Alberton _ JHB South Riders

[Slave]

HeHeHe' date=' I am in Knysna and logged on for the first time in some time now. Doing a single SBR on Sunday as I am in taper for Crater Cruise. The wheather is OK hear but friggin cold for this time of year?? Looking forward to some wheel spins on the ol MTB [img']https://assets.bikehub.co.za/legacy_images/smilies/smiley26.gif[/img]

 

Predictor, there is likely to be road closure inSBR this weekend (particularly on Sunday due to Race for Victory. It may be difficult for you to get into the reserve from your usual spot.

[Cyclewizz]

So you boys ready for our home race ???

[Slave]

As ready as I can ever be based on the amount of training I have done.

 

A nice flat course, with the exception of two major climbs. and two minor ones.

 

Must admit, despite the number of times I have done SBR and the Lido hill, it is still going to hurt.

 

Are you ready, willing and able?

 

Bad news for you dude, my tow rope broke last night. Must be the cable cutter I installed under my saddle.

 

Care to make any predictions for race order.

 

Paul will def be first in our little team. The rest is subject to a lot of conjecture.

 

 

[Cyclewizz]

Don't stress Slave I have a super strong cable which I'll be using on Sunday. I'll hook it to your frame.

 

How many climbs are there ????

I thought it was a flat race.

Eish that Lido hill again, I've done it so many times and it doesn't get any easier.

 

 

[Slave]

Actually a few more than four climbs.

 

The Lido hill is the first. Then there are a couple more before Walkerville. Nothing serious but it's a nice undulating road to the turnoff.

 

Pretty much dowhill and flat to just after the R59 where we have a bridge to cross, then a fair pull upwards towards another micro light airfield.

 

Pretty flat after that until we hit the reserve. Then the two major climbs wth another one or two after those. Then flat all the way home.

[Trubie]

mmmmmmmm

you make this sound so easy

couple climbs and lotsa flats!

 

[Slave]

Eish, that turned out to be one very tough ride. The course was zachery what I thought it would be but the wind made up for the lack of climbs by blowing something fierce.

I was feeling pretty good for the first 20 to 30 kays and it was all "downhill" from there. As in I just felt so tired. 

 

At the top of climb going past that second microlight airfield I got my forst puncture. I was already so NAAFI that if I had my phone, I would have phoned wife to make a trip just to come and fetch me. No such luck.

 

Don't have a clue how much tme I list there but I took my own sweet time to get going again. 

 

At the "T" junction that begins the Cheetah loop, I got my second puncture. Damn fool child, Why did you leave your phone at home?

 

Once outside the reserve, we crossed ocer a small little stream and at that point I had had enough. I think we had completed 80 something Km. I was ready to bail. Waited I have no idea how long for a recovery behicle which never materialised. So I, very relutantly, climbed back onto the torture machine and tried to make it to the end.

 

I managed in the most shocking time imaginable. Worst to come was still another 8 to 10 km home.

 

The bike has been parked and will remian there indeffinitely. I am seriously thinking that I am way too old to be playing with young mens toys.

 

Demotivated, demoralised and in some pain. The "race" was more of an ordeal for me than anything else. It gave me more pain and suffering than the 2007 Highveld cycle challenge and I was nowhere near fit enough when I did that one.

 

Safe to say that this was by far my most difficult and trying bike ride ever.

 

Has the time arrived for me to swap my bike for some bowls and rather go play with children my own age? 

[porky]

Has the time arrived for me to swap my bike for some bowls and rather go play with children my own age? 

 

Yah slave, we the same age bud, when you work a 9 hour day, have a family to care for,a job to look after and all the social responsibilities that go with it, you just gotta accept we dont recover that quick anymore, but  more importantly, for me anyway, mentally I dont have that urge to push myself beyond the pain barrier anymore either.

 

 I have been reading your posts here and I just think, honestly, you are putting too much pressure on yourself.

 

Maybe its not what you want to hear, and maybe I am wrong, I dont know bud, but its just my feeling.

 

I train hard for one running race a year for a goal, that was the Two Oceans this year, next year will be the Comrades, I find its all I want to manage mentally and physically, the rest for me is fun, I rode the 58 km yesterday with my wife, it took us 2.14 but we stopped and drank a coke, chatted to some friends etc, I will do the same for the 94.7 (ride with my wife) for me its relaxing, I find trying constantly to perform (at our age) at your peak, just creates another stress in my day, something I dont want to deal with.!

