Watch…

Now get outside.

You owe it to yourself.

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Lost in the moment, riding just beyond the verge of what was previously thought as possible. Doing it day in, day out.

Survival is a very addictive thing. Look at the junkies out there – they strive on the feeling of going beyond, recovering and going again. Today, I feel a special part of that crew of people as I sit here with very tender legs after Triple Challenge yesterday. The new route had some unexpected twists, turns and ******* steep hills in there. I somersaulted into the soft shrubs spectacularly, my left shoulder will tell you today. If my legs could speak, they would tell you that the lack of full-power granny gear hills was what left us undone, as a team (my willingness to hurt and the legs’ ability to produce the power make up my primary team).

But as I sit here today, full knowing that I will go back there to give it my all again, I smile. We have to smile at ourselves, the crazy ones. We have no other option. We have to smile because we are happy to risk failure. Being scared to fail is something that will hold you back every day for the rest of your life and these crazy events we do, they have the habit of helping us conquer our fears, they seem to bring out the best in us, the ability to risk it all for a single moment of glory. Sure, I could have hurt myself badly yesterday. I got pretty close chasing the guys with the climbing legs when I came off but had I made it through that corner I may have got back in touch with the 3 of them on the rest of the descent and the race may have ended differently.

Who knows.

But you have to be willing to take the risk, to make the leap. Otherwise, how will you ever know?

While others choose to go through life without ever experiencing the thrill of survival, others seem to relish in merely just surviving. We all choose our poisons. For me, the healthy mix of beautiful landscape and extended threshold effort make up the ideal scenario to learn, to push, to risk.

We all have choices to make and for those who, like me, believe in this way of finding out what you`re made of when the chips are down, endurance sports provide the ideal platform to see if you have the mustard. We take these discoveries and apply them to our work lives, our friendships and our freshest adventures. Continuously calculating risk versus reward, to push on into the sunset, morphing the putty around us into the life we desire.

In closing, I merely put my hands together and give you a slow clap and an approving nod.

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Sure, the euro-techno is quite euro but watch those boys soar, fly effortlessly up mountains we can’t fathom is this country.

Imagine riding your bike up Table Mountain. In under an hour. And then some. Now imagine adding tactical thinking, energy management and doing it day in and day out, again and again for 3 weeks. The scale of Le Tour is incredible and the pressure that the guys deal with is something again, we cannot begin to fathom.

For me, the word soar comes to mind maybe four or five times a year on rides. It’s the hunt for this feeling that keeps me motivated. Today, I got a slot to race the fastest Irondistance race in the world in 2012. People wait their whole lives to race there and next year, I get my chance. If I stack up my first Kona, my first Double (incl Xterra in Maui), my first World ITU champs against racing in Roth, I am not sure even the first 3 combined will measure up. I am intensely excited, especially with a season before that which will include 70.3 in SA and Ironman SA, a 3 day kick out at Sani2c and 2 Xterra races in Jan & Feb.

Hopefully, in 2012, that feeling of being able to soar across the landscape, powered by my own training and will to succeed, will return a few more times. This weekend is my last hit out for the season at Triple Challenge in Durban. A great race and a fun replacement for Challenge Cape Town. Sure, I`ve been more serious about races before, and the loss I felt after the cancellation of Challenge affected my training over the last few weeks. Regardless, it should be an epic battle and I will be walking funny all the way until Wines2Wales starts next weekend.

After a feast of a meal last night with James Cunnama, Jodie Swallow and the always entertaining Nic Lamond and his mrs, I woke up this morning grateful. It’s been a year and a bit since I got back from Kona in 2010. I’ve spent it with an amazing woman, grown amazing friendships and had immense fun getting Pure Planet Racing off the ground. As final negotiations and preparations for 2012 take place behind the scenes, 2012 looks to be another year where you could soar with me.

The landscape is filled with amazing races and places to get to. Find your place to soar.

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Beyond the norm, beyond the call.

