Unfortunately there has been a couple of muggings on Table mountain lately, so this morning there was an awareness ride on Tablemountain. The rationale behind it was to show the authorities that there a group of mountain bikers who rides Deer Park and the many contour paths. It would cool if some development of trails and the resources for law enforcement could be allocated to the Table Mountain side of the world and not just to Tokai and Cape Point. I missed the previous one in August so was really amped to do this.
Saturday was extremely hot, perfect beach day. Too bad I was in the office knee deep in month end reports. That raised my motivation levels even more. Luckily the temperature dropped and wind direction changed to NW. This does mean rain though, but I wasn't going to let a bit of rain stop me. There is no such thing as too cold, only insufficient clothing. I went with baggies for the ride, as I had no aspirations of racing and just wanted to get into the mountain and meet like minded people.
Alicia dropped me off at the parking at Kloof Nek, so I didn't have to thrash my way up via Kloof Nek road.
Table Mountain has two modes. Up and down. Both are rather steep and very rocky. Guaranteed hard work but also real fun. The ride went up to the first hairpin bend of Tablemountain rd and then promptly left the tar for gravel. Great! We were warned beforehand about a loop that was added that was technical and also optional. I promptly dove right in. I might have made a few people negative here as I bombed past them on the outside and over the rock slabs, but as the trail entered the singletrack I mellowed out. No point in trying to go past someone on a cruise ride.
The ride went over mostly gravel road, had lots of climbing,m very fast descents and a lot of thrills.
What I enjoyed the most was the people. Almost everyone was chatting and greeted back, and there was a good vibe on the mountain. One lady hike we passed asked us why there was so many MTBers on the mountain, so we managed to spread some awareness in the public's eyes as well.
I rode a good deal of the ride with a dude from Tokai, we bonded after he almost crashed into a pile of bricks after going slightly too fast on one of the downhills. He had an epic save though. We went down a couple of hair raising downhills, everything is rocky, and steep, and fast if you let go of the brakes. I passed a couple of dudes on the downhill, luckily it was almost all jeep track, but due to all the rocks I had to set up my lines and choose my braking points very carefully. It was epic fun, fat smiles and lots of adrenaline all round. At one point a rock got flicked up by the front wheel, deflecting it into the bush via my downtube. This dude thought it was my cell phone and stopped to pick it up. The vibe on the mountain was that good. We rode together chatting with the people around us, but at one stage the climb turned around and we headed straight into the wind. By this stage the wind was rough and clouds were covering most of the mountain. We knew we had to go up this one last climb to the end of Tablemountain road were there was a coffee stand and some Demo Scott bikes to be ridden. Great. We slogged up and rewarded ourselves with some amazing coffee. We were met by a huge police presence both in the mountain on quads, but also with a couple of police cars on Tablemountain road, as well as a police helicopter cruising by. It seems they also used this event as a show of force.
At this stage Awie, a mate of mine caught up and after smashing the coffee we headed home. At this stage we rode about 12km and climbed 550m. Like I said, Table Mountain is steep. Cruising back the mist enveloped us totally. The wind was pumping, blowing the clouds up the mountain, so we cruised around the mountain in the mist, dodging hikers, cars and the occasional bus, all spotted at a moments notice as it materialised out of the mist. This was not the time for high speed shenanigans.
Back at Kloofnek parking I decided to follow one of the singletracks I've heard rumours about. I found it and went down it, feeling like Alice looking down the rabbit hole as I had no idea where this was heading. I love exploring new singletrack and this one didn't disappoint, offering a thrilling, twisty trail that spat me out in Oranjezicht. From here I cruised down to Alicia's flat for another cup of coffee and some warmth.
All in all it was a really cool day out in the mountain, I discovered new trails, rode with some cool people, and drank way too much coffee.
I'm moving into town in a week's time. My new flatmate also rides, and is pretty strong. That and the fact that I'll be riding to work via Tablemountain most mornings is making me very excited. I can't wait. Now just to pack up all the junk I've collected over the last 6months. Not cool.
Ps: one day when I have a pc again I won't have to blog with my cellphone and I'll insert some pics as well.
Anyhoo... Happy trails everyone.
Vrede
Phlip
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Ladies ride and other news
Somehow I got roped into giving a Ladies skills clinic/group ride on sunday. Okay I admit, I volunteered. I am a sucker for a group ride. Especially if I can share some of my hard earned knowledge (contrary to popular belief, falling is not a lekker way to learn.)
I have this friend who I met on the MTB when we were 15/16years old. She's quite a decent rider, and can handle herself in singletrack.
So over a couple of coffees the other night we decided it was time to get the ladies ride idea rolling again.
So she rounded up a few up a few of her friends who recently started riding, and I organised Werner to help with the girls. Werner is great for this type of thing and because he can explain arbitrary concepts like looking at the gaps instead of the obstacle and letting go of brakes in a corner.
The ride itself was fun, with lots of stops, laughs, me almost falling in front of all the girls, and between me and Werner and Marika's dad we rotated riding behind the girls in the singletracks and on the contour roads to give them feedback and tips.
All in all it was hugely rewarding seeing the improvements in the girls riding by the end of our ride, and them wanting to go back and ride some more after I had to leave warmed my heart immensely. I love riding, I love riding in the mountains, and I love it even more if I can share it with someone else.
