Absa Cape Epic 2014 (By Anna Hogan)

Mike Hogan and Thomas Dooley have known each other since the age of 13.  They met at the American Birkebeiner cross country ski race way back when and have been flogging each other on skis, on bikes, running and anything else they can compete at.  Next week on Tuesday they leave to take on the 2014 Absa Cape Epic in South Africa… and I get to come along and enjoy the food, wine and country while I watch these two crazy old guys suffer through eight days of getting way too much exercise.  Sounds good to me.

After unfortunate crashes in the past two Cape Epic’s we are all hoping that the third time is the charm for Mike and Thomas.  They will be racing in the Grand Masters (100+ combined) Category.

You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We're also submitting our stories and video to mtbr.com. Our friends at marathonmtb.com will also be covering this crazy race and most likely bringing up how old they are and the amount of beer, wine and red meat they consume during the race. Watch the video if you're curious.

Mike and Thomas will be riding for Kappius Components (kappiuscomponents.com) and Sir Richard's Condom Co. (sirrichards.com). Sir Richard's is a (RED) partner working to help fight aids in Africa and has donated over 1.5 million condoms to Haiti with it's buy one give one program. This is our chance to spread the word for Sir Richard's in South Africa and discover more opportunities to donate condoms worldwide. We'd like to also thank our great sponsors: Karen Hogan and Shigemi Dooley, Kappius Components, Cannondale, Jeep, TDA_Boulder, FirstBank, Brookfield Residential, Outdoor Prolink, Beaver's SportShop, Boulder Cycle Sport, Crank Bros, Rotor, and mtbr.com. Thanks Rus and Brady Kappius for getting our bikes race-ready and creating the finest wheels, rims and hubs in the world  (www.kappiuscomponents.com) They'll need them. Thanks also to our support crew: JP Van Der Watt, his father and Alta-Marie Bekker and all our friends in South Africa. Looking for to a great adventure. Stay tuned…