Both athletes on the edge, broken, hanging on for the win. Beyond the line drawn in the sand where the limits lay, both these guys went all in, full retard if you like.

One of the greatest wars in our Ironman sport.

Not sure we will ever see this again.

Watch.

But more importantly…

Learn.

How to win.

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For a while now, I have had the privilege of knowing the man called Songo. He is a gentle man, who has that urgency to look after those who have no choices. To give them options.

This weekend, I am taking more goods to Songo. They have more kids than they can handle at times and any bit helps. I have a few people coming along as well and if you were so inclined, please join us on Sunday at 1:30pm at Kyamandi Police Station where we will take a ride out to Jonkershoek with the kids and the team from Songo will show us around their area, sharing what they are achieving there.

If you have not heard of Songo.info here are the details: Songo.info is a social development program that provides sport and recreational activities to children, offering a safe place to play and grow, establishing values of accountability and responsibility, teaching goal setting and instilling in children the ability to dream and go out and achieve their goals.

The songo program works closely with the children to instil our values including:

Trust: Trust is at the core of our program including building trust with our sponsors, our donors and with the children so that they know they can rely on the program and that the program respects and values each child.

Accountability: We strive to instil accountability for everyone who partakes in the program by demonstrating through example, taking responsibility in the program and teaching the children to take responsibility for attending the program and looking after the resources they are provided with. We seek out and develop leaders in our community who lead through example.

Consistency: In the township world there is so little consistency, we try to create a buffer for the children to not experience the up’s and downs of a Not-for-Profit organisation and only promise what we can honour building trust with the children where they can come to rely on services and facilities being available to them.

Availability: As far as possible we try to always be there for the children in the services that we offer, in the need for contact and support. Our goal is to have the program running effectively so all bikes, equipment, training and races are always accessible to the children.

There is a real sense of purpose with the guys at Songo. So come along this weekend and if not, there are 2 fundraising dinners in the next few weeks for you to get involved in as well. Those details follow here:

We are really excited to once again be holding our songo.info fundraising events on Wednesday 09 November 2011.

We will be following a similar format to last year where riders can join Christoph Sauser, Burry Stander and Dan Hugo for a fun ride on Table Mountain. This year will be taking a different route, starting from the Deer Park Restaurant and heading towards the Block House.

The evening event will entail a cocktail function to be held at the Reeds & General Motors Showroom in Culemborg from 7pm. It will include Christoph and Burry sharing insights from their Cape Epic win, as well as Christoph sharing his experiences of winning of the Marathon World Championships. Dan Hugo will be sharing insights from his experiences in the US including racing against the 7 times Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.

The evening is an opportunity to listen to the champs talk about their Absa Cape Epic win and all the successes and tribulations during the summer racing season.

afternoon ride

Venue:
Deer Park Cafe (next to YUM)
Deer Park Avenue
Vredehoek

Cost:
R150 per rider

Details of Event:
Meet at 15h00
Ride starts 15h30
Distance approximately 30kms
Plenty of parking available

evening event:

Venue:
Reeds & General Motors Showroom
Corner of Oswald Pirow and Jack Craig Street
Culemborg

Cost:
R300
(Kindly note cash bar)

Details of the Event:
Evening starts 7pm
Cocktail and fundraiser evening
Plenty of parking outside the Reeds showroom on Jack Craig Street or across the road

The evening promises to be interesting and insightful as Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander share insights into their win of the 2011 Absa Cape Epic as well as their experiences racing the US and European Season and Christoph’s win of the Marathon World Championship title.

Dan Hugo will be sharing insights from his experiences in the US including racing against the 7 times Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.

We have incredible auction items including Tour de France rider, Fabian Cancellara’s World Champs timetrial suit and IronMan winner Chrissie Wellington’s running shoes! We also have a Maurice Lacroix watch and stunning Addidas Hampers.

We really hope you will be able to join us at both or just one event!

Bookings available through: www.songo.info/cpt

The same event is taking place in Johannesburg on the 29th October. Full details are available on their website at www.songo.info/.