I can't wait to go riding with the girls again. I scheme next time we'll go ride G-spot in Paradyskloof so that they can get used to moving the bike underneath them. Should be fun.
In the ages since I last wrote I've taken a hard tumble (video on facebook somewhere.) This must be one of the hardest crashes I've had in long while. Pointless crash as well as I was showing off.
We also went to Robertson for the race at the Wacky Wine Festival, this was a bit of a fail, as I was slightly hungover and the legs just weren't there for the first 30k's. Epic fail. But the route is awesome with legit singletrack and a steep drop that had me whooping like a surfer going into the barrel of a wave. The parties was also decent, but next year I'll take more responsible people along, as apparently I don't need more than a glass of Arabella Red to invoke the "what race" clause. Next year I'll dominate that course like a fat kid on a cupcake.
I'm also rebuilding my old Giant XTC as a single speed toy. Almost done, just need to sort the BB spacing and the chain tension out. So far it hasn't cost me anything and the challenge is to build a finished bike mahala. It will mainly be used for commuting into the city for work. Might be taken into the mountains for a muddy play bike, but I'm scared to many off road shenanigans will crack the frame (again,) I'm not too sure how long the welds will hold. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Lastly I've been spending some time aboard the jump bike. Even with a distinct lack of jumps in the Century City area this bike is a sure-fire way of bringing a smile to my face. I really need tide it more. I think I'll keep it on the back of the bakkie for the long weekend, so that I can haul it out whenever the urge to do something silly arrives. Fun times. Even more so when someone has a camera handy.
So ja, all in all I'm at a good place to be in my life right now. happy trails everyone.
Peace
Phlip
I have this friend who I met on the MTB when we were 15/16years old. She's quite a decent rider, and can handle herself in singletrack.
So over a couple of coffees the other night we decided it was time to get the ladies ride idea rolling again.
So she rounded up a few up a few of her friends who recently started riding, and I organised Werner to help with the girls. Werner is great for this type of thing and because he can explain arbitrary concepts like looking at the gaps instead of the obstacle and letting go of brakes in a corner.
The ride itself was fun, with lots of stops, laughs, me almost falling in front of all the girls, and between me and Werner and Marika's dad we rotated riding behind the girls in the singletracks and on the contour roads to give them feedback and tips.
All in all it was hugely rewarding seeing the improvements in the girls riding by the end of our ride, and them wanting to go back and ride some more after I had to leave warmed my heart immensely. I love riding, I love riding in the mountains, and I love it even more if I can share it with someone else.
I can't wait to go riding with the girls again. I scheme next time we'll go ride G-spot in Paradyskloof so that they can get used to moving the bike underneath them. Should be fun.
In the ages since I last wrote I've taken a hard tumble (video on facebook somewhere.) This must be one of the hardest crashes I've had in long while. Pointless crash as well as I was showing off.
We also went to Robertson for the race at the Wacky Wine Festival, this was a bit of a fail, as I was slightly hungover and the legs just weren't there for the first 30k's. Epic fail. But the route is awesome with legit singletrack and a steep drop that had me whooping like a surfer going into the barrel of a wave. The parties was also decent, but next year I'll take more responsible people along, as apparently I don't need more than a glass of Arabella Red to invoke the "what race" clause. Next year I'll dominate that course like a fat kid on a cupcake.
I'm also rebuilding my old Giant XTC as a single speed toy. Almost done, just need to sort the BB spacing and the chain tension out. So far it hasn't cost me anything and the challenge is to build a finished bike mahala. It will mainly be used for commuting into the city for work. Might be taken into the mountains for a muddy play bike, but I'm scared to many off road shenanigans will crack the frame (again,) I'm not too sure how long the welds will hold. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Lastly I've been spending some time aboard the jump bike. Even with a distinct lack of jumps in the Century City area this bike is a sure-fire way of bringing a smile to my face. I really need tide it more. I think I'll keep it on the back of the bakkie for the long weekend, so that I can haul it out whenever the urge to do something silly arrives. Fun times. Even more so when someone has a camera handy.
So ja, all in all I'm at a good place to be in my life right now. happy trails everyone.
Peace
Phlip
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wild at heart
So I haven't blogged in a while. Between moving, work, and exploring Cape Town I've been lank busy.
I have been riding very little, other than a weekend in Eselfontein and a singletrack mission in Tokai things have been rather dormant. On both these rides I sliced open my back tyres, two tyres written off in two rides have been harsh on my cycling budget. So I had to wait a while before I could ride again. I have been using the extra time I have on my hands to reconnect to the Lord. I won't swap the time with him for anything in the world, so I view the cut tyres as blessings. And necessary.
For the last two weeks I have been craving getting back to the mountains. They have been calling me. I am at my happiest when I am in the mountains and it is also here where I feel closest to the Lord.
