As the name suggests the race runs along the Dusi river and even crosses the river a few times, which it winter can be rather cold!
I am very grateful this year as i was given the opportunity by Senqu Outdoor Clothing to race the DusiMfula for the first time. I was entered with team mate Robert Du Preez, who is formally a road racer but has made that ever popular move to the off road version of the sport.
Day 1
Day 1 of the DusiMfula started in the Lion Park area in PMB, which all of us now know can get really cold in winter as it was 3degs on the start line. Day 1 would take us down into the valley following the Dusi river all the way to Inanda dam, which would be the over night stay for those willing to brave the cold.
There were some big names on the start line and there was no doubt we were in for a tough day on the bike. We started off on a short tar road section before turning off into the single track and dropping all the way down into the valley on fairly technical but fun single track.
Rob and I started off well and were riding in the top 5 teams, but in some of the more technical single track we were passed by a team or two. We continued to push hard and Rob was quickly learning how fast the guys go on the mountain bike. At about the 30km mark we came across a team young guys from JHB standing at a fork in the road, they had a puncture and were asking for a tube. I shouted to Rob to carry on and i stopped to give the guys my tube, Rob rode off to the right. After getting my tube off the bike i jumped on and chased down Rob, but after catching him i soon realised that we had gone the wrong direction. And worst of all the two young guys i gave the tube to had failed to tell me that my partner had ridden off in the wrong direction! In the end we lost around 15mins and a few positions.
Once back on the correct route i started to chase down really hard but unfortunately Rob had reached his limit, the hard chase and gear problems had left him tired. We rode on trying to consolidate and not loose any more time.
We crossed the line in 11th place and a long way down in time... but at the end off the day we had fun in the awesome single track!
Day 2
So the second day arrived, which started and finished at Inanda Dam. However the catch was that the start was on the opposite side of the dam! Once kitted up and ready to go we had to get into our batches and then get a ferry ride across the dam to the other side.
Once on the other side we went for a small warm up ride and then lined up. Standing on the line we knew we were in for some serious single track riding so we would need to stay near the front before we hit the track, which we did. Rob had found some strong legs over night and was riding hard as we manged to hang in just behind the leading teams.
The single track on day two was amazing so we were having good fun will chasing down the finish line. We rode really hard and manged at one stage to ride ourselves into 3rd place, until i had a huge crash flying into a storm water drain which i never saw. Once i had composed myself and got back on the bike we chased back again and crossed the line in 5th place just seconds down on 3rd and 4th place.
In the end we finished the event in 7th place just minutes behind 6th and 5th place. Overall a great two days of racing and it's this type of racing that makes one stronger!
A huge thanks to Senqu Clothing for giving us the opportunity to race in these races.
Next up for me is the Toti 69er road race. I'm looking forward to a road race after a good few weeks of mountain biking!
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