Joberg2c- before the race

Just heard that we will have to cross the Vaaldam, rowing.....eish! Bicycles crossing over in Speed boat. Mmmm how to make myself look like a bike in seven easy steps. Sigh! Left stroke, right stroke, ....capsize the boat?

Joberg2c

So, our bags are packed and we are ready to go, or are we?

Our preparations for Joberg2c

I don't quite know how we got ourselves into this one, the Joberg2c. It started off with a nice evening at a famous restaurant talking about mountain bike rides and how difficult it is to get into them, as they get filled up so quickly. After many a glass of wine and a captain or two we decided we want to enter this new event, Joberg2c. Got home quite excited, BUT, entries closed, all spaces filled up. So we put our names on the waiting list but because some people are more impatient than others, the organisers got their arms twisted in all directions and emails were sent and just before end of last year, we got in! Yaaayyy!

So our training started. Long rides in the saddle. A few climbs. More dirt road. Riding in the rain. Riding in all sorts of conditions. Testing ourselves. Testing each other. Convincing friends to ride with us, to make it easier to go out for the rides. Cleaning bikes. Packing bags. Servicing bikes. Getting new tyres. Getting a new phone with all the gadgets to make and keep contact with the gym and friends. Muddy rides. Dirty, hot and dusty rides. I got a permanent cycling short tan. The tan is getting darker and darker. Hooking and unhooking the bike rack. Pumping tyres. More riding. Did a maintenance course to gain a bit of knowledge of the thing I'm riding all the time. No saddle sores yet. Charging Garmins. I can cycle our route with eyes closed.

One more week before we're off to do the Joberg2c. Please keep in touch and follow our progress here on the blog as well as on Facebook.

I'm adding all the photos of the recent months' riding. Some are on the farm roads between Bronkhorstspruit and Bapsfontein and some on the road to Oyster Bay in the Eastern Cape. All beautiful. Starting off during summer, riding right into autumn. It was really beautiful to see the landscape changing, the different crops growing, the condition of the roads changing.

April 2010 Newsletter

APRIL!

Yes, I know, time flies. Well the Argus is gone. Well done to all the riders. I’m sure you’ve enjoyed it tremendously, and that you will go back next year. Hopefully the Capetonians will have learned to control their wind by next year. Haha.

JOBERG2C.
Rodney and I will be attempting the Joberg2c race, except we see it as an adventure and not a race. We leave the racing to the pros. It is taking place from 23 April – 1 May all the way from Suikerbosrand to Scottburgh.

Total Distance 923km
Total Ascent 12 875m
To see more of the route and to read more about the event check out www.joberg2c.co.za The gym will be closed from 12:00 on Thursday 22 April and will reopen on Monday 3 May at 6:00.

KREMETART
This is a must do on any cyclist’s list of rides to do. It is a road event and can be called, The Argus of the North because of popularity and organisation. It is also nicely warm up North during winter when all of us further South, want to cocoon ourselves in winter woollies. The event takes the form of a 4-stage race except all the stages are happening on one day, starting at 7:00 and the last stage starting at 16:00. You will be provided with lovely food after each stage and they even provide a spectators bus following the cyclists on the 175km route. There is a shorter route of 70km that sounds a whole 100km less daunting. More info on www.kremetartcycling.co.za

Saturday 5 June 2010.

BAVIAANS
Some serious training is already taking place for this event. All the teams haven’t been finalised yet, so please don’t feel you don’t have a team to ride with. Please speak to me so we can start finalising the teams. It is very important that you do train with your teammates, as you do need to get to know them better before attempting the 230km Mtb marathon. I know, August, sounds like a far off month, but believe me, it is not!

I would also like to finalise accommodation in Willowmore, which I’ve explained in a previous newsletter, is a small little Karoo town. All this excitement is taking place on 14 August.

TRAINING RIDES
We do training rides over weekends. Please keep in touch for details of planned rides.

I am in training for The Freedom Challenge later this year and will appreciate any riders coming out to ride with me.

