Awesome long weekend of riding

So Thursday the 21st of March 2013 was a public holiday - Human Rights Day in South Africa (aptly renamed by me to Human Rides Day a few years ago). I took the Friday off as well and we planned a few long rides in preparation for the Sani2C stage race happening in the middle of May.

 

The Thursday ride was great, Greg, Noel and I headed out to Irene from Benoni. The weather was sublime and we had a fantastic ride looking for some hills near the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. Click here for my Garmin stats of the ride. We did 93km at an average of 22km/h. On the way home I pulled out 10 thorns from my tyres - thank goodness for tubeless tyres with Stans sealant. We also passed a large bunch of mountain bikers who had stopped to repair some punctures, I saw a friend on mine, Clint and he shared this picture below and the story. At the corn/mielie fields where we ride the farmer uses the by-product from the local sewage farm to fertilise his crops. This stinking black stuff is usually left in big piles next to the fields and Hennie (a guy I have ridden with a few times) made the terrible mistake of thinking this was tar and decided to ride over it - only to sink deep in the sh*t. The guys watching really cracked up as he struggled to get out, sinking deeper with every movement.

Hennie is in deep kak...

Friday we went for a shorter ride (Renier, Mark, Greg incl) out past Dunblane and towards Pretoria road. We were pretty shocked that the farmer had dug massive trenches blocking the access roads to his farm. We have ridden these routes for years and because of some irresponsible individuals these routes are now being blocked off.

Renier, Mark and Greg

Sunday was a monster ride from home to Central Park Trails MTB park "Modders" and back. This was a 100km ride with over 900m ascent and plenty of single track sandwiched in between some tar. This was perfect training for Sani2C as there were plenty of hills that we could test our legs on. I had my first proper crash on my new bike when coming round a corner on the single track and hitting some loose sand resulting in my back tyre washing away and me hitting the earth with one mighty thump. What an awesome ride, we really tested our bodies to the limits and were pretty tired by the time we got home. Click here for the Garmin details of the ride. 

Adam powering up the single track...

....followed closely by Mark

P.S. I sold my old Giant Anthem that I had fixed up before buying my new bike, hope that Andrew takes good care of her and has many happy kms on her like I did.

 

Let the training begin

So we have 8 weeks to go before the Sani2C and this week coming is going to be a big one. I have been keeping the training ticking along with 10 hours in the saddle last week (nice 85km ride last Sunday) but this week I only managed just over 7 hours. Greg has had some bad luck with his bike this week with his shock being sent to Cape Town for repair so he has been off the bike for awhile.

 

The real issue we have with training for Sani2C, is that Benoni is so flat and we really struggle to find any hills to make us stronger for the many many hills on this 3 day event. Mark and me went on a quest this week to find one or two small drags that can be added to our longer rides in the week. Fortunately we found some in Kempton Park and this is a lot safer then dodging the cars on the way back from Bedfordview. The morning rides are still awesome except winter is on its way and it is getting darker and colder. The experience of being outdoors in the morning riding with mates is still incredible and we get to see some beautiful sunrises.

Early morning sunrise - Mark enjoying the experience

So how is the new bike going - Wow I cant believe how incredible it still feels, I feel like a new person on my new bike it is absolutely fantastic. I think this saying below that I saw awhile ago sort of rings true..... 

Wow

So after having quite a torrid time with my 'old' Giant Anthem with all the bearings needing to be replaced (thanks to Greg for doing this for me) the rear shock needing a drastic service and the front shock to be replaced, I took the leap and purchased a brand new 2013 Giant Anthem X Advanced 29er 1.

WOW, this is my absolute dream bike, it has carbon frame, aluminium rear triangle, RochShox SID 29 RL with the Giant OverDrive 2 steeerer suspension fork, RockShox Monarch Rl rear shock, full Shimano Deore XT (2 x 10) componentry  etc. The full specs can be found here . I went for my first ride this morning and it was incredible, hard to believe that a new bike can handle so well and feel so great, I am so chuffed at the moment.



My old front FOX shock has some nasty grooves on the sanctions

My new pride and joy



The beauty of our morning rides is sometimes ignored because of urge to race..

With regards to the last few weeks, I have had some incredible rides:
2 weeks ago we did the USN Mountain Bike Cup race at the Big Red Barn. This was one of the best races I have ever done, not by the result of where I came, but because of the awesome riding and single track that was in the race. The route was incredible, over 40km of single track in a 47km race. Greg was our local champ and gave us all carrots, followed by myself, Mark, Grant, Justan and Waldi.  

