There you have it. If you don’t quite understand, read my previous post on Gym Etiquette. That should explain quite a bit and why this image is such a great one to explain what is going on there.

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Whilst we are all watching the rugger (go BOKKE!) I came across these great GoPro Videos.

They are one of my key partners and we are currently building a little library with tips, tricks and rides to share, soon. In the meantime, enjoy these crazy clips…

Have a mad Friday and a great weekend…

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Why do we have rules?

Why should we adhere to them?

Questions around this are being debated all around the world this week as a few reprobates take to the streets and loot and pillage as they please. I am not one to discuss politics here but hey, if you feel the need to burn down 200 year old pieces of history, I hope for your sake that your karmic balance doesn’t come back to high five you in the face.

Are rules there to give confidence to those who don’t have it? Does it give them the structure they need to achieve?

Are the rules there to herd the reprobates as kindly as possible? I believe if that’s your mentality and breaking the rules was eating organic and 2 hours of steady exercise a day, reprobates would be winning all the races.

The rules of cycling and of any sport are there to govern the sport and the behavior of those who partake in it. At some point, the rules will be debated and as always, they will be pushed to the limit and broken where possible, as long as you can get away with it, right?

Is it worth getting away with it 10 times to be caught once?

For me, the point of having rules is to have a guideline.

Much like my frustration with the training wear choice of many triathletes, the rules are there to make sure we aren’t all riding in speedo’s through Camps Bay or running on the promenade in Trisuits on a Thursday afternoon, just because. If you do either of those, please stop it. It’s emboerrssssssssing for the rest of us. You give other triathletes a bad name. Speedo’s are for the pool and trisuits are for race day.

Then there are the unspoken rules. That’s quite an important post to read if you are a cyclist. Don’t be that guy in the Ed Hardy cycling shirt and 80`s Banesto cycling bibs with green mid calf socks.

Some rules are made to be bent, some obey’d and others broken, depending on your point of view and your willingness to be caught and possibly fail at the task. What are you willing to risk?

Rules and risk are part and parcel . Remember to balance them carefully. Add that to Risk and Reward which are also part and parcel and you will hopefully see that Risk is a big part of success. So are the Rules. It’s time to learnt how to risk smartly, don’t you think? Risk within the Rules and Reward will be yours.

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I have had the personal luck to have ridden with Frank and Andy Schleck. I believe them to be two of the most talented cyclists the world will ever see. I also believe them to be two of the most molly-coddled cyclists in the world. This Tour de France has proven that. Their will to win at all costs, a fundamental driver of professional and amateur sport, is gone. Half heated attacks so as to not drop your brother in the process doesn’t cut it, sorry Frank. You are the stronger rider, so I urge you to bury your brother with endless attacks and in the process, possibly win the greatest race in the world.

Sounds right to me?

If they turn to see where the other one is one more time, I may actually throw something at the TV. It’s disgusting. At this rate, they`ll both end up off the podium and what is the point of that? Their “where for art thou brother” attitude (coined from Matt Eager and Marc Perel) saddens a million people at once instead of rising to their greatest chance of winning the greatest race in the world. I am sure if we were able to keep up, we`d hear non-stop calls, like a childhood swimming pool game of Marco…Polo…Andy…Frank…

When you get a chance in the Tour, you take it. Damnit! It’s the same in life. Take your chance, it may not come again. Life is not always fair. Survival of the fittest/smartest/luckiest is a real thing. When you are all equally fit, smart then really, your luck is your greatest asset. Having a 3 time Tour winner on the ropes means you attack and attack again until he wants to fall off his bike and die. Then you crawl your way to the line and take the Tour like a hero.

They seem like they have done too many trust falls and are too scared to hurt each other, never mind the competition.

So what are we going to do about these two boys, who have all the talent in the world, but don’t have the balls to attack each other?

1. We should input a Sensitivity Coach of this stature into Leopard-Trek:

2. We make them practice the greatest Monologues of all time to up their aggro just a little.

3. We put them in a boxing ring with the only way out being to knock the other guy out, the alternative being to be the only guy without a helmet in a helmet-important situation.

My work here is done. I would like to see TODAY being one of the greatest days the Tour has ever seen. I can’t see how else we are going to get it done, do you? Leave a comment here, but only after reading why I need to get to get my rear end to Europe and ride my bike there with a few mates.

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Thanks to Rush Sports for this.

With the 29er bikes the hot topic of discussion at the moment after cleaning up at the Cape Epic, #epicwheelsize trending on twitter and the Downhill and Cross Country Mountain bike World Cup hitting Pietermaritzburg in a couple of days, I thought I would look into a discussion regarding the use of 29″ wheeled bikes for downhill…

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I have ridden both 26″ and 29″ wheels. Not of the same model unfortunately. But there is a difference in how the bikes feel in the way they roll. Which is best for which discipline is a big statement as THE LAW, but here is my limited opinion on which I enjoyed most for which discipline:

Cross Country Style Racing i.e. Xterra – I preferred my Zula, to be dead honest.

