Hey guys, sorry I haven't been updating my blog, i've completely lost track of the time.
Just a quick update, I've just comeout of base training and have started my intense work. Hopefully I'll have some form for the first national at Jonkershoek, in Stellenbosch from the 10-11 Jan.
I got back yesterday from visiting with the Neethlings, and spending new year with them. I did one really hard ride while down there, but i unfortunately didn't get to hit any of the awesome single track down there by the Oribi Gorge/Lake Eland area. The weather was also pretty bum while I was there so going to the beach was out of the question, and the one day we did manage to go, the sea was absolutely terrible!
I'm off to the first ever KZN High Performance camp, I'm pretty stoked I was accepted, I'll keep you guys posted and will let you know how things go. My next week is goingto be pretty packed as the HP Camp ends on Wednesday, and I fly out to Cape Town on Thursday for Nationals, so I'll try my best to keep you updated with whats happening.
Ciao.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
HP Urban Rage- Presented by Jeep Apparel
On Sunday, 7th of December, we all climbed in our cars and made the trek down to uShaka Marine World, for the first ever HP Urban Rage in South Africa. We pulled into the gates of uShaka around 9:00am.
The amount of organization that had gone into the event was immense and I take my hat off to everyone who was involved in the making of such a memorable event.
Racing for me, started with the Cool Cats (teams of 2), with Darren Goddard and myself in a team. Unfortunately the race did not go very well as I suffered mechanicals with my bike, and took one MEGA bail. In the end we ended up just having a really fun ride.
My second event was the Alley Cats (Individual Race), and I was really super amped to try make it into the Final (Super Cats). I gave it my absolute all and raced as hard as I could. I chased down Candice Neethling, who had started at a one minute interval before me. I managed to catch her in the last 300m and pushed her as hard as we she could go. I unfortunately just missed out on the final, which was a real bummer.
The obstacles were really fun and got more difficult the harder you pushed yourself. The combination of drop offs, see-saws, floating bridges, wooden ramps and berms made this event one of the best, and one of the most well organized events I have ever been to.
Well Done to Phillip Buys and Candice Neethling on their wins.
This event must have taken a huge amount of work and perseverance and I was extremely impressed with how the entire event planned out. Congratulations to all the people who made the event such a fun and exciting one.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Team Jeep Weekend 14-16 November
Cumberland Nature Reserve were the hosts for the 2008 Team Jeep Weekend. The weekend began with the arrival of most of the team athletes on Friday, 14th November. We chilled and just had a good time on Friday night, catching up with some of the athletes who were rarely seen in KZN.
On Saturday morning most of us went for an early ride before breakfast and the team building exercises. We got back to the accommodation after the chilled ride and went to chill by the pool.
We were guided down to the team building area by the instructors. We were Split into 3 groups, and we were to tackle the the obstacle courses in the fastest time. The exercises consisted of 2 obstacle courses and 2 different exercise to build our trust in other team member-"trust fall"
Saturday night saw the commencement of the potjie competition between the 3 teams. Our team honestly had no clue as to what to do, we even had I.T. God - Dave Miller- looking up some recipes and in the end we just threw all the ingredients into the pot and let it cook, and to our surprise it turned out pretty well... but we lost to the "Baboons."
Sunday morning was ours to do as we wanted. We tucked into a good breakfast and after some team discussions with team management, Craig Paul and I left and rode back to Hilton.
The weekend was really cool and it was awesome to meet up with team members that we do not see very often. A big thanks to Max, Clint and Kita for a great weekend away.
On Saturday morning most of us went for an early ride before breakfast and the team building exercises. We got back to the accommodation after the chilled ride and went to chill by the pool.
We were guided down to the team building area by the instructors. We were Split into 3 groups, and we were to tackle the the obstacle courses in the fastest time. The exercises consisted of 2 obstacle courses and 2 different exercise to build our trust in other team member-"trust fall"
Saturday night saw the commencement of the potjie competition between the 3 teams. Our team honestly had no clue as to what to do, we even had I.T. God - Dave Miller- looking up some recipes and in the end we just threw all the ingredients into the pot and let it cook, and to our surprise it turned out pretty well... but we lost to the "Baboons."
Sunday morning was ours to do as we wanted. We tucked into a good breakfast and after some team discussions with team management, Craig Paul and I left and rode back to Hilton.
The weekend was really cool and it was awesome to meet up with team members that we do not see very often. A big thanks to Max, Clint and Kita for a great weekend away.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Hill 2 Hill - 21 September 2008
A very early morning, had us leaving for the 2008 Hill 2 Hill. We arrived the start of the half marathon just after 5:00 a.m. with the race starting at 6:00 a.m. the weather was completely miserable, which I was very happy about. It rained continuously until about 5 minute before the start of our race.