YOUR TRAINING

Although this might sound like only cycling and nothing else, it is eventually about the individual and his/her training. How are you doing? In a rut? Keep your training fresh by adding another day, another time, maybe a run in between spinning days.

Keep fit! Have fun!

Forever Bulla Team

Argus 2010

And so, after lots of training and racing, we were as ready as ever to tackle the Argus 2010. The weather was beautiful, the restaurants deliciously evil, the wines better than ever, and the wind........on race day.......... almost as bad as in 2009. Sigh......

But we, the Bulla Team don't worry about the wind. We had a good time. Campsbay was the Head Quarters and we started off with a delicious breakfast, enjoying the scenery and watching the people passing by. Friends dropped in at HQ and we just had to celebrate that.

Breakfast turned slowly into lunch while the 12 apostles were frowning on our eating habits.

More friends dropped in at HQ and we had to lift a glass of wine in their honour.

We ate some more, and watch as the day drew to a close with the most beautiful sunsets. If you missed out this year on the Argus, just make up your mind not to miss it again. How could you with a sunset like this.

The next morning we got confronted by the howling South Easter. I tried not to think about the wind, but rather concentrated on the people around me, like these jockeys.

I still don't like Boyes Drive, and was swearing under my breath about uncompleted road works. The rest of the route with the beautiful scenery made up for it. The end was a bit like a construction site and we had to go from here to there to here to there to here. I'm sure next year will be a total different end with the stadium at Greenpoint completed. At the end we got welcomed by the rest of the Bulla Team already in.   

The huge beer tent was crowded, loud, boisterous, filled with tired cyclists, sweaty cyclists and grinning family members. Some fairies also came in.......... 

We ended this wonderfully jam-packed day with a scrumptious meal and get-together at the Brass Bell. All the stories were told and retold accompanied by more eating and more wine. Will I do it again? What a question. See you next year!

Wear a Black Band

The cycling community is shocked by the killing of 3 cyclists outside of Oudsthoorn. Their last training ride for the Argus Cycle Tour. It is for this same reason that The Argus Cycle Tour was initiated by a couple of friends, and that was 32 years ago. A lot can be said about what has government, municipalities et al done to find harmony between motorists and cyclists.

I don't want to go that route but would rather ask, what have we as cyclists done to make sure we have a safe ride. Don't point a finger, rather find solutions. Make things work, get involved.

I urge my Spinning Gym and all other cyclists to wear a black arm band on Argus Sunday (14 March) to show solidarity that we want to find solutions, that we want to be able to cycle safely and to show empathy with the families.

Wear the band!

Cycling South Africa (CSA) has responded with the following:

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Wednesday 10 March 2010


CYCLISTS TO WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS AT CYCLE TOUR

Thousands of the 35000 entrants of Sunday’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour will wear black armbands to show a collective sorrow at the death of three cyclists hit by a motorist outside Oudtshoorn on Monday morning.

Frank Nel (60), Jan Elloff (73) and Magda van Lill (50) died instantly when the bunch they were riding in was hit by a bakkie overtaking a truck on the R62, nine kilometres outside Oudtshoorn.

“This is yet another tragic incident which could have been avoided,” said Hendrik Lemmer, Director of Cycling South Africa’s Road Cycling Commission.

“On behalf of Cycling South Africa, I’d like to extend condolences to the families of those cyclists who died. I also want them to know that our appeal to cyclists to wear black armbands in the Cycle Tour on Sunday is more than a sign of our collective sorrow, it’s a commitment to do something about the lack of general awareness of cyclists on our roads.”

Lemmer says that Cycling South Africa is committed to working with the authorities to make the roads safer for cyclists.

“It’s not something that can be done overnight, because it’s a matter of raising awareness and changing attitudes,” explained Lemmer. “But we’re determined to succeed. We have the most active recreational cycling culture in the world and it’s growing daily as more and more people discover the health and fitness benefits of the sport. On behalf of all cyclists in this country, I appeal to motorists to please be more aware.”

