New Bike

I bought my old bike 10 years ago. Back then it was a good bike for the price - it had front shocks (yes that was a novel feature) - but most of the components and features are significantly outdated today (such as v-brakes). Since I restarted cycling seriously 2 and a bit years ago, I have been itching to get a new one. Once MN landed one of the only Sliverback Slade 1s in the country a few weeks back; I decided to get one too.

The Slade 1 has medium range components (Shimano XT, Rock Shox Gold) and an amazingly light frame. I decided to get cleats also, and it has taken me a while to get acclimatised to cycling with the front of your foot. And it is a joy to ride - especially uphill! I took it on my current circuit at Groenkloof and made good time for a first ride - 8 minutes up on the previous ride, and 0.8 km/h faster. Once I get used to bike, I expect even better times and speed.

Lastly, Anton from Summit Cycles has provided great service in the process - from measuring before order, to setting up the bike optimally. Looking for a bike in Northern Jo'burg - go check out Summit Cycles.

Modderfontein Reserve and Northern Farm

I started regular mountain biking after a long break about 2 years ago; and have largely stuck to Groenkloof Nature Reserve just outside Pretoria. Groenkloof has a lot of variety in terms of length and difficulty of tracks; and over the past two years, I have steadily increased both the distance and difficulty of my rides.

In the past few weeks, I have branched out to other venues - Modderfontein reserve, and Northern Farm. Both venues are more well known, and more popular; but strangely much of their tracks are relatively easy in terms of difficulty. In fact, except for some sandy trails, there isn't much in terms of difficult terrain (both venues seem to focus more on distance it seems) - at least on the intermediate rated tracks I have ridden.

While neither has the large game that roam Groenkloof (so no running into giraffes, zebras and ostriches), the do compensate with more dams and greenery. In fact, Modderfontein dam spots a neat waterfall near the entrance of the trail (and the view from the Gautrain as it approaches Marlboro station in the mornings can be spectacular).

I will keep riding on Groenkloof for most weeks - the uphills and terrain may be more painful; but equally their downhills are faster and more exhilarating; and it ultimately provides more exercise. Northern Farm and Modderfontein can serve as nice breaks in routine however - and I am keen to explore other opportunities for more such breaks.

Cycling Again

It has been over 4 years since I rode my mountain bike. Last week, I got it out of the garage, got a major service done, and finally took it out for a ride. Except for the ride around San Francisco bay, I haven't ridden much - and it was a nasty shock to see how unfit I am, and how much of a workout you get from cycling - especially on rough gravel roads. But at least I have a benchmark to compare against - I want to make it a regular occurrence.

Cycling around the bay

The bike (cycles) rental companies proudly claim, that biking around the bay is the best way to see the bay. They are not overselling ...

After spending the last two days walking everywhere, I decided to take a cycle instead. Starting at the end of Fisherman's wharf, going up to the Golden Gate bridge, over the bridge to the town of Sausalito and then taking the ferry back. It is clearly a popular route, not only on the evidence of the number of bikes on the ferry, but the infrastructure in Sausalito to support the cyclists.

There are two climbs, though not very difficult - the first comes too soon when you are starting out and the second is up to the bridge. Thereafter, it's a nice ride down to the ferry. I had thought of going a lot further, but the ferry times, at least in winter, are not conducive.

San Francisco is a great city for cycling. The bike rentals are not cheap (mine came to about $30), but it beats walking.

Cycling Again

It has been a long time since I cycled ... the last was in Nuremberg, and before that sometime in Cape Town, before I left. As for using my bike for its intended purpose - off road - it has been a seriously long time. Anyway, after dragging my bike from Durban, getting it serviced (quite cheaply too), Reinhardt introduced me to real off road mountain biking (i.e. not going up and down the block house on Devil's Peak).

As you enter Pretoria (from Johannesburg), there is a large nature reserve - Groenkloof Nature Reserve - which is very popular for cycling, 4x4 trails and hiking; and there are numerous trails around the reserve that cater for these activities. Most of the cycling options are not difficult - though I did manage to fall once (when my front wheel got stuck between two bog rocks) and had to walk a few times when I just could not find any traction going uphill on a sandy/rocky type of soil.

But what is really amazing about the reserve is that it is a proper nature reserve, complete with wild animals like Zebra and Wildebeest. There are also elands and giraffes, but we didn't see any. It really makes for a great cycling event; and I hope to come back often!

I would post pictures, but my image upload function has disappeared ...