Some dirty boys after the USN MTB Cup at the Big Red Barn

Last week because my MTB was in the shop, I did a bit of road biking. I joined Jacques in the mornings for a couple of 50km rides before work and then rode the 103km Macsteel Carnival City Classic race on Sunday.  This race is relatively flat and extremely fast. I started in group DL with Renier (who ended up wining the group), the pace was really frantic in the beginning for the first 20km we were averaging over 45km per hour. This gradually slowed as I got dropped from the leading bunch  and was picked up by other bunches. Total time was 3:13 with an average of 31.8km/h for the 103km. Chuffed that I finished in a faster time then last year, but still aiming to break the elusive 3:00 barrier.



Reward for the 103km sprint  

How not to do a drop off

Ok so we went to Central Park Trails (Modders) on Sunday. The new starting point and track are absolutely awesome. Greg and I had an incredible ride. I had my iPhone filming in my Optrix cover and got a good 1.5 hours video coverage of the ride.

Below is a short clip of a 'drop off' that I had problems with, it doesn't look too steep in the video (but to me it seemed enormous),  it was grassy with a kink at the bottom. First in the video is Greg showing you how it should be done and then me making a real hash of it....unfortunately, I panicked after taking a tumble here once before and didn't keep my line and then proceeded to hit the front brake sending me tumbling over the handle bars (bruising my ribs on my handle bar in the process). So long story short....this is how you should not go down a drop off, rather keep your bum off the back of the saddle thus putting your weight on the back of the bike, look ahead and gently feather the back brake (leaving the front brake alone)....

Edenvale Serengeti MTB Challenge 02-02-13

Awesome race today at Serengeti Golf Resort. Greg, Chris, Adam, Marco and Mark all had a go at this race on our backdoor. In fact these are the routes that we ride on every weekend so it was  exciting to do this race today. The race was extremely fast, we averaged over 23km/h for the 61km - which Greg and I did in 02:45 (click on link to view Garmin stats). Chris was a few minutes later as he lost his legs the last few kms. Marco and Adam were shunting at the front and took a wrong turn and ended up doing only 44km with a few other guys. The route was badly marked at one point and many people went the wrong way. We missed the turn once and had to ride back, fortunately I knew the route and we turned done the correct road where the other guys carried on straight (so I reckon the are a few unhappy mountain bikers out there today). Quite a few guys were disqualified (incl Adam and Marco) and this pushed us up the finishing order giving me my best result ever in a race - 33rd overall and 9th in category, really chuffed with my result.

Great race and we pumped it the whole way, only resting a bit when Greg had to plug a puncture. Below is a edited video of some of the race taken with my iPhone.

 

 

Nice action shot - you can see it was a bit muddy..

Greg and me at the finish line.....

Weekday rides

So the past few weeks of riding have been really great, we now have a good bunch of guys riding in the mornings (from 6 to 10 guys).  At the moment we are riding 3 times during the week and then longer weekend rides depending on races and bike parks etc.

The riding program we are developing to make our morning rides more fun goes as follows:
1.  Sneak Attack Tuesday – interval training each guy is allowed a sneak attack and when he goes everyone must follow, this is quite fun and makes intervals much more interesting (and competitive)
2.  Long Wednesday – generally do a longer ride on Wednesday 40-45km
3. Time Trial Thursday – we scoped out a route last week, it is about a 12km loop from a central point and the idea is that you go like the clappers and try and improve your time from the week before (and of course beat your mates)

I have also purchased myself a nice new gadget to mount on my bike, it's an Optrix iPhone case. It's really cool, I just slip my Apple iPhone 4 in and with an app loaded on the phone I can take great quality videos of our rides.

This is really great because now I can film those magical rides and edit the footage to post on this blog, so that I can share with  everyone and also have these rides on record for years to come. Here is my first attempt of some of the ride we did this Wednesday morning before work: 

 

Seen here in the video is Greg, Marco, Chris and Mike. Mark and the others opted for shorter route this day and had left us by the tme the video app was started (stick with us boys I will make you famous)....

2013 here we come

So it has been a great week of riding for the first week of 2013. Greg and me have done a few of rides ranging from 40 to 73km, our first was the customary ride on New Years day itself. We also rode with new people this week i.e. Ziggy and Chris which is always refreshing. Below are a few photos from our rides. 

Justin tackling the single track of New Year's day

Only in South Africa do you have railway police patrolling to stop cable theft

Ziggy

Serious Greg

Chris joined us for a great ride on his Santa Cruz with 27inch wheels and saddle hydration pack

The squeak and creak free Greg

Lastly this week I lost a hero with the premature passing of South Africa mountain bike legend Burry Stander after he was senselessly hit by a mini bus taxi. Burry was a incredible inspiration to all mountain bikers and he will be sorely missed for years to come. Burry thank you for the impact your short life had on so many people R.I.P.

