Getting on with it...

It has been nearly two weeks since our last update. We have been training and getting on with things…well mostly.

Nico went to race the Cederberg Escape two weekends ago. That same weekend did not work out as well for me. That Friday at 10:00pm I got a frantic call from Grant, a good friend. It turned out Grant was stuck on the N1 with no petrol. Naturally, also trying to be a good friend, I rushed to his rescue. It soon became clear that petrol was not the problem. Apparently you should not try to jumpstart another car when your own battery is on its last legs.

What was supposed to be a routine rescue mission ended up with both of us stuck on the national highway up until 1am. It was cold, windy and not the place to be on a Friday night. Plus I was really longing for the bottle of red wine that I had left all by its lonesome at home. Björn Geiger ended up being our saviour. Thanks Björn! I ended up being without a car until the Monday and somehow training took the backseat over that weekend.

Personally I am still waiting on Nico’s Cederberg Escape race report. I only know the “short of the long” and it includes two flat tyres (on his car on the way there) and a long list of mechanical problems with his bike. The result was him not being able to finish the 3rd and last day of the race. While obviously disappointed he still managed to enjoy the weekend of racing. Not only is this race running through a spectacular and beautiful part of our country, but also the race itself was also superbly organised and enjoyed by all whom I have talked to. It is interesting to note that this race is organised by the very same organisation that is responsible for the Cape Epic.

This last weekend we managed some good training including the Four Passes route. It is a 130km loop by road that includes Sir Lowries Pass, Viljoens Pass, Franschoek Pass and lastly the Helshoogte Pass. The pace was fairly intense upfront as we did it with a bunch of roadies training for the Double Century (a 200km race). Well done to Zayne who pitched up with knobblies and kept up with everybody!

Big news is that the ABSA Cape Epic 09 route was announced last week! I still need to go study the press release more closely before I can comment on it fairly. But from what I have seen it looks to be an extremely exciting route. Feel free to go have a look at it yourself in the meantime at http://www.bicycling.co.za/articles/racing_news/3796/ .

Thank you for the feedback and messages of encouragement we have been getting. It is really appreciated! Enjoy your week everybody!

Jaco