Good week of riding

So it has been a really good week of riding with over 280km in the saddle. On Monday the 24th of September, I did my second road race of the year, the Fountains Cycle 105km race - and yes, I only got on my road bike for the first time the morning of the race. This race was close to home so I decided to ride the 9km to the start, Greg(1) fortunately rode with me to the start and kept me company until we were sent off. Phew it really was a gross morning - cold and windy.  

Lining up at the start....trying to stay warm

The start of the race was awesome - I couldn't believe how fast I was going. My road bike is just so much faster than a mountain bike. For the first 40kms I was averaging 40km/h....and then we turned and I realised why I was going so fast (besides the drafting) there was a massive tail wind. We then got hit by a massive side wind and then a hectic head wind on the way home. My average speed plummeted and I struggled in the wind the 60 odd kms back to the finish. All in all I was pretty happy with my race, besides the wind messing me around and also that my butt, really hurt, you feel every bump in the road on a road bike. Here are my stats Fountains Cycle Race 24-09-12 .

So I must mention that this was my longest ride ever, 9km to the start and then 105km race (ugh I was glad my wife was at the finish to pick me up though as I was pretty wind whackered).  

The rest of the week involved 2 early morning rides, 45km in the plots with Marco and Jana and then another 45km with Greg(2) to Bedfordview (incl Fischers Hill). Today I was left without a ride - Greg(1) was sick and other mates were riding away from home or had Rugby hangovers. I decided to go on a short solo ride, starting after 7:00 and hoping to do about 30-40kms. Along the way I was fortunate to meet with another solo rider, Chris. He also did Sani2C this year and is quite a strong rider. We had an awesome ride and there were parts that I had never left a tyre print on before. We ended up doing over 73km at a healthy 23.5km/h average. It was great to ride with a new person and find new routes etc...I really enjoyed the ride and hopefully I can join his group when I am left without a ride again.

We stopped at a shop and Chris bought me a welcome coke

Morning rides

It has been a great few weeks, summer is on its way and our early morning rides on the mountain bike before work, are getting interesting. Normally on a Tuesday and Thursday morning I leave home at 04:30 and join Greg, Mac, Denzel and Brad for a fast ride to Bedfordview and back (all of us on mountain bikes). We normally do about 45kms and our average speed seems to increase every time we ride (last Tuesday we did 47km at an average speed of 25km/h). What is nice about these rides is that the terrain varies and there are a few long hills that we tend to race up. What is not nice, is that there is some traffic on the way home that we have to dodge.

Wednesdays and now Fridays I tend to go explore in the quieter plots, accompanied by Marco and this morning we were also joined by Jana, both of whom are training for the 105km Cratercruise MTB race next month. These are great rides as we mix it up, with a bit of tar and dirt road together with a splattering of single track.  All I can say that it is good to be out there riding and viewing the magnificent sunrises while most people are still sleeping.

 

This mornings' sunrise, taken when going past Korsman Pan, a block away from my house

 

1st summer muddy ride 16-09-12

Oh what joy the advent of summer brings: the weather is getting warmer and it starts getting lighter each an every day. Summer also brings lots of rain and plenty of mud. Today Greg, Marco, Adam and me went for a great ride into the outskirts of Benoni and Kempton Park. There was a minny monsoon the night before and our route was extremely muddy in parts. On the other side of Serengeti Golf Estate the river had burst its banks and we had to ride through flooded roads wetting our bikes and feet good and proper.

Adam and his seat post.....best I don't say anything about this one...



 

I had another over the handle bars fling, when going through a puddle at the Sandpan on the way home: my front wheel sank right into the soft sandy mud, catapulting me right over the bars and landing unceremoniously in a muddy puddle (much to the delight of Adam and Marco behind me). 

We ended up doing just over 60km and our creaking bikes needed a thorough wash after the ride as mud does not do the bike's components much good. Good ride with great company.

P.S. This ride will go down in the history books where Marco broke Adam. At the end of the ride Marco was setting the pace up front and Adam ended up cramping and limped home with his tail between his legs (which does not happen too often).

Nissan Down & Dirty 2012

What a great way to spend the first day of spring. The Nissan Down & Dirty mountain 70km race was held at Cornwall College at Irene just outside Pretoria.  The weather was great, RIP to the leg and arm warmers and welcome back to the sun screen. This is a very popular event, with over 2500 mountain bikers hitting the tracks and making loads of dust.I really enjoy this race, as we do a lot of the route, that we do on our longer rides when training for Sani2C i.e. Benoni to Irene and back. We had to have a batch start, given the number of people, Greg and I started in batch D with Adam and Marco in batch C. It  was good to see our Olympians, Burry Stander and Philip Buys starting this race also (in batch A of course).

