Transkie Times

Well, from what you may have gathered I have been away for a few weeks. Times are tough when you are unemployed but there is no use getting yourself down about it. So I was lucky enough to head off back to my homelands and take the shoes off, and basically step away from modern living for awhile. Those of you who know it will understand what I mean. I did vote and never heard what happened, the pug flu was going nuts but we were happy. I think the world is too small and we now have everyone as a neighbour, hopefully you gathering my drift. 

So anyway I am back in the swing of things and moving back into society. Logging on in other words. 

From the photo's I took you can see it was very kuk, the E.Cape weather played its part and has many days in baggys were had by all. I took up the much talked about fishing fad of drop shot and its proved to be quite good. It took some time to get the ball rolling but once you know what you looking to do it can be great fun. I fished alot of estuaries in our area and was quite lucky to pick up a few decent fish. I can recommend it to anyone. Give it a bash.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before but hopefully later this year I will be running past our spot whilst doing the Wildrun. Its a ultra trail run covering 113 km over three days. I haven't done anything like it before so it will be a long winter of getting the legs acclimatised to the beating they will no doubt take. Check out www.wildrun.co.za for more details.

Hope your Autumn is going well and you are getting out there and appreciating the freshness of the air. 

Breathe it in...

Genius

This is just a shot I took of our local lad Burry Stander racing in the MTB World Cup event I witnessed up in Maritzburg. Buggerland was great and the Capital, Maritzbugger put on a great show. 

Burry, from up the North Coast of Natal has gradually been progressing up the world ranks and this event proved to be a coming of age for the little guy. The race which involves 7 laps of a track totaling 36 km was fairly technical in areas but proved to be pretty quick.  Watching the Worlds best flying around the course was a real thrill and just made me realise again how good the best in the world are, no matter what sport you are talking about. They are truly on another level. Burry raced hard and pushed himself to a great 3rd spot behind World Champ Julian Absalon and eventual winner Spanish Champ Jose Hermida. 

Along my point about being the best and taking sport to another level I have to mention an article I read in the Sunday Crimes about Ronaldo written by a legend in the sports writing world, the very cutting and sometimes downright rude Simon Barnes:  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article6108061.ece

Not bad hey, he sums up some good one's but is obviously biased by being a whingeing pom but it doesn't detract from the fact that the bloke can put pen to paper.

Don't miss reminding yourself how good that goal really was at the top of his article.

Well its been a quite few weeks for me since the Epic finished. There is and I may have mentioned this before a well known problem its called post epic syndrome. Basically it takes up so much of your day and your thoughts that once its over you have this empty void in your life. Bit like loosing a girlfriend really. At first its the freedom you have craved then the wheel slowly turns and you realise you're on your own. What now ?

Well in order not to blow myself up again I am off to see the MTB World Cup in Pietermaritzburg over the Easter wknd. Those doing the Two Oceans- all the best. My money is on Quayle's Ale's. Sorry Patch but I know you like being the dark horse so there is all the incentive you need. Back to the World Cup, its massive. I am sooo amped its off the charts. Watching the worlds best competing will be a real thrill. I am not sure what will blow me away more, the cross country where I am hoping Burry can smash the international filed and get off to a flyer in this years title race, or the downhill. I have never seen a real downhill race and these guys are the worlds best. I may just be a wee bit blown away by the risks these guys take. Then again I haven't seen Sauser, Absalon and Stander flying around the cross country track either. Forgive me if I am repeating myself but my brain is flying around with the thought of all these pro's doing their thing. 

So for those interested follow the event on the site:  http://www.mtbworldcupsa.co.za/Home.aspx 

Adios Amigo...

Cape Epic No.3

Well I have finally found the strength to relate the stories from my third consecutive Cape Epic.

Firstly we did it, Tasch and I managed to finish in 47hrs 54 min which placed us 40th  in our mixed category and 317 overall. Not bad, but all things considered it was a damn miracle. The miracle being my partner Tasch who with no build up hopped on my bandwagon a month before and completed this years Epic. No small miracle there, anyone who has any idea of how hard this race is will testify to my blowing her trumpet a bit.

The race itself changed drastically in that the normal route of riding from Knysna back home changed to round about route which barely left the mountains ever. So we climbed around the Western Cape. Heading out from Gordon's bay on a perfect late Cape Summers day we headed up and over the Hottentots Holland on a 115km 2800+m  absolute brute of a first stage. We never seemed to get a break and when cycling into water point 3 and finding out we still had 30kms to go and just under a 1000m to climb our minds began to wobble. Seeing guys lying on the floor with drips in arms and eyes rolled back from exhaustion and dehydration just made everyone realise this years route was not going to be a holiday. We battled home and finished Stage 1 in 8hrs 45 mins. Just think about that, try fathom sitting on a bike for that amount of time, most of it climbing up serious mountains. Your butt feels like its going to split from pain and your back went numb way back when. I am not trying to scare you, this was honestly one of the hardest days I have ever had, now imagine coming into the race without adequate training and your mind will play all sorts of games with you. The thing with the Epic is just when you think you cant go any further, you remember that tomorrow brings its own set of uphills and downhills both mentally and physically, which somehow snaps you out of your self pity and focus' you on getting today done. Focusing on the present, not the future gets you through this race.

So Stage 1 slipped by and the mental side of things kicked in at the start of Day 2, both Tasch and I were pretty spent. It was about getting through it, set your pace and don't worry about the rest of the "race". This strategy is pretty much what gets you through if you are not adequately prepared to race it.  We decided early on that we were going to try enjoy ourselves, take it slow and watch the sun rise over our beautiful country, stop at the top of mountains and have a look around. Will we ever be in the position to do it again ? 

