Race Reports

Lynford night race

After promising myself and many other people I would do everything possible NOT to do the night race and, offering my light out in the hope that someone would take it so I could noyt do the race, I was left with no choice but to team up with Hilton Frost to OBVOIUSLY win the night!!!!

Half an hour before the start we were scrambling around, putting lights on helmets and entering.
the race was in team format with each rider completing 2 laps of 3 km of very serious stuff:)
I went first, stuck in 3rd place but could've easily moved into second at the end of my first lap, Came flying down the bridge onto the field and tagged Frosti the yetti, He went racing off while I kept warm, less than 9 minutes a lap we were flying through the darkness.

Frosti returned in 1st place with a respectable lead on Dan, and I shot out, met the rest of the field on route and pulled a huge lead over second and third. Frost wrapped things Up nicely and Travis (mia the bee) Hesom and Hilton (the yetti) Frost stole the night.

Weenen Classic 13th September

Huge excitement filled the air on the morning of the 13th, I was so eager to get under way, hoping for a good result, and my spirit picked up more after being recognised for my result last year at the registration.
We started at 8 trying to escape the heat, a very worth while exercise. We were given the signal and shot off up the gravel road, weenen always has a fast start and we passed the first mother of a hill at 40km/h.

the first bit of singletrack was bliss and came to a sudden end, making way for many hills and some very rough, rockey sections. After being thrown in the deep end we had time to recover on some open downhill, riding with Travis Boden we tried to catch Carl Calverly and Andrew Hill, unfortunately this did not work in our favour and I worked on my own with bout 18km to go chasing for 3rd over-all.

I didnt see another rider until about 5km when I moved up into 3rd over-all, finishing in 1 hour 57.
1st in my age group
A very good course and well organised race.

Tour de Kranz
Wow what a race, beautiful weather, good competition and a testing course. As usual registration was a breeze, straight through with-out a problem. A quick warm up ride down into the valley and back got the juices flowing and I arrived at the start line, hungry to get out there.
The start was very fast, firstly on a gravel road down to the vally then turning off down a bank where you could smell the brakes burning. The helicopter followed us for quite a while and we hit the first single track, through the pines. this is what makes things exciting.
Unfortunately this didnt last long and we started climbing through the cane, I had a piece of cane flung at me which got caught in my forks and I thought I was going to lose a few spokes.
the heat intensified and the hills kept coming, downhills were fast and often rough and the bike took a pounding, so many things got picked up from the track including a 2m long bramble bush, this resulted in me losing half of my gears and i stuggled to keep pace in the downhills. The single track was tight and I took a tumble or two.
I found some energy store deep down and put the hammer down, it was well worth it, moving me from 18th over-all into 14th and second in my age group to finish in a time of 2:18.

KZN adventure racing champs 15 th August

A typical cold and misty Mooi River morning greeted the Treverton team, as well as a 5km long traffic jam on the way to the race, this resulted in us arriving at baynesfield 10 mins before the start time. things were thrown around as we rushed to get ready.
finally the signal was givin for us to leave and we started on a steep down hill through thorny bushes to cross a river on our cycle leg. following makeshift roads we arrived at the first checkpoint with the leaders and looked up at the daunting cliffs around us... the next checkpoint at the top of a certain rocky and very steep path. walking up the path with a bike on each shoulder with the sun beating down sapped all my energy, and arriving at the top of the cliff to find a puncture did not improve my mood. We shoved a tube in the tire with some quick teamwork and we were off, already catching up to the leading teams.

some flat but rough track awaited us as we made our way along the cliff edge, towards the district road. On arriving we were turned up the hill which lasted a good 8km. Pools of sweat were the order of the day but the downhill sections were worth the climbs. A team-mate had some mechnicals which meant she had to be pushed up all the hills, and there were hills...
we set off towards the dam for our tubing leg and the cold water was very inviting, having regained my sense of humour we were making jokes and singing songs much to the marshalls amusement.
We made up a lot of time in this section and started the running leg just behind second place, a brilliant move slingshot us into second place and our lead grew.
we moved through the activities quickly and ran home to the finnish in a well deserved second place, greeted by smiling faces and a good shower after 60km of HARD work.

Cowanhouse 16th August

Feeling a little fatigued after my race the day before I did a longer warm up than usual, getting the legs moving. Suprised to be starting in the A batch i made my way to the pound and waited while stretching. I knew what to come, 40 odd km of glorious single-track, the question was whether I was racing or not. The Gun went off and my instincts took over, I shot out, not quite into the lead pack but close behind, it was a fast, tough start especially on the burnt grassy section. then the single track started, first through gum which was rough. I stopped to put some more air in my tire and lost quite a few positions.
Underway again I was determined to make up for the stop but was stuck behing a slow moving group in the single track so I made my move at the first opputunity as we entered some pine bliss.

