94.7 x 2 for the Apricot Tree

2015 is a milestone year for me as I have raced in some awesome new races and also not been in hospital once :-) It was also the first time that I also did the double in the 94.7 race - doing the mountain bike race and then the road race in 2 consecutive weekends. It was my first 94.7 MTB race, as I have normally avoid this  race because of the bottlenecks and bad routes etc... This is one case, when the organisers have learnt from their previous mistakes (unlike the Nissan series) and this event was extremely well run and the route was awesome. There were 2 completely different routes for the 30km and the 55km distances so you never had to worry about other slower riders not doing the same distance. I was pleasantly surprised by the route and the amount of purpose built single track that was in the 55km route. 

Me kicking up some dust followed by Hansie

I did the race with Hansie one of my fellow Benoni Rough Riders which was a great experience. Below is a video he took on his Garmin of a me following a female rider and stopping when she fell down a short drop off. She really came down hard and landed on her face. We stopped to help her until her boyfriend came back to assist her and wait for the medics. There were quite a few nasty falls in the race, given the hot, dry conditions and all the loose soil. 

I also had the misfortune of wiping out. I rode into some thick river sand and my bike came to a sudden halt ejecting me over the handle bars. Unfortunately I landed on my front wheel buckling it so badly that it couldn't rotate anymore. I thought my race was over when this happened 15km before the end  of the race. Fortunately, Hansie came to my rescue and took the wheel off my bike and managed to sort of straighten it on a tree stump so I could finish the rest of the race. This worked out to be quite costly as I had to buy a new DT Swiss rim as it was impossible to straighten out my old one. I enjoyed the race even though there were plenty of hills and it was very hot and dusty.   

Hansie and I at the end of the race, trying to cool down...

The next Sunday, I finished my 7th Momentum 94.7 road race. I once again did the race on my mountain bike which is a lot more fun (and safer) but just a bit slower. I also did the race with a friend (and fellow Rough Rider) Wayne and it was great sharing this experience with him and to have someone to chat to for the 95km route. I rode for The Apricot Tree  which is a Public Beneficiary Organisation (PBO) and is involved in the stimulation and development of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was a privilege riding for them once again, as it really is a great organisation with some incredible people involved in running it and raising money. I managed to raise R25,000 after getting sponsorships for the 94.7 race from my friends, family, work colleagues and the company that I work for MultiChoice. I was pretty chuffed with the money that I raised and happy to see that it be put to good use to offer more to the children that they help. 

Selfie with Wayne and I shortly before we set off on the race

Start of the Momentum 94.7 road race

Benchwarmers get out in the cold and wind. Today I managed to get Paul and Greg out for a chilly and windy ride. They have been warming the bench on the sidelines whilst the rest of us have been riding. It was great to have them back out there and hopefully we will see more of them as winter is long gone and the excuses have run out ;-)

Greg and Paul on a cold and windy 'summers day'

Best 94.7 yet...

Last weekend I participated in my 6th Momentum 94,7 Cycle Challenge and as the title says above, it was my best one yet. Ok lets clarify that statement a bit - it wasn't my fastest time (click here for my stats of the ride) but the most enjoyable. This year, I decided to do it differently, firstly I rode for a cause - The Apricot Tree (a school for special needs children in Benoni) where I raised some money for this charitable cause and secondly I did the race on my mountain bike instead of my road bike.

I decided not to race the 94.7 this year but instead rode it to enjoy it. I knew I would not be able to beat my best time of last year (3:11) as I was not fit enough because of all my injuries (and the route had changed). So why not go out on my MTB which would be much harder and slower, but a lot more enjoyable. It was so great to ride the race and not race it, I managed to ride at a decent pace and left plenty in the tank for the last 20kms. The MTB is also a lot safer, I saw a lot of accidents and even had a tandem fall in front of me when we went through a paved traffic circle near the end in Steyn City, I had to brake really hard not to ride over the women that landed in front of me. I later heard that she was admitted to hospital with a broken scapula, clavicle and 3 fractured ribs.

The start of the race, Wayne already leaving me behind on the first hill

 

At the finish with a well deserved medal and coke...

All in all it was a really great race, I really enjoyed it. I managed to finish in a respectable time of 03:57 and was not exhausted afterwards. In fact I had plenty left at the end to fly past all the roadies on the last few hills and was the chief motivator in helping a lot of people forget about their pain whilst listening to my ridicule. It was also good to ride for a cause (the Apricot Tree) and in the true spirit of the race. I managed to raise R3500 in sponsorship funds and know that this really goes to a very worthwhile cause.

