Bela Bela Ride:May 2009

It is always nice to do one of the easier rides on the riding calender. And to get more people of the gym taking part, an added bonus. Diarise this event as a "must do" for next year if you've missed out this year. It is a fairly flat ride with barely a hill, starting at the waterfront centre, going through town and then pass Settlers on the way back to Bela Bela.

The end is a nice get together with enough drinking holes to choose from. As you can see, only happy faces. Well done to Jacolien for getting back onto the bike! See you all next year!

Noon to Moon: May 2009

Now for those who have been to the Petit Paris in the Freestate will know how much fun it always is to do this event. The organising is well done, the people always friendly and helpful and with a revamped cycle trail it promised to be the best. Although I tried my bestest, only one team from the gym made it out to the event.

On Saturday morning we set out and the closer we got to the event the more worried we got. Normally by that time we would have passed a number of cars with mountain bikes on racks of various shapes and sizes, except we didn't see any. We even thought we had the date wrong! As we pulled into Petit Paris we saw them, tents, people, gasbraais, mountain bikes a plenty. With a sigh of relief and a hurried feeling to get the registration done and bikes ready we pulled into the perfect parking spot.

One minute before the Le Mans start of the race, the announcer called out our team number. Yes? Us? Can't be! A marshall closed the gate which our bikes were leaning against, and by accident cut the sidewall of my tyre with the razor wire. Oomph! Go tubeless, all the time! Just spinned the wheel a couple of times, checked the pressure and it sealed it by itself. So off we went! Well, sort of....a Le Mans start of the race means we had to run the first part, about 100m. I know it isn't a lot, but that is why I cycle and not run. Anyway, we got going.

As I said the trail had been changed and what a winner it was. Starting going passed the buildings, up a slight hill which was single track, sidestepping a few boulders, over the top, down hill, single track, rocky bumpy part, sharp left and a fast jeep track. Then sharp right, cross over the railway line, down a rough, bumpy track, where it evened out into a fast track through the trees (beautiful part) out on the other side making a fast line to the dam wall. A sharp, steep short very muddy uphill to get on top of the dam wall, bouncy grassy ride on the dam wall and then steep down with a sharp right at the bottom. Short sharp steep up again (or you could opt for the chicken run), passed the horses and the stables (that was nice) and cross the deep donga over a rickety grid. A fast track mixed with single track, next to the railway line for a short bit, and then the sharp left with a short steep climb and down the other side followed immediately with a steep short climb over the rickety bridge which brought you back to the start and the end of lap one. As we cycled lap after lap, I tried to memorise the track to make it just easier for myself when we have to do the night riding. The nose of the rock sticking out too far, or the line through the muddy part, or the up part after the rickety grid over the deep donga.

As the light started to fade, we decided to do one more lap before our stop to eat, add more clothing to our attire for night riding and of course add the lights to our bikes.

Being a noon to moon ride it meant we had to start at 12:00 and ride till 24:00. It always seems to me that the day time riding goes much faster and that during the night riding you have to struggle around yet another lap......of course it is all just in the mind.


The change over inside the big barn-like hall for the 24hour riders were absolutely abuzz with riders, friends, supporters and the like. The "grand stand" which was specially built for the occasion was packed with supporters. On the strike of midnight, our ride came to an end and we were welcomed in with a big cheer from the grand stand. We did 14 laps which came to a good 113km.

Of course we will do it again.

When does one stop training?

The following poem talks about human longevity.

the horse and mule live thirty years

And nothing know of wine and beers;

The goat and sheep at twenty die

And never taste of Scotch or rye;

The cow drinks water by the ton

And at eighteen is almost done;

The dog at fifteen cashes in

Without the aid of rum or gin;

The cat in milk and water soaks

And then in twelve short years it croaks;

The modest, sober, bone-dry hen

Lays eggs for noggs, then dies at ten

All animals are strictly dry,

They blameless live and early die.

But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men

Survive for three-score and ten -

And some of us, a very few,

Stay pickled till we're ninety-two

Anon

When does one stop training? Well, why would you want to stop? The Comrades marathon is coming up and it always amazes me how many "old" people are running, enjoying it and finishing a gruelling event like the Comrades. So the answer to the question is, never. Don't stop training.

To all of you who haven't started any training yet, what is keeping you from jumping in? Most of the times, it is just a decision..

See you at the gym or out there training!

I'm back!

I'm back , I think! .....

After 10000 of teddy bears and attending Silke's wedding in Italy and trying to deal with so many public holidays in one month....Phew!.....I think I'm back.

So keep watching this favourite spot as a lot is happening in the coming months. From an easy Bela Bela coming up to an absolute challenge for Rodney, the R2R.

R2R stands for Ride to Rhodes. A monster, with all the ups and downs like climbing up and sliding down the Dragon's back. Check out more details and meet some of the riders on http://www.freedomchallenge.org.za/

So we will keep you posted, making you drool with envy. The rest of course is all happening in the gym. That is where all the inside stories are told, where we boast about our achievements, where we laugh. So join us and be part of some great fun.

I know this is not cycling but doesn't she just absolutely look lovely! .......Ignore, it's mother talk.

Riding Season

This is indeed the riding season of the year where all roadies are on the road (you guessed it) preparing for the Argus Cycle Tour.

