I have been blogging a lot about me lately. The Housemate calmly reminded me of this last night. Thanks dude. Holding me to the ground in precisely the right moment. It’s been a great year and at times it’s hard to keep it in. Finding that balance between humble, balance and Howard Roark get’s a little blurred at times.

Finding Timm Koelln should remind us of how hard the journey often is, why we strive for the journey as opposed to the finish line. Journeys are rewarding in a bigger sense. They are what “raw” is all about. Finish lines look amazing, all dolled up, with podium girls and loud music. Personally I prefer the quiet moments where I am not sure how I am going to make it through the day. They happen more often than we give credit to. Doubt, fear, they are all very real to all of us.

Smartie-box pretty and plastic fantastic don’t give lasting happiness. There is always unfinished business. For every time we have heard someone say they have unfinished business at races we should have to hear a thousand people tell us how raw and powerful it was to doubt themselves and come through the other side and stride to victory over themselves. That would be a sign that you are filling your lives with the right people. Go on, be raw. Be real. Never stop at the finish line. It will never be enough.

Timm Koelln captures this very well. Thank you Timm.

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A while ago I hinted that there was a new frame on the way. If you follow me on twitter, you would also have seen my utter frustration when it was incorrectly sent to Germany where it got stuck under this…

I think they were lying about it being stuck there though. That frame is so pretty I think it was conceived in that eruption. That Japanese Rising Sun combined with the name Katana, which any Kill Bill fans would know is an ancient Japanese Sword. Really now….

I am retiring my old bike for a slightly faster model, especially as I am now on my way to Kona for World Champs. That course is brutal and the extra bit of help goes a long way. People are going to ask why I didn’t go top of the range with the Viper, and my reasoning is simple. Its called a triathlon… specifically, an Ironman. I look for something more compliant out on the road that’s a little stiffer and hence, a little more comfortable. It may sound like nothing, but the Katana is my choice for 180km time trial over the Viper because of the run.

I am so looking forward to having him here with me. Why a boys name? Generally boys give their bikes girls names. Must be a nostalgic thing, or maybe a missed opportunity somewhere in their lives.

This bike will be called Kratos. KRATOS (or Cratus) was the god or daimon of strength, might, power and sovereign rule in Greek mythology. I think the style or racing at Ironman deserves a Kratos. It’s about mental strength, might and sovereign rule over your mind and your body for an entire day. Fitting.

Thank you Ceepo for their mighty effort in getting the frame here. There was a suggestion to send a racing donkey through Africa to get it here whilst that Volcano spewed anger and ash. They are still very new to South Africa but I suggest you check them out online here for all the models.

I am a big fan of niche design and Ceepo are into triathlon, and Ironman specifically. They don’t care about the UCI and their rules. A triathlon specific geometry is very different to a cycling one when it comes to OPTIMAL comfort out there. I am excited to be a part of this craftmanship, this passion for our sport.

Full built up pictures soon, I promise.

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Trying to describe the emotions of a race like Sani2C would be impossible just in words, no matter how good your lyrical skills are. The race is a beaut, lived up to more than what I expected and I will be back, year after year.

It was a test on so many levels for the Multisport Team element of Team Fairbairn Private Bank. My partner turned out to be a beast, more than I ever remember. I turned out to be hugely impressed with our team morale and even impressed myself a little, which I am quite stoked about. To grasp what happened, we need to go back a few steps, to August last year. I was fat, unfit and wanted to revamp my riding. I was a strong triathlete, but probably the weakest cyclist in my peer group.

I was determined to change this, and went on a new program, a new outlook, a new body type, etc. I went all in on the biking. I committed to multisport events, which were new to me, and to pure mountain biking events, which was weird considering that until November, 3 months later, I would not ride a mountain bike.

Events went well until now (barring Xterra), and I was pleased but not really sure how I would go against the pure MTB’ers, who are world class in this country.

The start of Day 1 was a nervous one, and reconfirmed that I take a while to warm up, something I need to work on for next season. Our first 30min on each day were spent with Brett looking back at me and me internally shouting at my body to go faster. After 30min we were in about 40th team overall, but we were catching guys continuously, slowly, with purpose.

The technical sections at Sani are totally unlike the Cape and are smooth and fast. I went through a particularly tough patch from 40-50km in the day. When I came right I wanted to go go go, and totally miscalculated a really tough corner, and paid for it in the worst way. At roughly 50km/h, I went down onto my left hip and shoulder, knocked my wind out completely and left me with an instant thought of “what the hell have I just done”. I slowly got up and back onto the bike, but the entire left side of my body was locked up and my hip hurt like hell. I was SO SO mad at myself. I had put the entire experience at risk, put my partner at risk too, all for a few seconds on a sharp downhill. Total talent failure.

