Article : Zen Cycling

Check this great article I found about safe riding on the roads.....courtesy of http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/

Riding Zen means nothing more than being keenly aware of your surroundings and in control of your emotional state at all times. It also means riding safe and riding smart.

Don’t give up your right to ride, just don’t be dead right. Namaste.

Ride Report : Baynesfield July 2010

I rode the Baynesfield (near Pietermaritzburg) 45km Classic yesterday – it was tough with “MANY” seemingly unending long climbs – I’ve never stayed so long in granny gear. The course was tough and very technical in places with single track (loose sand) through the forest and another long 10km single track alongside a small river at the end. There were places where you had to carry your bike and there were also many small plank bridges across quite deep donga’s (ditches) – scary stuff. I saw quite a few guys walking back having come off their bikes, another young lady came off on a steep descent (suffered concussion) with quite a few people complaining that the route was just too tough.
I battled with cramps towards the end of the race – not sure that I’d do the 45 again, maybe the shorter 25km route.

We also had a helicopter overhead as the race will be televised.

I met Tertius (sporting ZMSC colours) at the start and end of my ride – he fortunately did the 25km which he quite enjoyed.

Report by Craig U

Ride Report : Big 5 Heatonville MTB Classic

Clinton, Neil, Hayden and I rode the Heatonville Big 5 ride on Sunday – tough course but beautiful. It had everything from hills (that’s why they call it mountain biking, I suppose), gravel road, jeep tracks, km’s of single tracks (excellent), a river crossing (see the photo’s in the attached letter) and lots of thorns. I suffered a rear wheel puncture with 3km’s to go so battled with pumping it up all the time as I did not want to change the tube with such a short distance left.

I stripped the tyre last night and found a few thorns which created the problem. On a whim, and because I’m getting quite good at this now, I decided to strip the front wheel.

I found another 3 thorns which had punctured my slime tube. The slime worked on the day as my tyre was still hard but it would most probably have deflated on the next ride.

So, after a ride, check those tubes.

Craig U

Big 5 Mtunzini Super Classic MTB race - 30 May 2010

Lined up at the rear of the 25K start - our crew is getting beeger!!!!

The event is the first in the 2010 Big 5 MTB series and it was a good one for the novices amongst us - besides the early hillclimb to warm up the legs, and a couple more along the route, the race wasn't too tough, over the 25K distance.

According to the riders in our crew, the 2 single-track sections in the forests of Mtunzini was everyone's favourite.

Before the start, Dabz and Craig, squinting in the morning winter sun....

A, showing off with his "new" bike, courtesy of Adriano, who upgraded to a GIANT XTC....

The bike frame is CALOI, which is a Brazilian brand, and the components are Shimano DEORE, which I found to be very consistent and reliable during this event, even though conditions were not too testing....

I have a feeling that my riding position on the bike needs a proper setup - my legs were cramping late in the race, and some soreness in my right hammy lasted well after the finish....

Adriano "it CAN be lighter....", posing with his new steed after the race .... rumour has it that the bike shop were glad to see the bike roll out of the store, due to all the specialized parts sourcing they were required to do to get the XTC in the shape that Carlos was looking for....

Adriano had a strong ride, again, and it was fun trying to keep up, especially on the descents, which he absolutely BOMBS down!

Craig, having had much more fun on this event, than the last one....Craig and I stopped to help fix the snapped chain on Bruce's TREK - Craig's multitool + chainbreaker combination once again came in handy, and Bruce was quite prepared to pay over R100 in cash for a master link! (we let him off with a round of drinks at the finish....)

Team-mates? I am not only your partner......Thaven is definitely progressing, physically, but he also didn't carry all his gear - no masterlink, no chain tool :(

Dressed like PROs .... soon, we'll perform like em too ;) Dabz accompanied me on the drive up to Zini, from Durban and we both agreed that Zini is a lovely place, to stay, and to recreate.....

Dabz, after persevering with a slipping chain, and finishing well amongst the backmarkers....he enjoyed the event despite the mechanical trouble, and is eagerly awaiting the next one.

Tour D'Urban - 1 May 2010

Minal, Mehul, Aroon, Thaven, Adriano and Craig, lining up for the start of the Tour Durban - except for the 2 racing snakes on the left of the photo, the rest of us in the pic did the 25K event.

Numerous adventures ensued during our longest ever 25K - lasting about 3 hours long, due to a rider with reduced blood sugar levels, a fall resulting in a fractured collar bone and pelvis and a snapped chain.

Greg had a bad fall after about 5K, and fractured his collarbone and his pelvis!

Helping to evacuate Greg's GIANT.... there were a few blokes on BMX offroad motorbikes who were great at providing support - they swept the rear of the field, giving encouragement, and to the guy who helped get Greg's bike back to the start area : Thanks, mate! You're a star!

Thaven, helping to repair my Silverback's snapped chain. Amongst the 4 of us, riding together, we had only 1 chain tool and no master link! Hopefully this helped us learn some lessons about ride prep - watch this space for some tips on the gear you should include in your race kit.....

Craig, and Thaven, conquering one of the many demanding climbs....

Craig, Thaven and Adriano drove down from Richards Bay on the morning of the race, and joined my for lunch at our new home in Durban North. We had hoped to take a cruise in the Chevy and grab a few frosties in the neighbourhood....the Chevy refused to co-operate, but thats another story :(