Sunday, July 31, 2011

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve ride 31st July

After a few weeks messing around in the flat wasteland of the Benoni outback it was time again to venture to the hills at Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve. It was a chilly start -2 when we got there at 7 but as soon as the sun rose, it warmed up nicely.

Clint could not join us today to be our tour guide, as he was bailing his Garden Executive out of jail. Greg and me were fortunate to be joined by my work colleague Malcolm - real tough guy after doing the Iron Man and Comrades last year. 

It was a fantastic ride, we were the first riders to hit the road and it worked in our favour as we saw tons of game - herds of zebra, eland, wilderbeest, impala, baboons and a colony of meerkats. At one stage whilst I was in front going down a hill at 60km/h an eland gazelle ran across the road and I had too hit the brakes or else I would have come off second best.

Below are a few snippets off my headcam of the ride - the first part is when I was speeding down a hill at 72km/h (my best time on a mountain bike) when Malcolm shot past and the unclipped his feet and was vertical for the best arodynamic positon - all I can say that he is one crazy bugger...

1200 metres of climbing in just over 57km, really good tester for the legs. We managed to do it 5 minutes quicker than last time.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve ride 3rd July

Wow, we arrived in Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve just before 7 on a chilly morning with the temperature outside the car at -5 degrees. Not knowing what to expect Greg and me eagerly followed Clint on our first ride around the reserve. Clint said it would be tough and it sure was - 1200m of climbing in 57km. There were no flats like we are used to riding in the outskirts of  Benoni, it was either up or down. It was a fantastic yet painful experience, the reserve was lovely we saw lots of game and there road was pretty much only used by cyclists. Our legs took a hamering and I used all 30 of my gears. Great to have Clint as our guide - he let us know in advance what to expect and was supportive all the way.
After a cappuccino to warm us up, the boys are ready to go.

Yup one of the 'small hills' we were down there at one stage..(you can see Clint isn't sweating yet)

At least the views were good near the top of the climb
Greg didn't care about the view here.

Edited a few minutes of the ride on the headcam below..