Cyclist conquers desert challenge
AC Swanepoel finished his solo race in seventh overall.
Tackling 369 kilometres of unrelenting desert may seem like madness to most.
For athletes such as Newcastle’s AC Swanepoel, however, taking on the so-called ‘wild beast’ that is the FNB Desert Dash, was a chance to demonstrate superhuman levels of fitness, grit and mental strength.
Plainly speaking, the race is exhaustion and pain between Swakopmund and Windhoek.
AC set off at 3pm on race day, contending with scorching heat, swirling desert dust, the biting cold and sometimes rain, passing scenic landmarks like the Kupferberg Pass and Goanikontes.
“It was more than I expected,” AC said in a telephonic interview.
While the Desert Dash caters for two- and four-person relay teams, it also makes provision for a maximum of 100 solo cyclists, who take on the full distance alone.
Both teams and individuals have 24 hours within which to complete the race.
For the first 170 kilometres of his cycle, AC was equipped with night vision torches and food supplies, banking on receiving necessary support from his team at the halfway mark.
Checkpoints are set about 70km apart from that point onwards.
At one lonely time during the Desert Dash, AC succumbed to exhaustion and fell off his bike, epitomising the sheer magnitude of the strain the cyclists put themselves through in the name of sport.
“That was my worst moment. The best part was going elsewhere.”
On the final stages of the Desert Dash, AC made the crucial decision to adjust his tyre pressure, and was subsequently forced to repair the same wheel twice en route.
Fortunately, other cyclists were sporting enough to assist him.
After 17 hours and 57 minutes, a red-eyed and aching AC crossed the finish line in an impressive seventh place overall, behind three four-man teams and 18 two-man tandems.
To his fellow cyclists at the Newcastle Wheelers Cycle Club, it highlighted his willpower to ‘push on’.
Before setting off on the Desert Dash, the 27-year-old explained he trained between 300 and 400 hours, but still believed he could have done more to prepare himself for the challenge.
“There are lots of small things I should do differently; one can always improve.”
Asked if the Desert Dash was an adventure he would willingly tackle in future, the 27-year-old responded with an enthusiastic affirmation.
“I will definitely do this again.”
