September, October and November Training

It is that time of the year again, with winter gone and the 94.7 looming. Previously we promised training rides and it never happened, but hooray, hooray at last a training programme has been worked out to prepare you for the 94.7
Of course this doesn’t mean that only the mean and serious riders can participate in these rides. Not at all, these rides are open to all, so dust your bikes off, shake it from its winter sleep and come ride with us.
It also doesn’t mean that you have to do each and every ride. Adapt it to your training programme, or do all, but have fun! The programme will consist of hill training, time trials and cycling races.

Hill training:
This route will start at the gym, down Rutgers street, left into Blouhaak and left into Hans Strydom, up, up, up all the way to the top, left into Rubenstein and left into Kariega. You are now back at the gym. We will only do an hour of lap training, starting at 8:00. The route is only 4km, so see how many laps you can do in an hour. There will be coffee and muffins at the gym afterwards to listen to all the stories and to share your own.

Time trial:
The time trial route is 34km and will start at Kitty Hawk on the Boschkop road.
Cyclists will depart at one-minute intervals and no drafting is allowed. The idea of a time trial is to see how fast you can cycle the route on your own steam. We will start with the slowest cyclist leaving first and the fastest last. After the 34km we will have breakfast at Kitty Hawk, with all finishing more or less at the same time. Also starting at 8:00

Here are the dates:

9 September: Hill training

16 September: Dome-to-Dome Race

23 September: Dischem Vitathion Race

30 September: Time Trial

14 October: Vodacom Classic Race

21 October: Time Trial

27 October: Telkom Race

28 October: Hill training

4 November: Hill training

11 November: Bakwena Race

18 November: 94.7 !

Pretty impressive I know, But I hope to see many of you at the rides.
Happy cycling!

Bulla One and the Baviaans

If you thought that we were impressive, just read the story or the ride about Bulla One. Christo almost had to ride with the Bulla Team and he would have but fate had it otherwise. Finally , finally on number 99 we found Christo a partner, Dennis Finch. We didn't know he was a pro, but we clearly understood when he unpacked his bag on Race Day. The best quality of cycling jerseys, tops, leg warmers, bootees, caps, gloves, you name it, he had them all plus an array of other drool over goodies. But what a nice down to earth guy. We were all glad that Christo found a great partner.

After sorting out Christo's light with a better fitting so it won't topple him and the bike over, they were also ready to go.

As we checked in at the different checkpoints, we received the latest reports from Maggie and Elzet of their fast progress. "They are 35min ahead of you"."They are 1hour and 25min ahead of you". We didn't ask again, they were clearly in a different league.

On top of the beast of a mountain they put their lights on, Dennis in front, but Christo always reassuring his teammate: " Dennis I'm here."

Their support Juliana and Marina had to follow a different route and only saw them at Komdomo for the first time, that's after about 170km. Marina always wanted to be a sports photographer and really took the opportunity to show her style. With reel after reel of film falling into the developing basket, they waited with abated breath at the end for the two heroes to come in. And so we are waiting to see the photos she took. They came in at a mere 13hours and 39min. If it wasn't for the buck that jumped in front of Christo's bike and unfortunately got killed in the process, they could have shaved more minutes off their time. The story of the buck is true. A Duiker was run over by a bike. We saw the evidence of buck hair still stuck on the bike.

So they went to bed and didn't wait for us to finally arrive. But the next morning Christo's face said it all; What an experience!

Till next year then, when we will hopefully see you there!

The Bulla Team and The Baviaans

Well, after a long battle again with Telkom, here I am at last to tell the story of the Bulla Team and the Baviaans. So much to tell, what do I tell and what do I leave out? The easiest I think is to tell you about the Bulla Team and then about Bulla One

(that is now Christo and Dennis Finch).

Yes, it was a long drive down and we have wisely decided to do it by air next time, but it was still fun driving to Willowmore, offload most of the stuff, drive to St Francis, drive to Jeffreys Bay, drive back to Willowmore with all team members now in a 4x4.