The adrenaline of the fall ran out and I was left with a slight hunger knock of sorts, but moved on, Brett having to push a little on the hills for me. I remember going up this huge climb, thinking that it has to be the last hill. It was misty, muddy and I was tired. I even confirmed my case with a team we had caught, but as I said it, the actual climb marker was noted, and we had 2km of hills to go. You can tell by my face here that I am glad that day 1 was over. I was sore, tired, hungry, but happy. We were told top 20, which I could almost not believe.

I hobbled around, got my hip checked out, and struggled to sleep into day 2. I woke up worried as the day promised to be longer, muddier and with twice the climbing of day 1, with a hip I could hardly stand on. I put my game face on, sucked up the first 30min, consolidated our position and tried to repeat our efforts of day 1.

The first hour was spent going 50km/h down a long hill in the rain, with mud pouring into your eyes, other riders switching track all the time, reconnecting with God to confirm you would make it out of this and calling for your partner as everyone looked the same at this point, with our kit being totally covered in soft, slick mud.

By halfway we were finding our engines to be running hot and the Nandos stop was great. The walk around trying to fix Brett’s gears was hard on the hip and I seemed to lose some power after this. My engine felt stronger, but the variable power coming from left and right hips was a disappointment of note, as we lost a few places from there towards the end.

Convinced we had lost quite a few spots, I was amazed that we made it to 20th overall again. I got my hip treated, my eyes flushed and a massage to help the cause. My back was now totally locked up from the effort of stabilizing the bike with my hips and I lay down for quite a bit of the afternoon. I was determined to have a better day 3.

We were prepared to race hard at the start of day 3 and I was committed to going beyond my usual slow start, and 83km/h through a muddy downhill confirmed just how committed the entire bunch was for this. Great day however and we were smoking it with no technical issues, riding in a group of guys who had beaten us on each day. My hip felt about 50% better than the previous day and I was over the moon to get an 18th on the day and an 18th overall. We had a few laughs on day 3 and were quite disappointed to be done, finally seeming to settle into a groove, which boats well for Cape Epic in only 13 days time.

The organization cannot be praised enough, the local commitment from farmers applauded loudly enough and the passion of the riders for riding shouted from the rooftops enough.

A great adventure, which has given me huge energy for the next few weeks, which are set to drain it totally. On a personal level I cannot thank my partner Brett enough for being patient at the start of each day, putting up with a sub par Ninja on day 2 and making the experience one to never forget.

A few notes:

1. Our Morewood bikes were incredible. Seriously. WOW.
2. Our nutrition from Whasp and Sport-X, also perfect.
3. To our support crew in Biosport, thanks for looking after my broken body.
4. To our pro cycling team, well done on finishing 11th. You hung tough boys!
5. Rockets compression rocked our recovery. Slept in them every night.
6. Continental tires are the bomb!
7. It should be noted that we had zero punctures between 6 of us. Thank you Sludge!

That’s it. Time to get back to the real world. Mad love.

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Day 1:

Our departure from Lovane Farm about 60km past George was as unceremonious as it comes. No crowds, no cheers, just an envious Louis who wouldn’t be making the trip with us. Our destination was set to be Prince Albert, around 130km away, over the Swartberg Pass. We were carrying only what we needed and would have no support along the way.

We had zero clues on the actual route or what lay ahead.

To most people, that seems a little crazy. We are included in that, but there was an air of excitement, the hint of mystery that all boys crave so much, and the sense that an epic adventure lay ahead. We had no idea of how big an adventure.

The difference between ordeal and adventure lies in the level of suffering. For one of my compatriots, it was an adventure, the other was about to start dealing with a 2 day ordeal that had me concerned beyond a level that I knew how to handle. Watching someone give their long term health a big poke in the eye is never fun for me.

Back to departure and onto the road for about 5km before we were on dirt. It was 9am and we reckoned it was above 30 degrees already. The road was littered with tortoises and thankfully, no Cape Cobras, of whom we had been warned by everyone.

A headwind which would persist for the next 380km came up. #FAIL

The first 60km seemed to scoot scoot by in a jiffy, and the spirits were high. We were laughing at random things and talking boy nonsense to kill time.

Lunch in Oudtshoorn was a foregone conclusion, and we sat under the most beautiful trees and had a killer sarmie each. All could not have been better I tell ya! Oudtshoorn is basically ostrich city and every hotel, guest house and petrol station is named after the creature with the tiny brain.

The road out of Oudt’ies was tar, and through a valley, but we thought we would give it a go, even though it was now PROPER hot. Gringo, of the ordeal, melted like ice cream in a microwave, his head glowing. 30km and we stopped just before Cango Caves to chill under the trees, drink loads of sugary drinks, and get into the shade. It was already ominous.