 

The race started pretty fast as we rode on the outskirts of Cornwall Housing Estate, we paused for a bit of congestion when getting onto the single track along side the highway, but nothing too serious except a welcome relief to catch our breath. I rode with Greg for the first 20 odd kms but then I latched onto some guy's wheel on the long dirt roads through the windy farm fields in a bid to up my average speed. It was great to meet new people on the ride - I rode with Paul from Kempton for awhile and I finally met a friend from twitter @DaleClark643 on the route. Just before the second water point I passed Adam, he was having problems with his seat post as his clamp broke just before the race - the duct tape was not providing the permanent fix he was looking for. At the 50km mark we were joined by the 40km race riders, which although caused a bit of conjestion, it was good to ride past them knowing that a few months/years ago I was the one being passed by the 'marathon riders'.

 

At 60km I had managed to up my average speed to 21km/h by pushing it on the long jeep and dirt tracks. But then my race pretty much came to an end, when going down a pretty hazardous steep downhill (with loads of rocks and loose rocks sand) I went over the handle bars when trying to avoid the girl that was braking in front of me. Wow, what a tumble, beside being winded, I had hurt my right hand quite badly.  The rest of the race was a pure nightmare. My hand was hurting like hell and I struggled to hold the handle bars, never mind changing gears, this resulted in me having another great tumble, hitting the ground so hard that I am sure it should have registered on the Richter Scale.

This picture I found on the Internet is pretty apt for how I feel...

My average speed plummeted as I struggled to stay on the bike for the last 10km of the race. Almost there, with only 4km to go, but then there was this massive queue of riders. Very disapointing indeed, as this happened last year, I was hoping the new route would resolve the tail backs. The organisers should have anticpated that sqeezing a couple of thousand riders through single track with technical obstacles near the end of a race would end up only in delays and frustration. I realise that one of the reasons for the hold up was that the bridge that was made for the race was broken and you had to dismount and walk through the river. But even if it was fixed, the bank on the other side was so steep that most riders would not have been able to ride it. Bad planning @MTBseries.   

The long queue waiting to go into the forest

I saw Greg a few places behind me in the queue and waited for him for a chat

Waiting patiently inside the forest, the smile is there to mask the pain of my swollen hand

All in all it was a great race besides the last bit, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, great to catch up with so many friends. My mates Craig and Mieke were cooking the boerie rolls and hamburgers at the finish which went down very well. My riding stats took a plummet after my fall and the 30 minute wait at the end, but here they are anyway Richard Garmin stats 

Thanks for visiting Winter but Summer is here so.....off

Finally those months of riding like deformed Eskimos have come to an end. Time to shed those bulky winter clothes and enjoy the warmth of our South African summer. 

2 weeks after riding in sub-zero temperatures, the temps have shot up to over 20 degrees Celsius in the day. Greg (2), Mac, Brad and me had  a very nice ride this week to Befordview in the morning before work. The average temperature was almost 16 degrees for our 2 hour MTB ride - leaving at 04:30 in the morning. Nice fast ride, averaging 24km/h for the 47km (Garmin details here). Great to be out in the morning with like-minded souls and push the boundaries of your bodies' endurance.

Today Greg (1) and me went for a fantastic ride past Serengeti Golf Estate and we did parts of the Nissan Down and Dirty MTB race, that we will be doing next weekend. So nice to do some new routes and the spirit of adventure and exploring numbs the bodies' plea to slow down. One part of our new route was a bit nerve racking as we had to ride with barbed wire on the one side and a 2 meter drop on the other side. Nevertheless we both rode over with no problems.

One part of this route was a bit dodgy, as we went right up to the outskirts of Tembisa (a local township) with the highway just between us. We know for a fact, that some mountain bikers had been attacked here before. My heart was in my throat when we saw two guys armed with big pangas wading through the long grass with a bunch of dogs. Fortunately these guys were only hunting for small game and rabbits and were not bothered by us. Further on we went through a forest with a small rock garden on the route. After riding through, I looked back and could not see Greg - my first thought was that he had been bike-jacked. What to do, oh what to do? Go back and help him or ride on and phone for help? Phew!! a few minutes later I could finally see him, he had stopped to pick up the bits that had fallen out my saddle bag, as I had not closed it properly when I used my Multi-tool to tighten the bolt on my rear shock. Well I am thankful that I got my stuff back and I am not too sure I will be riding in this area once again, it is just not worth it.