Its tough being philosophical and soulful when you are being pushed to the edge of your physical, finding the energy to take a deep breath and enjoy vineyards tucked away in the folds of our beautiful mountains was not your easiest task but I think we did quite well. I couldn't find half those places again if I tried, which is part of the Epic's magic.

Over the last three years I have been lucky enough to experience the backwaters of our beautiful country, not in a car, but on my bike. The tops of mountain ranges the bottom of our deepest kloofs " waar die kranse antwoord gee " Sorry just getting a bit carried away here, it was not as romantic as it sounds but it truely is very special to traverse our amazing country like we have done.

Back to this years race. it was far more technical than previous years due to the route change we never had any free km's. This made it shorter in distance but added so many more taxing metres which strains the brain but adds to the fun for the real mountain biker. Technical means harder climbing on all sorts of terrain as well as single track and the best for the true mountain biker, hair raising descents down slippery and rocky trails which quickly separated the men from the boys. Watching Tasch descend was a privilege, coming from a fearless Wind surfing background and having learnt to ride with the boys of Table Mountain she has no fear which is what it takes to descend the gnarliest tracks. Its funny but faster is easier. Some of the pro's were clocking 80kph, my fastest was just over 60kph. The chances of braking at that speed and actually stopping in the next ten metres are pretty much nothing so there is alot of trust involved. In your ability, your equipment and your fellow racer.

Over the next five days we went up and down the most scenic spots in the Western Cape. Unfortunately our legs couldn't carry on forever and thank heavens for our bums the finish at Lourensford was give or take a day or two away. The Epic proved once again that every km deserves your respect, riding past guys stricken from dehydration, broken collar bones and wrists really shows you how lucky you are to be able to get through this race. A guy was heard saying that " to make it through the Epic your guardian angel had better be able to fly faster than you can ride " Having done 3 now I can honestly say its true, its heartbreaking watching people have to give up their dream of finishing. I have seen partners not finish and its not easy watching it, living it is far worse.

I am glad its over. I loved the experience, the adventure, the focus. Its brutal while it lasts, like being held under a heavy wave you question whether you will ever get out from under it but when you do it's the sweetest breath you ever took.

www.cape-epic.com  I dare you too enter the lottery and see where the Epic takes you...

 

SA All Blacks- Watson style !!!

This an article I came across the other day. I was so dumbfounded by what I read it has to be sent to the rest of the world.

Where and when will the Watsons stop ?

Is Cheeky's job to cause shit like Julius Malema, they clearly from the same test tube.

His comments at the end are too precious...

http://www.rugbyheaven.co.nz/4862393a22363.html

Training Hard vs Training Smart

I have recently been the guilty party of a bout of over training. Over training is a syndrome which can happen in any sport I suppose but I will stick with what I know and that's cycling.

Basically the syndrome is pretty self explanatory, you just train to much without giving your body time to recover and grow with the training. You run your system down instead of letting it recover and get stronger whilst doing so. It all came about due to my obsession with trying to get faster on the bike, thinking that smashing myself at high intensities week in and week out would eventually bring about a breakthrough in fitness. You know the old saying what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. Baloney !!!

The results of all this training became evident when I started getting sick and battling to recover after the sickness. The other telltale signs were constantly sore muscles which are easily masked as just plain sore legs from a hard workout. But the biggest sign for me was on race days was that I just haven't felt the zing in my legs, the freshness of spirit and the old one raring to go. I was amped but the body wasn't willing. The Attakwas was an example of this, I felt good but the rerun from the race was poor and I know I am better than the result achieved.

So I went to see a Dr at the Sports Science Institute in Newlands. He specialises in cycling so he was my man. He did a full batch of bloods which is the best way of detecting something wrong with the old system.  So the bloods told him exactly what he already knew. 

Here for me and hopefully for you came the interesting part, I was to take two or three weeks off and let my system recover. Whhaaat ? Yip and then start working on a program which was about specifics not amounts of training. Lots of recovery rides which entail keeping my heart rate at around 130-140 bpm but in between that there are some seriously intensive rides. Try riding for 90 mins with your cadence below 50 and heart rate above 150 bpm.  That's not easy, a really intensive leg workout which left me wobbling home after the 45 minute warm down.

So this is just a small reminder about getting caught up chasing something, we seem to believe that putting our heads down and grinding away will achieve results in cycling and I suppose in life. Well it wont, there is no substitute for hard work but think about what you doing. Be smart about your time whatever it is you doing. Learn all the time. I have, its empowering.

Listening to my Dr talk about certain guys training regimes I was amazed, Christof Sauser a legend and World Marathon Champ never rides more than 4 hours a session. The new training way is all about specifics not bulk. I have adopted this  and have been working towards my 3rd Epic. I am amped for the race again after feeling very confused about things this year. Its another long story for another time.

So whatever you doing out there, do it smart. Go see a coach or some one you know for some training directions. It will help you and your mind focus knowing that you are doing the right thing in training. Its a good feeling, pursue it, trust me.   

TED ideas worth spreading...

Every now and then we sit with time on our hands and nothing to do with it, why, because we are mostly behind the desk at work. So if your are tired of reading crap on the net, do yourself a massive favour and go check out this site. Its basically a launch pad for some of today's finest minds in all sorts of fields. These are people doing amazing things and trying to make a difference in our world-now.

I have only just discovered it, but, I have watched a few things and if you are looking for inspiration and a change of mentality in these tough times, Change your mindset = changing times not tough, then check it out. Its far better than most of the mindless celebrity orientated crap we browse most days on the net.

www.ted.com

So do yourself a favour, it's worth it. Next time you don't have anything to add at a dinner table or party you can relive some of the stuff you saw on TED.

We can talk about it...