....continued.......

More smiling faces and more interesting stories. Michele smiling so broadly cause husband Thys was taking the picture. Training so hard for the 94.7 just to get a bad bout of the flu before the event. What a shame, but next year we will definitely see her racing.






Another Michelle, and Rob having some fun at the year-end. Rob did the 94.7 mountain biking event and declared a complete week of rest days after that. But he still claimed he had fun.

Stefan and Andaleen: We know the story about the shoes, but we are waiting in anticipation to see the bike he is going to buy in the new year. What is next Stefan, the Baviaans?


Martie and Kallie having fun and Kallie assured me that he is now ready for spinning next year...........after flying and quad bikes and motorbikes and Mozambique and............at least Martie is spinning and spinning she is.......was good to see you there.



There are really many many more photos to share with you but I think I'll call it a day with this one, the signing of the Bulla shirt. As a momento of the evening we asked everyone to sign the Bulla shirt , which we will now frame and put up in the gym.

It was a great year and this is what you had to say about it, the gym and about spinning and exercise...........


........to be continued once again.....................

Tell us about it!

And so finally it was time for our year-end function. The theme this year was; "Tell us about it" where many a spinner had a chance to share his/her special highlight of the year. With all the preparations done and the tables set, we just had to wait for the special guests to arrive, that's you of course.

Talking about highlights. We had quite a few here at the gym throughout 2007. Just to mention a few, The Cape Argus Cycle Tour -check out the Hall of Fame article in the archive. The Baviaans of course-check out what the two teams achieved and most recently the 94.7 hospitality tent. But most importantly to me is what you have achieved in this past year. Just to mention a few names, Stefan bought cycling shoes at last and took the plunge and went mountain biking at Northern Farms. Mario took part in his first ever road race and that, the monstrous 94.7.Lanie started off at such a vigorous pace that we dreaded what was still to come. Amanda eventually decided that the ball class sounded challenging enough and added that to her spinning classes. Janine who progressed in her cycling by leaps and bounds. So many to mention, but I think a cheer to all that tried to stay fitter and healthier this year.

Back to the year end. It was laughing, happy faces all round. Although only recently joining the spinning Andrea and husband Brian looked very relaxed and happy about their first year-end function with us.

To see if your smiling face had been captured by our very talented photographer, please log in tomorrow night for more.


.....................to be continued..............

94.7 Video!

This is the last about the 94.7 cycle challenge. Just a reminder that all your photographs are on the http://www.mypicture.co.za/ site. Go check them out and please donate one to the gym. I would like to make a Hall of Fame picture board. Would be nice, don't you think so.

Ok, and here is the video about the 94.7. Cross your fingers and see if it's working.....

2007 Racing to the end

And so it is that we are racing to the end of 2007, and what an excellent way in doing that by taking part in the 94.7 Cycle Challenge. We saw best times ever, excellent times and first times. With weather reports forecasting stormy weather and rain, we were all relieved to see a beautiful day dawning. After making sure that the new gazebo got delivered on time at the hospitality area and that our hostess Amanda was on her merry way to wait for the first arrivals and to sign off the food platters and most importantly the drinks and ice, the riders set off to the start of the race.

First in was Christo, of course, in 2:46. He didn't mind waiting for the next rider to come in, and so the welcoming committee grew as the day progressed and as the riders came in.

We hardly had time to sit down to a beer and listen to the brave story when we all had to get up again and welcome in the next member.

No...........they were not part of the "three blind mice" musical. Of course the welcoming committee got merrier and merrier as the day progressed.

We ate and drank and talked and repeated these tasks with a vigour. It was time for our friend Mario -or as he is known in the gym " Mr M" - to come in. Everyone was speculating about his time, being his first ever cycle race, and his ability to complete such a strenuous ride and a lot of toasts were made in his absence. At last the hero was spotted and the welcoming committee once again rose to the occasion

He was welcomed like a lost son. We overheard his phone call to his wife telling her: "These people don't stop hugging me". Of course that called for more beers and brave stories. To all the other first timers; Janine and Cheryl, well done!