The morning dawned freezingly cold. We were packing, repacking,

testing the bikes, packing the support vehicle and waiting for the

starting time which was only at 10:00. Some were more nervous

than others and tried to calm themselves by doing warming up

exercises in the dirt road in front of the house in Willowmore.

The ride itself went fine with a few hick ups here and there. Rodney had a bad fall and with that came a few trouble spots. He lost his granniest of granny gears and with those hills he needed them all. The problem was he forgot he had lost a gear and keep shifting over to the missing gear, with the result the chain kept on falling in between the granny and the plastic plate.(ok, ok, it got stuck!) Of course it does call for throwing toys in all directions and lots of yanking.

Then came the deep river crossing and Renzo got his tyre's sidewall slashed. Ok, no problem, we have one tube, we have bommers, we have a tube and we have 3 bommers but we also have a pump. But if we use the pump, we can save the bommers and maybe we should save the tube too. But if we can put the tube in and only half inflate, we can save the bommers. That is the gist of the two men conversation going on while I'm standing waiting for something to happen. In the end with a hurried word or two from me, they got going again just to have the tube blown out of the tyre still fully inflated. That was touch and go, but in the end they did it perfectly-took about 30minutes?

The Baviaans only start testing you when there is only about 50km left over. The never ending hill seems like it was going to never end. The pace got slower and slower but eventually we did reach our support team. After chasing Red Bull, V-Power and double coffees down their throats, we attacked the last 25km with gusto. We made it in style and came in 20hours and 27 minutes.

Our support team was the best team! Not blinking at any of our demands, always ready, packing and repacking the 4x4. Driving where no man has been before-well almost. Sitting up in the cold, waiting for us at 4 in the morning, greeting us with cheers and smiles and I will never forget Elzet's words: Jissie! Julle is oulik, julle lyk goed. Thanks to Maggie and Elzet for fantastic support. To my teammates Rodney and Renzo; We made it as a team, finishing together. You made my day!

We sort of worked it out, we think:

The Baviaans is only about 100 000 pedal strokes.

Anyone with a closer answer? How many pedal strokes on 230km? More or less.

We are riding

Just a short "Hello".

The team is out riding.

We will be back to tell the whole story.

Keep checking in

We've done it!

We've done it! I mean the gym has done it! I mean Abri and Kie did it!

What??!!

They came 1st in the tandem race on the 35km lap race around the Union Buildings. Congratulations! To all of you who doesn't know, Abri is one of the spinning instructors here at the gym.

Talking about winning, or almost winning......so close for Robbie Hunter at the last stage of the Tour de France. He still came second in the sprinters jersey. To all the fans, Robbie Hunter will be at Cyclelab on 2nd August from about 9:00 to autograph a 1000 shirts at R100 a shirt. The money will go to a cycling development programme which will be run by Robbie Hunter.

The 9th of August is a public holiday, so no spinning classes because everyone I know is cycling the Carousel. You have entered, of course?

The Baviaans Mountain bike marathon is getting closer and the gym is sending a delegation down to be part of this news worthy event. Christo has strike it big in that he has been sponsored by a company to be part of their team. The other team is Bulla Team, Rodney, Gerda and Renzo with Elzet and Maggie as support. The gym will therefore be closed on 16 and 17 August as well as 20 and 21 August. We will however make up for the loss of classes by giving you a full report of the event as well as loads of pictures to drool over.

The weather is getting more favourable, meaning Spring is almost here. If you haven't done anything in the gym during the winter time it is now a perfect time to start training for the 94.7 or just to get fit and to live healthy.

Lots of news!

Lots of news with what is happening with Barlowworld team at the tour de France, our own ride at The Cradle and more news from the market place.

Firstly, isn't it just amazing to see Robbie Hunter and team managing podium finishes?! Wonderful to say the least.

To go back to our wonderful ride at The Cradle of Mankind, a wonderful ride with about 18 participants. Also a well deserved lunch at the end at The Teaspoon and Tankard. The weather was mild and we all set off at not too hectic a pace as we had to wait for a flat to be fixed at the start. And off we went, uphill! A clear break came between the roadies and mountain bikers. As hard as the mountain bikers peddled, the roadies still pulled away.

