Epic Adventures With A Mountain Bike

Thankyou!

2009-06-14T20:45:00.002+02:00

We might not have won the main event but we most definitely won our race (as did every other finisher) and so just like the Oscars winners I've prepared a little 'thank you' speech...

Firstly thanks must go to the folk who organise the amazing event that is the Cape Epic and sort out a huge amount of stuff. The Epic truly is a world class event! Thanks too to the other riders who help to make this whole experience a lot of fun.

Petie, Jacques, Enoch and the crew at Helderberg Cycle World were great. Not just in fulfilling the service contract during the race but in going the extra mile so many times prior to the event. More than once they sorted my bike out at the drop of a hat, much to my relief. Petie is a star in putting together regular rides which helped to form the basis of my training plan.

Thanks too to all the great guys I've had the privilege of riding with here in Somerset West, Stellenbosch & Grabouw. You're a great crowd.

Thanks to Barbara my pilates instructor. Had I not known how to 'tilt my sit-bone' I would have been in a lot more pain than I was.

Special thanks go to Paul's mum for the copious quantities of fruit cake. My boys now refuse to eat Woolworths fruit cake as Paul's mum's cake is SO good!

Massive thanks go to Paul for riding with me. The benefit of your years of racing really paid off and you were such a good guy to ride with as well as being one of the most chilled guys I have ever known. It was a real privilege and total pleasure to ride with you!

Penultimate thanks go to Juliette, Paul's long suffering wife and Lara & Amy who let their dad spend so much time out and about training and then riding the race. Juliette was often at the finish line with other members of Paul's family and they were all very supportive.

There is no way I could not say a truly special THANKYOU! to my gorgeous wife Paula and amazing sons Joel & Eli (as seen above). I can't ever recall you grumbling about the amount of time this whole adventure took me away from you or saying 'no' to spending ridiculous amounts of money on it all. I couldn't have done this without you and seeing you at the finish line in Greyton with the boys was very very special! You were incredibly long suffering through the whole journey and I stand in awe of you! Man I love my wife!!

Well, this is the end of the blog (for now). I started it with a specific purpose in mind and having crossed the finish line of the Cape Epic I've achieved what I set out to. Should I undertake the Epic again or participate in some other event worthy of blogging about I'll revisit this blog. Until then, adios amigos!

Spinning Again

2009-05-09T20:08:00.005+02:00

After what seems like a long period of inactivity and demotivation (I think it's called 'post Epic blues') I'm back on the bike and managing a couple of decent rides each week totaling about 7½ hours. I'm still struggling with the motivation side of things but I am really enjoying the riding once the legs are warmed up.

I'm planning to ride the AMA Rider 100Miler with a friend next Saturday which is a mountain bike ride from Durbanville to Paarl via Malmesbury. The route is non-technical on rolling district (dirt) roads and farm tracks so it shouldn't be too hard other than the sheer amount of time in the saddle. It should be a good test of my post Epic fitness levels.

In other news... I won a short cycle race organised by my boys school in aid of Miles For Smiles. The prize was a weekend away in a luxury tented camp which we're looking forward to. Read more on my other blog.

Stage 7 Photos

2009-04-28T20:15:00.001+02:00

This is one of my favourite photos and it was taken by my mountain bike buddy Greg English on the finish line in Lourensford. I bunny-hopped the timing mats on every finish line and was delighted when Greg told me he'd captured this.

After the fun of Stages 5 & 6 and having sorted my nutrition etc I was really looking forward to more of the same for this stage. Sadly the day was pretty grim and not particularly enjoyable. I felt that I had little in the tank and after the climb up Nuweberg I felt completely done-in. Thankfully Gerrard met us at the top with an ice cold beer which did help. Once again Paul was on hand to push me up the final hill on the Wedderwill estate after which it was downhill and flat all the way into Lourensford. Crossing the finish line was a really sweet moment!

We came across this large puddle with everyone queueing on one side to walk around it. I decided to ride it (one of the few that did) and was rewarded by passing a lot of other riders. Paul reckoned it was bad manners to queue jump but it was race day and those who chose to walk could easily have ridden. They probably didn't want to get their feet wet.

I love the fact that the photographer appreciated my effort to ride through the puddle. The strange face is due to the fact I was chowing an energy bar part of which was still in my hand

Almost home. This was a compulsory portage section over the Gamtoe Pass, a national heritage site.

Stage 6 Photos

2009-04-27T20:02:00.001+02:00

Stage 6 was another fantastic day. Like Stage 5 it played to our strengths and we had a blast. The highlight was the technical descent of Wolfkloof in the Kogelberg as this is completely forbidden territory.

The singletrack was great and our local knowledge was starting to pay dividends. Paul slipped into full race mode and at one point we managed to work our way through about 20 riders to get onto a stretch of singletrack ahead of them, after which we dropped them bigtime, all thanks to Paul's technique.

The singletrack through the forest between Thandi and Oak Valley was fast and flowing and a real blast

The silly grins say it all

We really enjoyed this stage and were well set for a great ride on stage 7

Stage 5 Photos

2009-04-26T13:09:00.001+02:00

Having spent the night gorging myself on all the right food stuffs and continually snacking on nuts & dried fruit as well as drinking more recovery and electrolyte rich drinks than I care to remember (I never seemed to stop weeing) we were set for a great day. Stage 4 was billed as the 'easy day' but in truth it just favoured the roadies and sprinters. We held our own but it didn't play to any of our strengths. Stage 5 on the other hand was our best day by far! We loved every minute of it and eventually crossed the finish line with huge grins on our faces. We'd worked out a good nutrition plan for me and we were religious im ensuring we had drained our water bottles by each water point. On top of that we were uber religious about eating on the hour every hour and it really paid off! Stage 5 felt like we'd finally started mountain biking properly and we were loving it.

The highlight of the Stage (for me) was seeing Hansekop in the distance as we climed out of Botrivier. As soon as we saw our old friend (I've ridden to the top of Hansekop twice) we knew we were 'home' and the rest of the Epic was to be ridden in our own back yard.

The single track coming into Oak Valley was brilliant.

Look at the slack on the chain!

We both had a huge amount of fun on this Stage but the singletrack was the icing on a very sweet cake!

Having a blast!

Paul's family were out in force at Oak Valley and it was great to see them, especially as ey had brought burgers and beer. This was also the end of our time in the tented village as the next two nights were spent at home in our own beds. Blessed relief especially as it poured one night.

Stage 4 Photos

2009-04-25T06:40:00.002+02:00

This one sums up the very nature of the Epic to me. It's about team work, looking out for your partner and making sure you cross the finish line together. For the majority of Epic finishers, your finishing position is far less important than actually finishing. Of all the riders I've met who have completed the Epic I've never known anyone to ask where they finished or in what time. Quite simply finishing the Epic is far more important and that's why I like this photo so much. This sums up team, looking out for one another and being determined to finish together come what may! Just for the record I did tell Paul to take his hand off me once I'd seen the camera.

Stage 4 was billed as "The easiest day except for stage 7" but I was not experiencing that. In fact by now I was really struggling as I was desperately failing to replace the calories I was burning. The wheels were on the verge of coming off and by the time we crossed the finish line in Greyton I knew that I had to get myself sorted out. I spent some time with the guys at Polar who were fantastic and as a result of their advice(they downloaded the stats from my heart monitor and analysed it properly) I was able to save my Epic and turn things around.

Stage 2 & 3 Photos

2009-04-23T07:02:00.000+02:00

Crossing the finish line in Villiersdorp at the end of Stage 2. I was exhausted by now as I was not consuming anywhere near enough calories. I hadn't recovered from my 8000Kcal expenditure the day before and was struggling to eat without wanting to throw-up. somehow I made it through the day, having wondered how on earth I was going to get back on the bike in the morning.

Despite getting my nutrition horribly wrong I still enjoyed the day and Paul and I got on really well. Paul was immensely patient and at times a real physical help as he pushed me up a few hills.

Nearly at the top of the 'hike a bike' section on Stage 3. This was a tough 40 minute, 3km climb with bike up a very steep and rocky hill. I was knackered at the top

Finally back on the bike again. At the top it was very quiet as no-one was talking or joking around. I guess we were all too shocked by the experience and very tired

Later that day things improved although my nutrition was now seriously compromised.

Stage 1 Photos

2009-04-21T13:25:00.006+02:00

Here we are on Stage 1 of the Epic. This was a monster of a day and at dinner in the evening Christoph Sauser was quoted as saying that this particular Stage 1 was: 'the toughest ever'.

Here's a bit more of what he had to say about the day:
"I felt super up Groenlandberg, this is almost a hour climb, but the descent was so rocky and for ever. Everything went numb!
On my stage profile the last 35km look easy and fast, but it took for ever and my energy went low."*
Whilst I'm nowhere near Sauser's level we were at least on the same page on the day.

I'm guessing this is somewhere near the top of Groenlandberg, maybe even on the Villiersdorp side of it. Either way, I was stuffed and still had quite a long way to go!

Finally we rolled into Villiersdorp for a hard earnt rest. Paul had clocked his family at the finishline and it was great to see them, especially as they had muffins and cold beer

This picture seems a bit repetitive but I've included it as our mates Dan & Anka are right behind us (Dan's in green to the left). Dan struggled big time on this stage with cramping. Eventually they went on to beat us by almost 6½minutes finishing 277th one place ahead of us

This was a really tough day! To understand how tough you had to be there. The temperature was up to 46°C at times and the climbs were long and tough but also quite technical, particularly Groenlandberg. The attrition rate on this Stage was minimised by the fact that the cutoff was extended by about 90 minutes. Many of the riders who had done previous Epics were saying this was VERY VERY tough. Personally this is the biggest day I've ever had on a bike and I came close to blowing it.

* Taken from Sauser's blog

Photos - At Last!

2009-04-18T13:51:00.005+02:00

Over the next few days I'll be posting a series of photos of myself during the Cape Epic taken by Sportograf.de and where possible, if I can recollect the moment through the sweat & tears, I'll add a few notes on each one.

I've also added a complete slideshow on the right of the photos I'll be posting here so you can have a sneak peek. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This one is of the Bizweni Bundu Bashers aka Dean & Paul on the Friday at registration (Table Mountain makes for a stunning backdrop) looking very calm and clean! We had planned to test ride the Prologue route but only got about 1km into it when we had to bail as my rear cassette was stuffed. Thankfully a quick trip to the bike shop remedied the problem and all went well the next day on the Prologue itself. At this point I had absolutely no idea what i was about to undertake and experience. What a mug!

In no particular order during the Prologue:

This is a great picture with Lion's Head in the background. The bike and my kit look so clean here, but that soon changed!

The riding was a lot of fun

I've developed a bad habit of sticking my tongue out for the camera

The scenery on Table Mountain was stunning but it was tragic to see the devastation caused by the recent fires

Being pursued

UCI MTB World Cup

2009-04-13T16:13:00.004+02:00

Round 1 of the UCI MTB World Cup has been held in Pietermaritzburg here in South Africa over the Easter weekend with some surprising results in the cross country category. Julien Absalon was beaten into second place by the Spaniard Jose Hermida riding for Merida Multivan.

Burry Stander managed a credible third place but I was disappointed by Christoph Sauser's 4th place finish. I'm quite a fan of these two (not just because of their Epic performance) and would have liked to see them both do better. Still, at least the frenchman was beaten.

Full story and results can be seen at the World Cup SA webpage.

Polish Cycling Holiday

2009-04-13T12:42:00.001+02:00

Thinking of a cycling holiday around Poland?

Probably not a good idea in light of this: Poland 'can jail drunk cyclists' from the BBC.

Learning To Ride A Bike

2009-04-02T18:00:00.000+02:00

The title pretty much sums up my Cape Epic. I feel that for the first time in my life I actually learnt to ride a bike properly and it felt great!