I decided that it was time for a Tablemountain mission. I popped off a couple of emails that were forwarded and pretty soon we had a lekker group that was raring to go. Weather looked super sketchy, with low clouds and mist covering the mountain the whole of friday and saturday morning it didn't look any better. We decided to take the gamble and hope the mist would clear as we walk up. The hike up Platteklip gorge is nice, with the clouds we couldn't see the views, but the isolation also made for something beautiful. The mission up was quite a slog, with frequent stops and lots of chatting. Part of our group was Alex Liss, a girl who is making a documentary on couch surfing. Check out http://csdoc.tumblr.com/ for her blog. I love the fact that in Cape town and specifically in the outdoors that you can meet such random people you would not have met otherwise. Also in the group is Stella and Danie, two stellar people in my church. Danie is also a wild child and has some cool stories to tell. He has a big rock climbing background and that immediately picked my interest. That and the huge Dakar rally sticker on his bakkie. But I digress...
We slowly wound our way up the mountain in the mist until we suddenly broke through the clouds. The gamble payed off. Big time. It was beautiful. Looking up at the mountain and down at the clouds while seeing the tip of Devils Peak floating in the distance was awesome. Really, words can not describe it. We missioned up the mountain to the top where we met John and Hanri with his parents. Here we had a quick interview with Alex (my shyness got the better of me) with the best backdrop ever. The world was covered in clouds with the tip of Constantia (I think its Constantia, the one with the Mast) and the tips of some of the Apostles sticking out. Everything was covered in this white/silver sea of clouds.
We had a picnic and moved to the restaurant where Marco, Stefan and Werner knocked back a beer while the rest of us had coffee. Decent coffee I must add. And Stefan said it was his best beer in a long time as well.
Alex and the Daltons went down with the cable car, and Danie convinced us to go down on the India Window route. I've heard of some legend stories of this route, as I didn't want to dissuade our team. It sounded like an adventure. Fortunately the signs on the mountain that said " this is not the safe route" and "this is not an easy way down" was ignored by all.
This is not an easy way down. There are some places where you had to scramble a bit to get down and some places where you really shouldn't look down. At this point we learned that Christina and Marco had a fear of heights. We had to help them a bit down the tricky parts but when we rounded the mountain to underneath the cable car things got better. The scrambles were still tricky but at least we didn't have a huge drop below us anymore.
As we rounded the mountain we were still above the clouds. We waited here to watch the Cable car descending and to take some more photos. As the second car ascended something weird happened to me. I don't know whether it was because I was looking through the view finder of my camera or what caused it, but I had a sudden bout of vertigo. I might have my fear of heights sort of under control again but standing on the edge of a mountain is the last pace I want vertigo. Freddie says he also got the same feeling standing next to me, so we got away from the edge immediately.
Descending down the front part of Table Mountain was fun, there were a couple more scramble sections that Christina and Marco braved, that we had to be careful on, but down from there it was plain sailing. As we reached the foot of the mountain the sun burned the last of the mist away and we had a beautiful view of the mountain we just conquered.
In all this excitement I realised that I love the mountain. That I feel so much more alive in the mountains than in an office. I plan to climb a mountain every month, and definitely need to ride more. If I can fit it in my schedule I'd even like to start bouldering again, but most of all I want to start trail running again. And I want to do the Table Mountain Challenge.
Oh, and I entered for the Dirtopia 9-5 MTB race, so will have to put in a couple of hours on the Merida in the next month. Will have to find myself a tutu, and I might just convert the Merida to single speed for this race. I can't wait.
In the meantime I'll slap a crossmark I found in my parents garage onto the back wheel. Wednesday I'm in Somerset West again, and I really want to check out the new Schapenberg trails opened recently.
Ride safe and ride free kids.
Till next time, happy trails.
Philip
Ps: as soon as I figure out how to post pics onto the blog with my blackberry I'll post the pics of the hike yesterday.
Peace
I have been riding very little, other than a weekend in Eselfontein and a singletrack mission in Tokai things have been rather dormant. On both these rides I sliced open my back tyres, two tyres written off in two rides have been harsh on my cycling budget. So I had to wait a while before I could ride again. I have been using the extra time I have on my hands to reconnect to the Lord. I won't swap the time with him for anything in the world, so I view the cut tyres as blessings. And necessary.
For the last two weeks I have been craving getting back to the mountains. They have been calling me. I am at my happiest when I am in the mountains and it is also here where I feel closest to the Lord.
I decided that it was time for a Tablemountain mission. I popped off a couple of emails that were forwarded and pretty soon we had a lekker group that was raring to go. Weather looked super sketchy, with low clouds and mist covering the mountain the whole of friday and saturday morning it didn't look any better. We decided to take the gamble and hope the mist would clear as we walk up. The hike up Platteklip gorge is nice, with the clouds we couldn't see the views, but the isolation also made for something beautiful. The mission up was quite a slog, with frequent stops and lots of chatting. Part of our group was Alex Liss, a girl who is making a documentary on couch surfing. Check out http://csdoc.tumblr.com/ for her blog. I love the fact that in Cape town and specifically in the outdoors that you can meet such random people you would not have met otherwise. Also in the group is Stella and Danie, two stellar people in my church. Danie is also a wild child and has some cool stories to tell. He has a big rock climbing background and that immediately picked my interest. That and the huge Dakar rally sticker on his bakkie. But I digress...