I stuggled on the first few hills, trying to find my climbing legs and thinking I had left them at the race the day before, but soon enough they came through and I passed many of the people I had set my sights on. The track continued on mature, well worn singletrack which I have had the priviledge to ride quite often, there were some new slippery pieces of track that almost spoiled the ride but the adrenaline took over.
The ride was euphoric and this definately upped my game but lead to me pushing a little too hard- too early and a began to slump.
After entering the school i had a burst of adrenaline and made some risky moves such as over-taking on the left just before the steep bank leading to the finish and finding a drop off at the lip of this particular bank which I had to take and land halfway down the bank as a result, I crossed the finish in one piece after 2:03, 5th in my age group and 30th over-all. Very happy with this result because of the previous days event and the fact that there was a field off 500 strong riders.

Howick Highlander 24km Night race

I arrived at the venue early in the afternoon, in time to see, but not to ride the lap race which consisted of 8 riders, Jedson being one of them, he was disappointed in the turn-out so I convinced him to join in the night-race.
I leant him a head torch and we met on the start line, eager to head off into the twilight. Conditions were hard because the lights were not so effective in the half light and there was lots of dust.
The race consisted of two laps of the 12km race, a very twisty course with a few short steep climbs.
Jedson shot off as usual but we were soon on his tail following along the district road, a few riders made some attacks but fell back.
Jedson pulled ahead and Matt and I turned the wrong way a few times, giving Jedson the lead.
lights started comming up behind us but we joked around.
Riding through the crowds, blinded by the cameras we went off on our second lap, Matt did some work in the front and we picked up some pace.
We turned off the road and Matt hit the dust, after making sure he was ok I carried on setting my sights on a fast lap.
Catching him slowly got me frustrated but everytime I saw his light I got renewed hope. Unfortunately our first lap had been too slow and I didn't have the necessary time to make enough of a difference. I finished second overall in 50minutes with a huge smile on my face and some crowd pleasing stoppies.

30th August howick highlander 45km

Staying at the venue definately has its advantages with respects to travelling in the morning.
I had time to wipe the dust off my bike and socialise as well as get a decent warm-up before my race.
But did not get a very good position at the start. This played out through-out the race and I was not feeling so strong. We went out on the same district road but continued up the hill. The leading pack dropped me very quickly and I struggled to stay with most of the people around me. Chasing is not my favourite thing to be doing. We went through an energy sucking grassy section and along the karkloof falls road. A long hill awaited us with a water-table at the top, which didnt offer any refreshments for the weary. The course wound back on itself a few times and riders found themselves going all sorts of directions. I took it easy through the singletrack and revived my spirits when I saw my target just ahead of me as we left the pines, I reeled him in slowly and put the hammer down when he took a wrong turn, hoping to pull a decent lead over him, however this resulted in me taking a wrong turn in the "rushalot" section and later saw him on the horizon. This demolalised me completely and I can say that it is the first time in a long time that I gave up. I was running on empty, I borrowed a power bar which just made me more comfortable on my slow ride back home. But as usual adrenaline kicked in on sight of the finish and I flew through the last piece of singletrack home, finishing strong for the crowd in 2: 29

Added 02 August '09
Illovo Eston 40km

Having had a race on the saturday I was not expecting the best results but had decided to put all I had into the race and had my sights set high up in the over-all positions.
It started raining halfway through my race on saturday and didnt bode well for a clean weekend of running, especially due to the 4 river crossings on saturday which meant mI had wet, muddy cleats.

Saturday ended off with me washing my shoes and bike in the cold rain which didn't make me the happiest person around.

Sundays whether seemed decent but on our way to the venue a strong wind picked up and cold, wet and windy conditions did not catch my fancy. Registration was unbelievably smooth and i was soon ready and waiting at the front of the A Batch.

We got under way by dodging the lead bike which slipped out leaving rider and camera-man in the mud. A front group formed and a second group dropped back just behind them. The lead bike flew past and cut me off a number off times so it took me a while to get into the race, which only really happened after the king of the mountain point.

The distract roads had just been graded which resulted in plenty of dust which turned to deep mud with the rain and riding in a straight line was imposssible. parts of the singletrack were very slippery but still rideable, the climbs burned because of the extra weight on the bike and the slippery conditions.
Around 18km I got a flat and because there was so much mud I could not see anything, I bombed it and carried on hoping to be able to see what was going on at a later stage.
After that the route got better but chain stick was a big problem on the climbs, I pushed through and then stated my finishing sprint about 7km out. The route took us down some awesome track and it was exilerating after the slow pace of most of the rest of the route.
I made up two places and finished in 6th overall and 3rd in the junior age group in a time of 2 hours 20 minutes.

Added 17 July '09
Things are feeling much better although i still wish I had found a lift down to the sardine classic. I have been much more motivated in my training and I hope it helps.