To all the Bulla members who proudly worn their Bulla cycling shirt on the big day, I say Thank You! It was wonderful seeing you coming in with smiles on your faces. It was also easy spotting you in the crowd. To the anonymous sponsor who sponsored part of the day, a big thank you, we were like a big family, one in spirit, all going for gold. To Amanda who offered her services just to be part of the event Thanks Girl! Afterwards I sent her a sms thanking her again for her time. Her reply was: it's a great pleasure, but I won't do it again next year. I will be riding myself, I was so inspired by Mario.
What more can I say..............

Keep Riding

When I said we are having a year-end function, it didn't mean at all that the gym will now be closed, not at all. Gym times will be running as normal through December up to the 15th. From Tuesday 18 December only the 6am classes will still be open . Of course from Christmas to New Year even us will be closed.

So while we are all waiting for time to pass until Santa is emptying his sack on our lounge floor, let's keep riding.
You have till Monday 19 November to enter for the Cradle to cave MTB Challenge. It is all happening at the Nedcor Olwazini Training Centre at Kromdraai- I've heard that name before! Only 45km or only 25km in beautiful surroundings and a well organised ride. The race takes place on Sunday 25 November and starts at 7:30.
See you out there with your mountain bike, getting dirty!

Year-End Function!

18 November: 94.7 !
And so, this is all that is now remaining of our training programme…the 94.7 Cycle Challenge. We trained hard and I’m sure you will see the results of your training. It was really great not to have to train on my own and thanks to everyone who has joined in with the hill training, time trials and races. Remember we will be waiting at the Bulla hospitality area after the race, and yes, we will be waiting till all is in. Come and join us for drinks and eats and share your experience with us.

Year-End Function
This is what everyone was waiting for, our year-end function. All I can say from previous year-ends, they are getting better and better. So grab your diary and don’t miss out on THE event of the year. As always there will be surprises and NO, Amanda will not win the raffle this year.
It will take place on Friday 30 November @ 18:30 for 19:00 at Cocos, Castle Walk. Lets face it, they know us so well by know and are very tolerant to all our party moods. I hope to see many, if not all of you there. I need to make the final booking by Tuesday 27 November. RSVP!

Money Money Money
Unfortunately the spinning card price will go up for next year and will cost R250 for 11 classes (R22.70 a class) not bad at all! The good news is, that you can buy as many spinning cards as you like now, at this year’s price of R220 and use them in the New Year. A single class will cost R35.00

New!
We have started at the gym with one on one ball classes, meaning you can have your own personal instructor to help you with the ball classes but not only that, we would also like to extend that to the spinning. So if you would rather like to train on your own, book your times and classes now. Times are Mon-Thurs from 14:00-17:00. Classes will be 50min long and costs will be R100 per class. 10 class packages are available (R1000) and will be booked in advance. Please speak to Gerda.

16:30 Classes
All 16:30 classes will fall away from next year. These classes will be turned into personal trainer classes.

17:30 Classes
All 17:30 classes will from next year be spinning classes and will be presented by Zoë.

Evening ball classes
Mondays and Wednesdays at 18:30 will be ball classes from next year.

Double Classes
And from next year there will be a double spinning class available every week. It will be every Tuesday 18:30-20:00 (90 min in all). So if you would really like a bit of a longer workout or if you are training for a specific event, be there on Tuesdays. You will be allowed to leave early if you had enough but will not be allowed to join halfway through a class.

Many new things at the gym! Keep training!
See you at the party!

The Bulla Team

Trick or Treat

It is Trick or Treat day today, 31st October, and what a pleasant surprise we had at the gym........

Made me think....am I tricking myself when I'm training, or am I treating myself when I'm training.

Good news is that I finally got rid of Telkom internet and am using iburst and hopefully more news and pics will be forthcoming.

A reminder of Sunday's hill training starting at the gym at 7am. Only 4km and only for an hour. Hope to see you on Sunday. As always, coffee and muffins afterwards.

Results of the time trials will be on the blog within days, as well as other news.

Keep blogging in.