Cycling

Yesterday I rode.  I just got on the bike, put two large bottles on it, some money under the insole of my shoe and rode.  I don’t know the area here, so I have to do out and backs.  47km out in the midday sun (mad dogs and Englishmen) with three major climbs, I did a u-turn and came back the way I came.  The heat reflected from the tarmac made it about 45 degrees pushing up one climb.  There is something so liberating about the sweet salty sweat dripping from your nose onto the top tube.

Tourist

I am here as a tourist, so I did tourist things. I took many photographs (or snaps as they are, when you aren’t thinking about lighting or are looking more to capture a moment).

I am in a country with a shameful recent past, and a past that it is trying to come to terms with. In many respects South Africa is like Germany as far as that goes, however there is a willingness to talk about Apartheid and the experiences here that there simply isn’t in the Fatherland. Perhaps it is to do with the experiences being far more at the forefront of the mind. Perhaps with time, there will be a shame about it too. In Germany, the war, and the Nazi past is not something that is often discussed. Something that is often ignored, or not explored for fear of letting the flood gates open. South Africa doesn’t seem like that, but perhaps that is more to do with the Blacks that I have come into contact with, rather than white South Africans. I know that often it is very difficult to give an honest opinion about your experiences particularly if they don’t gel completely with the PC way of seeing things.

Walking around Cape Town yesterday gave me a bit of an idea what it was like. From visiting the ‘District Six’ museum, and museum dedicated to an entire area of the city which was a black residential area, that in the late 1960s was reclaimed as a ‘white’ area for redevelopment. The thousands of families living there were simply evicted and lives destroyed. The entire area was flattened. More insulting, the land was never developed and for the most part still sits empty.

 

From there, I walked to a the Company Gardens, past a large building used in the slave trade as a ‘warehouse’ for the goods. I find this sort of thing upsetting, and so didn’t go inside (I have done elsewhere in the World) and then moved on to the Bo-Kaap area. The colours here are amazing, hence many pictures.

Later we traveled down the Cape to Boulder Beech, where the penguins bask in the sun.

 

 

Training

I am still on my quest to regain part of my fitness, and visiting my best friend here in Cape Town certainly helps. His commitment to himself, his training and his fitness is inspiring. He has set himself goals and is working towards them. What I like about it, is that he is tireless. He will work out twice a day, eat the correct things and enjoys every minute. I am not that lucky! Cycling is the highlight, and everything else is an enabler!

Some of the routes around here though are amazing. The wind too. That is amazing in all the wrong ways. You round a corner and then the wind takes you from 40 km/h to 16 km/h and struggling to change gear fast enough.

In the past few days I have spent 5.5hours in the saddle. Not much in terms of pedal time, but my legs are exhausted. The climbing and the wind has seen to that. Mix that in with the heat, and it really takes it out of you.

This is a holiday though. A holiday with some training mixed in. I am here to relax, do what I enjoy and ‘recover’ a bit. My hectic schedule continues almost immediately when I leave.

Today, my plan is to visit a coffee shop, and plan excursions over the next few days. Photographs are what I am after and I will be armed with a digital SLR to try to appease this desire!

South Africa

I have moved countries and now am in South Africa. Only for a couple of weeks mind, but I am here all the same. In fact it is my summer holiday, and I am using it to visit my best friend, take advantage of the southern hemisphere season reversal and to do some cycling.

I have been leant a bike here. A carbon Giant, and I am putting this to use riding around Cape Town. It isn’t my sole plan for while I am here. I am visiting a couple of friends from university (in fact, my best friend, and someone who is fast becoming one). I suppose I am just indulging myself as part of my 30th birthday celebration month.

On the friday, I worked in Johannesburg, visiting the distributor for work. Our products are available available in about 27 countries Worldwide. Although the products are fantastic, it isn’t simply a case of wheeling them out and them selling themselves. Each country has different needs, and the only way to sort out the needs of everyone and to try to make everything run as smoothly as it can is to go and see it for yourself.

In 2009 I have been to many countries seeing it for myself
It is fantastic, and I am very privileged. Not only do I get to visit many countries, but I have an automatic ‘in’ with the locals, and have my own local guides. It was true in Japan, Korea and now here. This gives an insight that you wouldn’t normally get.

South Africa itself is a country of contrasts. The paradoxes are everywhere, and it is almost a cliché to actually point them out. The rise of the black middle classes here is what is pulling the country away from its recent past, but in the bicycle industry, it is this which is stunting growth. After the oppression that black South Africans suffered, they are now in the position to afford and aspire to very normal things. Luxury cars, motorbikes, status symbol. Unfortunately though, where the problem for us lies is that cycling is seen as a white European sport. Bicycles, to many blacks, represent one of the modes of transport available to them under the old system, and therefore it is something that remains uninteresting.

Until this changes, the joys of bicycles will remain a very exclusive and marginal thing in South Africa.