I've already said it a lot but will keep on telling anyone who will listen that riding with Paul was a real privilege particularly as he has a very natural racing mentality. Paul could strategise and see opportunities to pass teams and drop other riders whilst I was happy to sit back, relax and get my heart rate back to normal. Riding with someone like Paul is a real education as suddenly you realise there's a whole lot more going on than merely pedaling your bike.

My lowest point was on Sunday evening after Stage 1. I blew my ride by spending over 4 hours in the orange zone and burnt almost 8000Kcal's, most of which I failed to replace. I was left wondering how on earth I was going to get back onto my bike in the morning and was convinced it was physically impossible! Somehow my mind overruled my body and I did indeed ride again on Monday in Stage 2. I really didn't enjoy it much and after burning almost 5000Kcal's was getting myself into a real mess. I knew I had to eat but each small mouthful I took caused me to gag. I really wanted to puke big time but somehow managed not to. Not sure how but I held on. Stupidly Stage 3 was pretty much a repeat with a ridiculous number of Kcal's being burnt and nowhere near enough being consumed. I really was hitting some very low points and simply not helping myself. My only other really tough day was Stage 7 when I felt like I simply had nothing left to give. Somehow I had to dig very very deep and with a bit of help from Paul (pushing me uphill again) I managed to get myself up to the top of Wedderwill which was the very last hill. Hooray!

After getting my nutrition sorted with help from Polar we began to race properly and Stages 5 & 6 were far and away the best days. The riding was proper mountain biking with plenty of technical stuff and great singletrack. I really enjoyed these two days, particularly the singletrack leading into Oak Valley and the stuff in Lebanon both of which are local rides for us.

The 'Bum Tent' run by the Medi-Clinic was an interesting experience. By the end of Stage 2 I really needed some help as my saddle was set incorrectly and my bum was getting very sore! The initial visit to the bum tent was a bit odd but very quickly you lose any inhibitions and really don't care who's got their hand up there. I got to know the Dr's quite well and Sharon was an angel. Initially they gave me nappy cream then I moved onto an anti-septic cream but by Stage 6 my bum was screaming with pain. So on seeing the Medi-Clinic 4X4 at a waterpoint I jokingly asked for the 'under the counter stuff' to which the medic said "OK" and pulled out a small tube of cream. Within 2 minutes of applying it my bum was numb. Blessed relief! I forgot to ask what it was but that night (I was staying at home) I saw my GP and she gave me a prescription for what she thought the cream was. Sadly she was wrong, so the next morning at the first water point I grabbed the medics and made them give me a LOT of the cream. It turns out it was a purely anaesthetic cream but it was glorious and I managed to continue riding pain free.

Besides crossing the finish line in Lourensford, one of my key highlights was being told by Paul that he was 'happy to follow me downhill as I was picking some sweet lines'. Now I'm not normally noted for my downhilling but for some reason it all came together on the Epic and I was really happy to throw myself (plus bike) down the rocky loose hills with almost complete abandonment. Wolfkloof in the Kogelberg on Stage 6 was exceptionally good fun. Part of it was born out of the confidence I have in my bike, the BMC Fourstroke 02 is a very sweet machine!! But I think mainly it came from the many hours I spent in Jonkers and Eden practising my technical skills on singletrack and rocky downhills. The Rock-garden that links Eden and Coetzenberg was great practice as nowhere on the epic was worse than that.

Having said all of that, the best thing by far was crossing the finish line in Greyton on Stage 3 being cheered on by Paula and my boys! I knew Paula would be there but I hadn't expected her to take the boys out of school for the day. I was so emotional on seeing them and they really lifted my spirits. Later as they drove off home I realised just how tight we are as a family and how much I really adore them!

Post Epic Riding Begins

2009-04-02T07:46:00.000+02:00

I rode my first post-Epic mountain bike ride yesterday morning with Petie from the bike shop. It was one of the regular rides but only the two of us rocked up which was great. We rode for 2½ hours around the southern side of Stellenbosch starting from Paradyskloof onto Onderpappagaiberg and around the hills through the vineyards. A lovely ride and a fairly gentle reintroduction but man I was exhausted afterwards! I think it may take a while longer to fully recover than I had anticipated.

The photo is looking towards Gordon's Bay and Hangklip point from Stellenbosch.

Stats & Facts

2009-03-30T16:23:00.003+02:00

I’m still coming to terms with exactly what it is that Paul & I have done in completing the 2009 Cape Epic and as my thoughts crystalise over the next few hours and days I will write about some of my experiences, the highs and lows etc. of an amazing journey.

For now here are some cold hard facts:

600 teams of two were due to line up at the start of the Cape Epic Prologue on Table Mountain on the 21st of March but for some reason only 598 made it. Apparently there were a number of serious accidents the day before during the test riding of the route. Of these, 503 made it to the finish line at Lourensford.

We finished in 278th overall and 180th in the Men’s category with our overall time being 46:29:21.0

Officially the race is 743kilometres long with 16650m of ascent. However my Polar heart rate monitor disagrees with the official stats but I’ll go with them. What my Polar can confirm however is my calorie expenditure which stands at a whopping 35539Kcal for the whole event. That is about 14 days worth of food in 8 days! Amazingly I lost no weight at all.

We had two key aims at the outset and a third one of lesser importance. These were: 1) To finish 2) To have fun along the way & 3) To finish in the top half. We achieved all three and as such are very pleased with ourselves.

We had agreed at the outset not to hit the Prologue too hard and were reasonably pleased with our time of 1:11:32.3 This put us in the G starting group which was the last seeded group followed by the Open category. By Stage 3 we had worked our way into the F start group and for Stage 6 & Stage 7 we were in E. Each day we managed to be in the front of the start pen and this really helped on a few occasions, particularly around Greyton when there was a bit of chaos which we were able to take advantage of and work our way through the group in front of us.

We were very blessed not to suffer with any technical issues as our bikes ran perfectly and neither of us picked up any serious injuries besides sore bums, stiff legs and a number of scratches and bruises. We had a Face Plant Sweepstake which meant whoever fell off the most had to buy the other a bottle of champagne. Sadly I lost this 2-1 but Paul more than deserved the bubbly!

Other than pushing ourselves way too hard on Stage 1 on Sunday, the only day we didn’t really enjoy was Stage 4 which was around Greyton. This stage favoured roadies and sprinters of which we are neither. Also by this stage I was seriously struggling with my nutrition. Thankfully the guys at Polar were really helpful and after a lot of eating to get myself sorted Stage 5 was fantastic, definitely our best day! We crossed the finish line with stupid grins plastered across our faces on that day. Stage 6 was also a highlight as we entered the Kogelberg Biosphere. The Wolfkloof descent really played to our strengths and the long sandy patches which followed allowed us to drop a lot of other teams around us and again we finished with huge smiles on our faces. They were two fun days on the bike and more than made up for the pain of Stage 1.

Overall credit for our performance must lie with Paul and his instinct for racing. Having done the Cape Epic last year as well as the Cedarberg, Sani2C and years of adventure racing he has a good handle on how to play to his strengths and maximise any opportunity to gain ground on his competitors. Paul would often see a gap and go for it whilst I would have been happy to sit back and get my heart rate back down. However Paul would always say I could rest on the downhill which was frustrating at times as they were often nowhere near as long as the uphills! One of Paul’s key tips was to ‘ride over the hill’ as opposed to ‘riding to the top of the hill’. What this means in short is that most riders (me included) would ride to the crest of a hill and then back off and freewheel whilst attempting to recover. Paul’s technique is to ride for 5 pedal strokes beyond the crest, working on the theory that if you freewheel at 5k’s you’ll do 5k’s all the way down whereas if you freewheel at 25k’s you’ll do 25k’s all the way down and thereby drop a number of other riders. Trust me, this works like a dream!

A few more facts (or rather, stats of friends and other teams I was watching).

Matt (& Ryan) - Snowmen 130th
Dan & Anka - Hansgrohe/SantaCruz 277th (one place ahead of us)
William & Jannie - Oak Valley Wines 226th
Mario & Andy - Mondipak 348th
Vic & Mark - Pimp My Ride 466th
Erica (& Willie) - ABSA/JAG Legends 81st
Johan Cilliers - DHL Logistics - Individual finisher: 39:57:12.6 (would have been 125th if partner not dropped out)

Cyberspace friends:
Roons & Wimpie - Google 452nd
Paul & Dennis - Times Boardman Halfords Bike Hut 478th

A Photographic Pause

2009-03-29T15:09:00.008+02:00

Whilst I compose my thoughts about what we've just done and achieved I'll leave you with a few photos from our Epic adventure.

Paul and I in the start pen on Stage 1 in Gordon's Bay

Filthy and tired after Stage 1

Paul relaxing in the chill zone

In the dining tent

Right on the start-line in Greyton

The Bizweni Bundu Bashers (we never got round to changing the name to something better)

Welcome Home Daddy

Paul with family and friends at Lourensford

Relieved to be back with my family after 8 hard days!

(left to right) Daniël, Zoe, Zelda, Jo, Me, Eli, Paula & Joel

Finally, here's a very brief video of the Bizweni Bundu Bashers crosing the finish line at Lourensford

Multimedia message

2009-03-28T21:29:00.001+02:00

Our final results for Absa Cape Epic 2009 stage 7: Dean (213-1) time 4:26.13,8 cat Men 198. GC 304. overall 46:29.21,0 cat 180. GC 278. / (final result)

Stage 6

2009-03-27T18:06:00.000+02:00

The penultimate stage of the Cape Epic and we're feeling good. Like most riders we've got sore bums, stiff legs and are very tired but with the finish line in sight and two really good days of riding we're really positive about the final stage.

Today was a case of riding in our own back yard which made it all a lot of fun. The main privilege of the day was riding through the Kogelberg biosphere which is NEVER open to riders so for the Epic to get access is truly amazing. The riding in there consisted mainly of long rocky descents and long flat sandy patches both of which play to our strengths. On one of the rockier sections I was told I was "@#$%@ nuts!" and at the first water point another team were praising us for our technical skills in riding through some rock patches that everyone else walked.

The single track in Lebanon, Thandi and Oak Valley was all fantastic and a little local knowledge was very helpful. Paul was in full race mode and gave a class lesson in race strategy. At one point he managed to work us through a whole pack of riders so that we were at the front as we entered the singletrack. I stand in awe of some of his skills!

We started in Group E having worked our way up from G on Sunday and being in the earlier start group has really helped as we've managed to be at the front of the pack each morning and then pretty much hold our own for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will be more interesting as everyone will be wanting to improve their overall standing so the racing should be a bit more intense.

Tonight will be dedicated to feeding, drinking and resting ready for a full-on day tomorrow.

Face Plant Friday

2009-03-27T07:37:00.000+02:00

Life is only funny until someone gets hurt...

Then it's hilarious!

I love the 'frozen moment' of this one.

I like the drama of this one. You have no idea quite what preceded the moment or how the bike ended up in the air like that, but bless him for entertaining us.

I should add here that I have done my fair share of face plants but thankfully none were ever recorded for posterity.

Stage 5

2009-03-26T20:05:00.000+02:00

Today was a great day for us! After spending time with the amazingly helpful guys from Polar discussing my energy expenditure and nutritional problems, I simply was not eating, I managed to get myself sorted last night and then we put a plan together for eating on the route. Basically we made sure that we ate on the hour every hour, grazing at least one energy bar but topping that up with GU's and Jellybabies etc. Last night I ate more than I thought was humanly possible as well as drinking gallons of electrolyte drinks. Thankfully it all paid off and today was near perfect. We took the first half easy but steady and gradually worked our way through the field. Then as we climbed out of Botrivier we caught sight of Hansekop which really lifted our spirits as we knew we were close to home. After Botrivier we stepped it up a bit and gave it some horns. We finished in 233rd today which takes our overall placing to 287th which we're pleased with.