There were lots of hills to deal with, out of breath hills, not so long hills and koppies. We managed them all. Here Anthon and Ivin are dealing with the "out of breath" koppie

Janine doing the "smiling uphill"

And the beautiful winding, open road.

The support vehicle was an absolute blessing as we were helped with punctures, cramp pills, something to eat and just moral support all the way. We all agreed that the next ride is not to be missed.

A very interesting website has been brought under my attention by Silke. http://www.escapecycletours.com/. Would you like to go on a biking holiday? They have a really great holiday selection to choose from. 6 Days mountain biking from Knysna to Gordon's Bay. I liked the mountain biking on a Karoo farm, but to extend the holiday and go further to the coast at Port Elizabeth. Another amazing tour is a 3Night/4Day Baobab tour at Mapungubwe. Go to the new poll and tell us what you think, would you like to go on a cycling holiday. We might just organise something like that.

Now if you thought that the Baviaans Mountain bike Marathon is a challenge, go to http://www.freedomchallenge.org.za/ and see what that is all about. Just a short peep tells you about 2300km from Pietermaritzburg to Cape Town in 26 days. You have to carry all your stuff on your back. You only get a map to navigate, and you have to peddle, carry your bike, peddle, peddle and peddle. Go read the full story on http://www.cyclelab.co.za/ "Freedom Challenge Report" of Hannele Steyn Kotze who came 3rd overall in the race. Her story is about endurance, about a mind, about finding your deeper soul. Really amazing stuff. By the way, the Baviaans mountain bike route forms part of the freedom challenge route. Incredible! Go read it.

Next weekend is the Tshwane lap race around the Union Buildings. Hope you've entered!

In the Market Place

In my surfing on the Internet, I've found some weird and wonderful sites and thought it might be something different to share with you. Go see, go shop and tell me what you think. Maybe you have also sites that you think might be interesting to share.

Try this one if you would like to do a different kind of ride. "Ride the tide" they say, in other words, ride fast enough to be home and dry before the tide comes in. Go see http://www.wildride.co.za/. It is all happening on the Wild Coast-Transkei.

Illovo stands for sugar, but also for it seems like, looks like, a beautiful country ride. It is among the sugar plantations at the Eston Club in KZN. About 20min from Pietermaritzburg,just off the N3. It is all happening on the 5th Aug and not too late to enter. Remember the weather in KZN in August is marvelous, not cold. Looks like great fun, go try it or go look http://www.illovo.co.za/ Click on Mountain bike challenge.

How about this one:
http://www.nationalindoorrowingchallenge.com/ Wow! A mouth full. It is all happening on the 23 September and it looks like a mighty good event. If you don't want to participate, to just go and have a peep. If rowing is your other sport, the challenge is on!

I found the most amazingly little sunscreen wipes the other day at Bruce Reyneke Cycles. Absolutely handy little sachet. Tear it open and viola! your little sunscreen Factor 30 wipe inside. Wipe your face and all other sun-exposed parts. No more creams, oils or messy half used sunscreen bottles. Oh!Zone is the product name and it is from the Wellbeing Company. The website is http://www.zonerange.com/ but seems to be out of range.

A whole new range of sports wear has come onto the market and it really looks superb. It is smart designing, combined with technical fabrics which will definitely improve your performance. It is not a brand for all sports but concentrates on swim wear, cycling and triathlon wear. Good bye to the baggy cycling shirts and not so nicely fitting shorts. Go try, go see, go shop at http://www.slick.co.za/.

An Internet sport site just for girls. The site was developed by Kass Naidoo and her husband Ryk Meiring. Kass, Kass, Kass, I hear you saying. Yes, Kass the woman cricket commentator, awards handing overer, man of the match announcer. Aaah, that Kass. Go woman, go sport, go http://www.gsport.co.za/. The site will be one year old in September with their first sport's woman of the year award, I think coming up in August.

Well that is it for now. Let me know of any other, site sport wise or otherwise you think is worth looking into.