As we all know there comes a time when you have to lift your butt from the couch and start doing some serious training to stay fit. So yesterday while I was like any other average person spending some time on the couch watching some tv, I though as the weather cleared up and there's absolutely no wind as we speak, it was the perfect time to get some training in. So I'm preparing myself to make a good comeback into the sport after I ended up with an injury and forced me to stay off the bike for quite some time.
These days you won't easily see me on a road bike as I'm more into mountain biking and I love it more than anything else! Down in the Cape, there's always a mountain bike race happening. Its a family sport so you'll see so many youngsters riding with their parents during the event which is great to see because those are the future stars of the sport. Mountain biking is more exciting in a way, its fast, hard and its always technical. It takes lots of concentration and focus.
Yesterday I decided instead of lying on a couch and watch some tv and you know you'll end up getting lazy, I got my cycling kit ready, got dressed and most importantly get my helmet because like our PPA says "No Helmet, No Ride!!" Got my mountain bike out of the garage and the path way was covered in water so I had to find a dry path to get to the gate. With clouds covering the skies and some sun showing its face. It was time to turn those legs. To those who don't know...I love my mud, so if it stopped raining, I would take a spin on the bike.
If you know these roads from everyday training, you'll know where to find the best mud patches and trust me its sometimes deep and really thick so if you're taking a risk by riding through it, then you need to know how to handle your bike otherwise your face will be covered in mud! This time around I found some awesome mud patches. For me cycling is all about having fun and experience nature at its best, cycling is enjoying yourself and meet new people on the road during a race or just on a training ride. Others take cycling very seriously and its all about winning races.
So while I was enjoying my ride and riding at my own pace, one of our local club riders came past me and asked me if I want to join them. As I joined them I decided to go hard on the climb before I'm turning around heading back home. As I stopped to look if its safe for me to turn around at one of the farms, the farm workers children was all over the road and before I knew it, they were standing around me greeting me and would ask me all kinds of questions. One thing about Robertson is the fact that wherever you may be riding even if its on the road or on the gravel roads, they'll always greet you when they see you. If they see you have a mechanical issue or something, they walk up to you and help you with a smile. The other thing is you must also be careful because you never know when they want to steel something.
As I turned around to head back home, the little children would shout at me asking me "Girl can we maybe run behind you even if its just a few meters?" I though well if there's no on coming traffic and its safe then its fine with me otherwise it can be dangerous not only for the children but for myself as well. So they run besides me and behind me and after a while they said goodbye with a lost of breath as they couldn't keep up with me anymore. Makes me realize that no matter whats going on your life, you'll always find a person who'll take some time to put a smile back on your face.
This time around I decided that because there wasn't any traffic this time around (thats after 6pm last night) I'm going to take a longer route to get back home than then average route (the faster one). Strangely enough there was this massive splash of mud on this short piece of gravel road leading back to Van Zyl street. So I rode through it and I could feel how my tires are slipping on the slippery rocks beneath the water and it was super deep as well. Thanks to some bike handling skills, I rode through it with no problems are although my legs and socks was covered in mud including my bike. My bike's brakes made this squeaking sound when I brake.
My mom knows me so well that she knows when I get back home from a muddy ride, I'll be covered in mud. She always says: "Only a mother can love her child." when she sees a cyclist covered in mud. This comment comes all the way from the 2009 Robertson Winery MTB Challenge down at Paru farm. It was raining non-stop and our bikes was so covered in mud that we had to walk up the climbs, when we're on top we use some lubricant on our chains just so that we can ride for a while. The roads are slippery and we had to go through one of the farm dam's and trust me when its raining, the water is rising fast and the dam was so deep that it reached my hips! The water was freezing cold that I even didn't feel my feet! When we finished you only could see our eyes other than that everything was covered in mud!
Yesterday was an amazing ride and I would like to thank everyone for making it awesome!
Up next I'm off to the UCI African XC Continental Championships at Jonkershoek this weekend to see the best riders battling it out to become African Champ. I'll not represent our country but instead I'll be handing out bottles to Ryan Ellis of Team Jeep who'll be racing the South African colors.
Well thats it for now.
Hope you guys enjoy my latest blog.
Have a safe ride!
Cheers
Yolande
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