Cycling and Ice Skating

Yesterday (Sunday) a friend from work and I decided to go to the Ice Rink in Nuremberg. Well it was his idea actually, and I sort of tagged along ... my one and only previous encounter with a Ice Rink was hardly pleasant ... New York Central Park, about 20 US dollars and not much fun.

My friend, being Dutch, suggested that we cycle to the Ice Rink if the weather was good. After all, it was only 20 odd KM away, and he had recently acquired a GPS system so we should not get lost!

Cycling in Germany is interesting - and certainly more pleasurable than in South Africa. Since so many people cycle, the drivers have more respect for cyclists. Furthermore, most roads have dedicated cycle lanes, making it a lot safer and easier. Given that the areas around Nuremberg and Erlangen is generally flat, cycling is actually quite easy going. So apart from a few mishaps on the way back at night (when my friend, somehow managed to stray off the cycle track one or two times into the garden path next to it), it was generally an easy going experience.

As for the skating, it was certainly a better experience than my last time. I could actually walk around on skates on the ice - but not really skate. Oh well, some other time probably.

And after 47 Km of cycling, a KM or so of walking and the little skating, I was dead tired, and managed to fall asleep quite early too! I miss cycling ...

Back on the saddle

After a long time (49 days to be exact), I finally went for a bike ride ... and a long one at that. Basically up to Constantia Nek (11 Km almost all uphill) down to Hout Bay (7Km of downhill bliss ... going faster than the 40 Km/h speed limit for cars :P) up Chapman's Peak (about 5Km and another 2 Km of uphill) - but the scenery alone is worth it down to Noerdhoek, back to Rondebosch via Fish Hoek. It did not feel too bad, but the last 10 Km were torturous ... even though most of it was relatively flat. And most of all, I think I need padded shorts ... I have done the route before, but it did not feel this painful last time!

Some stats:

Total Distance: Just over 61Km

Total Time: Under 5 Hours including a long stop at Noerdhoek for "brunch"

Pedalling Time: Just over 3h 30min ... giving a rather slow 16.5 Km/h average speed

Great views, missing 7de Laan and a question of brotherhood: Tales from another long cycle ride

This is unfortunately not a phlog. After barely 5 hours sleep, and a rush to meet Hans-Peter in Rondebosch (because of running a bit late), the camera was sadly left behind. Yet again, Reinhardt decided not to join us for another crazy (but shorter) cycle trip; but gave no reasons this time around.

During the past week or so, Hans-Peter and I considered going to Hout Bay over Constantia Nek. However, considering the sizable uphill trek back to Constantia Nek, I convinced Hans-Peter, that it would be better to cycle through Chapman's Peak, into Fish Hoek and there after, depending on time, cycle back to Rondebosch or take a train like our last mad trip.

The weather was near perfect, with no wind. But there was quite a heavy cloud cover, so it was a bit on the chilly side, and Hans-Peter was hoping to catch a tan - but the sun never really shone through. The first part of the trip to Constantia Nek was surprisingly not too tough (with Hans-Peter showing his higher fitness levels by making it up the hill by Kirstenbosch without stopping in his first attempt). Except for the mad bus drivers that drive at seemingly insane speeds through the narrow roads, there isn't much to say. The ride down the hill was a lot of fun, esp with the surprising lack of other road users.

The cycle up Chapman's Peak was not as demanding as I initially feared, although we did make a few stops to admire the scenery. It was also quite pleasing that cyclists do not have to pay toll fees for the road. The cycle down from Chapman's Peak was even more fun, especially as we frequently broke the posted speed limit, and even caught up with a few cars that had passed us previously. In fact, the entire ride was worth it from that downhill alone. We stopped briefly at a farm stall in Noerdhoek, primarily to clarify directions, but I can testify that they make awesome chocolate chip muffins.

The ride into Fish Hoek was surprisingly short, and the only notable event was the naming of the side streets that whizzed by. I think the numbering started about 20, counting downwards as we approached Fish Hoek ... 20^de Laan, 19^de Laan etc. except when it came to 7 ... for some reason, it was 7^th Avenue - and the sign was the same on both sides; so doesn't seem to be a case of Afrikaans and English names ... maybe a bit more practical road name changes?

We stopped for Pizza at Lakeside ... can't really say it was brilliant, but it was not bad. Afterwards, there was a very curious boy (about 6/7 years old) who was asking Hans-Peter few questions about his bike, like how the bike chain works and where he could acquire one for his bike. But it was the last question, that really brought a smile ... when he asked whether Hans-Peter and I were brothers or just friends. I think Hans Peter should have answered that we were brothers ... just to see what he would have asked next.