We slowly wound our way up the mountain in the mist until we suddenly broke through the clouds. The gamble payed off. Big time. It was beautiful. Looking up at the mountain and down at the clouds while seeing the tip of Devils Peak floating in the distance was awesome. Really, words can not describe it. We missioned up the mountain to the top where we met John and Hanri with his parents. Here we had a quick interview with Alex (my shyness got the better of me) with the best backdrop ever. The world was covered in clouds with the tip of Constantia (I think its Constantia, the one with the Mast) and the tips of some of the Apostles sticking out. Everything was covered in this white/silver sea of clouds.
We had a picnic and moved to the restaurant where Marco, Stefan and Werner knocked back a beer while the rest of us had coffee. Decent coffee I must add. And Stefan said it was his best beer in a long time as well.
Alex and the Daltons went down with the cable car, and Danie convinced us to go down on the India Window route. I've heard of some legend stories of this route, as I didn't want to dissuade our team. It sounded like an adventure. Fortunately the signs on the mountain that said " this is not the safe route" and "this is not an easy way down" was ignored by all.
This is not an easy way down. There are some places where you had to scramble a bit to get down and some places where you really shouldn't look down. At this point we learned that Christina and Marco had a fear of heights. We had to help them a bit down the tricky parts but when we rounded the mountain to underneath the cable car things got better. The scrambles were still tricky but at least we didn't have a huge drop below us anymore.
As we rounded the mountain we were still above the clouds. We waited here to watch the Cable car descending and to take some more photos. As the second car ascended something weird happened to me. I don't know whether it was because I was looking through the view finder of my camera or what caused it, but I had a sudden bout of vertigo. I might have my fear of heights sort of under control again but standing on the edge of a mountain is the last pace I want vertigo. Freddie says he also got the same feeling standing next to me, so we got away from the edge immediately.
Descending down the front part of Table Mountain was fun, there were a couple more scramble sections that Christina and Marco braved, that we had to be careful on, but down from there it was plain sailing. As we reached the foot of the mountain the sun burned the last of the mist away and we had a beautiful view of the mountain we just conquered.
In all this excitement I realised that I love the mountain. That I feel so much more alive in the mountains than in an office. I plan to climb a mountain every month, and definitely need to ride more. If I can fit it in my schedule I'd even like to start bouldering again, but most of all I want to start trail running again. And I want to do the Table Mountain Challenge.
Oh, and I entered for the Dirtopia 9-5 MTB race, so will have to put in a couple of hours on the Merida in the next month. Will have to find myself a tutu, and I might just convert the Merida to single speed for this race. I can't wait.
In the meantime I'll slap a crossmark I found in my parents garage onto the back wheel. Wednesday I'm in Somerset West again, and I really want to check out the new Schapenberg trails opened recently.
Ride safe and ride free kids.
Till next time, happy trails.
Philip
Ps: as soon as I figure out how to post pics onto the blog with my blackberry I'll post the pics of the hike yesterday.
Peace
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
29 inch Circus Bikes
Twenty Nine Inches from Brian Park on Vimeo.
John rode the Epic on his new Silverback Alpine and is so happy with it that he is selling his and his wife's 26inh full suspension bikes. So for the racing snakes the 29er might make more sense. I've always been againsst 29er bikes. mostly because I believe them to be less fun to ride in trails than a normal bike. Videos like this seems to prove me wrong, and maybe there might me space in my arsenal for a circus bike one day. The rumours of an Ali Santa Cruz Tallboy that I have been hearing is also making me pretty excited.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Siek wees en support crew
Ek het laasweek 2 skooldae in die bed spandeer. nie omdat ek wou nie, maar omdat ek siek was.
So lekker soos dit klink om te loaf, kan ek nie veel onthou nie. Als is verby in 'n waas van drugs, koors drome, fietsry stories op die rekenaar, hopeloos te veel reruns van series op die rekenaar, en te min tyd buite my woonstel. Toe ek woensdag aand by die dokter insleep het hy gese ek moes kyk hoe ek sondag voel en kon dalk sondag die Argus MTB ry as ek beter voel. Ja, daai kite het nie gevlieg nie. Ek het net die fiets van my bakkie afgehaal om die wiel te pomp. Sug.
Maar 'n klomp van my vriende het Die Grape Escape gery. 3 dae van bergfiets van Blauwberg strand af via Nelsons Creek. Ons het almal by Boschendal gekamp en ek het gegaan om te help waar ek kon.
Oor die laaste 9jaar van fietsry het ek nog altyd 'n awesome support crew agter my gehad. Dit het gewissel van my ma en pa, vriende, en my sponsor Francois toe hy my nog uitgehelp het. Tussen die klomp mense het ek nog nooit issues gehad nie, my pa het 24ure wakker gebly om my te help by 24hr races, Francois het vir 8dae agter my en Sybrand aan gery in 'n bus en ons deur die Epic gehelp, ons bene gevryf, kos gemaak, fietse gewas en selfs ons klere gewas. My ma staan ure agter kospotte en pakselfs piekniek madnjies waarmee ek vir skone jong dames romantiese (kersliglose) aandetes kon maak by die Oak Valley 24hr. Dan het ek tussenin vriende wat Stellenbosch deur gestap het om my vir 20 sekondes te sien soos ek by hulle verby ry in die Epic 2006, en my ouers wat Napier toe gery het met my sodat ek 'n 28km funride kon doen (petrol was goedkoper in daai dae.)
