This is my favourite race by far. Most people think I'm mad for going back every year, but as I've written on my blog before, you either love it or hate it. The former go back every year and have formed a loyal crowd that add to the festivities. 2010 was my 5th L2L.

The race is not particularly technical - mostly gravel road for nearly 80kms - but this is finished off with about 15kms of sand, which can make grown men cry!
If you thought riding through 15kms of soft sand was bad enough, add some Cape Agulhas wind - which tends to blow against you.

This year, however, we had the great fortune of a tailwind all the way from Gansbaai to Cape Agulhas - a rare day for L2L. To add to that, the road from Gansbaai to Baardskeerdersbos is being tarred, so we were redirected along 10kms of straight tar road before turning onto gravel and rejoining with the original route. Also, we were turned off the beach early, missing out what is usually the worst section of sand.

This meant for an extremely fast day for L2L, so much so that water tables weren't set up by the time the first riders came through.

I won the race last year, having eventually dropped my competition on the sand (knowing the route is highly beneficial!). On Friday I didn't feel too fit, but found myself battling it out all day Saturday with one other lady. She had the pleasure of riding with a male companion and making use of his slipstream, where I was riding alone. But once again, by the time we hit the beach, I managed to slowly gain a gap and finished 6mins ahead of her.

The sand in the Nature Reserve this year was a different experience, as there was a huge fire in the area a couple of months ago. What is usually a battle through beautiful, abundant fynbos, was a bumpy ride over burnt roots in a monochromatic moonscape. Very eery.

As I rode along the beach, taking the paths I knew from experience to be the better choice, I thought to myself that it is very hard for a first timer to ever win this race, as you don't know where to go. For the ladies at least, you can follow the guys' tracks, but the leading man?

I discovered at the end of the first day that my thoughts were correct: Dave Morison had been in the lead all morning, but was defeated by the beach and sandy tracks. Apparently he ended up coming in tie second, with a guy who had done the race a few times before.

All of Saturday afternoon as we drank beer, ate great food, watched the rugby and chilled, most anyone could talk about was the wind: "wow, it was great to have a tailwind, but I'd hate to ride INTO that tomorrow..." Rumour went around that the wind was supposed to switch, and by sunset it had died down. On Sunday morning as we woke up, the wind had indeed changed direction from a Westerly to a South Easter. Yeehaa!

But the route isn't directly Westwards, and on the climb before Elim we had a tough side wind. What is usually a fun descent into Elim was a hard pedal down. Leaving the little town, however, we were going directly with the wind, at such a similar pace that you could not feel a breeze, and the heat set in instead. I registered up to 39degs.

It's always a long hard grind after Elim and this was no exception. The last lady I had seen was many km's back after leaving the sand, but you can't slack off. My rear derailleur had caught a bush along the way and my chain was now jumping every so often - not fun when all you need is a consistent cadence.

Up over the last big hill and down one of the only good descents and I was back on the last of the gravel heading towards 10kms of tarred road. This race is as mental as it is physical. Head down (wishing I had tri-bars!), wind slightly from the side, a lone cyclist off in the far distance ahead of me, and no one to be seen behind me.

That's one of the things with L2L. Maximum 200 participants, this year there were only 150, of very mixed ability. And over 90kms, the field stretches out quite dramatically. Unless you are riding with your Sani/Epic partner, you will be riding alone - 95% guaranteed!

Slowly, and painfully, the tar came to and end, onto the beach at Franskraal, through the harbour and residences, and back onto more sand, just to remind you how the day started. Eventually you can see the Danger Point Lighthouse, but that is still a couple of km's away, so you can't get too excited.

You also have to remember which way to go along the last of the sand. Apparently Dave Morison was leading again on Day 2, but lost the route at the last stretch - I hope he comes back next year to take the title!

Not that there is any title. There is no prize giving or any ceremony at all for the leading men and women, which is probably why after 10 years it is still such a small, quite race, with it's loyal following and the few newcomers.

I came across the line to hear comments like "...oh, it's the first woman... So then I told Tannie Marie..." Chilled, small, sandy, windy and tough. I love it! Winning twice in a row is great, but finishing 5 times in a row is even better!!

The t-shirts suck, the vibe is great, water points are simple but the smiles are big, the food is awesome (dinners especially) and the cost is low. And they do it all in aid of the Gansbaai Lions. Great stuff - I'll be back next year!!!