Wayne pudding Mol

not sure who their marketing person is these days but check on the site and drop them a mail. It's been a while but did buy a shirt and cap from them

For this ride a gravel bike is ideal but there is no reason your trek won’t be super comfortable

Pyga sell them directly - pricey for what you get

Eroica - use as recovery ride 😂

The mini fondo is one of the fastest 50 ish and fun rides you can do - mostly gravel

Quite a few still happen on the garden route thankfully but it must be tough for organizers to attract sponsors when there is no guarantee of the event taking place

This is the exact opposite of what I’d want from a bike - sounds like a dystopian nightmare in which zwift and reality merge but it will happen

I don’t recall ever enjoying riding in constant drizzle so much but after the recent heat it was great

Good to see you back on the bike - be careful with those trickstuff brakes !

So the elevation is correct - I’m used to much worse elevation for that kind of distance and I just remember it being such a tough day - rolling hills was what I was promised but it was 40 degrees and one hill was nicknamed alp duez I must go back and enjoy it on a cooler day

That riversdale to swellendam elevation can’t be right I've done that gravel road and it beautiful but I recall it being brutal - maybe it was the January heat but I just remember endless hills lovely route and great value for a guide

For me 500km In a week is a huge week as it is for any average rider (average joes don’t ever consider the freedom challenge) I thought the 500km would be tough, it wasn’t. Getting on the bike during that period was the difficult part and one of the most rewarding things I have done on a bike. No one to push you, no one to draft, no assigned course and distance per day Great fun and quite exhausting if you’re related to Christmas alcoholics and you’re the house cook.

Wilderness to Knysna in a race - I say race but for some not so much - these are my stats, not very impressive and I had a bad day out, just no power all day - I do this route regularly and I’m usually faster so I thought in a race I’d be even quicker But I’m a field of 250Ish I was one of 12 gravel bikers. A handful of pro/semi pros (Oli Munnik won) However the guy who finished this extremely hot and hilly route first was on an ebike - average speed, a mere 35kms we all started at different times - mountain bikers first so they could work together. Then the gravel bikers followed by the battery brigade. Oli and his mates dropped me on the second pedal stroke and I rode the rest of the race passing the below average mountain bikes and getting overtaken by (mostly) well built people in running shoes up steep hills. It was a complete solo ride and a rough mental battle for someone with no bmt i like everybody on bikes and ebikes are great but I really don’t like being passed with so little effort. It hurts my mid packer pride Next time out I’ll use flat bars so I can set of with the mtbers and get shelter - stupid rule really

So no airs then ?

With 8km to go I took this photo outside my mates farm to let him know he’s lazy 500km in about 26 hours 90 percent gravel and just over 7500 I’m pleased I did it

Brilliant - I actually planned to do this to annoy a mate and because my garmin didn’t update miscalculated by 1k

I’m not on Strava so it doesn’t count - I have a reasonably mellow day tomorrow and I’ll make it despite my brother in laws best efforts biggest lesson leant is that I am able to ride more than I do and these circumstances weren’t ideal I fell short of my mileage target for the year and this has taught me I have no excuse for this

Big ride !

Geez I’m really feeling the pressure here - it’s going to be so tight for me as balancing the riding with guests and wine is proving tough plus I’ve had to take 2 days off to drive people around - I’ve only done 330 and my elevation is already 4500 - and this is me doing the flattest out and backs I can failure is not an option this year so I’m going to have to toughen up today I was not tough - 60km and I cramped up which is very unusual for me

Hoogekraal hill sort of between the N2 near sedgefield and the 7 passes road

The 31st is all mine so I may drive to oudtshoorn and find a flat ride

500km for you is an average week - for me it’s an average month 😂

Late nights followed by early rides before family and friends wake up under strict instructions not to let my festive 500 “stupidity” mess with things

Going to get tight for me as I spent 7 hours driving yesterday and will have the same to do on the 30th which has unexpectedly taken 2 days off my schedule the 31st is looking like a huge day out - might have to use the roadbike and get some easier miles as I’m not failing again this year

That’s a 70km ride for me - not that I could do 500km in one go downhill