We here at the gym kicked off with a great number of riders taking part in the first event, the Pick n Pay Star Fast One (say that 10 times fast). I was quite nervous as I haven't had the change to get on my road bike since the 94.7. But funny enough as soon as your bum hits the saddle you just go into drive mode and off you go. The ride was fairly fast, with a bit of a headwind every now and again, not too badly but the rain came as a surprise and caught the tail-enders. We made ourselves at home underneath the canopy and watched the cyclists come in, patiently waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.

All had a story to tell. The story of the two punctures in one race-really bad. And about the first road race on a brand new bike and about the Garmin that is a better timer than the Polar. And through all these stories we cheered each other with another cold beer.

Here they come........

And more arrived....

We still don't know whose idea it was to go back by bus to the start. As the Fast One is an open-ended race we normally organise a driver to fetch and take. But for some reason this year we decided to do it differently. This was the result....

Eventually it was our turn to get onto the bus. More war stories were told while waiting in the queue, so I suppose it wasn't that bad. Our bikes got loaded onto a trailer and each bike was covered with a blanket. It looked strange, almost if one was going to put the bike to sleep. At last we were all on the bus and on our way back.

Till our next event which is the Emperor's Palace race. Haven't done it before, so will have to wait and see.

What is happening @ the gym?

Well for starters, it seems like everyone is back and a few new faces too. Well done for surviving the big eating time! It does feel fantastic though to get back into our familiar routine of spinning and ball classes and adding to that a few out rides too.
It seems like the double class on a Tuesday evening at 18:30 is not getting the same enthusiastic crowd of last year, so here is the first change in 2009. No more double spin classes on a Tuesday. In place of that we will have another ball class at 18:30 and another spin class at 19:30. By the way, when last have you changed your exercise routine? Are you still on the same routine of two classes a week the way you started 2 years ago? Remember the 7-day week, ok.

The Argus Cycle Tour Is Looming
For all of you training for the Argus, this is the time to really knuckle down and work hard. It is just such a short period of time and then it is all over till next year. So come on, let’s put in an all out effort, training with vigor, raising our goals, achieving more.
By now you have booked your flight, if you are flying down, booked accommodation, and making sure your bike is arriving in Cape Town in one piece.

JH Retief
For R680 you can get your bike taken down to the Argus and back.

Packing in @ Centurion

27/2 from 9:00-17:00
28/2 from 9:00-17:00
1/3 from 9:00-17:00
Packing out in Cape Town
6/3 from 11:00-17:00
7/3 from 8:00-17:00
8/3 from 7:00
Post Argus Collection @ Centurion
13/3 from 9:00-17:00
14/3 from 9:00-17:00
16/3 from 9:00-17:00

or

Elliott-they are amazing

For a whopping R750 you can have your bike travel in utter luxury!

Pick up @ Centurion Cycle Lab
1/3 from 9:30-17:00
Unpack in Cape Town
6/3 from 12:00-18:00
7/3 from 9:00-18:00
Back @ Centurion
12/3 from 9:30 –17:00

Book now, if you haven’t yet. Time is running out.

Upcoming Races

• Berge en Dale is taking place this Sat 31 Jan.
• Emperor’s Palace on Sun 8 Feb
• Ride for Sight on Sun 15 Feb
• Carnival City MacSteel Sun 22Feb
  
  Get all the links to enter the races here on the blog.

http://www.cyclelab.co.za/

www.cyclingnews.co.za

http://www.entrytime.co.za/

As always, your enthusiastic, cheering you on, Bulla Team

Feasting time......

Aaah, what a wonderful time we had, getting out and doing absolutely whatever we fancied. I know it sounds incredible, but me, your spinning instructor went on an indulging spree of note.

It was fry-up breakfasts, delicious Christmas cakes loaded with brandy cream or double thick brandy cream, pubs, pubs and pubs.

I have to show you some of the best delicacies I indulged in. Just to make you jealous, or make you feel better.How's this for pizzas, so big it could easily fill two plates, but I had the whole pizza...mmmmm.

Then came the Christmas dinner in a very quaint pub in a very old little village, with a log fire warming the dining room and driving out the cold. I'm glad I'm not smoking because you have to do all of that outside. By the way, this wonderful cheese dish was only the starters to the Christmas dinner. I was not planning to show you the rest of the meal, but all of it tremendously delicious.

Of course we had to quench our thirst as well. OOhh Pleeze... it wasn't water! No, we tried different beers, mixes and the rest. Well, in the end after seeing this billboard, I decided to stick with Guinness. I saw many other signs stating that Guinness makes you strong...thinking of the mountains I had to pedal up, I had another Guinness....to make me strong.

Of course the weather didn't play along either. In UK and Ireland it was bitterly cold. We were lucky though, no rain! We were dressed up to the eyebrows. You try and cycle with gear like that! That was the last straw to the camel's back. We were picking up weight and fast.

That was the festive season and I'm sure many of you went through the same agony. Eating, eating and no training.

Well, the festive season is over. We are slam bang in a whole new year which we can shape the way we like. It is your choice. We are back in the gym, back on our bikes and we are shedding the extra kilo's, slowly but surely.

What about you?