Upington Artist Making

Waves in Cape Town

Upington artist Heidi Botha is becoming more and more in demand in CapeTown. Rust en Vrede Gallery in Durbanville have offered her a solo exhibition alongside some of the best artists in the country. Here is her latest painting called ‘Morning’a Schroder Street Scene.

You can see more of her work on her facebook page ‘Heidi Botha Follow the LightArtist’. Her works are currently exhibited at Kotze Gallery

Bloemfontein, Wine and Art in Clarens, Stellenbosch art Gallery and now Rus en Vrede in Durbanville

Making Upingon Proud

Suffering is easier when shared. The emotional regulation of knowing that someone else is experiencing what you are helps to make sense of the pain.

At the Karoo Burn, partner team dynamics are everything. South Africa's notorious one-day ultra off-road race is not supposed to be fun.This is not a fun ride from Calvinia to the Ceres area.

The route is 242km, and you must complete it in 24 hours. It includes the notorious R355 dirt road – the longest and most soul-destroying stretch of dirt road in SouthAfrica.To some, it's inspirational.They revel in the desolation. But to most, the R355 is intimidating and can trigger extreme agoraphobia.

Most Karoo Burn riders don't attempt to complete the event solo.They prefer working as team either in groups of two or four

When two become one But what happens when your partner expires, and you must ride most of the Karoo Burn alone?

That's what happened at the 2022 event to CapeTown rider Jan Odendaal (52).Alate convert to mountain biking, Odendaal only started riding in 2014. "My brother bet me a few cases of beer to attempt a sub five-hour CapeTown CycleTour That was the start."

Since his beers-for-ride introduction to cycling, Odendaal has become a committed rider Finishing the 2019 Cape Epic and many of SouthAfrica's other stage races. But his experience at the Karoo Burn was a challenge beyond.

Making the call at about 100km "I was well matched with my partner You must choose someone with similar power output and riding ability. But the moment we started riding, he knew there was an issue.And I could sense his stomach bug had debilitated him."

Odendaal encouraged his teammate through the dark early part of Karoo Burn, while temperatures were cool before the day dawned.All the words of encouragement and adjusted riding pace were of no avail.

"By the second water point, at 100km, he was done. We spent 20 minutes trying to organise comfort and logistics for him. But there's a moment where you need to process what's happened and get pedalling again.”

Everything is worse on your own Karoo Burn is murderously tough.And when you have planned and trained to complete the 242km with a partner, having to continue without one is a world of doubt and pain.The first mistake Odendaal made was setting off too urgently, on his own, from water point two.

"I knew I lost some time and went way beyond my planned race pace.You know, there's no teammate to slow you down anymore.To check on you.And once you tip over your ideal energy consumption, you’ve dipped into reserves."And exhausting reserves in a oneday 242km race is a big mistake.

For Odendaal, the challenge for those next few hours was solitude and readjusting to the solo aerodynamic burden. With a teammate, you can share the riding duty up front, taking the aerodynamic drag, while your teammate 'rests' trailing behind. As a solo rider, there's no drafting or aero recovery You are very much your own off-road domestique.

“It's the aero drag.And the loneliness.You know there are other riders out there. But the race distance is so vast that the field dilutes.And you can forget about joining other riders, to work as a team."

There are many worst parts of the Karoo Burn. But the moment of terror for most riders is near the end as the Katbakkies pass comes into view Aclimb that rates as challenging with fresh legs and categorises as the darkest pain cave when you’ve ridden 170km.

When to give up

"On Katbakkies, I wanted to die. I did. Halfway up, I hit the wall badly. I dismounted.Then I couldn't walk anymore. I stood for a long time, bracing myself against my bike. Not knowing what to do." Odendaal recorded half an hour of stop-start riding and walking up Katbakkies pass. And he consumed an incredible amount of hydration, too.

"I started the Katbakkies climb with my 1.7-litre Camelbak full. By the summit, it was empty And so was I."

For Odendaal, Katbakkies escalated to the realm of an unconquerable element. He resigned himself to quitting. More than once. "If someone came past me with a bakkie, offering me the bail-out option,

Bladsy 16

I’d have thrown my bike on the bike and taken the ride.”

How to keep going

What prevented Odendaal from quitting on Katbakkies when he was near his riding nadir?An ice queen.That's what.

"I kept seeing people in desperate shape next to the road, crawling for negligible shade among those Karoo bushes.And once I had crested Katbakkies and was convinced that quitting was my destiny, another rider's wife had a bucket of water and ice available. Which restored me."

Odendaal conquered Katbakkies to finish and earn his Karoo Burn medal. But he learned many, many lessons during the 242km ride.

What is Odendaal's weekend warrior wisdom for Karoo Burn, having ridden a deeply challenging version of the event last year? Water. Water And more water

"It was terribly hot last year. But you need to carry a lot of water Ride with the largest capacity hydration pack you can tolerate, even if it feels uncomfortable, with the shoulder straps cutting into your skin. Or forming a hotspot on your back."

Water is currency in the Karoo. Locals know that.And at Karoo Burn, you need to be obsessive about hydration.

Choose the right bike

But what about the mechanical elements of riding Karoo Burn? Are there bike and component choices which can reduce the suffering? Odendaal believes there are three technical choices that average riders can make which will benefit them.

The first is riding a mountain bike. Not a gravel bike.Although the latter might be faster, theoretically, due to its drop handlebars facilitating an aero position and those lower resistance tyres rolling faster, it's a false economy

"I passed a few upcountry riders who were on gravel bikes in the last 20km.They were broken. Hands and hips ruined from the vibration fatigue. Unless you are a hardened gravel bike rider, don't attempt Karoo Burn on anything but a mountain bike.”

Gearing and suspension pressure

Odendaal has changed his gearing, too, after his 2022 Katbakkies nightmare. "Most of us are riding 1x12 drivetrains. But you must be humble and sacrifice some flat terrain speed by dropping down a size on the front chainring. I’m riding a 32t chainring this year. Instead of the 34t I used in 2022. Just to save me on Katbakkies."

The third mechanical wisdom Odendaal learned from his nightmarish 2022 Karoo Burn was to be more meticulous about suspension settings. Riders must respect the frequency and intensity of corrugations on the R355.

"I rode with my normal suspension air pressure and rebound settings.And those are for trail riding. Not dealing with the long-distance and extreme Karoo road corrugations. Suspension set-up is easy to do, so run a bit less pressure and faster rebound to deal with those high-frequency impacts from the

R355's corrugations.”

The end is the end - not 20km before What is Odendaal's final weekend warrior wisdom for Karoo Burn?

“Don't give up at the end. I nearly did on Katbakkies.And when I finished, my wife thought I looked fine. In the last 25km, I inexplicably recovered. But it's incredible how many people quit with only 20km to go."

“Compose yourself and keep it together Although, in hindsight, that's easy to say once you have finished.There were many moments on Katbakkies where I was ready to quit." - News24

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