ULTRAADVENTURE VIRGIN

LIVING THE BRAND TO THE LIMIT, Ciovita marketing guru Charl-Neethling is no stranger to the Cape Town cycl ing mil ieu – popping up at everything from urban cruises to gravel grinders, on a selection of bikes that sometimes seems endless.

More about that later; to start, let’s dip into his first (and, he claims, only) leap into the unknowns of ultra-endurance racing.

What is the Sedgefi eld500? 

It’s a 500km, self-supported tar and gravel race, organised by Rae Trew-Browne and Outlaw Media. This year, we only had about 15 competitors; but for 500km in one go, that’s quite a lot I think! The essence is simple: we started and finished in Sedgefield, via Uniondale, Oudtshoorn, Calitzdorp and George. A couple of guys planned from the start to do it as a multi-day, while the rest of us chose to roll the dice and ride through the night.

Why?

Why not?! When the entry became available, I didn’t have a good reason to say no. And I’ve always wanted to see how I would go on an event that long. It ticked two things off the list: 500km, and the all-nighter.

What was your goal?

Personally, I just wanted to finish. I’d never done more than 220km in a single ride, so I was confident I would make it up to about halfway; but then beyond that, I had no idea. Everything after Oudtshoorn was going to be a complete mystery.