The Google road said that the Swartberg pass was one of the most beautiful in the world, but it looked straight uphill for 18km to us. The road leading to the dirt pass was hectic enough, and I hung back with Gringo while TheHousemate went bobbing up the road. It was disgustingly hot and Gringo’s stomach infection had him bloated and really uncomfortable. I tried to keep him motivated as we still had about 50km to go. We chatted about girls, Ivan the Tiger, chicken burgers and old memories.

He was proper chopping off when we thought we got to the top, only to find out there was about 4km more to go. Properly into the ordeal now, we reached the summit (again no crowds of ACDC Thunderstruck playing) and couldn’t understand why this was regarded as the most beautiful pass in the world.

Then we hit the descent. Gringo lead us out, breaking virgin territory on what is the most beautiful canyon gorge ravine whatever you want to call it, in the whole freaking world. It was narrow, ploughed into the depths of the valley and we were going at 70km/h at points.

The discs brakes were humming and my front brake semi failed on the downhill at one point, adding mild screams into tight corners. It was pure, it was enthralling in a way only a single tasked moment of survival can be. There was no peripheral noise in our heads and we had forgotten about work, about our made up busy lives totally at this moment. All ordeal was gone and there was only adventure.

There was a section of road leading into Prince Albert which seemed flat, but we had a huge tailwind at this point and we ran out of gears we were going so fast.

Totally spent we got to our cottage (which was wide open) and took off towards town to find a spot to eat, and hopefully, a swimming pool, as our heads were cooked.

Then small town-ness kicked in. A lady we met 2 min before offered her sisters pool to us, and she proceeded to lift us there, climb over her sisters gate to open it from the other side, and bugger off leaving us there to swim, uninterrupted, at her sister’s house.

We may have used the garden pillows to dry our naked asses.

Dinner was wolfed down and the night was hot hot hot, the only thing more concerning were the mossie sized mosquitoes flying around the house, which meant sleeping on the floor on a thin mattress with a giant industrial fan blowing on full blast.

I told you it was an adventure….

That was day 1, and we rose on day 2 a little weary, but ready for it…

Tune back tomorrow for day 2’s report.

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So as you would have noticed, there has been a distinct lack of posts from the site in the last 2 weeks. I have been on a semi sabbatical. After a really mad year I needed a time out, and it actually happened a day earlier than I had planned, but I had really just had enough, and got to a pretty low point.

We undertook an epic, unsupported 700km trek through the wild (more posts on that coming, its a life changing story), in pretty extreme circumstances and conditions, but came out with a new smile and a fresh lease on work, life, love, etc.

Before I get fully back into it, I thought to post something from my favorite contributor of the year, Zenhabits.It had to do with sticking to your New Years Resolutions…

‘Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables.’ ~ Spanish Proverb

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

Let’s face it: most of us fail when it comes to sticking to resolutions — so much so that many people swear never to make resolutions again.

And yet the rest of us are eternally hopeful when the New Year comes around, believing without any credible evidence that we can improve our lives, that change is possible, that we’re not going to be stuck in the same old rut again this year.

I’m here to tell you that you can do it. It’s possible. I’ll show you how.

The Problem with Most Resolutions
While I love the optimism of New Year’s Resolutions, unfortunately, the enthusiasm and hope often fades within weeks, and our efforts at self improvement come to a whimpering end.

New Year’s Resolutions usually fail because of a combination of some of these reasons:

• We try to do too many resolutions at once, and that spreads our focus and energies too thin. It’s much less effective to do many habits at once (read more).
• We only have a certain amount of enthusiasm and motivation, and it runs out because we try to do too much, too soon. We spend all that energy in the beginning and then run out of steam.
• We try to do really tough habits right away, which means it’s difficult and we become overwhelmed or intimidated by the difficulty and quit.
• We try to be “disciplined” and do very unpleasant habits, but our nature won’t allow that to last for long. If we really don’t want to do something, we won’t be able to force ourselves to do it for long.
• Life gets in the way. Things come up unexpectedly that get in the way of us sticking with a habit.
• Resolutions are often vague — I’m going to exercise! — but don’t contain a concrete action plan and don’t use proven habit techniques. That’s a recipe for failure.

There are other reasons, but the ones above are easily sufficient to stop resolutions from succeeding.

The 6 Changes Method
So what are we to do? I’ve created the 6 Changes Method, along with a new site called 6Changes.com, to solve these problems:

• We only focus on one habit change at a time, so our focus and energies aren’t spread thinly.
• We implement the habit changes gradually, so we don’t run out of steam.
• We start out really, really easily, so it isn’t intimidating.
• We focus on enjoyable activities, so we don’t need “discipline”.
• We have two months to do the habit change, so if something comes up, it’s but a small bump in the road. And because we’re publicly committed, we’re going to get back on track.
• We have a very specific plan with actions built in, using proven habit change techniques.