 

[Slave]

So true Porky.

 

I was stoked tohave done a 2hr53 Dome and it is still my intenention to do a sub 3hr 94.7.

 

After that, I will ride for fun. I have realised that althought the mind is willing, the body just will not co-operate any more. It feels almost as if the body is betraying the mind.

 

I think it is almost time to take away the stress and pressure and put the fun back.

 

I did enjoy Dome. It was a great race and a very good result for me. Yesterday though, was a noghtmare for me. No fun at all.

 

I guess the time has come to acknowledge the age factor and start accepting the fact that as much as I want to be a teenager and want to perform on the bike like one, that some things are just not wise.

 

94.7 is only a few weeks away and after that, I will probably take a break and then get back to having fun on a bike instead of trying to reach too high.

[Shawn A]

where did you go to on Saturday ???

[Wonder Woman]

Hey slave, you did better than me....three punctures int he space of 20kms...I then called it a day!!

[Trubie]

was wondering why you were on your way back when we passed you on our way out on the dirt road

 

 

[Slave]

Shawn, I guess the quesion is more "where did you go?".

 

You immeduately chased after Klipies when He came past the groupand upped the pace. Even greyowl said he and his mate had to put in a quick sprint just to catch up the bunch.

 

Me, I tried for a bit but ended up going out the back of the bunch. At high speed. You okes dropped me faster that the speed of night.

 

WW, tough break there ma'am. I have only ver had one puncture in a race before so two was a bit too much for me to deal with. The irritation factor of that wind added greatly to my misery and I so badly wanted to bail. Every single km from about 45 onwards. Pride and stoopidity prevented me from doing this. I had to fininsh. Until 80 km then I had to bail. I just got impatient wating for a sweep vehicle.

 

When I got my second flat in the SBR, I was sorely tempted to throw the bike over a cliff. Fortunately for the bike, I recalled reading the race instructions which forbade anyone from dropping anything at all insde the reserve.

 

Pity the rest of the field didn't listen though. I saw hundreds of gel wrappers. I will ignore the banana  peels sice they are bio degradable.

 

No wonder this is the final Race for Victory and that pretty soon, all cyclists will be banned from riding in the reserve.

 

 

[Wonder Woman]

Slave...that makes me soooo angry. Why can't human beings be decent for once, grrrrr .

 

Especially that they know they're in the reserve, they know it has wild animals in it and they obviously don't realise that they may actually be killers of one of those animals due to a wrapper which is very light and can be put back into the pocket so easily.

[Shawn A]

Shawn' date=' I guess the quesion is more "where did you go?".

 

You immeduately chased after Klipies when He came past the groupand upped the pace. Even greyowl said he and his mate had to put in a quick sprint just to catch up the bunch.

 

Me, I tried for a bit but ended up going out the back of the bunch. At high speed. You okes dropped me faster that the speed of night.

 

[/quote']

I see, well i bailed at the sprint. Closed the gap up the the river again. and finally called it a day at the top of the steps.

However it was just me who idi the pace work, there were some othe guys their who pulled as hard if not harder....Nothing like a fast tempo to get the legs ticking..

 

[Slave]

Yeah it is sad. They are just so arrogant and lazy.

 

During my Domeride, I had a run in with a chap who deliberately threw his gel wrapper away. It was not as though he was trying to put it in a pocket and he missed.

 

Anyway I had words with him and told it wasn't cool to do that. Stoopid scrotum pimple got abusive with me and told me that it as the marshal's job to clean up after him and other like him.

 

Really! And it is far worse inside a reserve. If I was reserve management, I would have all the wrappers picked up (carefully) and have them finger printed. Then fine all the hooglians who had dropped their wrappers. Being foil, they are not bio degradable and they should hold a set of prints beautifully.

 

But let me not get all bent out of shape on that issue. It is done and Race for Victory is also water under the bridge. A race that many would like so much to forget. I be one of those.

 

So now I will take a few days to rest and then make a bid to do a good time for the Telkom later this month. In just on five or six weeks is 94.7 which is what all my training is and has been about.