On Tuesday, it was announced that one of South Africa’s top professional cyclists, Daryl Impey, had become a patron of Sign-Up, a national campaign aimed at raising funds to erect more government-approved ‘beware cyclist’ signs along popular cycling routes throughout the country.

“I think cyclists and motorists need to begin by obeying the laws of the road,” said Impey. “Cyclists need to realise we are not owners of the roads and vice versa. I believe we (the cyclists) should set an example for others to follow. It takes one second to slow down but also one second to kill someone, mutual respect is what we need.”

Impey races on Lance Armstrong’s Radioshack team and is a rising star on the international cycling stage. He is currently in the country accompanying Armstrong during his visit this week to Cape Town in conjunction with the JAG Foundation. Both will compete in Sunday’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, which, in terms of numbers, is the world’s largest cycle race.

“It is great to have Daryl as an ambassador and patron of Sign-Up and it will hopefully bring us much deserved exposure’, said Shaun Hannie, founder and chairman of Sign-Up.

“At this time, this is the only national cyclist awareness campaign in South Africa and it’s completely reliant on sponsorship and donations. Frustratingly, we can’t brand national road signs with corporate logos, but we appeal to companies that support cycling to support Sign-Up. One extra sign could safe one cyclist’s life…”

To find out more about Sign-Up and its initiatives, visit www.sign-up.co.za


ENDS.

Wear the band!

Some statistics of cyclists fatalities in 2008


             GA   KZ   WC   EC   FS   MP    NW   LI   NC   RSA
 Bicycle 77  22  47  20  14  26  51  24  7  288


Information from Arrive Alive!

The Argus and the Baviaans

Goodness Gracious! It is March already. I hope that you have by now slotted yourself into a nice training programme.

Lots have been happening here at the gym. The bike workshop with Gert was a huge success as was the Urban Assault. We’ve also done a couple of good training rides as well as some racing, road and dirt. The most successful was the Ride for Sight with many participants from the gym.

Argus 2010

We wish all the riders taking part in this year’s Cape Argus, a wonderful ride with a lot less wind than last year. Go fast, but go safe!

The gym will be closed from Fri. 12/3 – Mon. 15/3. Classes will run normally again from Tues 16/3. Just a reminder that Mon 22/3 is a public holiday and that the gym will be closed. And then in April, the gym will also be closed during the Easter long weekend Fri 2/4-Mon 5/4.

Baviaans MTB Challenge: 14/15 August.

I’ve received a lot of interest for the Baviaans this year. It is a mountain bike marathon starting in Willowmore to Jeffrey’s Bay. 230km in 24hrs! Willowmore is a tiny little town in the Karoo and accommodation is scarce. I’m busy organising accommodation and if you are definitely sure you want to do this, speak to me URGENTLY otherwise I’ll have to leave you to find your own accommodation. Accommodation in the school hostel is available with thin mattresses and rickety beds and 2-drip showers. I’m looking for something a little more comfortable. I’ve put a list of sorts together. If you don’t understand all the technical talk, please ask.

You will need:
Gear
A Mountain Bike with shocks. (Dual suspension an added bonus).
Bike lights- Rodney is the man to talk to.
Headlamp
Slime
Squirt
Chain links
Spare Batteries/ Battery packs
Tubes/pump/CO2 bommers
Backlight
Cable Ties
Duct tape
Camel bag /Bottles
First Aid Pack
Whistle
Multi tool
Chain breaker

Clothes
Rain jacket
Extra cold jacket
Leg warmers/ long cycling pants
Toasties socks
Gloves: short/long/rain
Undergarments: Nike/Canterbury/second skin
Cycling shoes, maybe extra pair for wet weather.
Buff/winter buff/balaclava
Extra set of riding clothes for change over.


Food
Energy bars
Biltong/Dry wors
Bananas
Nuts
Energy drinks.
Lots of food and drink are available at all the checkpoints. You just need extra for in between checkpoints.

Remember: It is not what you’ve got, but how you train, that counts.