Shongweni Adventure race

This was our first team event of the year with the full Treverton First team... Trev-E-Go
A very early start at about 4 on a very cold Mooi River morning meant we were very awake for the 8 o clock start.
The race was set out in an interesting format because we were given a bearing instead of clues or points on a map. At each checkpoint we got a sticker from the marshall and a bearing so we knew the general direction in which to follow. Unfortunately this lead to some errors on our part when we mis-judged one point and continued to the transition area instead of collecting one more point, we made another mistake by running back to that point instead of cycling. We did how ever observe the areas we need to work on.

Hillcrest High Adventure Race, Cumberland
Thankfully we started a biut later this time with an hour less traveling, again a team member dropped us at the last minute and the very capable Ross Marshall filled in, his enthusiasm and competitiveness was much appreciated.
The format of this race was much more conventional and the area Combined with the spirit set up what seemed to be a great race.
Still having problems with leaky tyres i feel I let the team down,
we excelled in activities such as blow guns, paddling, and insructing a blindfolded member of our team through a puzzle. We showed great teamwork and our fitness was satisfactory, we did however fail in other areas and this lead to an unsatisfactory result.

Glengary 40km, 28th June
A very frosty morning showed the extent of the recent fires in the area, fueled by winds that had appeared to have thankfully disappeared.
I was feeling very confident and had set my sights on the podium. Carl Lippert appeared out of nowhere, despite telling me that he was going to JHB many times the previous week. We made an agreement to gang up on anyone who tried to control the race, including the likes of Murray Star and Travis Boden (who did the 55km instead)

We lined up at the start and were let off... no-one tried very hard.
Carl and I eaded to the front and that was the last time I saw Murray star. We weaved in Between the 55km competitors and I passed my dad and many other friends before the first hill. Carl Surged on the district road and I caught him up the next hill, that was the last time I saw him the entire race.
I was riding at a comfortable speed, not trying very hard at all. The race was fairly flat and not very technical but the wind come up, leaving me very vulnerable because I was totally alone. I decided the wind was a further advantage to me because I have a smaller build than Carl, at the first split no-one was expecting me which gave me a big boost when they got very excited.
I put the hanmmer down at the Halfway point while traversing through some long bumpy grass sections. Suddenly the wind hit us full on, on a short dirt section and then a long very exposed tar section which really burnt the legs, my only thought was that of losing on the finnishing straight and I pushed through, winning the even by 6 mins over an exhausted Carl and 16 minutes ahead of Murray.
I was not greeted with showerings of praise, instead I was told that I should be doing the 55km event, no-one understood my reasons for doing the shorter event.
I am feeling much better on the bike and will soon be close to my former self, cant wait.

Full Name: Travis Hesom

Nick Name:  FarmDog

Bike/s: Fuji Tahoe, Kona Kula Supreme

Bike Check (Specs): Fox 32 F80 RLC 80mm, XT RD, XT FD, XT cranks, XT hydraulic disc, XT paddle Shift, Custom ZTR355 no tubes wheel set, Geax Barro mountain tnt tubeless, WTB v rocket saddle, KCNC race lite seat post, Team issue stem, American classic Hubs,19" kona kula supreme race light scandium frame

What do you call your bike: Kink Kula

Why do you ride for Maverick? I ride for maverick, and I'm proud of that, They have done so much for me and I want to do everything possible in return. I hope I was accepted into the team on merit. They introduced me to a whole new group of people with a great outlook on cycling. They have an awesome support team, China, Ska, Len, Conrad and Mike are all awesome people. Tania was like a personal friend and my team mates are wild! I ride for maverick because they believe in me, and I believe in them.

Why do you ride the bike(s) you ride? Maverick chose the supreme frame as our team bikes, and I'm so glad they did, the frame is light, strong and flexible which make them comfortable and FAST. The colour is awesome and the bike has so much potential. I choose paddleshift over rapid fire because its faster and I find that emergency shifting is easier for when those hills stand up on you or when you round a corner and find a hazard.

Why do you ride bicycles? Bicycles are the best way of exercising, it gives you a huge adrenaline rush which cannot be topped, cyclists are a great bunch of people who make great friends.

What do you hope to accomplish this year, on and off the bike? Id like to compete at all Africa champs and make my mark in racing, I intend to give a few guys a bit of a run for their money=) Off the bike I hope to study hard and to always try the hardest I can.

Do you want to be a professional (paid) rider, or are you in it for fun? Turning pro is an option but not my First choice, I want to make my mark on the racing scene.

What do you like to do when you're not riding? Hockey, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Fishing, Boating, Spending time with Friends

What songs are always playing on your iPod or Mobile? Linken Park, Prime circle, Nickleback, and a collection of dance songs.

What is your favorite movie? Cool Runnings

Who do you look up to in the sport and in life? Greg Minaar, He is the best at what he does yet is always humble, he never sees himself as better than anyone and is always willing to help.

I look up to my dad, He always looks out for me and always does whats best for me

What do you differently on race day? Wake up early to get to races, I Focus on the race and what I have to do. I don’t focus on any injuries or problems.

Describe yourself in three words. Just Do It