For the record, the trip was just over 60Km, and we covered it at an average of 17.1 Km/H ... still not good enough for the Argus, as it does not consider the rest periods, but not a bad time.

Cycling to Cape Point

Sometime last week, Hans-Peter, Reinhardt and I thought it would be a good idea to cycle all the way to Cape Point and back, so we decided on Sunday, with great weather prospects for the weekend. On Saturday night, Reinhardt chickened out, citing strong winds and a 50Km ride each way. HP and I decided to go anyway - and Reinhardt was (slightly) wrong on both counts.

The first half of the ride was quite good, at a very decent speed, without really needing to stop - though we did stop at St James and Glaincairn. Since HP had not come this way before, we even decided to stop at Boulders for a while. The ride upto the nature reserve was not too hard either, although we did stop a lot more. There was a slight breeze, but it was quite pleasant actually.

It all changed once we got inside the nature reserve - the wind speed really picked up, and made cycling uphill really really difficult. In fact, towards the very end, we ended up just walking up the last bit to the parking lot on top of Cape Point. We had lunch up at the restaurant, which was a bit over priced, but food wasn't too bad. After quite a long stop over (about 90 minutes), we cycled down to Cape of Good Hope, which was really living up to it's other name of Cape of Storms now.

Cycling back towards the entrance was interesting. Parts of the way, we did get some help with the wind on our backs, while other places, the crosswinds together with steepish hills and tired legs made it a lot tougher. There was an accident towards the entrance of the reserve (I think the driver of one of the vehicles was injured), and we were basically the only ones to get through (which drew lots of comments from the drivers who were blocked). Ironically, the wind died down once we were out of the reserve, and it was quite calm for our trip back.

We ended up only cycling to Simonstown and then catching a train. Firstly, it was already 17h30, and getting dark. Secondly we were too tired, and cycling another 30Km would have been quite difficult. So overall, we did about 90Km (hence a lot more than Reinhardt's prediction), in just under 6 hours of cycling. But the whole trip, with all the stops was about 9 hours - a whole day. It's by far the longest distance and time I have cycled in one go. It was a great day actually ... but I think we would have been able to cycle back if we didn't have to contend with the winds inside the reserve.

Bike Ride

So after a long time, I finally got back on my bike this weekend. With the good weather, and a long 1Km downhill after a relatively hard slow uphill, it was very enjoyable. The fact remains though, at this stage I am quite slow - managing only an average of 16Km/h over 24 kms on Sunday (though it was better than 15.3 Km/h over same distance on Saturday). If I remotely want to consider doing the Argus next year, I need to do atleast 20Km/h - and that will take some doing.

But regardless - the aim is to get fitter, and ejoy the downhill. Doing 47Km/h at the bottom of the hill by Wynberg Park was fun! And sunrise from Kirstenbosch was spectacular.

Blockhouse

Reinhardt, his friend Christie (sp?) and I cycled up to the blockhouse this morning. It's an interesting ride - involving a lot of painful uphills and being the least fit, I took the longest with the most number of stops. Coming back down was a lot more fun though :) Reinhardt and I would like to make this a regular thing ... so I should get fitter soon (assuming I eat properly and reduce my junk food intake ... tough choices ...)

The Accident

As many of you know; I bought a mountain bike about two weeks ago. Yesterday afternoon I had my first accident on the road - of no fault of my own (but then everyone says that right?). Anyway, it happened outside Sunrise - this guy decided to open his door without looking around to see if it ok to do so - and so I went sprawling onto the road. Luckily, the pedestrian robot a few paces back was red a few moment back; so there were no cars and I got by with just a few scratches (and no damage to my bike). The guy (oldish, about 50 or so) was very apologetic, and said that he was so excited by something that he did not look before opening the door; and I left it at that as there was no real damage ... but it was a close call I suppose.

I have been trying (but quite unsuccessfully) to get into a cycling routine ... I would really like to get fit. I find that cyclists seem to share some sort of a bond - most other cyclists greet each other when passing each other (in either direction)- something that you don't see pedestrians do - and I have walked a lot. Many drivers also have respect for cyclists - shared a few jokes with a guy at a red robot yesterday - and even taxi drivers seem very nice towards cyclists. Now if only some drivers would check before opening their doors and stop driving next to the kerb ...