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This year’s Rooiberg Eco Ride has a new format and something that every cycle race should have: a relaxing ride on single tracks through the bush with brunch and high tea served! Obviously, the Eco Ride is no race. It’s a three day tour of 160km through the Rooiberg in Limpopo‘s Waterberg at a relaxed pace.

The tag line It’s not a race, it’s a ride appeals to me and I’ve submitted my entry. Day one sees a late start on a 30km ride including a stop for sundowners (probably non-alcoholic – the only downside). Early Sunday for a start on 70km, stopping for brunch and tea, and day three finishes the event off with a 60km ride. Though the distances will require some training on my part prior to heading up to the Waterberg, the fact that there’s no pressure on finishing within a set time should make this a great outing. I’ll probably take the camera along to snap a few pictures along the way…

The Eco Ride takes place in late April and the entry cost does not include accommodation. A curious prerequisite for the ride is that all mountain bikes have to be fitted with tubeless tires. Before getting the Anthem, I rode on goo-filled tubes for ages without a single stop due to a puncture. I’m not certain I agree with the fact that tubeless tires reduce the chance of punctures, and carrying a spare tube is a good idea even when riding tubeless. How strictly this rule will be enforced remains to be seen.

Entries are limited and the official website can be found here.

Together with roughly 4000 other mountain bike enthusiasts, I’ll be joining the fray from tomorrow morning at 07:30.

If you’re there, good luck. 25km is more than enough for me, especially when I observe the flight path that will require quite a bit of pedaling. Uphill…

I trust the wine I had this afternoon, lack of a ride in the last 2 weeks and overall lack of fitness will stand me in good stead.

There are quite a number of magazines related to cycling on the shelves of bookstores. For local cyclists, the problem with international magazines is usually that a lot of the content is simply not applicable. Cyclists in Europe are gearing for winter right now, whilst sunny South Africa offers hot weather and clear blue skies. The prospect of seeing winter gear reviews is an interesting one, but somewhat useless for local conditions. A description of a trail or cycling route in Scotland is certainly of interest, but unlikely to fit into the route plan of the MTB enthusiast living in Durban. That cuts the number of useful publications down quite drastically to just a handful. MTB or road bike? Unlikely that both are covered in the same magazine, so the options narrow even further.

Of the local magazines catering to MTB enthusiasts, only one has so far impressed me sufficiently to prompt me to inspect each new issue. Tread is a great magazine that provides a balanced array of content, ranging from gear and bicycle reviews to brief essays from everyday cyclists, to recommended trails covering all provinces and a very brief overview of current events. The publication strikes a good balance and manages, so far, to stay out of the trap many others of its ilk fall into: plastering page upon page with pictures and tables detailing top riders and event results. That’s lazy and hardly worth reading.

The online presence of Tread Magazine can be found here. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis and is certainly worth waiting for.The cover price is about ZAR 37 and each issue runs well into the ninety-something pages.

If you’re into mountain biking, I recommend you check it out.

Prior to a ride last week, I inadvertently permitted all air to escape from the front tyre of the Anthem. It was a typical Dummkopf thing to do: unscrew the Presta valve head and place a pump head onto it that simply wouldn’t fit. Because the rubber seal had been turned around, the tyre was flat in seconds. And, because I had a temporary case of amnesia, I simply couldn’t figure out that I should open the pump, turn the rubber seal around and try to inflate the tyre once that had been done. My feeble attempts resulted in little else than air swishing everywhere but where it was supposed to go.

Time for the heavy hitter: the Topeak One Timer.

Unscrew the cartridge container and remove the CO2 cartridge, turn it around and reinsert. The cartridge is held upside down until needed. A quick clockwise motion has the grey part of the One Timer attached once again and the cartridge is punctured, making it ready for use. A coloured indicator at the top of the unit indicates when the CO2 cartridge has been opened – green for ok, red for closed. The pump fits both Schrader and Presta valves and all that is required is that the pump be held firmly onto the valve and the actuator be depressed. Stick it on, press the release lever and presto! A mere second or so later, and the tyre is back to the way it should be. Care needs to be taken to allow the valve stem to warm up a bit before touching it. CO2 under pressure is pretty cold and can cause an injury.

Inflating the MTB tyre doesn’t deplete the entire content of the cartridge – how long a half-full cartridge will last without an absolute seal is questionable. It’s best to carry a couple in the saddle bag, just in case.

This is one of the coolest gadgets I carry in my saddle bag – inflating a tyre in a mere second or two. What could be easier?

I’ve successfully got myself back into the saddle and, after a rather cold winter during which the prospect of getting out either early or late in unpleasant temperatures and darkness, have managed to complete a couple of kilometers.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to try out a new set of single tracks close to home. The Van Gaalen Cheese Farm is located close to the Hartebeespoort Dam, and is a part of the Magalies Meander. 30km from home, it’s a scenic drive to the well-established farm that boasts a restaurant, bed and breakfast, and cheese shop. Spreading out from there is roughly 60km of single and wider track over varied terrain criss-crossing almost 40 adjacent plots of land.

Before heading out, it’s important to pay ZAR 25 and sign an indemnity form. The track will be used as a part of the CradeQuest race in October. The 10km I cycled followed the Magalies River and consisted of various challenging obstacles interspersed with some great stretches through the trees.

The tunnel through the long grass is a favourite and runs for quite a few hundred meters.

