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

 

First sub 3

23rd of February 2014 will a day I will always remember. This is the day when I finished my first 100+km ride in under 3 hours. The 103km Carnival City Macsteel National Classic Cycle Race for 2014 was completed in the time of 02:57, with an average speed of 34.5km/h. This was my third ride on the road bike this year after doing the bulk of my training on my mountain bike and everything fell into place.

 

Riding in a big group really helps - which I did for about 60km of the ride, there was a section of about 40km in the middle of the race, where I was in between groups and I had to battle against the wind by myself. I must admit it was a bit nerve racking riding in the bunches and I had to be really sharp on my brakes a few times. I enjoyed the race and was really chuffed that I beat my time from last year by 16 minutes and managed to crack the elusive 3hour barrier. Here are my Strava stats of the ride.

After the ride holding the spoils of war

Some of the gangsters from road group I sometimes train with  

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.... 

 

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