So die naweek was vir my 'n kans om my nuwe fietsry vriende te kon help. Hanri was donderdag aand in 'n effense fietsry ongeluk en moes ook uitsit, so ek en sy het die kinders opgepas.
Daar was 'n paar interresante oomblikke, soos toe ek deur die speedcop afgetrek is omdat die Fordttt se agterligte dood is, Freddie wat inkom met 'n thousand yard stare en 'n vet hematoom agter die oor, en selfs prysgeld vir Nadia en Bernice. Freddie het rerig skote gevat en skrikwekkend gelyk die saterdag, maar met genoeg Rehidrat, 'n proetin shake, rus en 'n morsige steak het hy wonderlik gerecover en vrek sterk op die fiets gewees die sondag.
Dinge wat ek geleer het die naweek:
Freddie reageer goed op ‘n mengsel van Rehidrat, protein shake,massage gekombineer met La Romantica Steak en vroeg slaap.
Hanri begin binne 15mins na John verlang.
Daar mag dalk ‘n plek onder die son wees vir sirkus fietse.(Sirkus fietse is die nuwe mode van fietse met groter wiele, soos wat John ry)
Moenie Pick n Pay jumper leads gebruik om ‘n Fordttt te jumpstart nie.
Kamp in die skaduwee.
Hangmatte is luuks. Veral in die skaduwee.
Werner se Mamma Kar sit lekker in Helshoogte se draaie met 6mense in die kar.
Die goeie fietsryers het die mooiste meisies.
Dit is nog warm genoeg vir somer rokkies.
Stans/sealant is iets waarop mens nie moet skimp nie.
Jou fiets sal jou afgooi en agter die oor byt as hy/sy dink jy mishandel hom/haar.
Willie se Ellsworth is moer hot!
Schwinn Moabs mag dalk entry level wees, maar met ‘n lekker stel bene staan hulle nie terug nie.
Mens bly altyd vir die prysuitdeling as Nadia en Bernice saam kuier. Al is hulle hoe gatvol.
Freddie sal jou verras.
My highlights van die naweek was om te sien hoe Freddie en Bernice sondag goeie rides ingesit het, Om te sien hoe goed Fred gerecover het, om te sien hoe Bernice deur die pyn gedruk het sondag, om te sien hoe sterk John en Nadia is, om vir Willie te leer ken, en om te sien dat Werner na ‘n moer lange dag, nogsteeds ‘n smile het.
Ek het rerig 'n goeie naweek gehad. Ek weet nie hoeveel ek my span kon help nie, maar ek glo net die ekstra hand en iemand wat protein shakes aandra en water gaan haal het gehelp. En ek sal hule met liefde help. Om te kamp is vir my ‘n plesier, maar om saam met vriende soos hulle te kamp is ‘n blessing. So ja, ‘n goeie naweek sonder my fiets…
PS: ek het 'n paar cool foto's ook geneem, maar omdat my internet konneksie staatmaak op posduiwe wat ek Amerika toe moet stuur, gaan ek dit 'n ander keer moet opsit.
PS: ek het 'n paar cool foto's ook geneem, maar omdat my internet konneksie staatmaak op posduiwe wat ek Amerika toe moet stuur, gaan ek dit 'n ander keer moet opsit.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
24 Hour ride report
This weekend was a big one for me.
The 24hr events are my favourite, and I have been looking forward to this one from November.
We heard a while back that the venue will be moved from Wiesenhof to Oak Valley. This was going to be interesting as Oak Valley is an unknown to me. The Cape Epic always stops there, and I have ridden there before, but the loops I have ridden before doesn’t cater for 24hr style lap racing, so we’d be riding unknown territory.
24hr racing entails riding as many laps of a course as possible in 24hours. Simple really, but very masochistic. I love it. It can be done in teams in a relay format, but I choose to hurt myself more by doing it solo. Yes, alone…
The loop for Oak Valley was 9km with slightly over 100m of climbing. Not much on its own but it adds up to a lot when racing this for a full day.
I pulled in at OV early Saturday morning to set up camp and to ready myself for the day ahead. My mother packed in two cooler boxes of food and drinks to sustain me for the ordeal ahead. This included lots of baby potatoes, steak, sandwiches, ice water and biltong. For an event like this the idea is to sustain yourself with “normal” food as much as possible and not to use to many energy bars and gels. I have to give my mom kudos’ here, she came to the party brilliantly. I was spoiled for choice.
My strategy for the weekend was to start of at a very chilled pace and not to worry about laps in the afternoon. Last year I struggled to get a rhythm going until early Sunday morning, and this year I didn’t want to fall in the trap if this happened again by forcing laps that shouldn’t happen. I’d rather make up the laps in the dark and on Sunday morning.
The race started with a bang with the teams and racing snakes speeding off into the hot midday sun. I had no illusions of grandeur and started 5 minutes after everyone with a slow lap accompanied by John and Hanri (John of http://road2theepic.blogspot.com/ fame.) Last year it took me 18 hours to catch Hanri and I really wanted to win her this year…
We cruised around the lap chatting and singing Biffy Clyro (weird, I know, especially for so early in the race.) the first half of the lap was all climbing, until we reached a dam and some familiar singletrack. From here on it was pretty much balls to the wall with only a few flat sections and short steep climbs to break the long descent back to the race village.
