinet was realised during the first British Occupation.  In the immense frontier district of Graaff-Reinet that had been established by the Dutch in 1786, the burghers were beginning to exercise that freedom of speech and independence of action which had been spread by the ideals of the French Revolution.  The Black tribes,  pushed southwards by aggressive Zulu impis, had found a sparsely populated land with occasional herds of sleek cattle and flocks of lazy sheep, unprotected by any communal kraals, in fact wealth and inyama spread out for the taking. The English arriving in 1795, inherited both the incipient rebellion of the Graaff-Reinet burghers and the warlike raids of a strange Black land-hungry people. The Blockhouse.  Major-General Francis Dundas, Acting-Governor of the Cape, placed General Vandeleur in command of 200 dragoons and disciplined Hottentots with orders to establish a military post at Algoa Bay.  A prefabricated wooden blockhouse was built in Cape Town and sent round in pieces on board the Camel to Algoa Bay where it arrived in August 1799 with artificers to erect it.  It was placed near the beach so as to command both the fort over the Baakens River and the landing place on the shore.  It was capable of housing sixty men and was armed with two three-pounders mounted on a flat square roof. The Fort.  On the hill behind the blockhouse, a second blockhouse was erected surrounded by a massive, square stone redoubt.  This was named Fort Frederick in honour of the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.  It is said that this was the first piece of ‘substantial and permanent building ever erected in the Eastern Province’ and it is still in existence today. The Fort commands a fine view of the whole of Algoa Bay.  Its walls are eighty feet long and nine feet high, the wide arched entrance with double gate being situated on the western side.  Inside the fort was a powder magazine capable of holding 2,000 lbs of gunpowder and to the left of the entrance was a small guardhouse.  Inside the wall was a raised platform for patrol duty and defence.  The heavy armament consisted of eight twelve-pounders and the full complement of the garrison was 350 men, most of whom were housed in barracks near the fort and the first blockhouse. The Batavian Government.  In 1803, the Batavian Government took over the Cape by treaty from the British and in 1804, the new district of Uitenhage was created.  And so the development of a civilian centre around Fort Frederick was for a time delayed although it apparently remained the military headquarters. The Second British Occupation.  This took place in 1806 when Britain’s line of communication with the Far East was being threatened by the ambitious plans of the new French regime and the decline of the Batavian Government. MILITARY HEADQUARTERS AT GRAHAMSTOWN The Fish River Frontier, as seen from a loophole in the gun tower, Trompetter’s Drift. By 1811, a large body of Xhosa had crossed the Fish River, plundering and burning the homes of the farmers who had retreated to Uitenhage and Algoa Bay with their families and cattle.  In October, Sir John Cradock, the Governor, appointed Col. John Graham to clear the frontier.  This he accomplished by March 1812 and established military headquarters nearer the Fish River. The site he chose was De Rietfontein, a loan farm formerly occupied by Lucas Meyer.  In august, 1812 the Governor decreed that it should also become the seat of the Deputy-Landdrost of Uitenhage and should be called Graham’s Town in testimony of Col. Graham’s achievements.  The East Barracks, built to accommodate the Cape Regiment, were later extended and in 1835 re-named Fort England after Col. Richard England the commanding officer at the time. Fort England, GrahamstownThe First Frontier Posts.  Col. Graham instituted a series of posts from which patrols could guard the drifts across the Fish River.  They were first manned by burghers from George and Swellendam, one of the three commandants being Piet Retief.  These posts were either rehabilitated farmhouses of wattle-and-daub or stone built shelters enclosed by primitive earthen redoubts.  Van Aardt’s Post, near the present Longhope siding, was the furthest north and was the recognised crossing place for communication between White and Black.  Three other posts were the abandoned farm of Conraad Buys; Kranz Drift near the present Pigot Bridge; and Old Kaffir Drift Post which was later called Cawood’s Post.  This was about an hour’s ride from Upper Kaffir Drift Post, established about two year’s later on the heights overlooking the actual drift, and is not to be confused with Lower Kaffir Drift about 3km further down the Fish River and about 13km from the mouth. Lombard’s Post, buildings and walls forming a hexagonal farmyard. Lombard’s  Post. Col. Graham recommended that two additional posts be established.  One was to be at Noutoe, a farm 13km west of Graham’s

Town, formerly belonging to the de Lange family and situated on the road between Bruintjies Hooghte and Uitenhage.  It was soon abandoned and the site later developed as Table Farm by the 1820 Settler Major T.C. White.
The other post was established on the loan place of Commandant Piet Lombard, about 48km west of Fish River Mouth.   A few kilometres south-west of it Theopolis, a London Mission Station for Hottentots, was founded in 1814.  Lombard’s Post was a key point in border raids and frontier wars, particularly later on when the area was taken over by settler Benjamin Keeton.  In 1835 he erected a fortified farm house close to the site of the old post.  The stone buildings of the farm, now called Lombard’s Post, were placed so as to enclose a spacious hexagonal farmyard and the outer walls were loopholed.
During the war of 1850-51 Lombard’s Post saw its last action; Whittles laager was formed near it and the farm buildings were filled with refugees.  From it also a patrol was sent out to quell the rebel Hottentots at Theopolis.