Today was meant to be one of the tougher days with 2200+ metres of climbing over 111k's but it was my easiest day yet. Today was a proper MTB stage (unlike yesterday which favoured roadies and sprinters) which played to our strengths with plenty of technical climbing, fast descents and some gorgeous single track right at the end. Initially we were stuck behind a fairly nervous rider in the singletrack but naughtily managed to get past which was great. Now we're really looking forward to the next two days, especially finishing in Lourensford.

Tonight we surprised our wives by coming home. No more camping!!!

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2009-03-25T20:20:00.001+02:00

Results for Absa Cape Epic 2009 Stage 4: Dean (213-1) time 7:15.52,3 cat Men 199. GC 312. / start zone F. Sent by MTN

Madness!

2009-03-25T16:47:00.001+02:00

Isn't there someone out there with more sense than me who can come and pick me up and take me home?
Seriously this is an amazing experience but incredibly tough!
I struggled today on what was said to be am easier day. Thankfully the guys from Polar have sorted me out and given some sound advice about eating. Basically I need to eat 24/7 especially carbs & protein so I'm a man on a mission.
Today's ride didn't play to our strengths but we seem to have done ok. We're pleased which is main thing.

Stage 3

2009-03-24T19:00:00.001+02:00

Paula and my boys were at the finish line so I was delighted!
The ride was tough but that is immaterial 'cos I saw my peeps.

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2009-03-24T18:00:00.001+02:00

We're well pleased with today's result as it was another tough day. Here we go...
Results for Absa Cape Epic 2009 Stage 3: Dean (213-1) time 5:45.52,3 cat Men 177. GC 278. / start zone F. Sent by MTN

Multimedia message

2009-03-23T18:47:00.001+02:00

Today's results:
Results for Absa Cape Epic 2009 Stage 2: Dean (213-1) time 6:41.24,7 cat Men 185. GC 297. / start zone F. - sent by MTN
We worked hard to get into F from G and are pleased with out overall standing of 297. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Tough Tough Riding!

2009-03-23T17:29:00.001+02:00

Words are so inadequate when it comes to describing the Epic. This is far tougher than anything I've ever done before.
Today's ride was a lot of fun and we both felt good (a relief after yesterday) and we finished very strongly.
We're really looking forward to tomorrow's stage. Right now I want to eat and sleep!

Exhausted!

2009-03-22T19:43:00.001+02:00

I want to blog about my day but am too tired. We finished in 8:58 in 359th up 40 places from yesterday. Off to bed now.

Multimedia message

2009-03-22T19:41:00.001+02:00

Results for Absa Cape Epic 2009 Stage 1: Dean (213-1) time 8:58.25,7 cat Men 223. GC 357. / start zone G sent by MTN

Exhausted!

2009-03-22T19:39:00.001+02:00

I want to blog about my day but am too tired. We finished in 8:58 in 359th up 40 places from yesterday. Off to bed now.

Grinning Like An Idiot

2009-03-21T14:48:00.001+02:00

The prologue was a complete blast and has left us with huge smiles on our faces!

The build up was great and whilst waiting for the off we met up with a few other teams that we know. It was great to be distracted and to have a laugh to ease the nerves. We also watched a few guys riding (or walking as was mostly the case) down the last short sharp downhill which was quite fun. It also helped to prepare us for what was coming.

We set off at exactly 09:52:00 (the organisation of this event is very impressive!) and were very quickly passed by the more athletic teams which started in 30 second intervals behind us. I am not a sprinter by any stretch of the imagination so I held Paul back but he was happy. The climbing was technical in places but to be honest it was fairly standard stuff that we ride most days of the week. Some guys have been quite horrified by the technicality of the climbing but they need to deal with it as riding around Grabouw will really test the technical skills!

On the long loose hill (no idea what it was called) we stopped for a minute to talk to James, a friend who came to cheer us on. From there we remounted and continued to the top and were congratulated by some other riders for getting up without pushing. Truth be told the 60 second breather really helped.

The only sad aspect of the whole thing was to see how extensive the damage is to the slopes of Table Mountain from the fire earlier this week. The burnt smell was also very strong.

In brief, the first half was mainly uphill and the second mostly down with one notable exception towards the end and the ride was nicely rounded off with a lovely bit of rocky singletrack which we both relished. This led straight onto the short sharp downhill (as mentioned earlier) which we cruised down very comfortably.

We finished in 1:11:31 which is fine, it's actually a few minutes faster than I was expecting so we're happy with that. Full results of the prologue are here.

My bike was still playing up a little but I managed to isolate the problem to sticking brake pads so we stopped off at Helderberg Cycles on the way home and the problem seems to have been resolved. Time will tell as we get stuck in properly tomorrow. At least it's nothing majorly mechanical so the bike is still ride-able and if it continues to be a problem Petie's mechanics will deal with it at the end of each stage. Really glad of the service package he offered us!

Now I'm off to FINALLY pack.

Prologue

2009-03-21T11:23:00.000+02:00

Just finished the prologue in about 1:12 so quite pleased with that. It was good to get on the bike again and get the legs spinning.
Just off to bikeshop to get issue with disks sorted.
Feeling good and looking forward to the big ride tomoro.

The Big Day

2009-03-21T09:14:00.000+02:00

Our nerves are shot and guts full of butterflies. Met some friends and shared a nervous laugh. 15mins until we go to the start pen...

Almost A Disaster

2009-03-20T20:15:00.001+02:00

We went through to Cape Town to register for the Cape Epic and to test ride the prologue route. All was going well, registration was a very professionally run event. I met up with Matt (a friend from Wimbledon) and we all set off to do the test ride. Sadly Paul and I only got 1½k's as my chain was jumping on two rings on the cassette so we had to turn back. We quickly got into the bakkie and raced back to the bike shop where they put a new cassette on and all seems to be OK. Phew! We did however miss the race briefing, ho hum.

We now have the official Epic Adidas tog bags which means that the packing can no longer be deferred so I must bid my blog farewell for a few hours whilst I tend to the necessaries.

Face Plant Friday

2009-03-20T07:29:00.011+02:00

After the Cape Epic I need to give some thought as to whether I continue blogging about mountainbiking or whether I leave it alone. I just don't know yet.

Anyway, I thought I'd do a new item for the next two Fridays at least entitled 'Face Plant Friday'. The nema is (or at least should be) self-explanatory, but if not the pictures will clue you in.

I take no credit for the photos which have been 'leased' or stolen from other websites.

One of the joys of mountainbiking is the seemingly never ending supply of fools prepared to sacrifice themselves for the utter amusement of others. Bless them all. But especially their friends who were there to capture the moment on film!

Whilst this one on the left isn't quite a faceplant, you just know from the angle of the bike, the back wheel being in the air and the front wheel jammed on a rock that this is all going to end horribly.

Brilliant!

Cape Epic Live

2009-03-20T07:00:00.001+02:00

The Cape Epic website went 'live' overnight which means it's ready for raceday. On the site you'll be able to follow all the riders and get a load more info about what's happening etc. Each day there will be two complete list of standings, one with that days stage results and the other with overall results.

Enjoy!

Planning Meeting

2009-03-19T12:03:00.001+02:00

We had our final Epic planning meeting last night and I now feel a bit calmer about the whole thing although the list of things to do keeps growing.

We now know exactly what we still need to get, who's carrying what etc. etc. So now the packing will start in earnest. All I've got to get today or tomorrow is a spare hanger for the rear derailleur and four pairs of MTB socks. It's all been ordered so there should be no problem.

Paul also got us our kit which looks great. Most days we'll be wearing the new First Ascent Peloton Jersey in Spice which we think looks great. Also, on the Sunday and the last day we will be wearing Helderberg Cycle World shirts as a free bit of advertising for Petie but also to thank him for his help and support. It will also be nice to wear a local shirt on a local ride.

As of now I have my socks, bit of a panic but not worth recounting the tale. Hopefully that hanger will be in today's post at Petie's...

6 Today

2009-03-19T08:22:00.000+02:00

My oldest boy turned 6 today!

They both make me very proud and I'd do anything for them. I'm now the very proud Dad of a 6 and 3 year old.

This was taken a few days ago when they decided to wash their bikes just like Daddy was washing his.

Hey Presto!

2009-03-19T08:02:00.000+02:00

It worked. So now I can post from the Epic. All quite exciting.

Test

2009-03-19T07:59:00.001+02:00

This is a test to see if I can post from my cell phone.

Oh Dear! We're On Fire Again

2009-03-18T18:00:00.000+02:00

This summer has been a continual string of fires which have left the Hottentots Holland mountains completely scorched from Gordon's Bay (start of the Epic) right through to Jonkershoek which by all accounts is decimated. I've been lamenting the fires in the Helderberg for most of the summer on my main blog. The fires have even gone over to the Grabouw side of the Hotties and left a lot of the area there scorched. Consequently much of our Epic riding will be across burnt land which will ruin the view in many places. The ash also makes the riding more difficult as it masks obstacles such as dips, rocks and roots.

To top it all off Table Mountain is on fire again! The Cape Epic organisers have released a statement: Fires on Table Mountain - Latest in which they say they have cancelled all prologue test rides on Thursday but are hopeful for Friday's test rides. The good news is that it has just started raining which should help. Hopefully the test rides and prologue will proceed without problems.

Race Countdown

2009-03-16T17:32:00.001+02:00

It's all getting very close now! My bike came back from Helderberg Cycleworld after its pre-Epic service. Thankfully the only major item needed was a new chain. It looks like rotating two chains over the last 6 months has paid off as the drive train is still in very good shape. Unfortunately the cost was bumped up a bit as I needed to replace the rebound adjuster knob on the shock. My angelic 3 year old lost it for me which was helpful and expensive.

I'll ride with Petie and the gang on Wednesday morning for 2-3 hours and then again on Friday as we test the prologue route with a very gentle ride. Hopefully everything will be running sweetly on Wednesday and there will be no major adjustments to make.

We're planning on a final pre-Epic meeting on Wednesday evening when we'll finalise who's carrying what etc during the race. Thankfully being local and with the service package we don't need to arm ourselves with loads of spares which is a real blessing.

According to the Epic website there are only 4 days and 14hours to kick-off so it's all a little tense but very exciting now.

I guess most of us doing the Epic get asked the same question: "Are you ready?" to which I've taken to replying by saying "Well, it's too late now if I'm not!" There really isn't anything one can do now, the training is done, the taper is being enjoyed and Saturday is feared and eagerly anticipated in equal measure.

TV Promo

2009-03-14T06:44:00.000+02:00

Want to see a bit more of what the Cape Epic entails? Watch the 2009 Cape Epic promo and be inspired!

Supersport in South Africa wil have a highlight programme each night so who knows, there's a slim chance Team Bizweni Bundu Bashers might make it onto TV.

Prologue Start Time

2009-03-12T15:45:00.003+02:00

Now it's all getting real. Our start time for the prologue on Table Mountain in Cape Town is 09:52 on Saturday the 21st of March.

I guess now would be the perfect time to panic.

Well Worth A Read

2009-03-11T14:32:00.000+02:00

A friend emailed this link to me: http://www.enduroclub.co.za/Newsletters/CAPE%20EPIC%202007.doc (it will download as a Word document)

It is well worth a read especially for us Epic newbies.

Thanks Matt.

First Class Honours In Procrastination

2009-03-11T07:47:00.006+02:00

We rode for 3 hours last night which may well prove to be our only ride this week. I'm aiming for 4½ hours but can't see when I'll get to do the extra 1½ hours.

The bike goes for its full pre-Epic service on Thursday and I then want to leave it alone until the prologue test ride next Friday.

I can't quite believe that we're now 10 days from the start of the Epic. It all feels a bit daunting at the moment. Roons has summed up the packing nightmare well on his blog so I'll not go there. Suffice to say that my tendency to procrastinate is winning out at the moment.

