Had such a great 4h mtb long ride on Saturday in the most perfect spring weather along the foothills of the Stellenbosch mountains. Every view seemed more crisp and clear than before, and all the fynbos smelt most distinctly. Tires gripped, sweat dripped, and in all was just a ride as good as it gets.

(The [...]

Feels like the end of my base phase is spot on, eager to get cracking on some longer quality and HR and body showing signs of great endurance built over a sustained and consistent block of longer slower the past 6 weeks. Incredible how the body adapts.

(Running on the Bergpad above Coetzenburg)

Landscape artist Strijdom van der Merwe (worth looking at his site) covered oak trees in red cloth all the way down Dorp Street making one of the strongest visuals I’ve seen. Simple yet profound. An art project raising funds for charity in conjunction with the Stellenbosch University Art School.

(Dorp Street)

I wrote over the festive season on time spent with some foreigners, training in and around Stellenbosch. Will Clarke (home),  Andreas Raelert, Tim Don (home)- friends of mine - had to qualify their Olympic spots this weekend. I’ve not seen a more committed effort by an athlete than by Andreas. He missed out today. But [...]

Thought it could be interesting to do a quick take on where everyone is at who I either trained with or just came in contact with here in The Bosch over the past few months. There was a great influx of foreign athletic ability this year, maybe more than ever, but as summer turns to autumn, [...]

I spent my run thinking about an honest post, my Thursday morning quality run in Jan Marais Park in Stellenbosch’s (Wikipedia) CBD. A run like most others with confused emotions and yo-yo arguments with a doubting alter ego. Some runs’ more so than others, but none more so than this windy push on tired legs.

I get bored on the usual highways and byways surrounding Stellenbosch, despite the variation the roads on offer which is more than most destinations. There is a flatter Koelenhof Road to take past Kayamandi, or undulating rolling hills on the R44 to Somerset West and Strand, or towards Klupmuts and Paarl. Then there’s a hill, [...]

My blogging coach came through for a run last weekend, and has some photo’s up on his flickr account. Its my favourite long run, as we start at a Trout Farm entering Jonkershoek, head up the mountain at gradual gradient for twenty min, before a breathtaking 5km contour to a stunning lookout point deep in the [...]

A few friends have yearly gathered for a wine tour on bikes (more wine than riding) in and around Stellenbosch to get the new years party started early. This year the lads were thinned, maybe their chains have been shortened over the past year, but myself and a few friends spent the afternoon in search of a fine wine [...]

Went to “Carols Oppie Bos” with two friends of ours on Sunday night for a picnic with Christmas carols at Paul Roos, organised by their church the Stellenbosch Gemeente. The picnic was a treat, and singing special. Ruth even managed some Afrikaans in some of them…

(The candle and the carols)

Took my new Specialized Epic for its maiden voyage to Jonkershoek, as fine an initiation setting at any other, yesterday afternoon in what happened to be the hottest day this summer. If I wasnt feeling the excitement of a boy with a new toy, I’d probably have faded on the ride. On the positive side, [...]

(Javier Gomez - Current World Number 1)
Stellenbosch is a world class venue to be based in, and although I take it for granted most the time, its great to see foreigners using The Bosch as a winter base when they could go anywhere in the world. There have been quite a few passing by over [...]

A brilliant read of journalist David Mosely’s day out to Stellenbosch to join Conrad Stoltz for a few beads of sweat. rainingday-conrad-stoltz.pdf

(Conrad Stoltz, master craftsman on his S-Works Epic)

I’ll never forget reading a quote by some old man on his death bed, looking back over his life, and suggesting what he’d have done differently had he another chance. The line that stuck with me, was him saying he’d sit and admire more sun sets. Why something remain in the vast nothingness I remember, I can only guess. But the old timer was onto something I [...]