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| Me almost taking out the camera man. photo by Photobay.com |
On the second lap I started sensing that my back wheel was losing air. This was not good news. I made it back to camp without drama and pulled in to have a look. It seems the Maxxis Crossmark tyre (worst tyre ever) had punctured and the Stans sealant didn’t do its usual magic. Not wanting to struggle with this I quickly took off the cluster and put on a new back wheel. I came prepared.
Form here on the afternoon blurred a bit into heat, laps, more heat, singletrack, climbing, more heat, sandwiches, lots of ice bottles, gravel road, vineyards, lots of lekker singletrack and more food. I was once again struggling to get a good rhythm but managed to still do lap after lap, albeit slowly and with breaks between every lap. I even jumped into the dam when the heat and exhaustion combined to threaten my legs with cramps. The cold water worked wonders, and in the intense heat setting off with wet cycling clothes helped a lot. At about three o’clock my blood sugar dropped through my feet and I was struggling. I was weaving all over the road on the climbs and almost missed some of the corners on the downhills. I was in trouble. I pulled in to the camp and downed about a liter of coke and fanta, the idea was to spike my blood sugar to get it back up. From here on I drank Enduren energy and water the whole time. It worked and I recovered. Enduren is now known as Kaptein Flipper- thanks Heino, you are a legend.
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| Styling it up for the camera. Photobay.com |
I also tried as much as possible to ride with other people on laps to break the monotony. I did laps with Myra and the Tipsy tarts, with Freddie (also from road2theepic.com fame) and with Werner Joubert. Riding with Werner helped a lot as he pushed me through the mental blocks on the last three laps of my afternoon session, his lekker conversation and encouragement pushed me through the three hardest laps of the race. He is also doing the Cape Epic soon and used the 24hr as two monster days of back to back riding. At sunset he already clocked 14 laps and I was on 9 laps. As the sun set we decided to pull in for dinner.
I whipped out the gas stove and braaied me some steak. It was only when I opened the picnic basket that I realised how brilliantly my mother prepared. It was at this stage that Hanri’s friend Nicoline arrived and I was able to treat her to a romantic dinner of steak and steak. Unfortunately there was no candles. (I’ll remember that for next year.)
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| The race village. Photo by Ewald Sadie |
After dinner I set up my lights while Astrid and Nicoline tuned my music selection for the night laps. Riding so long on your own starts to mess with your head, and spending so much time in your own thoughts while trying to negotiate tricky sections at speed in the dark is not exactly ideal. So I opted to use my ipod for the night laps. Loaded with a lekker mix of dance music, hip-hop, rack and gospel it worked brilliantly.
My lights was a combination of a Magiclight on the handlebar and a Petzl headlamp on the helmet. When using Magiclights the headlamp pretty much fades into insignificance, but when climbing and riding slowly I switched off my handlebar light to preserve it’s battery and to keep it’s temperature down. (they get really hot.) for climbing the headlamp was enough. The combination worked brilliantly. With about three hours of night riding both lights still have about 75% battery life remaining.
The night laps was awesome. The combination of steak, music and colder temps had me putting in some of my fastest laps of the race. By now I had the course dialed and could klap it on the downhills in the dark. I was feeling strong and capitalised on it. At one stage I thought I could ride through the night, but at about 12o’clock I was struggling to stay awake and the hallucinations were getting weird. I was weaving all over the road again and couldn’t concentrate anymore. On top of the climb I saw someone walking back on the course. I stopped and it turned out that he broke his chain. We fixed it and I had a pretty surreal moment. It is only in 24hr racing where I’d be fixing a stranger’s chain on a wine farm surrounded by the most beautiful stars with a bunch of riders whizzing past you. At one stage I could make out 10 riders making their way down the singletrack left of my with another big group of lights approaching. It was magical, but it was also time for bed. The rest did help me to get my wits together and I managed to make it back safely.
I finished the lap, checked in at the timing table to see I was on 13 laps. I was happy with this and went off to shower and have a protein shake. I was in bed by 1o’clock. I was pretty broken by this stage and really needed the sleep. Sometime between me going to bed and waking up at half past 5 Hanri set off for her second session. By this stage she was in front of me (again) and we realised she had a very strong chance of reaching the podium. I also made peace with the fact that she owned my ass on this race.
I set off just after 6 after John’s mother (bless her soul) fed me some muesli and meat. By the second lap I was awake and feeling strong again. I fell into rhythm and things just clicked in my head. I was feeling relatively strong and pushed on. I soon realised that I’d comfortably reach my goal of 20 laps (I did 19 at Wiesenhof last year) and set my sights on 22laps.
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| Sunday morning riding. photobay.com |
I surprised myself a bit and finished lap 22 by a quarter to 12. The last 3 laps were all under 30mins and with a mixture of coke, water and Kaptein Flipper in my bottles the last lap only hurt a little bit. I finished my lap and my race and I haven’t felt this great after a race in a very long while. I was spent, tired, my body hurt like hell but I was happy. I was also very hungry. Nothing 2 Spur burgers couldn’t fix. They tasted extra good.