Marathon racing on smooth courses – Loved the Kwela 29.

Cape Epic style riding i.e. rough, rutted and long – I would choose the Zula. The comfort for multiple day riding is essential.

Will the debate ever end which is best? I doubt it….

So let’s get onto the other video on 29ers. this for a bit of humor.

Apologies for the language, but it was just too funny to ignore.

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So recently I have started including speedwork into my sessions, much to my dismay and with much encouragement from the new coach. The hope is to add some top end speed to the stuff I am doing with Xterra races and some mountain biking races in there as well, as well as a more 1/2 Ironman orientated focus for the first 6 months of the year.

After two years of steady state work and no high heart rate stuff I can tell you that it hurts more than I like to explain. I doubt myself at the start of each workout and wonder how I am going to get through this without giving up. Case in point this week were the following workouts:

12 x 1min K*KOFF Cycling Intervals. Basically, 12 x 1min as hard as I can go, try to hold a good average wattage on the power meter and try to finish strong, not coughing up a lung. Easier said than done…

I did not manage to get stronger as I went, in terms of max power, but a better average power was achieved once I settled and learned how release it more like a slow puncture than a total blowout. This session had my legs sore for a good few hours afterward. It felt like they were throbbing.

Next up was this morning, running 10 x 30seconds at a virtual sprint, but coach assures me its not a sprint, just almost. Ja dude, whatever. Don’t take a fat kid to a cake party and tell him he can’t dig in. I thought to myself that 3min per km would be ideal, considering that I am tired at the moment, ALL THE TIME. Did I mention these intervals are hard? Who took away my steady state riding and running, where I could admire the scenery?

Oh wait…

I did.

Anyway, here is the chart.

There is a missed interval in there – must have been running too fast for the satellite to keep up. pffffffft. 10 x 30sec around 2:45 per km it ended up at with 60sec recoveries. For the more technical minded guys, the efforts were always on 200m per 30seconds. Quite stoked with that. It’s been a while since I saw anything under 3min per km.

Maybe there is something to finding speed in the molasses. It’s in there somewhere, but man, it`s taking it out of me to find it. I have huge applause for the guys who do this on a regular basis, and make my numbers look trivial. They may look big to you, but this is pretty standard stuff and cruising pace for my pro athletes out there.

Back in the very really REAL world, this is merely pretty good for an amateur guy. We train in hope to see improvements, and as Conrad says… “Gooi nog hout!”

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Victory doesn’t always come in the form of a winning drop goal or hitting a six. Sometimes, victory is just as simple as getting a phone number after a long night out on the town.  This December, sportlifestyle brand, PUMA^®, salutes these after-hours athletes with the launch of The PUMA Social Club, a place for the social games we play off the field with friends when the sun goes down.

From Wednesday 1 December to Saturday 4 December, PUMA is bringing the party to 120 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, for a weekend of late night competition and celebration. The launch night will be invite-only, but the public can attend PUMA Social Club from 2 Decemeber onwards.

Are you a master at darts?  Or a table tennis sensation?  If you prefer 5am taxis over 5am runs, then the PUMA Social Club was made for you. PUMA Social Club is a pop-up retail and nightlife venue that will bring the concept of “vintage” social sports to life.  Celebrating the notion of being social, not just online but in everyday life, the PUMA Social concept is about having fun and hanging out with friends.

PUMA Social Club Cape Town is modeled on the PUMA Social Clubs launched in Los Angeles, Berlin and London earlier this year. The Cape Town edition will host a variety of live entertainment each night, including surprise music acts. Guests can also enjoy pies, boerewors rolls and other late night snacks.

To better help these after hour athletes keep score, PUMA created Life Scoreboard, an online and mobile software application allowing you to keep a running score on any rivalry or contest you fancy. Whether it’s ping pong against your brother, a pizza-eating contest against your roommate or guessing which socialite will go to jail next, life’s always more fun when you’re keeping score. To get involved in your own challenge or to simply enjoy anyone else’s grudge match, players can sign up at www.lifescoreboard.com.

For more information about The PUMA Social Club, visit www.puma.com/social.  Become a fan on http://www.facebook.com/puma or follow the happenings via twitter at @thepumastore and use #pumasocial for any Tweets about PUMA Social.

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“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them; disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are those who do.”

Excerpt taken from a speech which you have to read. Find that HERE.

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I have wanted to interview Dan for a while, having bought him a drink when he was underage in a dodgy bar in Madeira, many moons ago. It’s been a privilege to watch his rise through the ranks to being in my opinion, one of the finest multi sport athletes in the world. He is a thinker, a tinkerer and like me, mildly obsessive at times. These answers should convince you to watch his progress and learn from the details he presents to the world.

I may be one of the guys who understands your drive to get every nanomillimeter out of your body better than most. How much of a difference do you think body composition makes, even among the pro ranks, where differences are small and vary race to race?

