Double Century 2026 – a race of three halves

This gruelling race takes place over 202km, starts in Swellendam and visits Suurbraak and Tradouw Pass, Op de Tradouw, Montague and Ashton while side-swiping Barrydale, Robertson and Bonnievale before heading back to Swellendam where the Three Stooges, also known as the Three Witches, await. 2,100 meters of climbing!

 Embark had 3 teams and for the first time ever Embark entered a mix racing team!  I was in the social team, Embark My Words (EMW). The team was made up of people with mixed DC experience. There were a few veterans and a few people for whom this would have been their longest ride – by a large margin.

 The Double Century (DC) is split into three stages. The first stage consists of 115km and includes the 2 highest passes. Passing through the picturesque town of Suurbraak we were greeted with the soon to be ubiquitous chants of “Hou bene hou” and “sweeties”. EMW were off – with fresh legs and confident smiles!

 The top of Op de Tradouw is the first waterpoint (at 65km) and then  a long descent to Ashton for the first mandatory stop (125kms) where the Isuzu’s and support crew’s welcoming smiles and ice-cold cokes allowed us to enjoy 30mins to eat and refuel.

Stage 2 is mostly flat, meandering past vineyards towards the second mandatory stop at 160km. At the second mandatory rest stop, just before Bonnievale cellars, the support crew organized a whole squad of additional local support for a little song and dance.

 Stage 3 – the final stretch and business end of the DC saw EMW fighting cramps, losing  personalities and dreaming of the finish line. It was hot. And windy. Very freaking windy.

 At the end the social ethos of the team held out, and we all finished together – netting us the  Charles Milner medal. Smiles all round and all (well, most) of the suffering forgotten it was time for beer (good for hydration, muscle relaxers and carbo loading – true ambrosia) and telling war stories with the other Embark teams. With some hardship the team managed to achieve its goal of finishing the race together. At the evenings closing out fines meeting “never agains” quickly turned into strategy sessions for next year…

Special mentions and thanks

The people filling in for the team, ensuring that there were a full 12 cyclists – Gert, Sharon and Patrick. The support crew, who had a long day in the sun (but without the wind bothering them), ensured that all of the Embark teams had a place to rest their legs - Sinead, Clara, Brendon and Anouk.

STeve and Gert (mostly Gert) from Embark and ATC, who facilitated the teams, and organized all the accommodation, food and all of the things most of the riders would never know about. Mike – without you I would never even have thought of attempting anything like this. Much less seeing it as a close-out event to end an awesome year.

The EMW team – thanks guys – it was a lot of fun!