The last 2 days I have had to go out and ride my bike along what can simply be described as some of the most beautiful coastline in the world. At my house, there is an absence of wind, almost at all times. It’s deceptive, as there has been a gusting wind blowing other side of Camps Bay, on both occasions. This morning as I was attempting to ride easy into a gale headwind, I remembered this set of videos I came across yesterday which had me longing for more Epic Unsupported Tour. The same ethos applied. Keep pedalling, no matter how tough it’s getting.

Here is the first video:

Rapha Rides TOC – Episode 1 from RAPHA on Vimeo.

I am going to be doing these crazy trips for a long time. This one has inspired me to capture it, like these guys have, with a road ride sometime this year. If you are a production company and you are reading this, I would love to show off South Africa in a very professional manner, as Rapha have (by the way, one of my favorite brands in the world), all by bicycle. Please contact me. If you could see the areas we went through recently, it blows the mind away.

The concept of group suffering is not new to me. It’s not new to many people. There is something extremely rewarding and peaceful about riding a bike for a mightily long distance. There is something about going minimalist on the kit, the crew, the food, that brings you back closer to how you are supposed to be. It shows you just how much your body is capable of. It’s a special place when you discover that. Nobody can ever take it away from you. No material object can ever give you that personal confidence.

Rapha Rides the TOC – Episode 2 from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Rapha Rides the TOC – Episode 3 from RAPHA on Vimeo.

So back to this morning, where I was riding into this headwind, knowing that if I went any harder, I would just tire myself and hate tomorrow’s session. So I plodded quietly into this gusty headwind. I found a metaphor for life in there. Sometimes you just have to plod, without really knowing when the wind will turn. Eventually, the wind always turns and if you have a headwind all the way home, chances are, you had a tailwind going out.

Tough times, suffering, pain, they eventually all go away. Sometimes you have to go beyond the call of duty, to finish the task. Sometimes you have to stay the extra hour, work from home at night or make the point to disappoint someone in order to get to your goals. That is life. It’s a part of the headwind.

Rapha Rides the TOC – Episode 4 from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Once the wind turned with about 8km to go this morning it was plain sailing. Almost like there was no chain on the bike it was so easy. It was euphoric and worth the effort of being patient and applying the “off” button to the ego when other riders passed me earlier, riders who I could ride faster than, but who’s plan I was not on today.

As my fretten always says, just keep swimming. Eventually the beach will come. Eventually the wind will turn. Suffering will stop and all that you want will turn towards you with gusto and claim you like a bear hug. You will understand the reasons, the patience will make sense and you will find your ellipsis…

Rapha Rides the TOC – Finale from RAPHA on Vimeo.

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There is always this period when I get back into training that I can feel the muscles are now starting to respond after being off for a bit (injury, Ironman
, motivation are all reasons for time off). There is a difference in the power of the contractions, a little more spring in my daily step as I trot off to the shops around lunchtime to find something carnivorous to devour. (more…)

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Jens Voigt is my favorite kind of rider. He is completely selfless when it comes to his team. He personifies the worker and he leaves nothing behind on the field. He is also one of the most loved riders in the world, and certainly one of the top 3 favorite riders among pro riders themselves. This isnt by accident.

I have included 2 clips from the movie Overcoming, which is a documentary about the CSC team . Its a bit of a stretch in time, but over your lunch make a cup of coffee and load them over your companies bandwidth. He is a very unique individual and yes, I have had the chance to spend time with him and yes, he is THAT nice.

We had a very interesting conversation ranging from Shark Spotters in Muizenberg to how Global Warming is going to affect Germany. He is madly passionate about his kids, as he is about everything in life it seems, but his kids in particular got him going full tilt, arms flailing all over the show and shouting about how proud he was of them.

Magic stuff…

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SH05G7vAs]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NSZa9X1jg]

No go out and do something selfless and random for someone.

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