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Rapha Continental USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 2 from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Another day, another beautiful Rapha video. This one stands out for me in the team spirit within the guys. They know the day is going to be hard but there is an anticipation of that. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be real – or something in that vain.

2 weekends ago we took off on a ride towards Franschhoek. 200km long and along some of my favorite roads in the area. The route reminds me of good times, great rides and best friends. We had some riders join for parts of the route but essentially it was just myself and Matt for the entire way. It was a challenge and it was one of the key rides for me for what would be Challenge Cape Town.

We ride because we want to see where the limits lie. Sure, it’s fun at times but without limits we wouldn’t ride nearly as much. On that day, some limits were definitely discovered. At times, it was that the limits I had set for myself were too low. At other times, that they are possibly too high. Unless you test them, how will you ever know where they are? They are a reference point and a moving reference point at that.

Some great lessons can be learnt in just a few short hours (not that a 200km ride is a few short hours) on the bike. For me, more so than on the run. The bike allows me to learn lessons day after day. I am not conditioned enough to run 2hours a day, ever day. I`ll leave that to the Ryan Sandes’ of the world. No, for us, the bike is the easiest way to learn what the body can do and cannot do.

I really like the line where he says… “That was the most brutal, beautiful day…”

Sums it up nicely. That haze which hangs over your vision for the afternoon after a 5 hour smash in the saddle, the joy of putting 2 500 calories in your face for lunch and not even blinking throughout the process and the 40min nap that feels like a full 8 hour sleep shortly afterwards. Sure, we are shattered but wow, what a feeling.

This morning I had to ride intervals for the first time in roughly 6 months. It hurt more than I care to remember and was a reminder that in the next 2 weeks I am going to hurt a lot. Those limits are not very high at the moment. I have a great diesel engine, prepped for an Ironman distance race that needs to be molded into something resembling speed before Triple Challenge in a few weeks. Limits. Essences. Beautiful, brutal days ahead.

Epic…

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As you know there have been rumors and this morning, confirmation that Challenge Cape Town has been postponed. I got an email saying blah blah (really, not like you care about the rest) you can have your money back or have an entry for next year + a team entry for free. Whilst the race has been struggling to get race routes approved and been even worse at communicating these changes with hopeful participants, we have gone about our business to get ready for the race.

Sure, I am disappointed, like most others. But here is the thing.

When you were training in the dark, in the wet and the cold through winter – surely you didn’t expect a pot of gold somewhere on the Promenade that would make it all worth it, make it all seem like the past and right all the wrongs in your life?

If you were preparing for this race as meticulously as I have in the last few weeks, you would have gone through the high and low moments that are so common in these last preparation weeks. The journey is the ride, not the race. Sure, race day will seemingly come (some time in 2012 even though no date was mentioned) and for some, this allows time to prepare a little better, but I urge you to find peace in the fact that you have given so much and that the reward is with you, right there, as you read this.

Close your eyes and feel how amazing your body feels after all this work. I am skinnier than I have been all year and I am amped to find another race or two before the end of the year to go have fun at. This is not the end of the world – in fact, its an opportunity.

Sure, I want to kick in the door on the Challenge car when I see it next, but merely as tough love, as kindness of sorts. These things happen and just because there is no race day doesn’t mean that all the jam has been stolen out of my doughnut.

I urge you to take the work you have done for this race and carry it with you into the season. Somewhere, you`ll ride off the front of a group somewhere and reap the benefits without really being aware that it was the cold, wet mornings you donned every piece of cycling clothing you owned and exercised new bike skills just to make it back home.

Nobody can take that away from you. When we eventually get a race date for 2012 (holding thumbs like an 8 year old kid) we can go in better prepared.

Adapt your schedule, show yourself the honor you deserve by unleashing the beast within somewhere else, calmly and quietly. Be the journey. Skip the name and shame routine, skip the tantrums and show the world that endurance sports is a lifestyle that improves every aspect of our lives, not just our performance on race day.

Go out there and be great. Get it done.

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That. Is. All.