Paul & I will plan the final bits later this week over a cold beer and then I'll do my final shopping spree. Already I've been told there are no more Crossmark tyres locally which is a bit concerning as I really don't want to change to another untested brand right now.

One thing I am really grateful for is the service package we've got from Petie at Helderberg Cycle World. This means we need to carry minimal spares for emergencies during the race but all maintenance, cleaning etc. will be done by his mechanics after each day's stage. This will also simplify the packing process once I can face starting it. Phew!

One slight problem with packing is that the Epic gives you a tog bag at registration on the Friday and expects you to repack everything into it as it's the only bag they will transport during the race. This does somewhat complicate the packing process as one will have to do it twice, but without knowing for sure how big the Epic tog bag is. Another reason to put it all off for a while longer...

Weekly Summary

2009-03-08T23:22:00.000+02:00

The Polar training programme really tapered down this week and leaves only 4½ hours of riding next week which is virtually nothing.

This week started well with a great ride on Wednesday, but I really was counting on a quality ride on Sunday which just didn't happen.

I'm two hours down on my target for the week but I guess that with such a small target for the week it shouldn't be a train smash. I guess time will tell.

Stats for (recovery) week:
Ride time: 6:58 (target: 9:00)
Distance: 93km
Kcal's burnt: 4591
Total ascent: 1715m

Crappy Morning

2009-03-08T12:49:00.003+02:00

Having decided not to do the Argus, I set off for my MTB ride full of expectation of the fun I was intending to have on the single track in Jonkershoek. Time was a bit of an issue so I parked in Paradyskloof (normally I would ride from Steynsrust bridge) which would allow me more time in Jonkers. The first bit of the ride was fine until I got to the gate of Jonkers and was quite shocked to see how many fire fighters there were with their trucks and equipment. Jonkers was closed due to some serious fires which have been raging since Wed.

According to one of the fire crew, everything we hold dear in Jonkers has been destroyed by the fires. Hopefully he was exaggerating but I can't think why he would be.

So having ridden a mere 15k's to Jonkers I had no option to return whence I came.

All the way back I was cursing not having ridden the Argus, but even that would have been a bit crappy in the gale force winds.

Cape Argus

2009-03-08T05:35:00.002+02:00

So, it's 5.30am and my road bike is prepped for the Argus. I've got a good seeding to do my sub 3 hour and all is seemingly well. My MTB is also prepped for a ride this morning and I've wasted many an hour trying to decide which to do. Most folk have told me I'm stupid to do the Argus so close to the Epic, and whilst I agree and fully understand all the logic behind the advice, I still want to do it. I had even arranged an MTB ride with my partner for this morning to distract me from the Argus, but he bailed out late last night as they were robbed. Can't argue with that.

So what should I do?

The answer is really close at hand.......

There's a pumping Southeaster of about 40kph with gusts up to 50 or 60kph. There's no way I'm doing the Argus in that! I'm off to Jonkers to play on the singletrack.

How lazy am I!?!

Weekly Summary

2009-03-02T07:45:00.002+02:00

Training is a funny thing as I know that I've put the hours in and spent a ridiculous amount of time on the bike, ridden more miles than I would care to again and burnt more calories than I could ever consume and yet in the last few weeks I've felt strangely under prepared and at times just downright weak on the bike. This has particularly been the case on a few of the higher tempo rides we've been doing when after about 3 hours my legs are sore and I feel I've got little left in the tank. I know at these times it's my base fitness that gets me through but it is concerning me.

Yesterday was a bit more encouraging as my partner and I actually managed a 5 hour ride just the two of us. This hasn't happened nearly enough and is probably my biggest concern for us as a team as we get closer to the event. Anyway we rode at a higher tempo again and I was feeling much stronger, probably because it was our pace an no-one else's. I think it helped not to have been riding with the former junior world champion! (I've just seen on Winning Time that Martin won the Boschendal MTB challenge by a mile!).

We're into the tapering down phase now and trying to recover as much as possible. As such I'm often falling short on my hours but as I'm tending to do more intensity work I'm not overly concerned by this.

My big dilemma at the moment is whether I should ride in the Cape Argus on Sunday or give it a miss. I worked hard to get myself a decent seeding as my aim is for a sub-three hour ride. I know it's do-able, especially as I cracked of a 3.30 last year when I hadn't trained and only got my road bike 3 or 4 days before the event. Let's be honest, the Argus is an easy ride! My concern is that riding in a seeded group the risk of crashing and injury increases and I don't want to do anything which would jeopardise the Epic. What advice would you give and why? Leave a comment please.

Stats for (overload) week:
Ride time: 12:43 (target: 16:00)
Distance: 177km
Kcal's burnt: 9798
Total ascent: 3075m

I'm Loving It!

2009-03-01T21:19:00.001+02:00

So here's my new baby. it's a BMC Fourstroke 02. Yep, I finally gave in and hung up my old hardtail and I must be honest and say that my bum is very grateful! In truth it is only the frame that is new, as the components are mostly from my Mongoose. The only new bits of kit are the SRAM X9 front derailleur and the KCNC Scandium SC Pro-Lite seat post.

I've had the new rig for a few weeks and it rides beautifully! It eats up the rocks and roots and is simply magnificent on singletrack. The rear shock is a DT Swiss XM180 and it seems to be a very ready performer.

I did miss the dynamics of the hardtail initially, but (and it's a very big but) the positives of the softtail far outweigh the dynamic advantages of the hardtail. Equally however, I have come to realise that a softtail can make a mediocre MTB'er look better than they might actually be. On a hardtail you have to work that bit harder, pick your lines a bit smarter and be prepared for the 'twitch' of the front wheel, especially on a racing frame. Whereas a softtail allows the rider to bump over stuff without really thinking about it too much. Certainly you don't have to be quite so picky over which line you follow over the rocky sections. Truth be told I am that mediocre MTB'er and I'm loving just how forgiving the new rig is!!! Have to say though, I'm really pleased that I cut my MTB teeth on a hardtail.

I only have two gripes so far, the first is a lack of water-bottle points as there is plenty of space for a second bottle on the underside of the top tube. The other gripe is that the wheel-base is about 2 inches longer so it doesn't fit into the back of my bakkie quite as well as the hardtail used to. Having said that we're getting a new bakkie in the next day or two so that will deal with that issue.

All in all I'm very very happy and I think this was a wise move before the Cape Epic. One of the biggest reasons for dropping out of the race is rider fatigue and a softtail should go some way to mitigating that particular problem. Hopefully my training will do the rest.

Ride Photos

2009-02-26T13:33:00.004+02:00

I have been intending to take the camera out on a ride for a while now but I keep forgetting. This morning I finally got my act together and was gutted to see how thick the fog was! Thankfully it burnt off quite quickly and the morning turned into another perfect day in paradise!

I took this picture quite close to Stairway To Heaven looking out towards Table Mountain which is totally obscured by the fog. The fog made for an eerie ride but it was quite spectacular as it burnt off to slowly reveal the landscape.

I never tire of the beauty of the Western Cape especially here in the Helderberg and Stellenbosch areas. It really is a privilege to be able to ride around here.

This is one of my favourite views taken looking backwards from the start of 'Never Ending Story' in Jonkers. The views all around at this point are quite stunning and this is a popular spot with mountainbikers to stop and refuel etc. before hitting the glorious singletrack!

This is looking North(ish) from the same spot and again it's absolutely gorgeous!

This is the start of Never Ending Story which is a fantastic piece of singletrack. Look very carefully at the tree directly above the sign. On the first branch off to the left there's a bird of prey (can't work out exactly what it is).

I got off the bike and walked as close as I could to the bird but I still can't identify exactly what it is. Regardless it's a beautiful creature and I feel very privileged to have been so close to such a magnificent creature

As I got closer it turned its back on me providing another great shot of it

What a joy and a privilege it is to get so close to such amazing scenery and wildlife!

Epic Route - Updated

2009-02-25T14:35:00.002+02:00

The Cape Epic Route has been updated on the Epic website. The descriptions of each stage have been filled out a bit more and the cut off times for each stage have also been added. Also, the legendary Dr Evil has added some annotations of his own and from the look of it he's offering some wise words which should be well heeded.

Weekly Summary

2009-02-22T07:07:00.004+02:00

Considering that the week didn't start too well it ended up as a pretty decent week with two good rides to Jonkershoek. My aim at the moment is to do more quality rides as opposed to quantity and the main way to do this is to increase the intensity of my rides. This involves getting out of the saddle and standing for the climbs and hitting the hills in bigger rings. I got out of these habits when I started building my base and feel that I lost quite a bit of my climbing ability. I had become a bit of a mountain goat and could quite comfortably beat most of those I rode with on the hills. I originally started riding in the bigger rings on hills in training for the Karoo To Coast but continued afterwards as I enjoyed it so much. Yesterday I really enjoyed climbing up to the waterfall in Jonkers in my middle blade and third at the back.

My aim in all this is to increase my lactate threshold prior to the Epic as there is still time to do this. Hopefully I'll also improve my VO2max which I will get tested again in a couple of weeks. I'm also trying to be careful not to overtrain and stay within the limits of the Polar training programme. Putting in big weeks of 20+ hours isn't really the cleverest thing to be doing at this stage. Also, the base fitness is in place and well sorted so only needs to be maintained with one long slow distance ride a week. The rest can be higher tempo rides getting ready for race pace on the day.

Yesterday's ride was great as I took about 1½ hours off my usual ride time to Jonkers' and still felt fresh and strong at the end of the ride. One aspect of these rides I really enjoy is the smug feeling as I see cars with bikes driving up to the Jonkers' gate, knowing that I've ridden there and will be riding home. My stats for yesterday's ride aren't quite right as 8k's into the ride my speed sensor was ripped off and I didn't notice until about an hour later. Thankfully I managed to find the lost sensor on the way home as it got ripped off on a short sharp hill which most riders choose to bypass so noone had picked it up. Thankfully that saved a few pennies as they're not cheap.

Stats for (load) week:
Ride time: 12:14 (target: 14:00)
Distance: 190km
Kcal's burnt: 8200
Total ascent: 2745m

The Wheels Are Still Spinning

2009-02-19T17:03:00.004+02:00

Being new to this training lark, I'm not always sure what to expect, So I was quite shocked after Sunday's ride when I just felt flat and like I had no fuel in the tank. To compound my frustration about this the first half of this week felt a bit like the wheels were coming off. I know this isn't really possible (barring something major) but with a few missed rides and the hours simply not being clocked up I was wondering where the week was heading. I managed to ride on Wed with the local bike shop but it wasn't a great ride as we were baby sitting a group of Dutch guys on a cycling holiday. Some of them were quite fit and were up for a challenge on the hills but they mostly backed off after the first couple of hours. The ride was also very stop start as we had to wait for a straggler or two. Having planned to have ridden 10 hours by today I was left wondering where I would be able to make up the hours.

This morning my alarm went off at 5am and my body was telling me to switch it off and go back to sleep. Somehow I managed to get up and sort myself out and drove to Mooiberge (I'm trying to vary my early morning riding routine for safety reasons). I then sat in the bakkie for ten minutes trying to convince myself to get out and ride in the rain. Yep it rained, not something we normally expect in summer! It wasn't Jo'burg type rain, more a steady drizzle but it was still very wet. Anyway I eventually got on the bike and within five minutes was really happy I'd made the effort. I rode to Jonkers' had a lot of fun on the wet and slippery single track and then returned to Mooiberge absolutely drenched but very happy! It wasn't raining in Jonkers so much as the place was smothered in low cloud which made the riding interesting at times!

So the wheels are not coming off and this morning's ride was shorter in time but a good high quality ride which is what I'm aiming for now. I'm also looking forward to making up those missing hours over what remains of the week!

As I said, I'm new to this training lark, having never trained for anything before in my life, so I'm drawing on the advice offered (of which there is plenty) whilst also making a certain amount of it up as I go along. I look forward to seeing how it all works out at the big event.

