I FLY

Also had re introduction to the South Easterly " breeze" on my road ride yesterday in Somerset/Stellenbosch. We have been working in JHB for past 6 weeks where the wind is not such a factor.

And no pies?

And that's just the entry fee. My mate kept an detailed record of everything he spent on his Epic and it was double the entry fee.

https://www.strava.com/segments/10161312 And this one in Helderberg Farm . Every 50 m there is a diagonal drainage slot deep enough to stop a bike

https://www.strava.com/segments/10161312 This one near Bruma / Cyrildene ( Johannesburg ) is always hard for me.

“Funny “ story. I caught my creditors manager defrauding the company. As the amount was greater than R100k I was also obliged to report this to the Hawks she was fired and court found her guilty. My md asked for a suspended sentence instead of 5 years in jail. 3 months later I got a call from another company asking me for a reference on her

Both my wife and I had zero side affects from our first two jabs and rode the next day at normal tempo. Just had our 3rd jabs today. Be interesting to see if we have side affects this time.

In my opinion the fact the motor bikers do have a hardcore image and can actually catch up to errant motorists makes motorists think twice about doing stupid stuff around /to them.

Local security company apprehended 5 suspects this morning in Firgrove - Somerset West - after a bike hijack incident the suspects had pistol, machete, scissors, two big knives and a hockey stick there had previously been a couple of bike hijacking’s by a single person with a machete in our area

A late afternoon ride on Thursday after the rain had cooled things down. View from the vineyards towards Stellenbosch

I wonder where Alan Hatherly spent his day on his bike. I saw him leaving the estate we live in at 8am this morning looking splendid in his South African Champions jersey and gleaming white and black Cannondale I on the other hand had to spend 9 hours at my computer before I could take my road bike out for a little loop around to Stellenbosch and back

Went and did Thaba Trails this morning nice and dry

I am nearly at the end of the road in terms of funding the education of my daughters A timeline of 15 years at a private school in total Older one - 5 years full time varsity and two years of articles. luckily her company paid for MBA Younger one - 11years full time varsity. Bsc; Msc and Phd We hired some of the Levo SLs recently from the Specialized Shop in Stellenbosch. It was an interesting day out on the trails. one of the considerations for me would be the benefit of an ebike vs the weight. I will live in 1st floor apartment when I retire next year. Carrying a 12kg bike vs 18 or 25kg ebike up stairs is a big change

My experience was in 2010 when the rain and mud started a week before the race and continued through the 3 days. That was also the year the organizers added an extra hundred teams or so. ( about 850 teams really put a strain on all the facilities)

I have done Sani2c ( in the worst rain and mud) Jhb2c twice my wife has done the full set including Berg and Bush I did not like the crowds at Sani2C and preferred the middle section of Jhb2C as I prefer the most technical riding aspect my wife enjoyed all 5 of her Berg and Bush races. Also did not enjoy Sani2C

I have been working from home since March 2020. Maybe I am very busy all day or my fridge does not contain any snacking type food but I have escaped being best friends with my fridge my house does not have any snacks , sweets , chocolates, biscuits or chips . If we feel like a treat we have to go to nearest shop also have no alcohol or sugar in the cupboards and my colleagues say I am lucky that I am lean and don’t put on weight🤔

Interesting comparison on annual kms achieved in 2021 between my younger brother and me. We both spent the year WFH - sitting behind computer screens for at least 8 hours a day. We both did more than 200 rides, 7000kms and 90 000m ascent. He did more than double his normal amount of riding . I did 40% more than normal. He lost 10kgs in weight . I stayed constant. 2022 Goals for me. Only have one Bucket List race this year - Berg and Bush - entered and paid Will try to do CTCT in March for 1st time since 2005 if I can get the timing right with WFH in Cape Town instead of Jhb that month. Apart from these I have not ridden at Tokai, Paarl, Oak Valley, Wellington, Jonkers (since fire)

We went out at 6am . Looked overcast but per my weather app no rain forecast. 10 minutes in the rain started with big drops. 5 minutes after I got home the sun was shining and the skies were clear. Saw a fellow cyclist not on a good day. He was commuting to work as he had a large backpack. 1st time we saw him he was adjusting his front brake caliper. We went in opposite directions around an industrial complex . Then the rain and wind started. Later we passed him again and he was walking with his bike - a rear wheel puncture. He declined our offer of assistance both times.

He is on one of the same Strava Groups that I am on. I look at his weekly distances and think he must be a machine. And clearly he is still enjoying himself or else he would not spend so much time on his bike.

I had another good year in terms of getting out on my bike This was my highest recorded annual distance since I joined Strava in December 2011 despite not having a bike to ride for much of March and a bout of Covid in June Ended the year with 21 rides in December my pre Strava commute years were much higher

We did two days in a row at Modderfontein as it is 5kms from our home.

Only want to fit in two bikes as we will be touring in it . I wanted to make sure that if necessary we could sleep in it even with the bikes stored inside could probably fit at least 6 bikes with reasonable spacing did not have my drivers license so will have to go back for a test drive

Hardly exciting scenery but I took a ride into Santon to see how my bike(s) would fit into a Ford van. Decided to take a different road home and went across the pedestrian bridge at Grayson Drive for the first time.

This will be my highest annual kms since I joined Strava in 2012. I have already passed my year’s target set in January and have another 129kms to get to my adjusted target. WFH has been good for me.

I followed up with Ruhan when I got to Somerset West re the printing of a small plastic holder for one of my helmet lights. We met so I could give him the light and the broken holder. A week later I had 4 new holders that are exactly the same of the original one and the price was very reasonable.