Greg catching up after picking up the contents of my saddle bag...

Was really a great ride, we are so blessed here in South Africa to have wide open spaces that we can ride from home to. We did just over 67km, here are my Garmin stats of the ride.

Railway track meander...

Greg 'powering' up the small drag...



Modderfontein Trails 11-08-2012

Great ride this morning with (old) Greg and Justin. We hit the Modderfontein MTB Trails and had an awesome ride. It is really good to be out in the open and ride through varying terrain. We did the Red Route which was really nice as they have added a few more sections since the last time I rode here, a few weeks ago.

Great scenery, hard to believe you are in the middle of a city..

Greg and Justin

Feels like the bush until you see Sandton in the background....

Justin pushing up the slight drags

Greg heading for the forest

Yes keep your finger on the hole until I can plug it....

 

Polar bear ride 07-08-2012

It's not often that we have snow in South Africa, in fact I have only seen it 3 times in my life. Little did I know that later this day we would have a fair share of it. With plummeting temperatures forecast we decided to hit the roads for our normal early morning cycle. I left home at 04:30 AM and met up with (young) Greg and Denzel for a ride to Bedfordview and back. It was pretty damn cold my Garmin showed that the temp was never over 1 degree Celsius the whole ride. I am sure my runny nose turned to stalactites by the end of the ride. Wow it was a freezing but rewarding experience.

Oh for Flu sakes

The last two weeks have been horrific! The flu season is prevalent in (not so sunny) South Africa and this year, I have not been spared. The dreaded flu has managed to sneak into my house and make itself a most unwelcome guest. It has been a rough 2 weeks of fighting that dreaded invader, armed only with every natural remedy that exists (no we don't do antibiotics). I think anymore cups of honey lemon tea and I will be forced to go visit the doc for the big artillery to assist in my fight. The picture below captures the essence of my struggle....

Well I am almost back, it has been frustrating sitting on the sidelines and not being able to ride. I had to forgo my entry in the Nissan Diamond Rush mountain bike race (that I was really looking forward too) as I was not too keen to leave parts of my lungs on the side of the track.
Yesterday was my first ride, Greg (yeah he is back on the bike) and Adam joined me. We did a new loop around Serengeti Golf Estate (my Garmin link here) and rode some new parts that we had not ventured on before. We did 60km in total and it felt really good to be out there even though it will take some time to get back to the level I was at a few weeks ago. Below is the Google map of the route from my home and back... 

The big set up

After a few weeks of sore muscles and Greg's ITB injury scaring the S%$* out of me, I decided to have a proper bike fitting done. This is when your bike is set up according to your body measurements and movements (BG Fit), so that you can optimize power output and avoid unnecessary injuries. I was fortunate to see an advert on The Hub for David from XCOSA that offered professional qualified Body Geometry assessment and body-bike set-up. Greg was also keen because he is willing to try anything to get back on the bike again. So after a few emails David agreed to come to us and do a thorough assessment and set up.  

Wow, this was actually a lot more intense than I expected and the first few hours were an assessment of our bodies as Body-bike integration requires a thorough understanding of Anticipatory Response Regulation by the brain.  Then the tests and measurements were then used to calculate the optimal set-up of our bikes. First, the cleats on the shoes - mine were to high (I was pedaling with my toes) and they needed to move more inwards so my feet could be parallel to my hips and shoulders. Very important the foot has a natural angulation for walking and running and therefore during riding the arch needs support. This can be solved with inserts that give your foot the proper support. Next the seat was adjusted after measurements were done once again. Lastly the cockpit, I was too low on the bike and my handlebars needed to be raised. The short term fixes have been applied and it felt a whole lot better on my 60km ride this morning. But I need to spend some money on a new wider saddle (my bum bones are right on the edge of my Fizzik Gobi saddle) and I also need a new stem (17degrees by 90mm) to give my handle bars a better, higher angle. I can't wait to get these and then David will come back for the final set up. It was a great experience, David was awesome and very knowledgeable (he spent over 5 hours here) - well worth the money it cost. 

David making sure my seat is positioned right...

We had to do some riding to do the proper set up.

Greg with his injured knee

The new Specialized Phenom saddles that Greg bought for us today

  

Tour De France 2012

Yes it is that time of the year again where I am glued to the box for 3 weeks watching the exciting Tour De France. My money is on Wiggins this year - yes literally I got 6/1 on him a few months ago, so if he wins my R50 will grow to a nice R300. I must admit I am super impressed with young Peter Sagen, he is absolutely incredible and a name in the TDF for years to come. But hey what's with all these crashes? I thought that was a mountain bikers prerogative....but here is a picture that was tweeted by legendary TDF manager, Johan Bruneel that I think is fitting after the last few days.

