I know I rambled on about the training in Joburg in my last post but it has really helped me put things in perspective.

 

I have over my cycling life lived in some awesome towns and cities in terms of the training they have been able to offer me. Don’t get me wrong that’s not all they had going for them, but yesterday while riding up to Nottingham road with Brandon I just realised, “Sh!t this is awesome!”.

 

The ride got me feeling nostalgic and I remembered the days as a junior when our rides in the holidays up to Notties and back would be our ‘long’ days, it was a good 4-4.5hour ride for us, it seemed to have a more sort of epic feel to it back then.

 

From Leuven in Belgium to Stellenbosch and Cape Town, to Greenville in the USA and back to Hilton where I am now, and where it all essentially started, all these places have had some great training routes and I appreciate them now more than I used to.

 

Another important thing about training routes is coffee shops… Recovery spins sometimes need a bit of extra motivation and yesterday we frequented a coffee shop I haven’t been to before, Babz, and had the most amazing chocolate brownie… I am considering riding all the way back up there today for another one…

 

I can’t slate the Cradle in entirety, although draining, it did provide me with a good safe spot to log in some miles over the last month and I’m grateful for that. I had a constantly stressing Mom in Hilton and girlfriend in Cape Town who I had to regularly re-assure that I was fine!

 

That’s all for now folks. I have a mountain bike waiting to be picked up, and I am more excited than I thought I would be to hit the dirt! Thanks to Brandon for lending me his sweet Scott machine! I need to hit those Hilton trails and salvage whatever technical skills I may have left in preparation for my first mountain bike race since November last year… This should be interesting.

 

Who knows, maybe a season on the road will slide things on the mountain bike more into perspective for me.