Manic moment! Its my birthday today - as the my new 2010 Epic just arrived, unexpected and unannounced. So good. Today is meant to be cruisy prerace warm up only to the status quo start to the past three years: the Totalsports Challenge. Instead, also status quo, I’ve created logistical fun and chaos, now compounded [...]

Snapped this image earlier, in the Mon Desir Republic. Craziness. Mint new drive thanks to Kelfords and radical new road bike thanks to Specialized. How spoilt? Been trying to get the car branded - hopefully before everything closes on Friday. Design evolved into a further concept - a marketing project of sorts. Still need to [...]

I’ve been plotting to do this Sellenbosch cult event for years but never got the stars aligned, and thought this year would be the same fate until Triple Challenge was pushed on a week. It’s the official World Championships of Stellenbosch, and settles the ranking system for the next annum - from pride to ridicule. [...]

Something like the return of the prince to the palace, like the third musketeer returning to the brotherhood, like times of old, the good ones at least…. Dylan is returning to the fold at Mon Desir, restoring the tally at the Republic. Only, we’re all on the 2nd floor now; Michal, [...]

Trying to prepare for a presentation on Thursday night at a fundraiser in Worcester. My father and I are sharing the stage, and should be a rare and memorable occasion. Real excited for the opportunity. In going over some photo’s in preparation I had to smile/frown at these:

About to head out on my mountain bike long ride - 5 hours of it.
With a small run off the bike.
My thoughts will be in Pietermatitzburg. With Specialized and its team. My friend Dylan holding his own in a tech zone somewhere, Burry racing his first world cup for Specialized and that on local turf, [...]

A friend once told me: “It’s only as complicated as you make it” - Applicable to my frantic state of rushing about at times when all should be measured and executed with precision. Alas. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and life’s balance is an universal truth I believe in. Last [...]

Dylan spotted a photo of myself by Gary Perkin, on Specialized.com this week - a visual from Jonkershoek during the Specialized tire testing in January. Goes without saying its a website I’ve visited continually over the years and to be a part of it, despite just by random chance, is such a kick for me. [...]

Conrad wrote a great report on the week spent with Specialized and co testing tires on rollers, trail, and tarmac with various objectives in mind. It was a privilege joining the international guys - observing, learning, and offering my naive opinion. That said, I felt confident that Conrad and I represented a more realistic market [...]

Spent all day in Jonkershoek, taking various tires around a set course, figuring different attributes of each, and valuing that against a test tire. Will be back out and about tomorrow, learning that there is a lot more than meets the eye…
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
In short: Christoph Sauser, Burry Stander, Lene Byberg, Conrad Stoltz and [...]

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Some visuals from testing rolling resistance…

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

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 [...]

Today we decided to boycott our EA Sports - Need for Speed team name, and follow the needs of our alter ego’s. Slow playing on the bikes, with extra time spent at water stations for an extra doughnut, or two. We soaked up some of the true “Adventure” spirit further down the field, and enjoyed our final journey to Scottburgh [...]

Cresting a grassy hillside after another mint single track,  I could see the finish arch of what was an excellent day of social riding enjoyment on the first stage of the 2008 Subaru Sani2c Adventure - South Africa’s favourite mountain bike race.

(A race start thats not a race - the Sani2c Adventure gets launched)

A video clip showing some of the pre and post race laughs with Dylan and Fraser, which is the true chaos, as well as some race footage. Enjoy.

Filmed by Shy, and edited by my Sweetlove.

I got race number 369 scribbled on my arm and leg at registration this morning, and seems that must be my lucky one. I had a cracker second outing at Shongweni, to win my third local DueSouth Xterra, with Kent Horner in second, and Fraser Cartmell rounding out the podium of a picture perfect venue capped by stunning weather.   

(Running [...]

The third and final Duesouth Xterra before the South African Xterra finals at Grabouw, will be held at the Shongweni Reserve just outside of Durban on Sunday. Its the second Xterra at this venue that moulds nature and sport into one as none other. Fraser Cartmell, the Scotsman I’ve been training with, is my pick for [...]

Not often we get to play on the glamorous side with  rich and famous of Cape Town, but a few of us pulled in to Vida e Cafe for a pre-ride coffee in Camps Bay last Thursday. That with the excuse of ‘admin in CA’ and a swim in the sea… Neither of which happened. But before I write about the ride, [...]

(Some fun impressions from the day - A good laugh)