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When you`re on the ground, your horizons are quite low.

Once you put in the work, climb a little higher, your horizons expand, stretch and become brighter, cleaner and so, your limits disappear. 5km becomes 10km becomes 21km becomes 42km and then who knows, maybe 165km through the mountains of Leadville.

Sure, people will scrunch their faces, question your motives and wonder what it wrong with you.

But…

They can’t see your horizons. They aren’t living the benefits, they haven’t gotten out there, experienced what you have and the feeling, the emotions it gave you.

So what the hell do they know.

Climb higher, see further and see the horizons beyond your known possible.

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I do not fit the mould. I get that. Most likely, if you read this blog, you will find that you also don’t fit the mould.

You want more, right? You strive for better, you push what’s possible and you want to know that impossible just requires more effort to become the “been that, got that t-shirt” in your past.
I have been reading The Pirates Dilemma. Loving it. Here is a quick overview:

It has me thinking about the way we limit where we spend our energy. I am not saying you need to spend your days starting new, below the radar, semi-legal ventures. I am talking about doing what we do more efficiently, using the open-source environment to improve the way we do things. In our office, we have various ways to, essentially, create more time. We have a daily “stand up” meeting where we all compare tasks and can ask for help with current issues. We use Support Software to track queries, questions, tasks and problems quickly and efficiently. We are moving to doing training on our products via teleconference, rather than flying around the country.

The smartest minds are sharing tools and tips and tricks that used to be reserved for the inner circle. Now, even at a small cost, you can benefit from thousands of hours of work instantly. It’s an exciting time to be around.

Essentially this creates time to do real work. Work that matters and improves your life. Work that brings you promotion or brings your company success.

When it comes to sport, it’s the same. The libraries and forums out there have all the information you will ever need to be faster. The IP of the smartest minds in the world is out there, for you. If you are willing to trawl, apply, review and reapply, then you`ll be on your way to success.

Alternatively, spend a couple hundred rand a month and buy that knowledge and save yourself the time.

Just never trust it as The Law. You should always be learning from things. Nobody has the perfect answer for you and you`ll only learn to apply things perfectly by doing them wrong a few times and doing them semi-right a few times.

I find that it’s only when I start doing things incorrectly that I know I am around the limits. With work, if I am getting a twitchy eye and I am having sleep problems it’s time to manage expectations but until those things are happening, surely I am not near my work potential?

With my training, it’s the same – unless I am exhausted to the point of breakdown and where I am hating the shortest of sessions, there is more to give. I am not saying go run 3 hours a day until the body gives in.

Instead, I am saying build into building up mileage and hours (work and training) to the point where breakdown starts occurring. Anyone can really **** themselves up by putting in silly hours every day.

That’s easy.

What’s tough is building up over time to the point where breakdown is merely a part of what is going on. Where it’s subtle, not “having Redbull for breakfast” obvious.

Choose where you push the limits wisely. Make sure your back-up systems are there and that those around you understand what you are doing. Be prepared to step out for 36 hours or so to disappear from the world, sleep for most of those 36 hours and eat for the rest when it all comes apart.

Once you have gotten there, re-assess your moments, along the way and how to recognise them in future.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, well, we all know what that is otherwise referred to as…

But, be the pirate along the way. Questions the methods, scream at conforming to what others are sheepishly following and ask as many questions as possible. Measure the progress. I recently discovered the Quantified Self arena as something I have unknowingly been prescribing to for years.

Learn how your body works, feels…

Read.
Write.
Reassess regularly.

Copy the greats and learn from their lessons and apply your own on top.

You don’t fit their mould, or mine, or anyone’s. You are purely yourself and will never behave 100% like anyone else. You will have inconsistencies and moments of total suck in the middle of the awesome vibes, but you will learn and adapt faster if you apply these simple rules.

I am not The Law on this, no. I am a work in progress, an eternal one at that, in this arena. Always searching, always wanting more, always wanting better. I have regrets, remorse and memories of absolutely incredible things.

These things make me just like you, but completely unique.

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