I went hard from the start and managed to get a good gap on the guys. Travis Walker then rode across to me and we began to work together. About 5km in a marshal sent us in the wrong direction and we rode 2km in the wrong direction. I noticed this and shouted it to the bunch I was in. some of them did not hear me and continued riding. I turned around with Travis, and we faught our way back up the field. At the crossing over the Free Way Travis and I were back in the lead and had a very comfortable gap. We continued working together. We approached the first KOM (king of the mountains) and Travis put the hammer down. I later on caught him again, and resumed our “team work.” As we approached the 2nd KOM I broke away and managed to win it. In doing so in doing so I had also managed to get a gap over Travis. But then more disaster was to come. I again came to a marshal who sent me in the wrong direction, down a very long hill, I got to the bottom to notice that there were no more markings. I turned around to see Travis shouting to me. I sprinted up the long climb, and I was now in 2nd position. Bryce Munro, Adriaan Louw, and Jedson Tooms had not caught up yet.
I was furious. And gave chase as hard as I could, I had been preparing for the long flat road into the finish, but as I reached the cane depot, I noticed a monster of a climb to the left. I tried to hold my pace, but slowly began losing my legs. Bryce caught me with about 2km to go, and Adriaan caught me at the 1km to go sign.
The course was phenomenal, it was just a pitty that the marshals were not on form. Well done to Kim Phillips and the team for an awesome course, and the sponsors, Jeep Apparel, and Sunday Tribune for an awesome event.
I went hard from the start and managed to get a good gap on the guys. Travis Walker then rode across to me and we began to work together. About 5km in a marshal sent us in the wrong direction and we rode 2km in the wrong direction. I noticed this and shouted it to the bunch I was in. some of them did not hear me and continued riding. I turned around with Travis, and we faught our way back up the field. At the crossing over the Free Way Travis and I were back in the lead and had a very comfortable gap. We continued working together. We approached the first KOM (king of the mountains) and Travis put the hammer down. I later on caught him again, and resumed our “team work.” As we approached the 2nd KOM I broke away and managed to win it. In doing so in doing so I had also managed to get a gap over Travis. But then more disaster was to come. I again came to a marshal who sent me in the wrong direction, down a very long hill, I got to the bottom to notice that there were no more markings. I turned around to see Travis shouting to me. I sprinted up the long climb, and I was now in 2nd position. Bryce Munro, Adriaan Louw, and Jedson Tooms had not caught up yet.
I was furious. And gave chase as hard as I could, I had been preparing for the long flat road into the finish, but as I reached the cane depot, I noticed a monster of a climb to the left. I tried to hold my pace, but slowly began losing my legs. Bryce caught me with about 2km to go, and Adriaan caught me at the 1km to go sign.
The course was phenomenal, it was just a pitty that the marshals were not on form. Well done to Kim Phillips and the team for an awesome course, and the sponsors, Jeep Apparel, and Sunday Tribune for an awesome event.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Lynford Super Classic 14 September 2008
A very early morning saw us to the Lynford School, just outside Ixopo. Having left home at 5:00 a.m. we arrived there, still half asleep. As we stepped out the car, I could already feel the heat and knew that there was going to be an extremely hot.
Again the turn out for this super classic was immense and had a pool of top riders, Brandon Stewart, Pete Smith, Roan Exelby and Jedson Tooms, along with many more. The racing was started with the traditional shooting of a bottle of milk, and from the start the attacks started. As we turned onto the climb Jedson attacked. Brandon charged through the pack and took control of the race shortly after. I hung on as long as possible but had to drop off before the crest of the climb. I was sitting 10th overall and trailing quite badly from the chase bunch.
I gave chase as hard as possible and I eventually worked my way back up to 7th, passing Tim Stark and Daniel Paul. I continued chasing as hard as possible and I managed to eventually drop Daniel. Going into the second loop of about 10km, I was beginning to close down the Gap on Travis Walker. But in turn Daniel’s sheer power seriously closed the gap on me on the open sections. He caught me on the last big climb and dropped me, but I was still closing down on Travis. With about 2km to go I could seem him in the distance. I went hammer to the wall to try close the gap but it was too late in the race. I managed to pull off an 8th overall and 2nd Youth male.
The course was fantastic, as always. Hats off to “Farmer” Glen Haw and the course setters. The venue was awesome and the atmosphere was great, which made for an awesome days racing.
Again the turn out for this super classic was immense and had a pool of top riders, Brandon Stewart, Pete Smith, Roan Exelby and Jedson Tooms, along with many more. The racing was started with the traditional shooting of a bottle of milk, and from the start the attacks started. As we turned onto the climb Jedson attacked. Brandon charged through the pack and took control of the race shortly after. I hung on as long as possible but had to drop off before the crest of the climb. I was sitting 10th overall and trailing quite badly from the chase bunch.
I gave chase as hard as possible and I eventually worked my way back up to 7th, passing Tim Stark and Daniel Paul. I continued chasing as hard as possible and I managed to eventually drop Daniel. Going into the second loop of about 10km, I was beginning to close down the Gap on Travis Walker. But in turn Daniel’s sheer power seriously closed the gap on me on the open sections. He caught me on the last big climb and dropped me, but I was still closing down on Travis. With about 2km to go I could seem him in the distance. I went hammer to the wall to try close the gap but it was too late in the race. I managed to pull off an 8th overall and 2nd Youth male.
The course was fantastic, as always. Hats off to “Farmer” Glen Haw and the course setters. The venue was awesome and the atmosphere was great, which made for an awesome days racing.
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