The Amazing Adventures of an Average Actuarial Cyclist

Ever since I surviced the Dirtopia 100 Miler back in 2013, I receive an annual invite from Dirtopia - inviting me as a "top" rider to participate in the 75km Burger MTB Challenge with the 75km distance reserved for "elite" riders only. However every year something comes up to prevent me from participating and with every passing year I am becoming more and more desperate to get my entry in before Dirtopia realises their mistake and invite an actual "top elite" rider in my spot. Was 2016 finally going to be my turn to do this race? On the Thursday before the race, my bike was serviced & picked up from the shop and I parked on my usual spot in the Sanlam garage, then this guy showed up... The bastard that stole my bike Seemingly tipped off by an "insider", neatly dressed he strolled into Sanlam, heading straight for an unlocked side door in the garage, walked straight to my car & bike and off he rode with my bike... Bye bye

Fisantekraal Animal Welfare (FAW) is a volunteer organisation doing amazing work in the Fisantekraal township helping people to care for their dogs, giving advice and providing free animal sterilisations. Neil van Tonder, a fellow rider at our BP Kenridge cycling group & organiser of the local Durbie Dash race and his wife Belinda organised a cycling event to raise money for FAW. Neil came up with the idea a few years ago doing the Cape Pioneer Trek. In his own words: While repairing a puncture, in the middle of nowhere, between Vanwyksdorp and Oudshoorn, we came across a Border Collie, neglected, but eager to make contact. I logged the GPS co-ordinates and contacted Border Collie Rescue, who went out and found the dog. They traced the owner, educated him and informed him that they will do follow-up visits to check on progress. I have never forgotten this dog. For this reason, Belinda and myself decided to trace my foot steps – or, rather, tyre tracks while raising

My support team braves the cold weather 5h30, 30 April 2016 my support team and I arrived at Kaleo, Ceres for my second Trans Karoo Up Ride. The day before a cold front swept through the Western Cape, by now the rain clouds had passed but the freezing temperatures still lingered. There were about 120 other riders at the start point, the numbers a bit down from previous years. My training partner & companion on the 2014 up-ride Dewald was also there to keep me company, the plan was that we would stick together for the first 200 km to Ouberg and then each do the climb at their own pace. Dewald & I At 7h00 we were were off, weather was still frosty in the Koue Bokkeveld and the road wet from the previous night's rain. Dewald & I started right at the back of the small field, riding at our own mellow pace not hooking up to any of the little groups that formed at the start. The field quickly spread out and the first few kilometers were easy going, after about 30km

Disappointment. A non starter for me this year. A sneaky summer cold crept up on me in the days leading up to the race and robbed me of the opportunity to try for consecutive sub-3's. Oh well, that's life, you never know quite what to expect. Hopefully I will get another opportunity in 2017, the new registration venue was nice, and that is all I can say about the 2016 Cape Town Cycle Tour. Now for another stab at the Trans Karoo, giving that Ouberg-monster-of-a-pass another try, how I will hate myself on 30 April!

After ticking off Karoo2Coast in 2014 and Trans Baviaans in 2015, the Attakwas was the only major Southern Cape mtb race that I haven't conquered yet. The problem is that this race usually falls right in the middle of my employer's financial year-end valuations, during which time a weekend trip to Oudtshoorn is less than ideal, however in 2016 the race was at the start of the valuation period so I had time to slip out to attempt my first Atta! The Attakwas is billed as the toughest single stage race in Southern Africa, and apparently it is similar to a Queen stage of the Cape Epic. You have to be properly fit and a little bit crazy to attempt the 120km race between Oudtshoorn and Groot Brak over the historic Attakwaskloof pass (nowadays merely a 4x4 jeep track over the mountains). I left work a bit earlier on Friday afternoon, made the trip to Oudtshoorn where I registered and then camped out for the night at Kleinplaas which was filled with fellow cyclists all attempting

Hell & Back is the original stage race in South Africa. This race started way back in 1995 before I even knew something like mtb'ing existed, celebrating it's 21st anniversary in 2015.   According to the old timers in my training group this race used to be even more popular but with the glut of stage races to choose from on the calendar and being nestled in between high profile races like Wines2Whales and the Double Century the Hell&Back is flying slightly below the radar nowadays. Back in 2012 this was my first attempt at a stage race. My goal then was to do the 120km (60 in & 60 out) in 7h00 and maybe sneak into the top 50. I failed at both.... 3 years later I had a chance to try again. This time I would be a bit older but the flipside I was now fitter, rode a 29er instead of a 26er and had the benefit of more experience. Which would count most on the day? Day 1 The 60km stages are easy to underestimate given the relatively short distances, but along wit