Harrison smashes single speed record at Freedom Challenge

Friday, 02 July 2010 07:39

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Harrison smashes single speed record at Freedom Challenge

The true heroes of any race are not always those people who occupy the podiums and receive the public accolades but often those who soldier on quietly and resolutely towards their goal of merely finishing. Occasionally the quiet and unassuming do something truly momentous. Such is the case with 2010 Freedom Challenger Glenn Harrison.

Riding a Giant 29er single speed, Glenn Harrison arrived at the Diemersfontein finish of the 2400 km Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa on Wednesday June 31st at 20h20.  No gears. No suspension.  Cycling at its most basic.  His journey from the race start in Pietermaritzburg across the interior of South Africa to the finish took him 15 days 14 hours and 20 minutes. In the process Harrison shattered the Freedom Challenge Single Speed record by six days.  

To place Giant rider Harrison’s achievement in perspective, he finished less than two days outside the fastest ever recorded time for this mountain bike journey - by Springbok cyclist Tim James in 2009, and a day behind current race leader Alex Harris who finished at Diemersfontein on Tuesday afternoon in 14 days 8 hours and 10 minutes.

Harrison started his journey with current front runner Alex Harris in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday June 15.  He struggled through the first few days with illness and bike issues. However by the time the Giant 29er Single Speed arrived at Toekomst on the Camdeboo Plains, which is beyond half way in the race, he was only three hours behind Harris. Despite conceding more than five hours to Harris when he got lost on the Perdeberg approaching the Baviaanskloof, Harrison was able to remain in touch by starting very early in the mornings and riding deep into the night. However, his progress was significantly slowed as he battled rutted surfaces on his rigid 29er frame and strong headwinds into Prince Albert. A major effort saw him ride the last two days with only two hours sleep before his record-breaking arrival at Diemersfontein.

However, this is not the first time that Harrison has taken on the Freedom Challenge. In 2007 he led the early part of the race through the Donnybrook forests before losing his way and being forced to sleep rough for the night. Illness later forced him to retire. In 2009 he completed the race on a tandem with riding partner, Mike Woolnough. In the process he wrote himself into Freedom Challenge folklore by single handedly carrying the tandem through the 10km of the Stettynskloof valley, located shortly before the race finish. His injured partner spoke afterwards of how Harrison had carried the team over the second half of the trail without complaint.  

With Harrison now home in what is so far the second fastest finishing time in the 2010 Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa, attention turns to the rest of the field that have yet to finish. Freedom Challenge veterans Carl Crous and Marnitz “sponsored by PG Glass riding for Miles for Smiles” Nienaber and rookie rider August Carstens are all pushing hard towards Diemersfontein and it must now be seen whether they are able to finish faster than Harrison.  If not the quiet and unassuming Harrison may yet also be on the podium and receive public accolades.