Weekly Summary

2009-02-15T17:24:00.006+02:00

This week was a recovery week on the Polar programme so I made a real point of resting as much as possible. That said, I nearly killed myself at Stellenbosch Uni see 'Tortured Cyclist' for more on that.

I only managed one mountain bike ride this week which was an early ride this morning. I rode with Paul (Epic partner) and a young Swiss guy called Martin Fanger who is in South Africa for the MTB World Cup in Pietermaritzburg in April. That says enough about him and his abilities! He is a nice lad and fun to ride with but he lifted the pace of the ride too much for me. Paul was keen to toy with Martin on some of the climbs but I wasn't in the mood for that.

Anyway, this morning's ride was from my house onto Sir Lowry's and the railway servitude road, over Sir Lowry's Pass into Grabouw and up Nuweberg which is a monster climb. I was feeling pretty lousy on the bike as if I simply didn't have anything in my legs. I really don't get why I had such a bad day out as I was well rested and had been eating well. I guess that my base fitness is what saw me through so in a way it was quite a good test before the Epic. I still managed 5½ hours with total ascent of 1835m which is good simulation for the big event.

Much of the route this morning will make up a large part of Stage 7 on the Cape Epic this year so it's good to spend some time on familiarising ourselves with parts of the route. This is local riding for us which is a real bonus! We're very blessed to be quite familiar with this part of the world and what it has to throw at us. One thing for sure about Grabouw, you will be doing lots of climbing!!

Stats for (recovery) week:
Ride time: 14:45 (target: 14:00)
Distance: 316km
Kcal's burnt: 10227
Total ascent: 1835m

The Only Way Is Up!

2009-02-13T08:15:00.001+02:00

This is a typical view of the riding in Grabouw, beautiful dirt roads which always seem to be going uphill! A taster of what is to come during the Epic next month. Only 35 days to go.

I stole this photo from Wine2Whales.

Tortured Cyclist

2009-02-11T18:30:00.000+02:00

I'm feeling pretty tired right now as I've just finished three days of tests for Christa at Stellenbosch Uni's Sport Performance Institute.

The first day involved the VO2max test and a Wingate Test (very unpleasant!) to test anaerobic capacity, followed by a 40k time trial. On Tue & Wed I again did the Wingate test (they don't get easier) and after a rest, completed 100k time trials. During each of these time trials I had to sprint 8 times at set markers. Four sprints were for 1km and the other four were for 4km's each and they were alternated. Preceding all of this was a trip each morning to the pathology lab' at Stellenbosch Medi-Clinic to have blood samples taken. Never a nice experience but at 4am even less enjoyable than normal!!

After all the exertion on Monday & Tuesday I then got to sit in a warm swimming pool for 20 minutes which was great. There were three recovery options and I think I was lucky and picked the best. The other options were ice bath for 20 mins or active recovery on the bike for 20 mins. I would have loved to go in the pool again this morning but Christa didn't need me to as she won't be testing me tomorrow. Instead she talked me through my results and what they mean for my Cape Epic training.

Generally the picture is looking quite good, but I now need to concentrate on power training to increase my lactate threshold. To this end I received a revised heart rate schedule which gives me my optimum target zones to achieve my goals.

I still need to do at least one long slow MTB ride a week to maintain the base fitness but I really need to start upping my intensity work, so I'll start with some interval training on Thursdays as well as starting to push a bit harder on the climbs with a view to sprinting (or as near as) up the last third of each hill. A little closer to the Epic Christa will redo my VO2max test so hopefully I'll see some big changes in the values.

It has actually been a lot of fun (but I refuse to get up at 3am again for a long long time!) and I've learnt quite a lot. I now know I am not a sprinter by any stretch of the imagination! Christa was always very encouraging and sprinting to Led Zeppelin & Pink Floyd was always going to be a pleasure!

Velib' Freeride

2009-02-10T20:45:00.006+02:00

As you'd expect from someone writing a Blog about cycling, I'm passionate about it in all its forms and truly believe that the bicycle is the way forward for the planet. So I was saddened to read the BBC article entitled: Thefts puncture Paris bike scheme which makes for tragic reading as the Velib' scheme is a cracking idea. Some pictures of the senseless destruction wrought upon these bikes can be seen on Le Parisien. One can only imagine what would happen if the scheme were started in London or here in South Africa.

Despite the sadness of such a great scheme being wrecked by the petty minded, the video below of these bikes being 'free-ridden' is quite amusing.

Wines2Whales

2009-02-09T16:39:00.004+02:00

Further to my previous post New MTB Trails about testing part of the route for the Wines2Whales three day MTB stage race from somerset West to Hermanus, I can tell you that their website has just gone live and can be seen at: www.wines2whales.co.za

Personally I'd love to do it but my wife would have a serious sense of humour failure if I did so maybe next year for me.

Optimal Recovery = Optimal Performance

2009-02-08T15:16:00.001+02:00

This coming week I'll be atStellenbosch University again helping Christa with her study on: "The effects of cold and neutral water immersion on the recovery of competitive cyclists after high intensity training."

The image shows what is involved as well as giving an indication of the time commitment. I did the preliminary stuff on Tuesday morning between 4 and 7.30am and will be there again for Mon', Tue' & Wed' at the same times (I think Paula will make me sleep downstairs for those three days). The 100k time trial is incredibly boring and now I have to do two more maintaining a minimum heart rate and power output. I think it's going to hurt. I know the VO2max test will as you have to pedal yourself to the point of exhaustion. Utter madness!

The real benefit to myself and other cyclists is the VO2max test results as these can really help with planning your training programme to ensure you're working smarter not harder.

Hopefully the final analysis of the study will also be of benefit for those training for the likes of the Cape Epic, as we know it's not really about how well you train but how well you recover between training episodes.

See here for previous posts on this.

Weekly Summary

2009-02-06T12:43:00.006+02:00

This week is my biggest week of training with 21hours being the goal. Suffice to say I rode the hours and am just a bit tired now! This week was a bit unusual in that I was at Stellenbosch Uni' again on Tuesday morning and did the 100k time trial for Christa. This involved strapping my road bike onto the spinner which is hooked up to a computer which measures power output etc. Having done 7 hours on Monday morning and then 3 hours on Tuesday's night ride I was fairly exhausted by Wednesday morning. However, I managed to drag myself out of bed and joined Petie (owner of Helderberg Cycle World) for the usual Wed' morning ride, but I bailed out after 3 hours. At the time it felt like the right/easy thing to do but I do regret it now.

This week has involved one 3:30am start, two 4:30am starts, one 5:30am start and a night ride which finished at 10pm. I'm beginning to realise that the really epic thing about the Cape Epic is the commitment and dedication required to train for it.

My last ride of the week was this morning, yet another 4:30am start! Once again I rode over to Jonkershoek, but my route was severely disrupted by the numerous fires in the Jonkers' mountains, but it made for a nice bit of variety. Sadly, two young lads were apparently trying to get a braai (BBQ) started and somehow managed to burn down a HUGE chunk of Stellenbosch's glorious mountains. Despite the behaviour of two prats, I and many others were still able to ride in Jonkers' where the fire crews are doing an incredible job of containing the fires. After feeling exhausted on Wed' I felt really strong today which goes to show how important it is to recover well. Next week is a recovery week and I will be taking it very seriously, making sure that I'm well rested for the following week.

Stats for (overload) week:
Ride time: 21:59 (target: 21:00)
Distance: 369km
Kcal's burnt: 14423
Total ascent: 4460m

2009-02-04T10:43:00.001+02:00

There has been a spate of robberies on bike shops in the Cape town area recently. Two weeks ago Helderberg Cycle World was ram-raided with half a dozen top end bikes being stolen. Last night as we were out riding we heard that William's Bike Shop in somerset West has also been robbed. Amazingly this one happened in daylight! Apparently a bike shop in Franschhoek was also robbed a few weeks ago.

Here's a list of what was stolen:
1) White Rocky Mountain Slayer SCX Unmistakable Green Chris King Hubs and Headset (details on www.williamsbikeshop.co.za)
2) Blue and White Rocky Mountain ETSX
3) 2009 Giant Anthem X1 - charcoal & silver
4) 2008 Giant Anthem 1 Blue and Silver (customer's bike)
5) Giant Fixed gear bike - black ( silver fork)

If you have any info or know anything please contact the police or William at his shop 021 8510919

Please pass this info onto any bike shops in your area, especially secondhand shops as this will help to put an end to this.

It's clear that these scum bags are well organised and seem know what they're stealing, they certainly appear to be quite choosy!

Cape Epic Route

2009-02-03T08:43:00.004+02:00

The Cape Epic route has been public for a while now but in the last day or two they have added the profile of each day's ride. As ever the profiles look really intimidating, but it wouldn't be the Epic if it was easy.

This particular profile is of the first day, which also happens to be the biggest day covering 110k's with 2770m of climbing. That big hill in the middle is Groenlandberg, and it is a BIG climb!

The whole route can be seen here.

Weekly Summary

2009-02-01T08:28:00.004+02:00

I'm really enjoying my riding at the moment and had a great week this week. I hadn't given too much thought to just how fit and strong I would become on the bike, especially once the base fitness was sorted. Right now I seem to be able to ride for hour after hour with no fuss and I'm also enjoying the back to back riding (Mon early, Tue night ride, Wed early) which should help for the Epic.

My favourite ride at the moment is from Home in Somerset West to Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch. Aside from a few k's on the R44 and a bit on Jonkershoek Rd the rest of the ride is on dirt roads, jeeptrack and lots of singletrack. It's the single track that I'm really enjoying as it's a lot of fun but also great for developing those all important technical skills (apparently we'll need them for this year's Epic). For those that know Jonkers', once through the gate (R20 to get in) I go straight onto the Canary Path and ride this piece of singletrack all the way to the top. Canary is made up of three parts and is a very technical ascent. I then turn right onto the contour road and after a couple of K's turn left and climb (a big climb) up to the waterfall. This is also a great place to refill the waterbottle! I then descend the other side and rejoin the contour road to the Never Ending Story which I ride to the end. This is fast and free flowing with some good switchbacks and other technical obstacles. At the bottom I turn Left and after the oak trees join the Patula Path. This is in two parts and whilst it's mainly flat it's very very rocky making it quite technical. Having followed this to the end it's back onto the dirt road to the dam wall where I turn left again onto Taeda Path, the single most rocky piece of singletrack in Jonkers. Most riders skip this path as it's very rocky and once the rocks are dealt with it becomes very sandy, but it's well worth it! This path also takes you right back to the gate. Once I've done all this I then set about riding home along the river in Stellenbosch to Coetzenberg where I turn into the University's farm and do the rocky climb back into Eden. Once there I do a bit more singletrack before retracing my steps over Stairway to Heaven and farm tracks all the way back to Mooiberge where sadly it's back to the tarmac of the R44 all the way home. That is my early (4.30am) Monday morning ride which sets my week up very nicely.

Stats for (load) week:
Ride time: 17:45 (target: 16:30)
Distance: 267km
Kcal's burnt: 13350
Total ascent: 4675m

New MTB Trails

2009-01-28T18:29:00.004+02:00

I've had a cracking few rides so far this week and have now done 13½ hours of my 16½ hour week but more of that in my Weekly Summary at the end of the week.

Today I did my usual Wednesday morning ride with Petie from the bike shop only this morning was a little bit special. Petie had been asked to test ride part of the a new route for the 'Wine to Whale' mountain bike stage race from Somerset West to Hermanus. This is a new race on the calander with entries opening soon (sadly the website is not online yet).

As part of this ride we had one-off access to Morgenster winery which is normally forbidden territory. We also rode onto Mount Rozier, Journey's End, Wedderwill and onto the Sir Lowry's Pass servitude road before going into Mola Mola's estate to ride the single track in there, much of which is brand new. BIG thanks must go to Morgenster for allowing us access this morning, it really was great! Also, the single track at Mola Mola is brilliant and we'll definitely be back as this will make the usual Sir Lowry's ride much more interesting.

