I just got back from a 98km cycle and I am poked. We decided (Kevin and I) to do an easy 100km ride this morning. We headed out towards Maropeng at a decent pace and all was going just great. We were about to turn left off the R563 towards Maropeng when Kevin looked at me and asked “Are you feeling strong?”. Bare in mind at that stage we had done just over 30kms. I responded “ja, I’m feeling ok”. He then proceeded to ask me if I was keen on Hekpoort. I like visiting new places and had never been to Hekpoort so I said let’s do it. What the hell was I thinking???

Kevin did mention there was a steepish hill that we were going to go over but we would be fine. I got worried when we came around a corner and saw this view:

The view from the top of the Hekpoort pass

The road signs telling the trucks to engage a lower gear (like they do on mountain passes) also didn’t instill much confidence in me either. We flew down the Hekpoort pass. Like you do when you fall down a mine shaft. The further we went down the pass towards the valley floor the more nervous I became about having to ride back up. By the time we reached the turn around point we were 48km into the ride and the only way out was up. As we hit the first bit of the climb we saw a few of the MTN pro team doing hill repeats up and down the pass. This was as close as we got to them, before they dropped us on the way up:

MTN Cycling Team on the Hekpoort Pass

From the lowest point to the highest point on that climb was about 18km. The first 10 of which were probably the steepest and toughest I have ever climbed. It was hot. There wasn’t a breath of wind on the climb either. But we made it. Understandably we were rather chuffed when we reached the top.

Conquered the Hekpoort Pass

We made it back in one piece but a few times on that ride I thought what the hell are you doing. I also swore at Kevin. A lot.

Below are details of the whole ride on Garmin Connect. Be sure to check out the route profile. I think it’s pretty impressive.

I have just recently got into cycling properly in preparation for the Ironman 70.3 in East London in January and the full Ironman in Port Elizabeth in April next year. One of my biggest concerns and fears if you will has been riding on the road. The amount of traffic, small shoulders and the general state of our roads has been putting me off to be quite honest. I have been

spinning mostly and every now and then head out on the road but don’t really enjoy the experience.

Working on radio on weekend mornings also proves to be a challenge because I can’t head out really early and by the time I do get to ride traffic becomes an issue. A couple of mates have been on my case about going out during the week mid-morning’ish but I haven’t really been giving it much thought as I figured if the traffic on the weekend was bad it will be even worse during the week.

They managed to twist my rubber arm this morning. I’m so glad they did. We met at the Town Square shopping centre on Hendrick Potgieter road and headed out west until the R28. We turned right onto the R28 and then left towards Muldersdrit into the Cradle of Humankind.

We rode along that road until the T-junction and turned around and headed back the same way. We even stopped for a quick cup of coffee at a quaint little restaurant (whose name escapes me right now) on that road.

I thoroughly enjoyed our ride out there this morning and think I have found a place to ride that has great road surfaces, a wide shoulder (in places) but most importantly not much traffic. It is obviously a popular cycling route as we saw a whole bunch of cyclists in the area, even mid-morning on a Tuesday. I can’t wait to head out to the Cradle of Humankind again on Friday for a longer and hopefully more enjoyable ride.

Below are the details of the ride on Garmin Connect:

I actually forgot to say thank you for the motivation to the bloke with the big mouth on the expensive road bike at last week’s Norie Cradle Challenge out in Krugersdorp. It’s a bit of a long story but bear with me. I haven’t done a cycle race since the 94.7 Cycle Challenge back in 2005 (I think – it may have been even 2004). After Comrades this year I decided to give a couple of triathlons a go so I pulled my mountain bike out a few weeks ago and hit the road.

I’ve been putting in a couple of spinning classes a week and then a longish ride on the road on the weekend. I entered the race out in the cradle last Sunday to see how I was progressing. I am great on the downhills. My hefty frame was built to speed down a hill. Even the guys with their super aerodynamic techniques battle to keep up with me down the side of a mountain. The old saying “what goes up must come down” is very applicable, although in my case the reverse is true. It’s the ups that cause the problem. And that’s where my appreciation for the tonsil last week comes in.

The race had a pretty quick start. From Noordheuwel Hoerskool we headed out towards Munsieville. We screamed down the hill past the Sterkfontein Hospital (at least I did) and then headed out into the Cradle of Humankind. On the first longish hill of the race there was no shoulder on the road at all. There was a bit of traffic and passing was pretty tough going up towards the turn off to Maropeng. There was a bit of dirt on the left hand side of the road but it was really uneven and wouldn’t have been very pleasant to ride on. Even on a mountain bike. A group of about 4 or 5 riders on really nifty road bikes came past me on my right and one of the guys had a bit to say. He pointed out that I was on a mountain bike and told me to ride on the dirt on the left so that they could pass without having to risk being knocked over by a car. That is the polite, family friendly version of the exchange. I didn’t say anything. I gave what he said a few moments to digest. I had two options. The first was to do what he said or to make sure he never had to pass me again. I’m not a huge fan of off-roading. So I change up, got out of the saddle and quietly passed him and his mates without saying a word. I never saw him again. My suggestion to him if he reads this: Ride with your mouth closed chop because it’s creating some serious wind resistance.

I’ve been working on a charity initiative for the 2010 Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge. Once again we are trying to raise some money for the Pink Drive. If you would like to know more, visit the Pink Drive Cycle Challenge website.

Pink Drive Cycle Challenge Charity Initiative