Picture taken off Burry Stander's Facebook page courtesy of Gary Perkin

Last ride of 2012

Yes we went out with a bang, with a tough last ride for 2012. This consisted of a +90km ride from Benoni to the TV mast at Heidelberg and back. We started off at a staggering pace averaging around 26km/h for the first 40km (yes it was pretty flat). Then we hit the hills at Heidelberg and had a slow spin up the hill to the TV mast. Coming back to Benoni was a different story as there was a strong headwind, severe heat (high of 35 degrees) and of course tired legs. We stumbled home with an average speed of  22km/h for the total ride. Garmin stats can be found by clicking on this link.

 

Awesome to be at the top - the view is amazing

 

Riding through the mine dumps in the heat...



Greg trying his best to sort out the creak in his seat post



South Africa is a beautiful country

So that is it for 2012 it has been a fantastic year, I have met so many new people, completed my first stage race (Sani2C) and have had some incredible experiences that will be cherished forever.

Here are my stats for 2012:

Distance: 7,578.48 km

Time: 361:17:05 h:m:s

Elevation Gain: 60,089 m

Avg Speed: 21.0 km/h

Avg HR: 141 bpm

Calories: 249,230 C

Bring on 2013 and many more happy kms in the saddle....

Muddy Modders

Great ride yesterday at Moderfontein Trails Mountain Bike Park with Greg and Adam - except for one section that was very muddy. Riding through thick black mud really perturbed me, as this was my first ride with new components on my bike. I just spent a small fortune on replacing my cassette and chain (wear and tear) and my big chain ring (one of the teeth was bent after hitting a rock on a ride last week). 'Modders' is always good to ride at, it is my favourite bike park, there were lots of new sections that I have not ridden before and it is a good work out. Adam was strong as ever and Greg is flying on his new bike. I bought a piece of land when going down one of the drop offs and I panicked and hit the brakes, this resulted in me going over the handle bars, landing really hard and winding myself proper.  



Greg dunking his bike to remove the mud



Adam with a cleaner bike after a quick rinse in the river



Today Greg and me went for a quick ride past the Sandpan, Dunblane and Serengeti Golf Estate. Great to be outdoors on this wonderful day. We saw lots on animals on this ride, a couple of spring rabbits, Guinea fowl and this lovely bullfrog pictured below. 

Staycation 2012

Firstly I would like to wish everyone reading this blog a fantastic Christmas and prosperous New Year!!

Well its that time of the year when I can take some time off work and spend some time with the family (yes my bikes are included in the collective of family). This year we are not going away on holiday but instead we are staying at home for a few weeks. It has been a great few days already and I have managed to go for a few rides on my staycation - 300km this week so far. 

My first few rides were on my road bike as we have been having so much rain and I really wanted to avoid the mud. I was fortunate enough to join Clint and the CycleLink group of road bikers for 2 awesome days riding. The first one was from Benoni to Heidelberg and back, this was a brisk 95km route that was really enjoyable. The second road ride was a different story, the plan was to ride from Benoni to Cresta but after blowing up on the first big hills I told Clint that I could make it to Cresta but was not sure I would make it back home. Clint being the awesome bloke he is, said we would turn around at ZooLake and he would ride back with me whilst the other 10 odd riders would carry on to Cresta. This was a hard ride, the hills really sapped what little energy I had and I finished the 83km with (851m ascent) at quite a slow average speed.

Today Marco and me went for a incredible mountain bike ride out in the farm lands. We avoided most of the mud and completed a nice 75km outride . The views were magnificent and the terrain was not too hard on us, so the pace was pretty good. Here's hoping for a few more rides like this one during the next 2 weeks.

Marco

Yours truly

Nothing better then a pit stop for an ice cold Coke

 

I can see clearly now....

There is another transition (pun intended) in  my cycling life with the purchase of my new awesome Rudy Project dark glasses. Yes I know they don't look very dark but they have prescription transition lenses that go darker in direct sunlight.

So today was my first ride with my new glasses and it was incredible, everything looked so crystal clear and the glasses do not mist up at all when you stop. Greg, Justin and me went for a ride out in the plots of Benoni - Sandpan, Railway track and then back via the side of Serengeti - here are the Garmin stats for the ride.  We did 70km, a little longer than what Justin wanted but he is strong and easily kept up with the 29ers. So that is almost 7000km riding for the year so far, I will be on leave soon so hopefully I will be able to sneak in a few more longer rides before the new year. 

Greg's new ride

So Greg has finally succumbed and joined the 29er club. Today was his first ride on his Scott Spark 910 that he had the pleasure of getting last week. This is a absolutely fantastic bike with full XT, Carbon Frame (ally rear triangle), fox fork, clutch on rear derailleur and dual shock lock out etc...