Hanri eventually ended 2nd lady and 5h overall. Only Hanlie Booyens and the top 3 guys beat her. She did 31 laps. Well done Hanri.
All in all the weekend was a great success. The Dirtopia crew pulled off the new venue brilliantly. I smashed my goal laps in the face, for next year goal is 32 laps. I want to beat Hanri, and end up on the podium as well. With decent training and preparation I can achieve this. I had a great weekend on the bike and off the bike. 24hour races are awesome!
PS: it took me 4 days to recover my sleep…
In two weeks I plan to race the African Continental Single Speed Championship. Will be building my old frame into a single speed on saturday. Should be interesting.
Happy trails everyone.
Peace
Friday, January 28, 2011
Its on!
My bags are packed. The bike is prepped. The chamois cream is packed in and my potatoes are ready.
Tomorrow the 24hr MTB starts.
My next post will be after the race, I might not be very coherent, and my body might not be cooperating that well, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Catch you on the flipside.
Peace
Tomorrow the 24hr MTB starts.
My next post will be after the race, I might not be very coherent, and my body might not be cooperating that well, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Catch you on the flipside.
Peace
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
24hr Madness
In two weeks time I'll be finishing my preparations for the 24hrs of Oak Valley.
There is something awesome about cranking out lap after lap on a day dedicated only to MTBing. Stopping after every lap for food, to take a break for a rest, and then going out for another lap.
Riding in the dark until you almost fall asleep. Taking a short nap and then watching the sun rise while riding.
Riding through the pain in your legs, hands, knees, back, feet and butt. Trying to ride your lines in singletrack while your concentration is nowhere. Standing and pedalling for 4hrs because it feels like your sitting on the teeth of a shark.
Riding through all this and still having fun. Even if it means you ride the lift to the 1st floor for a couple of days because you just can't walk up the stairs.
Man I can't wait!
There is something awesome about cranking out lap after lap on a day dedicated only to MTBing. Stopping after every lap for food, to take a break for a rest, and then going out for another lap.
Riding in the dark until you almost fall asleep. Taking a short nap and then watching the sun rise while riding.
Riding through the pain in your legs, hands, knees, back, feet and butt. Trying to ride your lines in singletrack while your concentration is nowhere. Standing and pedalling for 4hrs because it feels like your sitting on the teeth of a shark.
Riding through all this and still having fun. Even if it means you ride the lift to the 1st floor for a couple of days because you just can't walk up the stairs.
Man I can't wait!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
My new toy
I recently acquired a jump bike (thanks Heino.)Ever since my previous jumpbike got stolen in 2006 I've missed having a play bike in my collection. This bad boy is a GT Chucker 1.
All this oke needs now is some fat tyres, new brake pads and a bit of TLC. In the meantime I'm going for cruise rides and learning the handling traits. It is a lot different to the Merida. Lower, more stable, very much more relaxed.
The idea with the bike is to ride street, and some of the tamer jump courses in the area. I really don't feel like stretching my medical aid (growing up sucks!)
Because the seat is so low climbing up hills means I need to stand and pedal. this works a different set of muscles, and by throwing the bike around underneath me this actually works the upper body as well. I find it sort of sad that I'm seeing the cross training benefits to something that goes totally against the grain of my normal riding style. but hey, riding is riding. and as long as I'm on a MTB I'm happy.
I can't wait to go and shred places like G-Spot, the terrain park in Delvera and the dual course at Dirtopia.
If you're looking for my I'm the guy ridi9ng with sneakers and baggies on a bike that looks way too small for me. Riding it Foot out. Flat out!
Happy trails (and streets) everyone.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Totalsports Challenge MTB
My first race for the season of 2011 was the Totalsports Challenge in Kleinmond on saturday.
The TSC is a multisport event that combines an open sea swim, surfski, roadbike, running, K1 paddling, mountainbiking and a beach run to form a monster endurance event. It can be done in a team or as individual. At the same time there is a Terra Firma event that combines the cycling and running events.
I did the Mountainbiking for the Sportsmans Warehouse team. Every year we enter a team from the office just because we can't let Totalsports have all the fun.
While I only did the MTB event, Tiaan, Bernice, Nadia and Adam entered for the Terra Firma event in the solo category. Crazy kids.
To start the racing year of right I hosted a little braai at the house on friday evening. It was our first get together of the year and the first time that our crowd saw each other since halfway through december, so the kuier was good and the gees was high.
I still believe that sleep the night before isn't as important as two nights before, but getting up after 4hrs of sleep always sucks.
With the bakkie packed and the music puming I drove past the turn-off for the Highlands road and knew I was ready for this climb. Last year I did this event on my dad's MTB (I cracked mine a week before) on less than ideal training in some serious heat. This year I rolled in with a awesome mountainbike with better legs and more training in the heat of the day. I was ready and amped to go.
The bad thing about relay events like this is that its hard to judge the time I needed to be ready, and so once again I arrived there lank early.
Eventually after a couple of hours it was my turn. When Edgar our K1 paddler handed the band over to me the red mist descended over my eyes and all hell broke loose in my body. I missioned off and my heartrate went through the roof. I was racing again and loved it! It was only after 15mins that my body settled into a rhythm and my heart rate settled to about 186bpm. The first half of the ride is climbing, and for the first time in a long while I felt strong the whole way and I kept the hammer down until I reached the top of the climbs and I was surprised to find myself cranking in the big ring on the flat sections on top of the mountain. This felt awesome.