My man, that’s a lengthy response with currently heated emotions you summon. Yes, at the top it seems to become ultimately specific. Perhaps the most relate-able example is a Contador vs Cancellara – both cyclists, both icons, both unbeatable when the playing field suits them.

The Xterra racing on the USA circuit is really varied, and often highlights strengths and weaknesses amongst the few at the top end. The series final was the past weekend, which including 3000ft of elevation gain on the bike alone. Which is as much climbing as Alp d’Huez. With remote transitions we hardly had any descent, making it a very course specific race. I was grumpy regarding all this, until fellow South African, Conrad Stoltz, who is not a climber either, biked 5minutes into the rest of us.

Reality is, we all have varied ability, and limitation in how much we can adjust them. I am still figuring my own capabilities, and am really curious to spend a season more focused on Ironman 70.3 racing. I believe my body and energy systems may be better suited to most 70.3 courses. I can only race a handful of events in a season, and being able to hand pick the courses and condition that best suit my ability is weighing odds to my favour.

Tell me/us about Boulder and why you have seemingly fallen in love with the place.

Boulder is the triathlon mecca of the USA. Especially for the long course triathletes. A tough generalization, but Ironman racing is the pinnacle of the triathlon niche in America. And all its A-list reside for all or part of the year in the small town nestled against the Colorado Rockies. Between the perfect weather and perfect bodies – there is plenty excellence and inspiration to feed off and become the best athlete you can.

Boulder is at 5400ft, but a quick drive and you’re running at 8500ft, or any longer ride can be done mostly on Peak to Peak highway, which again is undulating at 8000ft. There is rolling when going North-South, and flatlands when headed East. West has a variety of climbing to suit any session.

Beyond the triathlon circles its very similar to Stellenbosch. Small, a uni town, affluent, very sports orientated. And overwhelmingly hippy. I’ve not smelt such strong weed nor seen so many dreads on any of my travels. I do like how progressive town is – definitely a thinking man’s home with a active lifestyle as habit.

Working with fat oxidative rates and improving them is becoming slightly more trendy but I still find myself with blank faces when I approach smart people about it. Can you tell us your experience with working with fat oxidative rates for the body as well as where the limits and shortfalls lie?

Sure, I was trying to maximise my aerobic oxidation capacity this past summer. Forcing more and more of my energy to come from fat energy as opposed to carbohydrate energy which has lactate as a by-product. I am still a student of the game, and will always be it seems.

My feeling is that optimal diet is not such personal to individual athletes, but to individual athletes and their current race goals. I got incredibly efficient at aerobic exercise, which would have been golden had I been training for an Ironman. However, with 2h racing much time is spent at Threshold and even VO2 max, and I’m uncertain whether focus on fat oxidation should be primary or secondary.

Either way, I tipped over the edge, not for training too much volume, or eating too little, but for eating vary specifically and in specific patterns. Forcing my body into a state of hypoglycemia regularly. The hormones that respond to restoring normal blood sugar get desensitized and eventually a domino effect had me totally “hormonal” in bad way. Sure, thats an oversimplification, and lack protein was critical to the melt down, but trying to maximise fat oxidation laid the foundation to a collapse. At the same time, there is much benefit not just as an athlete but as an individual pursuing a state of well-being.

Good fats are beyond good. They’re essential. Sugar and stress is the enemy of health.

You are coming to the Big Show this year (Kona), to watch, work the expo and watch the race. Is it on your to-do list, or like Conrad, are you going to leave it to us “crazies”?

I have never felt more inspired to race Ironman some day, and especially to race Kona. I have spent the past four months very close to the inner Ironman elite here in Boulder, and could not resist the thinking that Ironman is normal and that Kona is the holy grail.

It may be years from now, but I will race and represent South Africa in Kona.

For Maui, what are your expectations this year after a bit of a melt down mid year? I know of a few pro’s who’ve had melt downs mid year and come back to win a world champs later in the year, across various sports. Where do you see your role in the race?

I’ve had one outing at Maui before, and am really excited to be returning two years later. Getting there, and getting to the finish is not to be taken for granted. I hope for a bit of magic, but I know how much better I can be, where I can still improve as a rounded athlete, and until such a time as me believing I am the best I can be, it is hard to believe I’ll be the best in the world.

I am swimming well, and riding is close. With some good legs on the day I’ll be close off the bike, in theory, and would gladly be surprised on the run. We’ll see.

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There you have it. Dan is someone who takes his profession extremely seriously, someone who I enjoy talking to and who I learn from every time we go for a bike ride (where I am merely hanging onto the back). We wish him luck for Xterra Worlds, but more importantly, we will be buying him a coffee in Kona to laugh at life. Follow him on Twitter for more regular updates. His tweets are always raw, which is kieeeef bru.

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Click the SA Blog Awards button and send this to your entire mailbox. Life as we know it on planet earth does not entirely depend upon it, but hey, do it for me…

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