MODDERFONTEIN MTB TRAIL 30-06-2012

Today I joined Adam and Marco for my first ride at the relatively new Modderfontein Mountain Bike Trail park and wow it defintely did not dissapoint. We parked at the sports clubhouse and paid R40 for our entry ticket and then rode our bikes the 2km to where the trails begin. 

It really was a great ride plenty of flowing jeep track, single track and forest sections. It is hard to believe we have so much open ground right here in the middle of Johannesburg. We did just over 42km and did part of the green route first and then the yellow route (click here to check out the route). The routes are well marked and maintained and I enjoyed every minute of my riding there. There are a few small drags and hills so the total ascent we did was just over 500m, which got the heart rate up nicely (ave 155bpm). At the end of the ride, back at the sports clubhouse, there were loverly egg and bacon rolls and a Seattle Coffee van that made an awesome cappucino. Great ride definitly will be back....



These are the good looking cooks  that made our egg bacon rolls...



Adam and Marco munching of the egg bacon rolls after our ride



Awesome to have Seattle Coffee at the finish



Summer is on its way...

Yes the winter solstice has come and gone and the nights will get shorter and the days longer (and hopefully warmer). Its been a challenge riding in the cold and dark - but a least I managed a few rides whilst others were sleeping. Last Sunday I entered the Olympic Footwear MTB Winter Challenge which started at Serengeti Golf Estate. It was really an awesome race, the best one I have done so far (finally broke into the top 100 and was in the top half of the race) - ok I must admit I did have a bit of a home ground advantage as these are the routes I have been riding for the past 3 odd years. 

It was really cold when we started (about 2 degrees) and luckily the 60km race was shortened to 53km due to rain the day before that made one part un-rideable, so we didn't have to suffer for too long. I felt sorry for a guy that wiped out into the water at a river crossing, in front of me, at about the 20km mark - he must have been really cold the rest of the way. I felt good and was flying the first 40km averaging 24km/h and then I hit a wall and slowed down for the remaining 13km finishing on a respectable time of 02:20. It was great to ride with mates like Clint and Jacques and share this experience with them, overall I was pretty chuffed, my fastest MTB race to-date....

Winter blues

Does it count if you dream about riding in the cold winter months?

There is a direct correlation between 'the weather and time spent on the bike'. In the last week or so, I have managed just a few early morning rides. The dark and icy cold wind, takes some real muster to tackle in the mornings. My new found discovery of wearing disposable latex gloves under my riding gloves proved fallible last week when my hands were so frigging cold after returning from a early morning ride. It seriously took me 5 minutes just to take out my gate remote from my jacket and press the buttons to get into the house (and a further 10 minutes defrosting my hands in warm water to get some circulation back).  Nevertheless I will continue my battle against the elements and ensure that I ride a few times a week to be at least little fit when summer finally decides to pay us a welcome visit.   

After Sani...

So after what was possibly one of the most memorable weeks of my life at Sani2C with the best riding, one could ever imagine on a mountain bike, how you do proceed from here? It seems such a pity to take your foot off the accelerator (um sorry I mean pedal) after all those hectic months of training - yes there is an argument that your body needs a break, but I feel stronger then ever and need some extra motivation to keep on riding trough these cold winter months.

So I thought this could be pretty easy by entering a few races with my mates - say one a month. Unfortunately my Sani2C 'training group' has diminished in the last weeks to only one - me (Greg ITB injury, Mark's knees are shot, Adam - cut hand) so going out there alone can be pretty hard. 

But this ain't gonna keep me off my bike - by using a local biking website www.thehubsa.co.za and Twitter, I have managed to hook up with some other people in the last week. Saturday I went out with Twitter comrade aka IronMan Clint and a few Dirt Roadies for a ride in the plots and then on  Sunday, I was fortunate enough to attend a group ride (organized by Barry aka Tumbleweed on thehub) into the Benoni Mine Dumps (photos below). The latter was a awesome ride, 30 odd mountain bikers tearing up the dirt and creating plenty dust on some beautiful tracks, led skillfully by Paul from Procyles. There were amazing drop offs, that I actually yearned for, instead of hesitating, like before and a few steep up and overs, what an amazing experience. I had a few falls in the thick sand  and also did a classic face plant that has left its mark with a few scabs on my nose and chin this week.