Last year on the descent I had a pinchflat puncture, and I really didn't want this to happen again. Luckily I'm riding tubeless now, but I also felt smooth going down the rocky descents, the new fork is definately proving its value.
After a couple of very fast and rocky descents interspersed with flat roads I reached the last hill. By now my body was screaming at me to take it easy and my calves were cramping, so I sat down in my saddle and left the heroics till later. This climb did hurt. A lot. But after going over the summit I saw the see, and Kleinmond and knew that I was almost home. This was when all sense went flying out the door and I put the bike into the big ring and cranked it home. At this stage I my heart was beating at 200bpm but I knew I was almost home and just pushed into the pain threshold and kept it there. After zooming down the mountain and over some cool walking bridges I pulled into the finish area and handed the baton over to James our beach runner. The next 10mins is a bit of a blur. I remember taking off my helmet and gloves and smashing a cold Coke but not much else. I was dizzy and wanted to puke. I was very happy though as I cut 16mins of my time from last year and had an awesome race. I was very happy. I joined Shiela and Tiaan (who was already finished by now-what a man!) for a swim in the lagoon. While cooling down in the lagoon I realised the MTB by itself isn't the hardest race, but if combined with one of the other legs or even more with all of them it becomes a monster, and I salute these athletes. Well done guys and girls, you're legends.
Every year this event is great fun, and I have to thank James Willis who organised it for us, and also Ryan, Heini, Richard, Jacques and Edgar for taking part.
I can't wait to do it again, next year I want to get in below 1hr 15mins, and I can't wait to ride the 24hr of Oak Valley race. Things are looking good.
Happy trails everyone.
Philip
The TSC is a multisport event that combines an open sea swim, surfski, roadbike, running, K1 paddling, mountainbiking and a beach run to form a monster endurance event. It can be done in a team or as individual. At the same time there is a Terra Firma event that combines the cycling and running events.
I did the Mountainbiking for the Sportsmans Warehouse team. Every year we enter a team from the office just because we can't let Totalsports have all the fun.
While I only did the MTB event, Tiaan, Bernice, Nadia and Adam entered for the Terra Firma event in the solo category. Crazy kids.
To start the racing year of right I hosted a little braai at the house on friday evening. It was our first get together of the year and the first time that our crowd saw each other since halfway through december, so the kuier was good and the gees was high.
I still believe that sleep the night before isn't as important as two nights before, but getting up after 4hrs of sleep always sucks.
With the bakkie packed and the music puming I drove past the turn-off for the Highlands road and knew I was ready for this climb. Last year I did this event on my dad's MTB (I cracked mine a week before) on less than ideal training in some serious heat. This year I rolled in with a awesome mountainbike with better legs and more training in the heat of the day. I was ready and amped to go.
The bad thing about relay events like this is that its hard to judge the time I needed to be ready, and so once again I arrived there lank early.
Eventually after a couple of hours it was my turn. When Edgar our K1 paddler handed the band over to me the red mist descended over my eyes and all hell broke loose in my body. I missioned off and my heartrate went through the roof. I was racing again and loved it! It was only after 15mins that my body settled into a rhythm and my heart rate settled to about 186bpm. The first half of the ride is climbing, and for the first time in a long while I felt strong the whole way and I kept the hammer down until I reached the top of the climbs and I was surprised to find myself cranking in the big ring on the flat sections on top of the mountain. This felt awesome.
Last year on the descent I had a pinchflat puncture, and I really didn't want this to happen again. Luckily I'm riding tubeless now, but I also felt smooth going down the rocky descents, the new fork is definately proving its value.
After a couple of very fast and rocky descents interspersed with flat roads I reached the last hill. By now my body was screaming at me to take it easy and my calves were cramping, so I sat down in my saddle and left the heroics till later. This climb did hurt. A lot. But after going over the summit I saw the see, and Kleinmond and knew that I was almost home. This was when all sense went flying out the door and I put the bike into the big ring and cranked it home. At this stage I my heart was beating at 200bpm but I knew I was almost home and just pushed into the pain threshold and kept it there. After zooming down the mountain and over some cool walking bridges I pulled into the finish area and handed the baton over to James our beach runner. The next 10mins is a bit of a blur. I remember taking off my helmet and gloves and smashing a cold Coke but not much else. I was dizzy and wanted to puke. I was very happy though as I cut 16mins of my time from last year and had an awesome race. I was very happy. I joined Shiela and Tiaan (who was already finished by now-what a man!) for a swim in the lagoon. While cooling down in the lagoon I realised the MTB by itself isn't the hardest race, but if combined with one of the other legs or even more with all of them it becomes a monster, and I salute these athletes. Well done guys and girls, you're legends.
Every year this event is great fun, and I have to thank James Willis who organised it for us, and also Ryan, Heini, Richard, Jacques and Edgar for taking part.
I can't wait to do it again, next year I want to get in below 1hr 15mins, and I can't wait to ride the 24hr of Oak Valley race. Things are looking good.
Happy trails everyone.
Philip
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