One added bonus of all this is that much of what we rode this morning is also part of the Cape Epic route and will be part of the last day after crossing over the wagon trail on the Hottentots Holland mountains.

Weekly Summary

2009-01-24T19:22:00.000+02:00

This was supposed to be a 'Load' week on the Polar programme with 16 hours of riding but after the disasters of Monday & Tuesday's rides (see post below) I was really down on my hours. Had both rides gone to plan I would have ridden 11 hours but as it was I was almost 6 hours down. I had also planned to ride with the local bike shop on Wed morning which was planned as a 4 hour ride but without my bike I thought I would have to bail out. However I had a bit of a brainwave and decided to use my Giant Boulder (the bike I use for the the school run) for the ride. So after a couple of hours on Tuesday night spent prep'ing the bike I had a decent ride of 4½ hours with Petie (owner of the bike shop).

On Saturday I managed a short and gentle 2 hours on the road bike with Paul (Epic Partner) which was great as we rode to Stellenbosch and back. It was good to do a gentle road ride to keep the legs spinning.

So after all this I finally managed to get 13 hours in, leaving me just 3 hours short, so I've re-jigged my programme and decided to make this a Recovery week and bump the programme forward by one week. Thankfully my taper period at the end of the programme has enough space to allow for this. So next week will be a 'load' week.

Hopefully I'll have no more weeks like this one!

Stats for (recovery) week:
Ride time: 13:13 (target: 11:00)
Distance: 203km
Kcal's burnt: 8854
Total ascent: 2725m (ish)

Not A Great Start!

2009-01-20T23:09:00.001+02:00

The start of this week has been one I hope not to repeat - ever!

On Monday, I set off early for my usual 6 hour ride and all was going well until I got to Jonkershoek. The Southeaster had been blowing quite violently for a few days. Anyway, as I entered the park I was about to turn left when I heard a huge gust of wind and a strange noise so decided to go a different way. Just as I moved one of the big oak trees fell down right where I'd been.

A little while later on some single-track I was almost taken out by a bok who was running straight towards me at a phenomenal pace. I think he was a bit confused and didn't realise quite how fast I was going at the time. Thankfully he missed me.

Frustratingly this was all topped off 4½ hours into the ride when the hanger ripped off leaving me in a bit of a pickle (the gear set-up on this test rig has never been right). I managed to make the bike into a single speed with the aim of completing my ride but this only lasted for about 30 minutes before the whole gear setup jammed. Thankfully Paul (my Epic partner) came and picked me up and took the bike to the shop.

I got the bike back on Tuesday ready for my usual night-ride with Paul, but after 1½ hours the derailleur cage got caught in the back wheel and was ripped in two (see photo). Thankfully the wife came to the rescue and got me home.

Hopefully the rest of the week will improve, although I'm not sure how as I'm supposed to be riding in the morning but am without bike.

Weekly Summary

2009-01-16T11:17:00.002+02:00

This week was supposed to have been a recovery week of 13hours on the Polar programme but has turned into a bit of a disastrous week. I had planned on taking this week as a partial week off meaning that I would only ride between 6 - 8 hours but in the end that decision was taken from me.

On Monday I slept through the alarm so missed my ride which wasn't a great start as I knew I wouldn't have many other chances to ride. Then on Tuesday whilst in Montagu I twisted my ankle quite badly. Thankfully there were no broken bones but I'm in a lot of pain! The photo doesn't really do the bruising any justice but it does capture the swelling quite nicely. Like an idiot I decided it would be fun to have a go on a zip line (aerial runway) and for about 30 seconds it was quite exhilarating. Sadly however, I hadn't reckoned on how fast the thing would go or how I would stop. In the process of putting a foot down to slow things down I watched (in what felt like slow-motion) as my big toe was dragged under my foot followed by the rest of it. My foot appeared to twist through 180° and I was left in a heap on the floor unable to move. WHAT AN IDIOT!!!

I guess I should use this as a wake-up call and stop doing anything that might negatively impact my training for the Epic or my ability to ride the event. Hopefully I'll be back on the bike next week as I have a few big weeks coming up now.

Boys & Their Toys

2009-01-13T07:46:00.001+02:00

Here's a nice shot of me with my two boys taken by Grandad - Paula's dad (Paula is my wife of 17 years in case you're wondering).

Eli (on the left) finally got his own bike for his 3rd birthday just a few days before Christmas so now he can join in 'Catch You Bike' with Joel & Daddy.

Joel has enjoyed playing this game for a few years now, but as he gets older he wants to be in front or winning all the time.

This is a shot to make me very proud! Hopefully I can nurture a love of cycling in my boys and then we can ride together when they're older.

Weekly Summary

2009-01-10T17:19:00.000+02:00

This week has been a load week on the Polar programme and my target was 16½ hours which I managed very comfortably. I'm really enjoying doing longer rides, mainly because I love being on the bike so much but it also means I get a decent amount of rest between rides which is great. Something else I'm really enjoying is an amazing level of fitness which allows me to do certain rides that I would never have dreamt of not so long ago. One such ride is my new favourite of riding from home to Jonkershoek, playing on the single track for up to 2 hours and then riding home again. Twice now I've been a bit naughty on the way home and sailed past some roadies on the hills coming out of Stellenbosch. I've then really stamped on the gears to make them work really hard to stay with me, however they've not yet succeeded. That's very childish (and not great for the heart rate) but lots of fun!

Today I also did my first ever ride on a soft-tail. Paul (my Epic partner) works at the local bike shop and has been talking me into trying a softtail so eventually I agreed to try a BMC. The shop had a Fourstroke frame lying around so they transferred the components over from my Mongoose to the BMC. The jury is still out but there were certain things I did enjoy. I liked the comfort but at 40+ who wouldn't? The longer wheelbase makes for a more planted feel on singletrack and on rocky climbs and it was great on some really rocky singletrack to be able to just bounce over stuff that I couldn't on my hardtail. Sadly, the bike was very poorly setup so I'll need to tinker with it to really appreciate its finer qualities. Also, my XT front derailleur wouldn't fit so the bike shop stuck a crappy Deore derailleur on the front and I struggled to change from middle down to granny which was frustrating. I'll give it several more goes before I finally make up my mind, so stay tuned.

Stats for (overload) week:
Ride time: 16:57 (target: 16:30)
Distance: 254km
Kcal's burnt: 11840
total ascent: 3745m

Pure Pleasure!

2009-01-07T18:33:00.005+02:00

My riding is pure pleasure at the moment! Since making the conscious decision to leave the road bike alone (for a while) and concentrate on the mountain bike I'm really enjoying my riding again. Don't get me wrong, I love the road bike, but mountain biking is where my passion is and let's be honest, mountain biking is a whole lot more fun than pounding tarmac.

I made the conscious decision a couple of weeks ago to do the rest of my Epic training on my mountain bike. Basically my base fitness is in place so it's time to get back to building my MTB skills and getting some intensity work in. In doing so I've also opted to do fewer rides but longer in duration. So this week for example is an 'overload' week of 16 hours and I've already done 11½ hours in two rides which is fantastic! My next ride will be a 5 hour ride on Saturday afternoon. Also, in deciding to do longer rides to get the hours in I'm finding that a 5 to 6 hour MTB ride is a very different ball game to the same amount of time spent on the road. Not least the sheer rolling resistance of the knobbly tires makes for a different kind of ride. Mainly though, I was finding 5+ hours on the road quite tedious whilst on the MTB one simply doesn't have time to consider the tedium of turning the cranks for hours on end. Having said that, it is much easier to manage the heart rate zones on the road.

I'm also quite excited as I'm going to be trying out a BMC Trailfox for the next week. My bike shop (Helderberg Cycle World) are transferring all my bits off the Mongoose onto the BMC so I can get a feel for the differences and make an informed decision as to which would be best for the Epic. I'm picking the BMC up on Friday and hope to have a ride over the weekend. If not, I'll definitely get to ride it on my normal Monday morning ride.

Weekly Summary

2009-01-03T19:29:00.005+02:00

This week has been one of my best on the bike for a while as I've done all my rides on my mountain bike. I really enjoy the road bike, but the mountain bike is really where the fun is!

This week was a load week on the Polar training programme and I was up for 15 hours of riding. I started with my usual 5 hour ride on Monday and rode from home to Jonkershoek, played on the single track (Canary path) and then rode home again. Tuesday was a 4 hour night-ride with Paul which was more or less the same as Monday except I didn't ride home (the lads twisted my arm to stay and have a beer). Today I rode with Paul and a few friends around Grabouw and up to Groenlandberg which is in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve . This was a great ride of 55k's and 1600m of climbing. The climb to the top of Groenlandberg was well worth it as we could see Simonstown on the Cape Peninsula and Hermanus along the East coast as well as a huge tract of farm land in-between. Much of what we rode this morning will be in the Epic this year and it's highly likely that Groenlandberg will also be in it. We plan to do plenty more riding in the area.

I'm actually 1hour and one minute short of my target this week but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that. The bottom line is I managed three quality rides, each with over 1000m of climbing.

Stats for (load) week:
Ride time: 13:59
Distance: 194km
Kcal's burnt: 10708
total ascent: 3735m

78 Days, 19 Hours

2009-01-01T10:47:00.004+02:00

The Cape Epic is this year. That is quite a scary thought. For so long we've spoken of the 2009 Epic as being 'next year' and now we find ourselves in 2009. Scary but very exciting!

This week has been a real pleasure for me as it began with my usual 5 hour ride early on Monday morning but this week I decided to do it on my mountain bike. Needless to say I had a complete blast as I rode cross country to Jonkershoek and back. The ride was also the closest I've come to a full Epic day so far and I'm beginning to see that it is do-able. On Tuesday Paul and I did a night ride which was a bit longer for me as I rode from home to the start. This ride was just short of 5 hours and by the end of it I was still feeling very strong which was encouraging.

As I said below, I don't do New Year's resolutions but I am planning to do a whole lot more on my MTB and a whole lot less on the road bike.

As I'm writing this the countdown clock on the Epic website says there are 78 Days & 19 Hours until the start. Bring on the Epic!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T09:30:00.004+02:00

I don't do New Year's resolutions as I believe that in making them most people are merely setting themselves up to fail. I like to tell people that I made one resolution many years ago and have never broken it! I resolved never to make another New Year's resolution and I'm not going to break that now.

However, what I am planning to do in 2009 is to get back on my mountain bike and spend a whole lot more time on it. The second half of '08 saw me spending more and more time on the road bike which was great for base fitness and it has been a lot of fun. It's also been a great way to meet a different set of cyclists. But, and it's a big but, the MTB is far more fun and a lot more important right now. With less than three months to the start of the Epic, it's time to crack on and be a lot more diligent in my training. This week has been really motivating for me as I've managed two long MTB rides of almost 10 hours that I would otherwise have done on the road bike.

Anyway, the point of this post was to wish you all a Very Happy New Year! To those riding in the Epic, I hope it turns out to be all you hope for and more!

Weekly Summary

2008-12-27T11:50:00.002+02:00

I'm really pleased with myself as I'm finally getting to grips with the Polar ProTrainer 5 software. I've now managed to program in my planned exercise for each week prior to the Epic and then as I complete a week I can compare how I did with how I hoped to do. As seen in the image, I didn't do too badly either last week or this and now that I've got a grip of the software and tweaked my heart rate zones on the monitor it should all look a lot better in the coming weeks.

Trying to maintain a consistent training programme over the Christmas period is a lot harder than I imagined it would be. On Boxing day it was hard enough to rouse myself to get out of bed but I did and I was up and out by 4.50am. I then spent the first two hours wondering just what on earth I was doing! Thankfully I managed to push through and had a good ride. I guess that's part of the mental training required for the Epic as it's important to carry on riding even when you really don't want to.

