July 2010 - Imana Wild Ride

After a rather sporadic training regime in Europe, I was a little bit nervous about my form approaching Imana 2010. Nick and I, now in competing teams in the event, drove down the weekend before, as we have done for the past 4 years. After all the stress of getting down to Kei Mouth, it was awesome to relax and just enjoy being back on the Wild Coast. Nick and I stayed at our normal accommodation, Whispering Waves, and rode the first day backwards on Sunday after dropping a car at Kobb Inn. Iain, Nick’s partner, and Willie, my new partner, joined us on Monday evening before the race start on Tuesday.

There are a million stories, beautiful moments and small battles I could write about describing the week – so it is probably best to just give a brief summary, rather than write a book! I felt surprisingly strong up the first few hills on day 1 and Willie was right there with me. With a 30 second gap on the first beach, Willie’s hanger snapped. After putting a new one on and many kilometres of jumping gears, Willie’s derailleur then broke, and we spent the rest of the day running and towing. 1h15 down on the first day, and we knew we had to change our mindset and focus on stage wins, with an overall win now out of reach.

Willie and I had a strong day 2 and managed to win the day. It was also a different and special experience to start amongst the backmarkers (after losing so much time on day 1) and get a feel of what the race is like for them. More disaster struck on day 3 though, and after making up substantial time on the leaders during the first half of the stage, we were left running and towing after Willie’s bike’s freebody gave up. We seemed to have used up all our bad luck by day 4 though, and we had a great day on my favourite stage (the terrain is absolutely desolate, epic, wild and beautiful on the stage). We managed to beat Nick and Iain, who deservingly took the overall win, to the fastest time on the stage.

Despite the mechanical drama, the race was another unforgettable week. The race was my first navigating the unmarked route without a Garmin 9000 (i.e. Nick Floros), and I was happy that I was competent, well at least moderately so, at finding my way by myself. It’s also always great initiating and introducing someone new to the best race in the world, and Willie coped really well with the difficult terrain and with my “looks of judgment” when stuff went wrong! The 2010 edition was also the first time my parents were able to get involved in the race as part of the organising team (thanks Bex!) and it was awesome to be able to finally share the magic of the event with them.

Back in the real world now I am suffering from the post-Imana Blues (the realisation that life is not all riding down a beach into the sunrise with the taste of salt on your lips!), and looking forward to being down the coast again sometime soon.


Riding day 1 backwards - Nick near Mazeppa Bay


Kobb Inn Sunrise


Towing on day 1 after a broken hanger and derailleur


Crossing the Mbashi River at the end of day 2


Pushing Willie's bike, while he ran, up the Col de la Coffee Bay near the end of Day 3


Climbing up a rock shelf on the last beach of day 4


The coolest finish line ever

For more photos go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=473661&id=535170787

9th June - 15th July 2010 - Europe

I’ve been away from the racing scene for the last 5 weeks, holidaying in Europe. My friend Alistair and I (meeting up with my brother and his girlfriend, Lauren, along the way) had quite a rollercoaster 5 weeks, spending time in London, the Lake District, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Florence and Tuscany, Provence, and catching a stage of the Tour in the Alps. With Imana coming up, I had to try fit some training in our travelling, sightseeing and wine drinking schedule (let us not forget that red wine is full of beneficial antioxidants and reversatol, which is important for sportsmen). If I am honest with myself, I never been very good with the blogging thing, so going to post some pictures rather – I feel this will be easier for all involved, and more entertaining. So here goes...


I was confined to running the week I was in London, and I did more mileage than I've ever done before. I found an awesome path by the Thames which I used every morning.


I did more running in the Lake District - the place is full of beautiful public paths through the mountains and countryside.


Riding a bike is the way to get around Amsterdam - there bikes everywhere, and the cycling paths are super organised.


That said, the Dutch have pretty rubbish bikes. Sasha here, my bike while I was there, weighed about 30kg and rode like a Harley Davidson - good thing there are no hills in the Netherlands.


It was hard to live with the scenery in Tuscany.


The front porch.




The top end bike I borrowed ;)


The roads were awesome, winding and hilly - lots of cyclists.




I went for an 18km run up and down the mountain we stayed on - broke my body, and couldn't run for a few days after that!


Italian ice cream, or Gelato, will probably change your life (actually, Italian food in general will). Unfortunately, I will also probably add a few kilograms to your waistline (don't judge an Italian for being fat!).


The dinner table in the South of France, where much time was spent.


An awesome little mountain road through a Ceder Forest in the Luberon Mountains.




The roads in Provence are spectacular, narrow and quiet - and, unlike in South Africa, the local French actually care more about your safety than getting to the shops 5 minutes earlier.


An amazing mountain pass I came upon unexpectedly - cycling is the best way to see the region.


Coffee and croissant rides in the morning are obligatory.


The beautiful lavender fields around Sault, a little village near the base of Mont Ventoux.




The hired bike I rode around on.


Riding up Mont Ventoux - I may have had to go onto the small chainring of my triple chainring road bike!


Super-supporters - Al and Lol.




It is always important to maintain a sense of style while suffering.


The radio beacon on the summit.


Mike and I near the top.


The sweet store at the top was too much for me - I felt sick for days after.


Lol, Mike, Al and I at the top.


With my Top Shop glasses I bought in London - probably the coolest cyclist on Mont Ventoux.


Did some intense Kayak training (actually probably better described at floating down the river on a boat)


The Sourge River we kayaked down was crystal clear and freezing cold in high summer - it bubbles straight out of the mountain up stream.


The Col de la Madeliene.


Every spot possible on the road is taken by tents and campervans. The first spot available to us was 5 km from the summit.


I took a run to the summit early in the morning - spectacular scenery.




The spot we camped out on - 1 km from the summit. The atmosphere is unreal - the caravan comes through before the race with endless freebies, people are everywhere - by the time the cyclists come through, you've kinda forgotten they're the reason you there!

18th April 2010 - Cumberland Super Classic

The Cumberland Classic is one of the foremost super classics on the KZN calendar, and the 2010 edition lived up to its reputation. The organisers always put on a great event with an awesome mix of fast jeep track and singletrack.

The Cumberland course is always conducive to fast racing, and 2010 was no different. I lagged from the start after minimal training and few too many long nights of studying, but managed to fight back to fourth by the finish.



Brendon






Matt


Brendon and Matt


Matt and I


Brendon