'Dale

I can sense early autumn is in the air. Klipheuwel Trailz, Durbanville Hills:

Makes me want to fill up my hydration pack and go ride loooonggggg

It takes an extraordinary amount of hard work to make it seem effortless:

MONDAY MOTIVATION: "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. they went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci

Thank you for the tender words, Mamil. Warms my heart. I know you cover many miles to the moon and back these days - be safe out there.

It's the empty chair at the dinner table. Or the phone number that is still on one's phone. And the dull ache that comes with every birthday anniversary, lingering forever. It's those that are left behind that I think of most. My spouse still gets a nauseating feeling when my phone number rings on her screen and it's just me calling home to let her know that I am okay, sipping on my coffee somewhere with my chain gang. 💟

3 final booster ideas for the average weekend warrior as the Tour De Peninsula looms: 1. BANK YOUR SLEEP: When the butter flies begin to wake up about 3 days to go and the nerves begin to jingle, one's sleep may be disturbed. Sleep is the most amazing performance enhancing drug. So, get to bed a little earlier from tonight through to Thursday, allowing to fill up your 'sleep stores'. You may be a little fresher and have 17 extra watts up Suikerbossie to get you home. Even the professionals generally struggle with sleep before race day and consider themselves lucky to get 60% of good rest - that is the power of the mind in its anticipatory response to an imminent challenge and threat. 2. TAPERING Don't park your bike entirely. Go for shorter rides. Maintain a degree of intensity and keep it short. Sport scientists know that a whole lot of cool stuff get activated in the body and bloodstream when we keep the engine purring. Just avoid getting carried away by chasing other wheels and protect your freshness. 3. FATE Prepare for the worst weather; hope for the best weather. Imagine the trees are dancing and the flag poles are swaying. In fact, find a lekka block wind this week and spend some time battling through it, working on your optimal cadence, your breathwork and controlling your bike while drinking and/or eating. Never fear the wind as you are wasting energy on something that is beyond your control. Always respect Mother Nature and never dread her power; just organise yourself.

It’s been one year now since the hit & run incident in Green Point. Phew!

Soren takes it. Soren is from the Nordics and loves to race in the cold. And his bike is a Belgian brand with this brand new revolutionary head tube. Impressive WT win for Uno-X Mobility. Pic: @bikeradar

Ramadaan Mubarak 🌙

I won't be there, Chris. Focusing on the world of work.

Remember, you don't have enough energy to go ride your bike because you don't ride your bike. 10 kms is always better than 0 kms. 30 mins of spinning is always better than 0 mins of nothing.

Use-it-or-lose-it 3 performance ideas for the average weekend warrior that may be a bit nervous about the Tour De Cape Peninsula: 1. COURAGE The toughest part of the course is in the final 1/3 of the 109 kms, accentuated by Chapman's Peak, Suikerbossie and Bantry Bay Pass. Having thoughts of "I don't enjoying climbing, so I avoid the hills..." won't serve you at all. So, for the rest of this week, find a hill that makes you sweaty and anxious and do climb repeats on it until you fall over. If you can, do it a few times. This will desensitize you against climbing, both mentally and physically, and boost your courage levels for next week's challenge. 2. COMPARISON ANXIETY If you are a undercooked for the course, its likely windy conditions and its elevation, really aim to race your own race. Don't leave the city bowl like a bat out of hell with your bunch and then find yourself walking up Little Suikerbossie in Hout Bay, searching for the nearest massage miracle with the physio student volunteers. You know, that dreaded zombie walk that cramps can elicit. Eish! If you have the mental fortitude, start lekka slow and steady until you see the penguins at Boulders, keep on going at an 'almost too slow' intensity until you see the stunning waves on the false flat towards Slangkop and then begin to steadily pace yourself towards Hout Bay onwards. Your ego may want to avoid the anxiety of being dropped and fight to stay in the bunch, although you are not actually conditioned enough to last at that intensity. Don't try to look good; aim to finish with a one-handed wheelie and a smile in Green Point. 3. TRANSCENDENCE There will be pain, struggle, tough moments and suffering. When I prepare to embrace the torture that comes with racing, I search for a deep reason or purpose that will sustain me through the inevitable difficult moments. Some race days it is for my Mama that passed on with cancer 20 years ago or some other meaningful reason that I can find. What is a driver or motivator that can boost you when you want to stop and that is so much bigger than you or your race? Sterkte, sterkte.

Hmmm… it’s about time for cold weather, cobblestones and the clash of the classics specialists. This weekend is the double header of Omloop’ and the sprinters’ classic of Kuurne’.

Pump up the base: Keegan’s recent work load before his tapering and travel to the South.