Lastly I hooked up with another group after being in contact with (another) Greg on theHub for a ride in the mornings before work. OK funny story on its way.........the group meets at the BP garage 04:45 which means I need to leave home at 04:30 (getting up at 04:15), eager and not wanting to be late I got up before my alarm went off, got dressed for winter riding and hit the road on my bike.
I switched on my Garmin to see the time and to my horror it was only 03:30 - I had gotten up a whole hour early uuurgh. Long story short = back home, cup of tea and then leaving at the right time......

Was great morning ride though - longer, faster and more hills then I am used too (we went from Benoni to Bedfordview and back  - 50km) but great to test the body with like minded souls for 2 odd hours, thanks Greg.

Here is to keeping the legs spinning for the next few months....

Barry and Ian before the mine dump ride...

Nice downhills

and small climbs

Lovely drop-offs, yes those are mountain bikers on that mine dump..

Fantastic photo...of a group MTB ride

Nice to ride with Pierre once again..

Paul waiting for the others to catch up before leading the way..

Sani2C Trail 2012 - my story

So my mountain biking goal has been achieved, I have managed to complete the illustrious Sani to Sea mountain bike race.My senses have had a serious overload over the 3 magnificent days that I tested my body and rode 260kms from Underberg in the Drakensberg Mountains to Scottbourough by the sea in beautiful South Africa. 

This is a team event and you have to ride the whole time with a partner, I was very fortunate to do this with my good mate Greg Heunis and our months of training paid off. We also had the privilege of sharing this magnificent event with our new riding mates Adam and Mark and these guys really helped the 'old men' out. Yes, the event was very hard, as there were hills on serious steroids (not like the flat lands of Benoni that we are used to). It was a real tester for both of us and our bodies took strain, but we went with the right mindset that we would enjoy no matter what and took our time to at least appreciate the spectacular scenery.

Day 1 was a 80km ride from Underberg to Mackenzie Farm and after having no sleep, being fumed out by the trucks outside our (school room) sleeping quarters at 04:00 in the morning and freezing temperatures, we were not feeling too strong for the start of our journey. Adam and Mark started 20 minutes behind us (batched starts) and passed us a few kms before the end of the day's route. The route was a bit muddy and slippery in places but was otherwise spectacular. My phobia of riding over bridges was finally put to the test, as we had to ride over a long floating bridge over a dam (this had me waking up nights in a cold sweat). I really thought that I was going to fall in and swim and ride the remaining 50km in wet clothes, but it came and I conquered it with no problem - what an awesome personal achievement (never mind the 30 or so other bridges they had in the rest of the race).

Start of Day 1

What fun riding the floating bridge over the dam...

Sheer joy at riding over this hoodo...

Tented camp at the end of Day1

Adam showing us how bridges should be ridden

Day 2 This 100km ride with over 2000m ascent will be etched in my mind forever - the first 40km, is the best riding one could ever imagine, going down into the Umkomaas Valley and then the hardest 60km ride out the valley to the Day 2 rest camp.But wow, it was worth every minute of the almost 8 hours that we spent out there....the photos don't really do the views any justice.

Beautiful Umkomaas Valley

Yes those are clouds down there....we were really high and we rode all the way down to the bottom.

Hard sublime tracks all the way down...

Bit of congestion before Heaven or Hell track..

So there was loads to eat at the water points...

Route profile for Day 2 - that is a lot of climbing after 40km

Adam tearing up the Umkomaas valley decent track

 The long hill to the 'Nandos' water point, my legs will remember for ages, it was so nice to get off the bike and have a Nandos burger and relax in the shade for 20 minutes or so until my body could continue and tackle the next 'Push of a Climb' hill...

Our cozy tent in the macadamia tree orchard...

Day 3 - 75km at least this day was shorter and faster than the previous day so our bodies could recover and we could enjoy the last day of this incredible journey. There was a lot of fast downhill mixed with some really testing climbs. The scenery was once again out of this world...

So much single track you just couldn't help but smile all the time....

View of the sugar cane hills we climbed

Vernon Crookes climb

At the top of Heart Rate Hill

Really happy tired boys at the finish line...

Mark and Adam at the finish

 What a fantastic experience, I definitely want to do this one again, it was hard but incredible. We were not racing but rather enjoying the ride as much as we could, nevertheless a long time in the saddle 17 hours 21 minutes over 3 days (but at least we beat over 400 people). After the race Greg, Mark, Adam and I were fortunate enough to stay with Greg's parents for the evening and be fed some fantastic food that I will also remember for years to come. Thank you Mr and Mrs Heunis for your hospitality it really is much appreciated. We went down to the beach and had a nice swim in the sea followed by a few well earned beers.

Tradional swim in the sea after the race...