Had a fine lunch overlooking the new harbour in Hermanus yestterday. A three-course meal including too much Sauvignon Blanc. I mention this to sketch how unlikely the ride to come felt at some tipsy point.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Many go for a Boxing Day drive. Myself included. Same shit. Different wheels…

I love this photo. Taken over my shouler headed back from Rooiels. Fraser and Michal in shot.

Far out. If you’re one of the few who battles entertaining the thought of pavement pounding or spinning on a bike only to get off on the same spot drenched, exhausted, some time on. Or one of the few who can think of a 100 better ways to spend recreational energy than swimming, biking and running, [...]

Reckon it was roughly 2.2m. To be honest, I am not the bravest soul. Luckily it was towards the end of my 3h ride, and I wasnt very switched on. Only riding off did I recall the warnings about Black Mamba’s. If it was any thicker though, I’d have ripped the teeth off my big [...]

Bobby Behan and myself high up on Day 1.
Photo’s are by Conrad himself. A talent in more ways than one… Thanks for the visuals and memories Stoltz. For more of his artistic side, view his Flickr page.

It started as novel fog, then to humorous drizzle, and eventually (for two thirds of stage3) bucketting rain like in Forest Gump’s Vietnam - Rain from above, sideways rain, rain from below… Puddles of water deep enough to swollow half the bike.
It become primative survival racing the freeze and sense of humour failure in [...]

Reached the top after 3h15 of climbing. Some 40km of it. A day totalling 1900m of elevation gain. Eish. Seemed heaven couldn’t be far off.
Formed a real fun bunch midway up the climb and stayed together till the end. Across old ox wagon roads, under pelting rain, down slippery descents, as well as picnics [...]

Thankfully my gifted partner has been wrestling a bug somewhere in his digestive track. The bug won. Big up to it. Meant the youngster couldn’t teach me a school boy lesson in the hurt box on a day that could easily have transported one’s enthusiasm to “that deep dark place” with all it’s climbing. Joking [...]

Life seems such a roller coaster at times. Should arguably try to embrace and enjoy that? Just got to the accomofation in Sabie after a lengthy day of travel. Brilliant to be here. Despite the rain bucketing down. Mud bath tomorrow for sure.
Scratched another vehicle while attempting a parking yesterday. While my drivers licence had [...]

Been a crazy week. Between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Off to Joburg in the morning. Sabie Experience till Tuesday. So photo’s only for now. So much to try relay about the first ever Urban Rage though. Was off the wall. Will soon. Thanks for checking in.

Had a great time on Saturday morning: Jonaskop the 2nd. An ascent of the 15km climb near our farm with a very similar profile to that of Alpe D’Huez. My father and a friend have put on this ‘invitation only’ tongue-in-cheek affair over the past two years. Small, intimate, unique, and now with a feast [...]

Figured I could use time away. Away from my MacBook, away from DSL, away from reception, away from the norm for a few blissful days of vast open expanse. I figured this back in the States, and from there it didnt take more than a searching mail to my father across the Atlantic to get [...]