The Ceder 🙂

The Ceder is a self supported gravel ultra endurance bicycle race. The Ceder takes place in The Cederberg, situated in the Western Cape, South Africa.

The Cederberg is known for having some of the most grueling gravel roads in the region. It is stunning in its brutality. Beautiful but not forgiving. The views are special  and the place has a magical feel to it.

The Ceder is a circular route which covers 245km, mostly gravel, featuring 3700m of elevation gain, starting and finishing at Cederberg Oasis. A lovely campsite and backpackers.

Be sure to book your accommodation there if you are taking part.

All bikes are welcome, except e-bikes. This race is harder than it sounds, which is crazy because on paper it already sounds hard. The climbs are long, there’s corrugations, sand and possibly mud. Last year there was a fair sprinkling of snow. So bring your cold weather gear. Train hard. Pack plenty of nutrition. Start easy. Finish strong. Easier said than done, I know.  

 

This event is put together by Raoul Goetze, who is part of the Mother Cycling Crew. He has started this event out of pure passion for the sport of gravel racing and the area itself.

With gravel racing growing as fast as it is worldwide. This could be an event with international presence in years to come. 

The start list for this event consists of a variety of cyclists. From serious roadies who just want to talk watts, to completely recreational cyclists who just want to finish the day in their own time and everything in between. The variety of people results in a more open community, who are keen to interact with each other.

This makes for a fun weekend in the Cederberg. 

Fueled Athlete’s survival guide for the Ceder:

• This is 240km unsupported. You will need plenty of capacity to carry hydration. I would recommend 2 bottles and a hydration pack, or find a way to carry 4 bottles. Beware of dodgy bottle cages, you will lose bottles if they are secured properly on this route. 
• There is no route markings click here for the gpx file.
• There will be  a water point at the start of Citrusdal and a place to drop excess cycling garments here, this is about 130km into the route, at Pomario School. There’s a lot of climbing before this point. There are also shops in Citrusdal where you can refuel, so pack some cash. Who knows if the card machine will work when you need it most. Especially out there. 
• Next up at around 200km there’s a kiosk at Jamaka farm and Algeria campsite immediately after that. Uitkyk pass follows which is a hard climb, so don’t skip the opportunity to refill bottles and get some more supplies. 
• Pack something that will settle your stomach, I like hot cross buns or a sandwich. It seems to settle my stomach, and it works for most people. Bananas are also great for this .
• Plan your nutrition, take enough. Start eating and drinking in the first hour. This is an ultra endurance test. The intensity will be lower than your usual race, there’s no excuse for not eating enough.
• Aim for 400-600ml of hydration mix per hour depending on the conditions. Be careful of high sugar content drink mix for such a long event. It’s fine if you are used to it and use it often. If you’re not sure choose lower sugar content and higher electrolyte content, Skratch Labs hydration mix is a good example of this.
• Eat more solids instead of gels in the first half. It’s a dangerous game to start taking gels early on on such a long day. It tends to get harder to eat as the day wears on at which point you can resort to gels.I would start using gels at about 150km in. 

• Aim for 1g Carbohydrate per Kg an hour.

          Cyclist of 60kg = 60g carbs per hour

          Cyclist of 70kg = 70g carbs per hour

          Cyclist of 80kg = 80g carbs per hour

          On the easier flatter sections of the day, you could possibly have a little              less if the intensity is low. 

• Take on extra calories just before, during and just after the climbs.
• Don’t start too hard, if it feels too easy for the first half you are pacing correctly. You will have an opportunity to work hard to the end in the last ⅓ of the day. If you have excess energy and legs to burn. A lot of time is lost crawling to the finish after mushrooming, I know all too well haha. 
• Lastly, ride with friends. Have a good time. Look after each other, until the last climb that is, burn them there haha!

Click the link below to our Ceder pack, we have made to make your life easy for the weekend, it includes guidance on how to use the nutrition. Please not if you want to make changes to the pack like brands or flavours, just hit the Whatsapp icon and tell us what you want. We got you.

Enter the Ceder here.

Click here to see our Ceder nutrition pack.

Enjoy the day out! 🙂