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Saturday, November 14, 2009
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Friday, November 13, 2009
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Night Riding
Night riding is all about feel. You see nothing, but feel everything. I remember my first night ride when we went out up the long hill past the shebeen, to the top of the downhill they call the mineshaft. Apt name that! I like riding uphill because the anticipation of the downhill rush makes up for the effort. What goes up must come down! At the top you pass by a bright streetlamp that shines in your face, visually focusing your mind on your immediate goal, that of getting to the top, pushing as hard as you can. Feel your heartbeat climbing, feel the burn. Breath. Know it’s good for you, it’s about fitness, health and happiness. It’s about personal motivation. Mind over laziness.
A trick is to divide the hill in half and each half again in halves. Or, is that thirds and thirds of thirds, then putting the effort in to do just that part. Count out the pedal turns. Deal with the other parts later. Focus. Feel your body responding to the call. Breathing. Heart. Head. To the top and over.
And that’s when the rush starts. With the drop your bike accelerates. Your night vision lacks because of that darn light, so it’s darker than dark, and you know that any rock, or pothole, or discarded old shoe will send you tumbling, and now you can just make out a bend in the road, which is gravel, so don’t skid, don’t lock-up the breaks, turn gently, easy through the turn. And before you know it you’re doing 50km in the dark on a gravel road you’ve never been on before and you know this is madness. A depression you can’t see makes your bike dip, and you feel it. You follow it through, just managing to stay on top. What else can you do? Your adrenaline heightens your senses and you feel the wind in your face with your skin cold from the uphill sweat. The roar of your tyres in the dust and the smell of the rhinos from the game park next door makes it wild, and you feel it all, the exhilarating rush of Dark and Dirty.
A trick is to divide the hill in half and each half again in halves. Or, is that thirds and thirds of thirds, then putting the effort in to do just that part. Count out the pedal turns. Deal with the other parts later. Focus. Feel your body responding to the call. Breathing. Heart. Head. To the top and over.
And that’s when the rush starts. With the drop your bike accelerates. Your night vision lacks because of that darn light, so it’s darker than dark, and you know that any rock, or pothole, or discarded old shoe will send you tumbling, and now you can just make out a bend in the road, which is gravel, so don’t skid, don’t lock-up the breaks, turn gently, easy through the turn. And before you know it you’re doing 50km in the dark on a gravel road you’ve never been on before and you know this is madness. A depression you can’t see makes your bike dip, and you feel it. You follow it through, just managing to stay on top. What else can you do? Your adrenaline heightens your senses and you feel the wind in your face with your skin cold from the uphill sweat. The roar of your tyres in the dust and the smell of the rhinos from the game park next door makes it wild, and you feel it all, the exhilarating rush of Dark and Dirty.
Bonanmanzi AR - Preview
Very little information has been made available ahead of this weekend’s Bonamanzi 88km Adventure Race. However the team is really looking forward to the race and we can feel the excitement growing! Team Lickety Split is entering 2 teams, the hares and the tortoises
Team Lickety Click (Hares)
Nando
Con
Adri
Team Lickety Split (Tortoises)
William
Mike
Sue
Everyone is leaving Joburg at 2pm and will be at the AR venue very far ahead of time. We have (hopefully) got accommodation and will be more than ready for the race starting at 4am on Saturday. Prize giving is at 9pm on Saturday. We know we have about 20km on foot, 60km on our bikes, and 8 km of tubing in the Steelpoort river.
The race organiser has released the start coordinates and has encouraged everyone to have a look at the terrain on Google Earth. This is against the standard AR principles of no scouting but does add a certain level of excitement to the race with some discussion on the team email list of terrain, roads etc. Looking at Google Earth and 1:50000 maps of the area (http://www.spatialreference.co.za/) shows a LOT of mountainous terrain which could make this a really tough race.
With new technology coming out all the time, it is getting even easier for teams to carry GPS logging devices that can help the race organiser keep track of where teams are at all times. At the end of the race for teams to compare their route choices. And for teams to keep friends and family updated with their progress and position in the race. It might be time for race organisers to start using this information to help them manage the events in the race a lot more easily.
In AR a certain amount of trust is necessary, that teams don’t get helped outside of transition, that teams always carry the required safety gear, that the team sticks together etc. And now with GPS available on all phones that teams do not use the GPS to give them an unfair advantage with positioning etc. I know that our team feels that as soon as we look at the GPS coordinates on the phone we are 1. Lost, 2. No longer official.
As always our team goals are to FINISH the race.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Profile: Sue
Name: Susan Belcher
Nick name: Sue
Your alter-ego name: Mighty Mouse
Age: 45
Team Role: Slave
Occupation: DTP
Home Town: Roodepoort
Goals: Die happy doing something I love doing
Best AR Memory: Finishing
Worst AR Memory: Not finishing
Ultimate AR fantasy: Beating a much better team
Strange hobbies: Bonsai
Guilty indulgence: Chocolate
Must-have on every race: Food – lots of food!
