Marc Perel

"Awake and afresh. Just like normal, without the external pressure. It’s a big day, not for others, just for you. Up and at ‘em, time to make it count. It’s time to get out and hurt." Another great post by James Reid . As usual, putting you in the shoes of a professional athlete, proving it's not all coffee stops & sunshine. http://privateer.co.za/training-day/ http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1025910_10151459179331027_838868844_o.jpg

We wrap up the Tour with another left field report on the final week. Øyvind reports on the final week of the TDF. It's haircuts, future champions and content organisers for the most part, with loads of panache as the side order. Our final instalment from this years Grande Boucle. http://privateer.co.za/tdf-13-week-3-resume/ http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MG_8257.jpg

At every local race, we all think it. Who here is good enough to race overseas? Not just ride, but race. Back yourself. Go all in. Let your legs do the talking. Martin Wesemann is there. Doing it. Nic Lamond [of Privateer.co.za] feeds Martin caffeine to find out what it takes. Click here to view the article

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TDF madness continues at Privateer. Øyvind reports from his interactions with Andy Schleck's father, heli rides with Øleg Tinkoff and discussions on Bjarne Riis' 2nd wife. The alternate Tour report continues. http://privateer.co.za/tdf-13-week-2-resume/ http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CORVOS_00021660-181.jpg

Completely form fitting, but big enough to actually fit the average sized SA rider ie. Not overly Euro.

The medium bibs & top should fit you, otherwise we have sets of small & medium 1.0 bibs left and I think one small 1.0 top too.

Thanks bro, appreciate it.

Last night we launched a re-vamped Privateer site along with new products, better imagery and fresh content. You can check it all out here: http://privateer.co.za/ Our kit, now made by Craft, is available with a new black jersey, ladies sizing, and "real person" sizing up to XL. Even in the larger sizes, fit is pro, with no bagginess. I can attest to the shorts being the best shorts I've ever ridden in, especially due to the thick panelling just above the knee. http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_11892-660x495.jpg http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_1602-660x495.jpg

Maillot Sudáfrica.This one was not scripted in a year that has, quite honestly, not gone according to plan for Project 1 and James Reid. The SA XCM Championships on the weekend brought to many lessons to both parties and yesterday, we had a moment to sit down with our newly crowned National Champion and see what happened out there. http://privateer.co.za/project-1-script-changes/ http://privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/cover.png

One of our contributing writers, James Reid, recently spent 5 weeks in Europe racing some top UCI Cat 1 XCO Swiss Cups and German Bundesliga’s. In this piece he describes an opening start loop in an XC race. Click here to view the article

Our friends at Privateer have put out a call to arms in the #FebFifteen Strava Challenge to represent SA and the rest of the world in a battle against the Aussies. Click here to view the article

The Soloists http://www.privateer.co.za/the-soloist/ Cycling is an incredibly social sport, but there's also a huge aspect which gets ignored, and that is the benefits of riding solo. It's a part of the sport that we are quite fond of at Privateer. http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/soloist1-980x477.jpg

State of the Endurance Nation http://www.privateer.co.za/state-of-the-endurance-nation/ Cycling is going backward at the moment, the state of the endurance nation is moving back towards the positive, but not through traditional media channels or through the seemingly “not normal” performances of the heads of state. http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/failure2-980x574.jpg I didn't write this one, but I dig it, hits the nail on the head.

Digging the fixie bro. Looks like this now. But going to spray it and get different bars in '13. Most roads you can ride on a road bike, we're tried and succeeded on some pretty sick gravel roads this year!

Ta

Thanks bro, will get admin to fix that!

Expressing Yourself Through Movement http://www.privateer.co.za/expressing-yourself-through-movement/ What is it that you enjoy about riding your bike? I went down this route in my thoughts recently and found a common denominator for anyone who rides their bike. http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/movement-980x477.jpg What does movement mean to you?

Homeage to the #switchbackdoping hash tag, to clear up any confusion...

On Monday Privateer is organizing a group ride for the fitter and braver riders amongst us. If there's one thing we love, it's a good switchback, so we thought we'd invite some folks along to experience the switchbacks we've ridden this year. Some are common knowledge, but others we have kept a secret so if you enter in time you'll get to discover some incredible new roads. Sign up here, entries limited. http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sbdt-980x477.jpg

http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rhythm-cover1.jpg With the Double Century just come and passed, we speak about how finding your rhythm when the going gets tough instead of burrying yourself and having nothing left in the tank to come back stronger later in the race. http://www.privateer.co.za/the-rhythm/

I skipped the commute this morning, opting for car pooling, does that count?

http://www.privateer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/the-wind-1-980x477.jpg With Cape Town blowing a storm and the DC just a few days away, it's time we should be embracing the wind instead of hiding away. http://www.privateer.co.za/slaves-to-the-wind/

We've just posted a report from the day's event: http://privateer.co.za/the-big-bike-beat-down/ #FOMO should kick in soon if you weren't there

Check out the link for more detail. Big Bike Beat Down.