Stats for the (recovery) week:
Ride time: 12:31
Distance: 265km
Kcal's burnt: 8058

Weekly Summary

2008-12-20T16:35:00.003+02:00

There didn't seem to be much point in posting a weekly summary last week as I was participating in the research study at Stellenbosch Uni' (see here). I was supposed to have done the 100k time trial but unfortunately the computer crashed so it didn't happen. Besides that I only managed two rides totaling just over 6 hours. Had I done the time trial I would have been slightly over my hours required but never mind.

This week has been back to normal, ie; following the training plan properly which is a first since the Double Century over three weeks ago! I'm not far from peaking (hours wise) on the training program and I must admit that it's quite tough fitting all the required hours in. This week has consisted of four early mornings starting riding just before 5am. I'm also doing more back to back rides which should help with the actual event. I've also managed three rides with my Epic partner which is great. So here's how my week panned out:

Stats for the week:
Ride time: 15:35
Distance: 377km
Kcal's burnt: 10114

Now I'm Tempted

2008-12-18T21:46:00.002+02:00

Having experienced a few punctures, particularly on the road bike and having been frustrated by how much effort is required to inflate a tyre up to 8Bar I decided to go for the CO2 Bomb route. It saves a lot of time and effort!

So I got the gadget home from the shop and had a flick through the instructions and came across the fantastic afterthought at the end of the caution: "(Don't be tempted to place your tongue on canister!)"

I really hadn't given the idea of placing my tongue on the canister any thought, but now the inner child is seriously tempted to give it a go. Thankfully, the 'outer adult' tells me this would be daft!

I wonder if I could sue Ryder for failing to tell me not to do it?

Tests

2008-12-11T12:38:00.003+02:00

This week I've been a guinea pig for a researcher at Stellenbosch University's Sport Performance Institute (SUSPI). The researcher is studying the optimal way to recover after high intensity sessions (ice baths vs swimming pool vs active recovery). The only down side is the very early morning starts!

The first day involved the VO2Max test which basically involves riding yourself into the ground whilst having all manner of things measured and fingers pricked for lactate readings. By the end I wanted to puke but managed to hold on. Having established a baseline, today was the 100k time trial but unfortunately the computer crashed so I've got to go back to do that bit again.

This is a great study and really beneficial to myself as the first set of tests are to establish a baseline prior to undertaking the scientifically controlled 100k time trial in the lab. The key benefit for me is that I received a detailed report containing information regarding fitness levels and performance capacities such as:
• aerobic capacity (VO2max),
• power to weight ratio (climbing ability),
• lactate threshold at power output and heart rate,
• anaerobic ability (sprinting ability) and
• cycling efficiency.
I've also been given a thorough breakdown of my optimal heart rate zones which are now programmed into my heart rate monitor ready for my rides. This is great as the Polar training programme gives generic heart rate zones but now I have personal zones based on scientific data. Brilliant!

I'll not bore you with the details but I now have some vital info which will help me train much much smarter which is far better than training harder!

Awareness Test

2008-12-10T09:16:00.000+02:00

Almost At The Top

2008-12-09T08:54:00.003+02:00

I like this photo of myself near the top of the Helshoogte Pass on Die Burger race last weekend.

I always try and make a face for the camera or give a thumbs up as it makes the images easier to identify and makes them a bit more interesting for myself and the photographer.

Anyway, what I really like about this one is the fact that we're almost at the top of a big climb (Helshoogte can be quite punishing if you're not used to such climbs) and I'm looking quite fresh, riding in the drops and having a laugh with the camera. Meanwhile, the poor guy behind me looks whacked. He obviously decided to sit on my wheel up the hill and it looks like he paid a price for his effort.

I'd love to know who he is and find out how he did in the race. Answers on a postcard or leave a comment.

Image from Action Photo.

Weekly Summary

2008-12-06T17:58:00.004+02:00

This week turned out to be a bit of a disaster. I rode Die Burger on Sunday and was pleased with my time of 2:57:50 as my aim was to do a sub-3 hour. Die Burger is a seeding event for the Cape Argus which is the only reason I chose to ride it. Regardless it was a lot of fun and a good learning curve but overall it felt very easy after the DC the week before.

I chose to rest on Monday and then planned to do my usual Tuesday night-ride followed by my Wednesday morning ride and then ride again on Friday morning. Sadly this was all thrown out by taking a nasty tumble on Tuesday evening during the night-ride. About an hour from the end of the ride, just as we were coming to the end of some glorious single-track my front wheel got caught by a root and I went straight over the handlebars. All I really remember is lying on the ground with my bike on top of me thinking I had broken my arm. Thankfully nothing was seriously damaged other than my pride. My right leg felt dead and my right arm is still very sore, as is the small of my back. So that put paid to the rest of my riding for the week.

The night-ride wasn't even a particularly good one as we (Paul & I) were joined by some other guys and rode at their pace. We have at least agreed to put a stop to that and take more control of our rides. We'll see if it actually happens.

Epic Race Register

2008-11-28T20:07:00.004+02:00

The Race Register has gone live on the Cape Epic website, so now we can see who we're up against. We're listed as Bizweni Bundu Bashers, but hope to change the name if and when we get a sponsor. If you're interested in sponsoring us click here for more info.

There is no point in posting a full weekly summary as I've only ridden once this week as I've been taking it easy after the DC and resting a bit prior to Die Burger on Sunday. Die Burger is the last qualifier in the Western Cape for the Cape Argus in March and I really want to crack a good time so as to get into as good a starting group as possible.

So this week I only rode once (as said) which was a brilliant MTB ride around Lebanon with my regular crowd from Helderberg Cycles. The ride was quite pacey for 3 hours covering a tad under 50k's with 1005 metres of climbing. All in all a lot of fun!

DC Photos

2008-11-25T19:02:00.001+02:00

Here are a few photos of the Wannabee Better team during the Double Century on Saturday.

I think they capture the event, the weather etc. really well.

We all had a lot of fun and as I said earlier, the guys were very gracious in their patience with me, especially in how they helped me up the last three hills.

Anton summed the event up as follows:

Firstly just a huge thank to Archie and Ina who made the stops stress free, full of encouragement and providing us with all the help we needed and more. We cannot sing your praises enough.

To the team, you guys were awesome. Thanks for putting up with me and allowing me to ensure that we finished as we started, we may have been battered down to 8 starters but boy we were not going let that get the better of us.
To my fellow captains Smiley (Ave heart rate 116 over the 211km's - unbelievable) and Petie, thanks for your guidance before and during the ride. Your experience and good natured approach was the key to ensuring that we all finished, which we thank you for.
To Fred for his kinds words through prayer before we started and his unfailing enthusiasm during the ride is a lesson to us all.
To Sholto who ensured that some of us got there and back safe and sound, for stopping to allow me to get rid of some of the food and liquid intake on the way home (but that's another story) Never waivered or faltered on the ride.
To Dean who rode his 1st DC and probably not his last, for never giving up. Working through the tough times and finishing stronger than most.
To Schalk, what can I say, you are an animal. Never complained and although could have finished in +- 6hrs, stayed to the end to assist us in getting home.
To Alistair, for ensuring that we had the required sustenance the night before and being a true gentleman till the end.

Enjoy the pictures...

Our first break was at the top of the Op De Tradouw pass about 62k's into the ride

Ina was a star! Can't recommend a mothering touch enough on this kind of jaunt

Anton on the left with me just behind him. Sholto is on the right

Riding in formation on the approach to Suurbrak

A real team effort!

Sholto & Smiley

Ina, a very welcome sight!!

Looking back ... probably for me

Crossing the finish line in 7:47

Double Century - Results

2008-11-23T16:46:00.005+02:00

As said in previous posts I was riding in the Double Century yesterday as part of the Wannabee Better CCH team one of five Wannabee teams in the event. We finished in a respectable 7:47. The goal had been 7 hours but unfortunately I was the slow-coach who held the guys back. Thankfully as a team we had already agreed to stick together so three of the guys were amazing at actually pushing me up bits of the last three hills, thanks go to Petie, Schalk & Smiley! I was determined to finish, but was equally happy for the guys to drop me and go for a better time. Now I have to live with the guilt. ;-)

I was fine for the first 150k's but then my bum gave out. I've had some issues previously with my saddle but yesterday's race was the last straw! The saddle will be replaced imminently. The lads kept offering me cramp-stop as well as advice on eating etc. but the problem quite simply was a very sore bum on which I struggled to sit. That being said, the last three hills going into Swellendam each felt like Mt. Everest and I had probably underestimated how tough they would be.

The official results have just been posted on the Winning Time website and our team time was 7:47:04 with my personal time being 3 seconds behind. We finished 86th out of 191 teams so just within the top half of the field. My personal result was 687/1579 which puts me well into the top half which makes me quite happy. So next year I'll train a bit harder and hopefully finish a bit stronger.

Overall the race was a lot of fun along a brilliant route and the weather was just about perfect. The team were great, a real pleasure to ride with and our support crew of Archie and Ina were amazing, Thanks guys!

We passed a few friends along the way and my friend Nigel from church finished 10 minutes ahead of us, although I know he was disappointed with the time.

Full results available here.

Weekly Summary

2008-11-19T23:36:00.001+02:00

I'm posting this early as I won't be riding again before the Double Century on Saturday and given that that ride is a race I won't include it in the weekly stats.

I rode my mountain bike for the first time in two weeks this morning and had a blast. I really am a mountain biker at heart! I enjoy the roadie side of things, but my passion is for the dirt.

This week was a taper week in preparation for Saturday so obviously the stats are lower than normal.

Stats for the week:
Ride time: 8:21
Distance: 187.2
Kcal's burnt: 5806

Double Century

2008-11-18T13:42:00.002+02:00

Important Notice: Road Conditions
All roads were reopened in the Overberg Area after last week’s heavy rains. Despite damage to the road surface in some areas, the event can go ahead as planned. A small detour in the Bonnievale area might be necessary. Team captains will be informed of any changes at registration.

So, according to the DC website, the event is definitely on with only a minor detour looking likely.

The bad news is that one of our team members has dropped out so we're down to 8 riders which leaves very little room for error on the day. Most teams are comprised of 12 riders (max) with the first 6 finishers making up the team's official time. Obviously the more team members the more likely it is that the team will finish with a decent time. Given our small team, we'll have to reconsider our target of 7 hours which is a real shame. Still, there's always next year.

Double Century

2008-11-16T16:41:00.000+02:00

A general email was sent out late on Friday by the Cycle Tour about the route of the Double Century following the black South-Easter during the week. The main bit of the email reads as follows:

"The Overberg region has been battered by storms over the past few days and as you may have seen in the news - roads and bridges have been washed away and other areas seriously damaged. The Coronation Double Century route has been seriously affected by these storms. We are however working on an alternative route option in the event that the conditions of the roads on the original route do not improve over the next few days."

Hopefully things will be sorted in time for the ride.

Weekly Summary

2008-11-15T16:15:00.000+02:00

This week started in promising fashion with back to back road rides on Sunday & Monday, but I then had to cancel Tuesday's night ride. Just as I did so a black South-Easter blew in and wiped out any chance of riding before the weekend which meant my regular mountain bike ride with the local bike shop was also canceled. So this has been a bit of a frustrating week especially as I didn't get to ride off-road once - must make amends for that next week!

Stats for the week:
Ride time: 11:44
Distance: 245
Kcal's burnt: 7150

Weekly Summary

2008-11-10T14:19:00.003+02:00

Last week was a bit of a disjointed week, consequently I was unable to ride as much as I would have liked. I managed three rides, covered 233k's consumed 5864kcals and spent 9:49 on the bike. The joy of the week was that I spent most of my time in the blue and green zones, but the frustration of the week was that I didn't get to ride my mountain bike at all.