I wish these guys all the luck in the world addressing that.

They are our distributors who are doing a great job in the face of adversity!

Good for the head.

Interesting day yesterday. Perhaps not the best from the point of view of building myself back into the athlete that in my head I once was, but from the perspective of who I actually am, it was good for me.

The Pretty One banished me from the house about 3pm yesterday afternoon. Me being me, I hopped on my road bike, and went for a lumpy (there isn’t really ‘hilly’ around where I am) 38 mile road ride. It got dark, but the fantastic Exposure lights from my friend Rory meant that wasn’t a problem.

Tuesday was my birthday. I thought that something was going on. Sure enough, pulling back into my back garden, I notice that my parents car is there. I walk in, and am met by one of my best friends in the world, together with my brother and my parents. The cycling gear in this situation is always a great look.

What followed was a trip to London, and, in keeping with my Germanic slant on things, a trip to a Bavarian Beer Hall. The Pretty One had got about 30 of my friends and family together, and a rather messy night followed.

Awesome fun.

Today was a write off. That was only to be expected. I am now back in Germany.

What I can say though, is if you ever fly out of London Heathrow T1 with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, or BMI, then try to fly business class and visit the BMI International Lounge. Seriously good. From the chicken Cesar salad, to the spicy parsnip soup. If it was just a normal bar I would go there. It is seriously opulent.

http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/the-experience/bmi-no.-1-heathrow.aspx

Getting back into things

I started ‘training’ on my birthday. I am now 30 years old, and I would like to be competitive again. Or rather, fitter than I am now. I am not fat, not even vaguely, but I have been in better shape, and frankly I am frightened of becoming fat. Scared of the belly, as it were.

Tuesday, which was my birthday, saw me on my road bike. It pissed it down with rain. Really rained a lot. But it was the type of ride that you start in the rain, and can get yourself mentally prepared for. So much fun.

Wednesday was the first visit to the gym that I have done in the last two years. Oh, how I hate gyms. I figure though that if I am going to not going to get muscle imbalances, and be able to throw the bike around properly, then a trip to the gym cannot be avoided.

I have even contacted a trainer.

Today, it was mountain biking (yesterday was bonfire night, so I went to the pub!) It rained a lot. Again

 

Revival

Perhaps it is time to revive this blog? It is a long time since I posted anything, and through a combination of laziness, nice weather, too much to do, poor internet connections, and laziness I left it too long.

I am about to head off to South Africa. Having been to Asia this year, and Interbike in Vegas, the traveling (at least the flight) is something that I think I am getting used to. What I am not used to is doing it purely (almost purely) for fun. So to celebrate my 30th birthday, I am off to South Africa to do a bit of training. I have a bike there, will be in Cape Town, and will be trying to get fit(ter). Along these lines I also went to a gym yesterday, riding on Tuesday.

I am trying to do a bit every day. Difficult though, isn’t it?

WR.

Commuting on the old beast

All bikes are in England now, apart from my 1994 Kona. I pulled it out of the garage, and have commuted on it the past two days. It needs some love though! I have changed the cables, and just ordered a new chain and cassette. Actually, it isn’t as old as you would think… having last been rebuilt with XT in 2004, that is still 5 years ago though.

Last night we were at a colleagues place for a BBQ. I like this sort of German meat fest that they have, with free flowing beer. It was a bit male heavy though (8 guys, 2 girls) and the conversation for the most part was bike related.

Let’s see how quickly the cassette gets here, the chain is way too short having snapped previously, and until I swap it, I think it is a really bad idea to ride off road!

Germany Looms

Today is my last day in the UK before flying back to Germany for a couple of weeks. The more time I am in England, the more it feels like home again, and that going to Germany is ripping me away from everything. That is pretty dramatic, and perhaps I should calm down a bit!

It has been an interesting couple of weeks, with travel (Denmark), racing, riding, crashing – yes, lots of crashing, babies and Spotify!

Those of you not familiar with Spotify, it is amazing. Like iTunes, but free and completely legal. Download it now.

I have been listening to Little Boots (I have to buy this CD) and the Kinks, but pretty much anything is on there.

Yesterday I cleaned the bikes, filed off the lawyer tabs on a pair of Maguras and Rock Shox (was this a good idea? Bare Magnesium will oxidize and corrode?) polished and put them all away.

As of tomorrow, I am back to two weeks of rigid Kona! Should be fun.

Wiltshire Riding

Got a 50km loop in today in 24 – 30 degree heat.  Wiltshire is undulating and the roads are for the most part quiet.  My loop took me past Stourhead Gardens, the on to Longleat where climbing the hill out of the grounds you can look over and see Giraffes amongst over animals in the Safari Park.

What was also nice for me was riding all around my old haunts, it really took me back to being a teenager.

A few pictures for you….

Longleat, or somewhere in Iraq