 

It took some convincing to get Greg to come out with his new bike after all the rain we have been having the past few days. He agreed eventually after sending me this message "..we must avoid mud at all cost!! If there is mud, you carry my bike and I ride yours...and make sure your gloves are clean."  We met at the Wimpy at 05:45 and then headed out, planning to stick to the roads and avoid the mud.....but then we accidentally met up with Adam and Marco (our other riding mates) who were also going for a ride. Plans were changed and we all went on a very lekker 55km ride out past Serengeti Golf Estate and Dunblane Equestrian Estate. Wow did we encounter loads of mud, I could feel Greg grimace every time we came close to water and anything resembling mud (Greg can be a bit pedantic about his bikes sometimes). After a few days of excess eating and drinking at my companies "team building" I was totally flat today and struggled to keep up with the boys at times. Greg has found some new legs with his new bike and it really looks incredible - wishing you many happy miles buddy.   

Greg and his new Scott Spark 910

Yeah 3 in front and 1 lazy bastard trailing behind...

Schweeeeet

 

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

Ready or not here I come...

Tomorrow is my 4th Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully my body will push itself to new limits and I will achieve my personal goal of riding under 03:30. The 94.7 is a great yard stick for me as I can see my improvement on the bike every year - if you troll back through this blog you will see how nicely I have progressed through the years. My first 94.7 was in a time of 05:30, second one 4:50 and last year 03:50. I am hoping that I have done enough training to really go an smash last years time. The weather looks like it is going to be very hot - over 30 degrees Celsius so I have been hydrating quite a bit today. Anyway wish me luck and hopefully my next blog post will have some bragging in it..

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.

 

 

Training for Momentum 94.7

It has been an eventful few weeks since my last blog post. The weather has been a bit mucky and there has been loads of rain. I have managed to keep riding and did a 78km road bike ride with Clint and gang and then a lekker 68km ride with Adam on the MTB the following weekend. Adam and Marco are doing the Berg to Bush MTB stage race this weekend, it really sounds like fun and one to put on the race calendar one day. I had a special day last Sunday when I rode with my 11 year old son for the first time at Modderfontein Trails bike park. He managed 15km and really enjoyed himself on the pristine tracks at 'Modders'.

 

Yesterday I did a Saturday afternoon (55km) MTB ride with Greg and Justin, when we were about 20km from home the heavens opened and it rained really hard. I was drenched to the bone but it was actually quite refreshing riding in the rain and also the mud was washed off my bike making it one less chore to do when I got home.

 

My next race is the Momentum 94.7 road race on the 18th of November so this is the time of the year, when I spend some time on the tar instead of ripping up the dirt.  I did a magic road ride today, it started off as a short spin up Atlas road to loosen the legs from the previous days ride but when I hit Atlas road I caught up with a small bunch of riders and my ride dramatically changed. Being the riding slut I am, I asked where they going and if I could join them. Great bunch of people and we went for a long ride - I finished on 96km with over 800m of ascent - yes we went searching for hills towards Midrand and then Modderfontein.  Here are my Garmin readings showing my ride stats and the route that we did - Sunday 28-10-12 road ride.

 

Yours truly slogging away on the road bike...

 

'Modders' 07-10-12

Today summer is definitely back with a bang, my Garmin recorded temperatures of over 36 degrees Celsius - arm and leg warmers RIP (until I need you gain next year). I had a hard but fantastic ride at Modderfontein Trails bike park. I was fortunate enough to ride with Marco's brother Ricardo, I met him at his house just before six and we then rode to the bike park.  Ric is a strong rider and I spent most of the day just trying to keep up with him. We rode the red route at Modders and I was pleasantly surprised with all the new tracks they have made - this place just gets better and better.

Ric and the beautiful 'Modders' in the background

After a full lap we went back to the start / finish and were joined for a second lap by Ric's wife Lauren. I must admit I was pretty poked by now, so the slightly slower pace on the second (shorter) lap was most welcome. Lauren had a fall and I took it about myself to outdo her a few minutes later. Coming down a drop off my tyre washed away in the sand and I gave the earth a big klap (damage - one really bruised thigh, cuts on the arm and pride hurt slightly).



Don't know what they were doing in there but I had to wait for ages :)

 

 

Lauren smiling after her inadvertent 'lie-down' coming round the corner

Yours truly - battered and bruised but happy to finish

'Modder Garmin stats 07-10-12' it ended up being a great (yet painful ride). Ric and his wife are fantastic, it was great to ride with new people and I experienced new adventures. Fortunately I was 'forced' to get a lift back to Ric house but Ric showing true grit rode home, finishing up on 83km and I am sure over 1000m ascent. Adam and Marco watch out he has got your number...

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