This week is already shaping up as I've ridden almost as long and as far in two rides!

Double Century

2008-11-07T21:55:00.000+02:00

On Thursday I finally met the team I'm riding with in the Coronation Double Century on the 22nd of this month. It was good to meet the guys, although I actually know three of the team but it was good to meet the other five. We discussed strategy and agreed on our aim of finishing in about 7 hours. We were able to sort a few logistics and had a good laugh together. We're planning a final get together next week which will be a fun time as well as putting the finishing touches to our prep.

The race is 205k's (128 miles) from Swellendam with the first 62k's being uphill. the profile above shows just how big those 62k's are! More details about the route etc. can be seen here (or click map to left).

I'm really looking forward to this race, it will be the longest ride I've done to date

Mid-Week Fun

2008-11-05T13:28:00.002+02:00

Having introduced you to my bikes, I thought you might enjoy seeing my unicycles. I don't ride them as much as I'd like, which is a shame as they're really good fun and riding one is a real crowd pleaser! The red one is my main unicycle. It's a DM Ringmaster and is really top drawer in terms of quality. DM Engineering used aircraft tubing and welding techniques to build their unicycles and they were all hand-made. Sadly due to cheap & crappy chinese imports DM had to cease production as they couldn't compete. The black one is a Pashley (more famous for wheel chairs), It's also handmade but nowhere near as good quality as the DM. I mostly use this one for workshops and training others to ride.

My Ringmaster has traveled extensively with me and was probably best used in Zimbabwe when we worked for a street-kid shelter. I taught some of the kids to ride and one, a guy called Anton really took to it.

I've also used the unicycles at church and in Emyezweni Pre-School in the Lwandle township here in Somerset West.

I don't know much about the science behind unicycling, but I do know that sustained periods of riding uses similar amounts of energy as running. Also, they're great for developing balance which is always useful on singletrack.

Anton mastering the unicycle in Harare

Me trying not to fall off

Entertaining the kids at emyezweni

I got my first unicycle as a 30th birthday present from the wife and then taught myself to ride whilst at bible college. I figured I would need to have something to show for my time there so mastering my unicycle seemed like a good use of my time. And it was!

Weekly Summary

2008-11-01T18:45:00.005+02:00

I've had another great week on the bikes. My schedule is working well and the split between two MTB rides and two road rides is highly enjoyable, as well as being very productive. As the picture shows (a summary of the last four weeks), I rode for 15hours & 10 minutes, covered a tad under 290k's and almost burnt 10000kcals.

I started the week at 5am on Monday with a slow ride to Kleinmond (124k's) keeping the heart rate below 70% (I plan to make this a regular ride). My two MTB rides are a bit hopeless from the heart rate point of view, but they're great fun and a good way to keep the power and climbing skills honed. My final ride of the week is a road ride on Saturdays and this morning I joined some of the Wannabee crowd on a pleasant ride to Rooiels and back.

I still need to try and increase the amount of time I spend in the blue & green zones, but all in all I'm very happy with my riding at present.

The Route

2008-11-01T05:15:00.004+02:00

The new and eagerly anticipated route for the 2009 Absa Cape Epic has been unveilled and it looks fantastic! Some are describing this as the first 'true' Epic MTB race and it certainly does look very exciting.

The key stats are:
Total Distance: 743km
Total Climbing: 16650m
So that's an average of 102k's per day (excluding prologue) and 2378m of climbing. That is going to be a tough ride!

I won't repeat the whole thing here but it's interesting to note that after the prologue in Cape Town, we'll be spending two nights at each camp, so two nights in Villiersdorp, Two in Greyton and two in Oak Valley before riding home to Lourensford (which is about 4k's from my house). As ever the Epic organisers are stating clearly that the route cannot be ridden outside of the event (which we respect), but there is quite a bit of the route that is officially open to the public so we'll spend as much time as we can on those bits.

All in all, this is looking very very exciting.

Epic Route

2008-10-29T21:44:00.004+02:00

Tonight is the 2009 Route Launch Charity Gala for the Absa Cape Epic. It's at this event that traditionally the route for each Epic is unveiled. Tonight's launch is highly anticipated as the route is totally new for 2009. We already have a good idea as to where significant parts of it will be but wait with interest to see the final route.

Hopefully I can post about the new route tomorrow and then we'll go and ride as much as we can on the bits that are open to the public.

Let Me Introduce You..

2008-10-29T14:04:00.004+02:00

Thought I'd introduce you to the last bike in my 'stable'. This really is a bottom-end cheapy, but it's a workhorse so doesn't need to be anything fancy. The bike is a Giant Boulder and the only change to the original spec' is a pair of Ryder SPD pedals. However, the really fun bit is the Raleigh trail-a-bike (see here & here for info) at the back. Getting the whole thing to work has been a mission. I've just had a shim made for the seat post clamp and then needed new bolts for it. However, the thread is imperial so hard to come by out here. Thankfully after much to-ing and fro-ing, a local bike shop came up trumps.

My boys love riding to and being picked up from school on this. I use a 5led flashing rear light and a reflective arm to help traffic steer clear. I'm also trying to get a flag for it. The locals love seeing me and one of the boys on it. Traffic often slows down (invariably to gawp) past us and we're often given way to at junctions. The boys love greeting people as they ride past and ringing the bell.

The trip to school is only 4k's there and back but we have to go up a fairly steep (but short) hill. I enjoy this as the trail-a-bike weighs 20kg's and with the kids weighing around the same it makes for good training.

Not A Good Day!

2008-10-28T21:26:00.001+02:00

I’m more than a little bit fed-up as I write! I rode the 49k Akkedis MTB Challenge on Saturday and apparently won. Only, I know I didn’t! I spoke to the organiser at the finish line as I was really hacked off about the route markers (or lack of) in certain places. There were a few points in the race where it would have been very easy to go wrong if you weren’t paying attention (which is obviously what happened to me). Some of the markers were in obscure places which forced you to slow down and have a really good look around to make sure you were still on the right road. Somewhere around 10k’s from the finish line I somehow got lost and failed to see any markers. After a trog up to the cell phone mast (I’d remembered the announcer at the start telling us about this) and no sight of any other riders or route markers I found my way back down where I met up with a rider in the shorter race. We rode into the finish together, where I learnt I’d ‘won’.

What’s really annoying me is that I had planned to use this as a test to see where I’m at as I’m feeling very strong at the moment. Anyway, I was on for a top 6 finish as I was only a minute or so behind the leaders. As we left the start line the pack quickly split into two groups. The front group had about 6 riders in it and I sat just behind them. Just before the 10k mark I dropped one of the guys in the front pack and later on dropped another (can’t remember the distance). I hit 40k’s in 2:14 and at no point in the race was I passed by anyone else, so all was going really well up to the point of getting lost.

All I can do here is apologise to the guys who came in 2nd, 3rd & 4th as they should have been 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Hopefully the organisers will realise they’ve screwed up and sort this mess out.

I had to bail out of this race last year due to a ripped tire, but a few of my friends complained it was poorly marked out last year and it certainly doesn’t seem to have improved. Interestingly the starting field was smaller than last year and I for one won’t be back next year.

News - Bush Not A Complete Plonker!

2008-10-24T10:15:00.003+02:00

Can't quite believe I've put a picture of this moron on my blog, but there is good reason. Read on...

According to a headline on Associate Press "Bush to open national parks to mountain bikes". For those that live in the States, that is seriously good news and I'm really jealous 'cos now there's finally a good reason to go there.

Maybe Bush wasn't such a plonker after all.

Cape Epic - Team Sponsorship

2008-10-20T19:52:00.005+02:00

Team Bizweni Bundu Bashers (Dean Finnie & Paul Hartmann) is looking for a sponsor or sponsors to partner with for the Absa Cape Epic. Ideally we'd like a single sponsor who could help significantly with the financial side of riding the Epic. However, we're also open to having more than one sponsor and breaking the deal into smaller packages.

So what can we offer a potential sponsor?
* Team name (complete change from current name to your name - for main sponsor)
* Logo on kit
* Logo on 2 bakkies (pick-ups) for one year
* Association with Absa Cape Epic, biggest and best MTB race in the world!
* Some TV coverage (can't guarantee how much)
* Also, as kit would be worn at other races and social rides, the logo would be seen around for up to two years, or however long the kit lasts.

What are we looking for?
* Assistance with entry fees
* 8 complete sets of kit (4 per team member) comprising jerseys, bib shorts, socks & shoes (1 pair each)
* Financial assistance with maintaining and servicing bikes prior to and during the Epic.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a local company or for an international company seeking to expand into new areas. The Epic is a highly respected MTB race which is seen by tens of thousands of people on the internet and DSTV/Sky Sports. The potential coverage for a sponsor through the Epic and beyond is huge and could benefit a company very nicely.

Paul rode in the Epic last year (results here) in team Boxers and finished 281st out of 435 finishing teams. I rode 80% of Paul's training rides with him last year and our training for the 2009 Epic is well under way. We're both at a good level of fitness and will improve considerably by March so there is a very strong chance of us finishing the Epic comfortably.

Queries etc. can be directed to myself at: dpfinnie (at) yahoo.com or leave a comment on this post and I'll get in touch with you.

Weekly Summary

2008-10-19T13:50:00.004+02:00

This week has been one of the most satisfying I've had on the bike for a long time. I rode four times -as can be seen in the picture) and covered a total distance of 286.5k's, burnt 7613 Kcal's and spent 12hours, 26 minutes on the bike. I still need to try and get more of my riding into the blue zone which won't always be easy especially as a normal week would include two MTB rides (scarily, this week was a lot of fun and I didn't spend any time on the mountain bike). However, if I can put a few more weeks together like this one then the base fitness will be excellent. The other great thing about this kind of riding at this stage is that this is all before the start of our formal Epic training programme, so hopefully that will put me ahead of the game.

My regular riding programme is now underway with rides on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Tuesday evening and Thursday morning are MTB rides. Thursday is definitely my 'fun' day when I ride for pure pleasure and don't worry too much about the heart rate. Tuesday is an hour and a half of singletrack followed by a nightride. This is the main ride I get to do with Paul so we try to keep it 'low & slow'. Monday & Saturday are road rides which are perfect for getting the distance in and keeping the heart rate down, as well as working on technical stuff like cadence and pedal stroke.

Also, summer is just about here now and things are warming up and the mornings are getting lighter. This is great for getting an early start which leaves the rest of the day clear for family and work.

I had managed to get myself into a team for the Coronation Double Century but have had to drop out as I can't commit to training rides on Sundays. However, I have another possibility and hope to hear early this week whether or not I'm in. I've had to be clear that the training rides must not be Sundays. Hopefully it will work out and I'll get to ride it.

Respect!

2008-10-12T22:36:00.004+02:00

Respect to my mate Rod who finished the Cape Odyssey this morning. Team Bushbabies finished 48th out of 123 finishers and 13th in the mixed category in a time of 24:10:17.

Well done mate!

Read more about Rod here.

Road Bike

2008-10-12T17:27:00.000+02:00

So here's the new road bike. The frame is a 2008 BMC SL01 which came with an Easton EC70 fork.
The groupset is Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed (2008) and the wheels are Campagnolo Vento shod with Vredestein Ricorso tyres. The pedals are Time RXS First, the stem and Handlebars are Scud by Amoeba, the seat post is KCNC whilst the saddle (Selle Italia C2) is carried over from the old bike. I also have two RavX nylon bottle cages and a Topeak tubbie under the saddle.

The bike is a bit of a work in progress as the steerer tube hasn't been cut to final size yet and no doubt fine tuning will happen over the next few rides.

I'm really happy as I've never been involved in building a bike up from scratch. Having been offered the frame at a substantial discount, I then spent time chatting it all over with my local bike shop and the bike you see is the result, all within my original budget. Cool!