Sporting history: SA Rowing record, 15 Argus finishes
Preferred discipline: Swimming / canoeing
Worst sporting injury: Tendonitis ankle
Who do you consider your greatest competition in the team: Adri
Who in the team is the best entertainer: William
Do you think anyone in the team has a criminal record and for what? Yup – Nando for being a masochist
Motto: If you can – then so can I!
Nick name: Sue
Your alter-ego name: Mighty Mouse
Age: 45
Team Role: Slave
Occupation: DTP
Home Town: Roodepoort
Goals: Die happy doing something I love doing
Best AR Memory: Finishing
Worst AR Memory: Not finishing
Ultimate AR fantasy: Beating a much better team
Strange hobbies: Bonsai
Guilty indulgence: Chocolate
Must-have on every race: Food – lots of food!
Sporting history: SA Rowing record, 15 Argus finishes
Preferred discipline: Swimming / canoeing
Worst sporting injury: Tendonitis ankle
Who do you consider your greatest competition in the team: Adri
Who in the team is the best entertainer: William
Do you think anyone in the team has a criminal record and for what? Yup – Nando for being a masochist
Motto: If you can – then so can I!
Nando's Profile
Name: Fernando
Nick name: Nando
Your alter-ego name: Flying Portuguese…in my better days
Age: 47years young and maturing gracefully!
Team Role: Not sure yet but prefer the team to be organized, so maybe team manager?
Occupation: Jack of all trades..project management, QA and maintenance engineer.
Home Town: Centurion – south of PTA
Goals: To finish an AR stage race…with the help of my teammates!...climbing up MT. Kilimanjaro…Duzi…Iron Man…. Freedom MTB Challenge
Best AR Memory: Many picturesque views from the top of mountains although seeing a herd of Eland grazing on top of a mountain in the Drakensburg was special.
Worst AR Memory: Bailing out from a leg at Swazi X..feeling sorry for myself for falling, being wet, cold and miserable …but finished the next and final leg.
Ultimate AR fantasy: To experience a 250k or longer race and being able to complete it!
Strange hobbies: Collect all sorts of caps..except for rival rugby and soccer teams.
Guilty indulgence: Coffee in the morning before work as it makes me feel good and ready to speak to clients or contractors on the phone.
Must-have on every race: Plenty of foood please!!!!
Sporting history: Played soccer and tennis at school…but never excelled in any, finished 5x comrades, 3x two oceans, have a few silver medals for marathons, half marathons, 4x Cape Argus, 8x 94.7 races, 1x Sabie Experience MTB stage race….list is longer but decided to list only the important ones.
Preferred discipline: Running although MTB is so much more fun and less taxing on the joints!
Worst sporting injury: Cracking a bone on the arch of my foot and having to take a year off running to recover.
Who do you consider your greatest competition in the team: Con as he loves to sneak up from behind…on his bike.
Who in the team is the best entertainer: Sue…especially during pit stops! and close second for Adri for her laughter and positive attitude to life.
Do you think anyone in the team has a criminal record and for what? Maybe Mike as he is reserved with his thoughts and why does he breed roses!! To protect himself against what I ask?????
Motto: God has created this wonderful paradise around us except the concrete jungle man created so every opportunity I get I am outdoors. In other words “I live for the outdoors”.
Nick name: Nando
Your alter-ego name: Flying Portuguese…in my better days
Age: 47years young and maturing gracefully!
Team Role: Not sure yet but prefer the team to be organized, so maybe team manager?
Occupation: Jack of all trades..project management, QA and maintenance engineer.
Home Town: Centurion – south of PTA
Goals: To finish an AR stage race…with the help of my teammates!...climbing up MT. Kilimanjaro…Duzi…Iron Man…. Freedom MTB Challenge
Best AR Memory: Many picturesque views from the top of mountains although seeing a herd of Eland grazing on top of a mountain in the Drakensburg was special.
Worst AR Memory: Bailing out from a leg at Swazi X..feeling sorry for myself for falling, being wet, cold and miserable …but finished the next and final leg.
Ultimate AR fantasy: To experience a 250k or longer race and being able to complete it!
Strange hobbies: Collect all sorts of caps..except for rival rugby and soccer teams.
Guilty indulgence: Coffee in the morning before work as it makes me feel good and ready to speak to clients or contractors on the phone.
Must-have on every race: Plenty of foood please!!!!
Sporting history: Played soccer and tennis at school…but never excelled in any, finished 5x comrades, 3x two oceans, have a few silver medals for marathons, half marathons, 4x Cape Argus, 8x 94.7 races, 1x Sabie Experience MTB stage race….list is longer but decided to list only the important ones.
Preferred discipline: Running although MTB is so much more fun and less taxing on the joints!
Worst sporting injury: Cracking a bone on the arch of my foot and having to take a year off running to recover.
Who do you consider your greatest competition in the team: Con as he loves to sneak up from behind…on his bike.
Who in the team is the best entertainer: Sue…especially during pit stops! and close second for Adri for her laughter and positive attitude to life.
Do you think anyone in the team has a criminal record and for what? Maybe Mike as he is reserved with his thoughts and why does he breed roses!! To protect himself against what I ask?????
Motto: God has created this wonderful paradise around us except the concrete jungle man created so every opportunity I get I am outdoors. In other words “I live for the outdoors”.
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