Wayne and I before the start.in our Apricot Tree kit

 

Momentum 94.7 2013 - one step closer

OK so Sunday I competed in my 5th Momentum 94.7 cycle road race (94km). This year I was way under prepared as I only did 3 road bike rides before the event. OK I didn't sit on my butt the weeks before but played around on my trusty mountain bike. I realised on the day that this was not enough as the intensity on the road bike is a lot different to that on a mountain bike. The race itself was pretty good, weather was fantastic, turning into a very hot day.

I managed to push to the front of my group to join Clint and Lappies

I started in Group K which was must better then last year but not where I want to be (finished 128 out 536 in the group). Ideally I would like to  be in a few groups higher as there is very little 'bunch' riding in the later groups and there are many riders in the road in front of you. There were quite a few times that I was boxed in and couldn't ride freely. My aim for this race was to complete it in around 3:10 and this was accomplished. Next year hopefully with a few seeding races under my belt I should be able to up my game a little more, to shave off the 10 odd minutes that I need to break the magical sub 3 hour mark.  But as you can see from the results below there have been some good improvements over the years.... 

 

Dirt for Tar

Yup it is that time of the year where I trade dirt in for tar and do the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge road race. This year it has been harder then normal to do the change and I have only managed 3 road bike rides before the race next Sunday. 2 weeks ago I had a fantastic 101km ride with George, Nadine, Gary and others. This ride I got dished a plate of pain by George and co and it made me realise the difference between road biking and mountain biking. Road biking is a lot more intense, it is a lot quicker, but there is no respite and you keep peddling or else you are dropped from the group. 

Last Saturday I once again did the Nissan Down and Dirty 70km mountain bike race from Irene. I love this race as it traverses the routes that we ride on our longer training rides. Unfortunately at the start of the race when I switched my Garmin on, there was no battery and it switched right off again. This meant that I had to ride the race 'blind' with no idea of how far or fast I was going. It is amazing how  much you rely on your Garmin and it was difficult to gauge your pace and plans to beat previous times.

Well, I did do better then previous times (3:30) even though they changed the route the last few kms via a rocky hill and I got 2 punctures. Great race, well organised and marshalled even with 3000 odd riders. The best part was having a few beers with Mark, Adam and Mike at the end of the race. 

Grumpy when realising that my Garmin was dead...

Today was an awesome group road bike ride loaded with personal records (click here). We went to Bedfordview and up Kloof road and Fishers hill to try get the legs hill ready for next weekend. It was fantastic riding in a 20+ group of riders, except the cars/traffic was not that great and made me more of  a mountain bike lover then ever. Hopefully I have done enough for next Sunday, I haven't done long road rides with hills like last year but have been kept busy on the mountain bike so we will see if I can improve on last year's time of 3:25......

1st Goal Achieved

So my goal was achieved last Sunday for the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge with completing the race in under 03:30. I did a comfortable time of 03:25 and really enjoyed my ride (even though the wind was hectic in some parts of the route). I pushed it the whole race and my average heart rate was an alarming 170 bpm. It was great to catch up with good mates Craig and Mieke in the beer tent afterwards and reflect on the race.

 

This is one step closer to completing this race in under 3 hours, my plan is to do qualifying races in 2013, to get a better seeding so I can start earlier and also benefit from drafting in groups. I am planning to do 03:10 next year and then under 03:00 in 2014. It is great to see how I have improved over the years as this year was 2 hours faster then my first race 4 years ago.

Before the start of the 2012 Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge

Work colleague Martin who also completed his 4th race this year

Up in smoke

Great road bike ride today with Jason, Rick, Gina and Trevor. We did 102km with 900m ascent, a productive training ride for the Momemtum 94.7 cycle challenge on the 18th of November. We did a great route and I felt much better then last Sunday. What did amaze me is one of the guys rding (Trevor) would stop and light up a cigarette every 25km or so and smoke it whilst riding. Below is a photo of Trevor lighting one up....

Trevor and Jason



Yesterday was another watershed day in my riding career. I spent the morning at Modderfontein - Central Park Trials Mountain Bike park with my lovely wife as we christened her new bike on the single track. It was awesome riding with her as it was her first time to ride single track, bridges, through streams etc... 'Modders' is incredible, it is a unspoilt jewel nestled inside Johannesburg. It has fantastic scenery and awesome riding, it was fantastic to ride there and share my passion with my true love.