It’s Not The Valley
Of A Thousand Flats

For lack of a better word, the long ride for the East Coast Cycling Club in the month of June was interesting. Although I planned to do the ride, I had to bail at the last minute because I was nursing a few symptoms leftover from the flu.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t ride at all. I did a little indoor training later the same day but the long rides aren’t the usual. With 2000 meters of climbing over an 85-kilometer track through some very cold country, you need to be at your absolute best.

I wasn’t. My better judgment won the argument.

Several others missed the ride too. There were only 10 who participated, which is low for the long rides. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it up all the climbs but I hated that I didn’t get to try. [Read more…] about Cycling The Valley of a Thousand Hills – ECCC, Durban KZN

The Smartest Kit
In South Africa

If you’re thinking about getting fit, great!

One warning though. Don’t do what I did and take too long to get serious.

You don’t have to be clever to get fit but you do need a track to run on. One place to find it is a cycling club. I joined East Coast Cycling Club and it really made a difference. I’m embarrassed to say that it took me far too long to get to that point.

I bought my first bicycle somewhere around 2000. I don’t remember the month. It isn’t important.

The truth is, outside of a pedal stroke or two in front of my house, I never got started. The bike was old. I picked it up in a yard sale so there was no real motivation.

Eventually I decided to up the game and bought a Hybrid. It’s a little heavier than an road bike but a little lighter than a mountain bike. You can use it on or off road.

Sounds like a good idea but I don’t recommend it.

All my riding was on the road. I couldn’t help but notice that road-specific bikes were sleeker and seemed to be faster. I was constantly wondering how much better I could do with one of those. I eventually got rid of the hybrid and invested in a road bike, and then discovered that the grass really isn’t that much greener.

Light or heavy bike, it didn’t really matter cause I rarely did any training. I was the proud owner of several bikes before I was serious about what really mattered. But I finally figured that out.

What made the difference for me was I started entering races. I learned that you need more than a bike to do a race. You need training.

The problem is I didn’t learn that lesson very quickly. I painfully completed four races before the penny dropped. It wasn’t that I never trained, but I definitely didn’t train enough or the right way.

Keep in mind that I reached this point about eleven or twelve years into my cycling adventure.

It was then that I took a definitive step. I joined East Coast Cycling Club. It was a beginning. From there it’s been only up. Not quickly, but up none the less.

Here are the reasons why group rides with East Coast can also make the difference for you. [Read more…] about 12 Reasons East Coast Cycling Is For You – Durban KZN