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I miss cycling already and it’s been only a week. My injury involved bone trauma, and I know there is cycling gear featuring the human skeleton. This concept muscle skin suit would make an interesting sight on trails, too.

Here’s the detail of the design – maybe one could print one’s own…

On Thursday, I had a slight mishap whilst enjoying a short outing on the tracks of the MTN Cycle Park. It was to be one last lap. My choice of The Sidewinder ended up in a rather bad fall.

Of course one signs an indemnity, but let me warn you nonetheless: do not assume that any track you’re on won’t cough up a nasty surprise. In this case, a roughly 0.5m high jump hides a wide gully bordered by a concrete bar. I wasn’t fast enough to clear it and not slow enough to stop in time.

My bike flew over my head, landing some distance ahead of me. The part of my body that absorbed all impact: my left elbow. Point of impact? Naturally, the concrete bar. It was painful and very swollen and limp. Immediately indicative of a broken something.

Telemetry data retrieved from the Edge 705 indicates an impact speed of about 30km/h.

My heartrate? Low. Indicative of that sinking feeling when you just know that’s it. Thanks to Pieter for getting me to casualty and assisting with communications.

X-ray plates showed a rather badly damaged elbow. Not broken – shattered is  a better description. A CT scan prior to surgery late yesterday shows the damage in wonderful 3D.

A titanium plate and a couple of screws will fix almost anything…

Upon waking up, I was pleased to notice that moving the arm didn’t result in that hideous feeling of bone fragments shifting around.

Finally, I’ll be able to check in at airport security and have something other than my belt buckle trigger an alarm. I’m not quite done yet: the surgeon gets to open me up once more to place a titanium disk to prevent constant dislocation of the elbow joint. That’s scheduled for Monday morning. Should be a great start to the week!

For your own safety: watch The Sidewinder!

At the beginning of October I swung past the MTN Cycle Park in Bryanston to check up on the progress they were making to get ready. The opening date had been set for the end of November and I was busy with various other things, so I left it for the new year. Yesterday, I packed bicycle and gear and headed for the MTN Cycle Park situated just off Sloane Avenue.

It’s not easy to find and the entrance is somewhat hidden: from Main Road heading away from the highway in the direction of Randburg, turn left into Sloane and immediately right into Libertas. Turn left once you see the cycle park boards Else, set your GPS to find S26 02.291 E28 01.589.

Ample parking is available. It seems that the venue has still not been officially opened; that is expected to happen sometime in February. Nonetheless, the facility is open to the public.

Payment is per entrance and a single entry costs ZAR 50. Packages are available to bring that cost down for anyone wishing to make use of the facilities more frequently: around ZAR 1900 for a year pass and the more reasonable ZAR 300 for ten entries. An indemnity form needs to be signed prior to entry and obviously the requisite no helmet, no ride rule applies. Each rider is assigned a number plate that needs to be affixed to the bicycle. My number: 031. Supplied cable ties enable the number plate to be attached to the handlebars rather easily – it reminds me of the mid-eighties BMX craze…

Change rooms and toilets are available, as is a coffee shop and seating. Kids may use the miniature cycle track. They pay ZAR 10 per entry. Unfortunately, there are no showers which makes early morning sessions problematic unless you have a shower at your place of work, don’t work or don’t mind arriving in the office drenched in sweat.

On to the track. The overall layout contains a single, wider track that runs around the entire facility and is roughly 1.8km in length. Running inward and away from that overall track are numerous single-tracks of varying degrees of difficulty. Beginners, intermediate and advanced riders are all catered for. Each track is marked appropriately, as are warnings at each single track’s exit to ensure no one rides against the general flow of traffic. Each track has a name and the degree of experience required to complete that section is indicated.

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Good news for MTB enthusiasts in the greater Johannesburg region is the announcement that Toyota in conjunction with MTN are planning to open a cycle park in Bryanston sometime in November. I often zip up and down the Braamfontein Spruit around Delta Park and Emmarentia and am amazed by the sheer number of cyclists doing the same.

Unfortunately, cycling off-road (and on) is not too safe in South Africa: if we’d only have to worry about crazy motorists we’d stand a chance. Muggings and attacks are common, hence safe cycle havens are becoming more and more popular.

The site for the Toyota MTN Cycle Park is situated between Sloane and Witkoppen Roads next to Main Road in Bryanston.

It is intended to provide a safe area for BMX and MTB riders with various facilities like secure parking, bike hire and coffee shop. The park is scheduled to open its doors to the public in November.

If Shimano has its way, cyclists will no longer need to worry about shifting gears by effectively pulling or releasing wire strands connected to derrailleurs and chain guides.

The new Di2 system introduces solid-state switches and rubber-coated wires in place of the bare, twisted metal wires we’ve all grown accustomed to.

The idea is to provide more accurate and faster gear changes, whilst also minimizing the risk of mechanical breakages and the effects of friction. Not to mention the grit and grime faced by those components during a downpour or a muddy downhill race. Of course, these components won’t be cheap and will be fitted only to very expensive bicycles when the Di2 system launches to the public in 2009.

The entire system runs on electricity, so the inclusion of a rechargeable battery pack is necessary. That 7.4V Lithium Ion battery should last roughly 1000 hours before a recharge is necessary.

Who would have thought that bicycles would go electric long before cars do? A very strange idea. What if you’re on the open road and the battery dies? Call Shimano Roadside Assistance? Or be sure to carry an emergency recharging device in the saddlebag…