If you stick with the method, you’ll do much better than you’ve done in the past with New Year’s Resolutions. You’ll focus on creating long-lasting habits rather than trying to reach a short-term goal that fails. You’ll maintain your enthusiasm for longer and not become overwhelmed by the difficulty of change. You’ll have habits that will change your life, and that’s no small feat.

The Method
So how does the 6 Changes method work?

It’s simple:

1. Pick 6 habits for 2010.
2. Pick 1 of the 6 habits to start with.
3. Commit as publicly as possible to creating this new habit in 2 months.
4. Break the habit into 8 baby steps, starting with a ridiculously easy step. Example: if you want to floss, the first step is just to get out a piece of floss at the same time each night.
5. Choose a trigger for your habit – something already in your routine that will immediately precede the habit. Examples: eating breakfast, brushing your teeth, showering, waking up, arriving at the office, leaving the office, getting home in the evening.
6. Do the 1st, really easy baby step for one week, right after the trigger. Post your progress publicly. (Read more.)
7. Each week, move on to a slightly harder step. You’ll want to progress faster, but don’t. You’re building a new habit. Repeat this until you’ve done 8 weeks.

You now have a new habit! Commit to Habit No. 2 and repeat the process.

Further Reading
Read more on creating your new habits for the New Year:

1. Suggest habits. Which six will you choose? Some recommendations.
2. The Importance of Public Accountability. Why it’s one of the foundations of the method, and how to do it.
3. What’s a Trigger & Why Is It So Important? Another key to the method.
4. Why You Should Do Only One Habit at a Time. Answers one of the most common questions people have about the method.
5. How to Be Patient as Your Habit Develops. It’s not easy to do it this slowly, but here’s how it works and how to do it.
6. The Art of the Start of a Habit. Why starting is so hard and how this method overcomes it.
7. How to Kick a Bad Habit. Suggested method that has worked for me in the past.
8. How to Form the Exercise Habit. How to apply the method to the habit of exercise.
9. Key to Habit Change: Enjoy the Activity. Don’t force yourself to do something you hate. Find ways to enjoy it instead.
10. Make Your Habit Change a Priority. How not to let it drop by the wayside.
11. Don’t Worry So Much About Long-term Goals. Focus on the process, not the end point.
12. Why Daily Frequency of Habits is Important. Daily habits are better than ones you do once a week, or even 2-3 times a week.

‘It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.’ ~ Confucius

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This is going to be a stange week indeed. 3 days, then a holiday, then another day. As I have chosen to take Fridays off, in essence, I need to squeeze 4 days of work in 3, which is better than most people this week. How many of you are going to stretch 1 days worth of work to Thursday.

So what is this holiday on Thursday?

Heritage Day is defined as:

n KwaZulu-Natal, the 24th of September was known as Shaka Day, in commemoration of the Zulu King, Shaka. Shaka was the legendary Zulu King that played an important role in uniting disparate zulu clans into a cohesive nation. Contrary to western discourse Shaka was not a ‘chief‘.

The Public Holidays Bill presented to the Parliament of South Africa at the time did not have the 24th of September included on the list of proposed public holidays. As a result of this exclusion, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a South African political party with a large Zulu membership, objected to the bill. Parliament and the IFP reached a compromise and the day was given its present title and seen as a day

I wonder how Mr Chuene sleeps at night, after that whole debacle. If you see him on the street, kick him in the shins. Chop.

Ok, so onto something useful, right? Surely I have something useful to show you today.

Fixed Gear Cycling is slowly taking off in South Africa, and for the best local news, you can visit The Daily Fix to catch up on events, etc. But they have a reputation for coming up with some WHACK bikes. Take the following abuse of an amazing Cinelli RAM bar for example:

Cinelli RAM Abuse

Not so cool. Here is something, for me, which is much cooler. it comes from this set of pics, a visit to the Trek area where they customise all the cool sh** but I have always been a fan of raw elements in anything, so this raw carbon frame is the shizzle, for me, personally.

Awesome.

As we near the date for Kona have a click on that link for a revisit of the race I went to last year. Am I sad that I am not going this year? OBVIOUSLY. What an amazing race, and an amazing place, and I had such a vibe on that trip with my family. It changed my life man. Should you spend the next few years trying to get there? OBVIOUSLY. It changes your life, in so many ways! There is something about the place, and getting constant Twitter updates from Luke McKenzie, Terenzo Bozzone et al about their training there is driving me up the wall. Hence my own 8 hour training weekends at the moment.

Big picture, right? You have no idea.

Ok, that’s enough weirdness for one day. Have a great week ahead. Work hard, play hard.

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