I think the video says it all:
Book Review: Tales from Nowhere
6 days ago
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tulbagh
This past weekend I was up in Tulbagh with Carise and some of her friends. While they were mostly excited about champagne pickniks and wine tasting I was really looking forward to getting out on the trail.
On Saturday morning Anton (the husband of one of the friends with us) and I took to the road. We were staying at a place called The Wild Olive Farm, which I recommend to anyone looking for a nice weekend away. We headed down towards Tulbagh on the tar, but angled away to the nature conservancy where there were apparently the best tracks to ride on. The nature conservancy was beautiful. There was a small waterfall and some nice mountains. Unfortunately the condition of the track was pretty poor, and very steep. We only made it up a few hundred meters before turning back.
Our route to the nature conservency had taken us in a bit of a horseshoe shaped route and we decided to make up time by cutting through some farms. This was a great decision. We were on some backroads in no time - climbing over fences and wading over rivers to get through. We even came upon a road that had washed away. We still scoffed at the 'Do not proceed' sign, but quickly realised if was no joke when we saw a 10 meter drop where the road used to be.
The two pictures are of Anton and I in the river bed of the washed away road.
All in all a very pleasant ride although we were both glad to get back to the flats as the heat had started climbing. It reached a high of over 40 degrees that day.
It was also a good opportunity to break in the new bike on a longer trail and I must say I'm very happy with it. My fitness has improved but the bike makes everything so much easier. I'm flying up climbs and downhill sections are much softer. It's a fantastic piece of kit.
On Saturday morning Anton (the husband of one of the friends with us) and I took to the road. We were staying at a place called The Wild Olive Farm, which I recommend to anyone looking for a nice weekend away. We headed down towards Tulbagh on the tar, but angled away to the nature conservancy where there were apparently the best tracks to ride on. The nature conservancy was beautiful. There was a small waterfall and some nice mountains. Unfortunately the condition of the track was pretty poor, and very steep. We only made it up a few hundred meters before turning back.
Our route to the nature conservency had taken us in a bit of a horseshoe shaped route and we decided to make up time by cutting through some farms. This was a great decision. We were on some backroads in no time - climbing over fences and wading over rivers to get through. We even came upon a road that had washed away. We still scoffed at the 'Do not proceed' sign, but quickly realised if was no joke when we saw a 10 meter drop where the road used to be.
The two pictures are of Anton and I in the river bed of the washed away road.
All in all a very pleasant ride although we were both glad to get back to the flats as the heat had started climbing. It reached a high of over 40 degrees that day.
It was also a good opportunity to break in the new bike on a longer trail and I must say I'm very happy with it. My fitness has improved but the bike makes everything so much easier. I'm flying up climbs and downhill sections are much softer. It's a fantastic piece of kit.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Primitive Type
My colleague and cycling buddy Dave has just started his own blog. Check it out at www.primitivetype.net.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Blogger Custom Domain Woes
Finally got the custom domain thing working with blogger so my blog is up at www.liehann.com again. Woohoo! Seems blogger has some trouble figuring out that when you follow their instructions and add a CNAME that points www.liehann.com to ghs.google.com, that you have added a CNAME that points www.liehann.com to ghs.google.com. If only I could now get liehann.com to point to www.liehann.com we'd be all set. But that's a fight for another night.
On the cycling front been out of action over the weekend after feeling a slight muscle pull on Friday. I can still feel it a little today and I've decided to ease up on the cycling till its 100% again. That could mean no cycling till the weekend. Which despite the lack of training is unfortunate because tomorrow I'm getting a new bike! Yey! It's a Merida XC 900D. Full suspension, great components, roughly 13kgs. It's a great step up from th old beast (which has been good and faithful to me). Still, it's going to be great to ride! I can't wait!
Here's a shot from the merida website. Very pretty. Hop over to www.merida-bikes.com for full specs.
We're going up to Tulbagh this weekend and it got me to thinking. It would be great to build a bike park in this part of the world (Western Cape, South Africa). I'm thinking of a place that combines lengthy trails (for the cross country guys), with mountain bike lifts (for the downhill guys), technical trails etc. Combine that with a ski village atmosphere, saffa style, and I think you have a winning combination. Imagine being on the mountain all day. You come off the mountain and get showered up in your log cabin, complete with gorgeous mountain side views. You head into the village center round supper time. You pick from a variety of bars and restaurants that all open onto a common square. You can pick from a variety of great food (of course there will be at least one restaurant offering braai vleis) and wash it down with cocktails, bubbly and great wines from the region. So if you have a few million lying around that you would like to invest in my vision get in touch. Lets make something awesome out here in the Cape!
On the cycling front been out of action over the weekend after feeling a slight muscle pull on Friday. I can still feel it a little today and I've decided to ease up on the cycling till its 100% again. That could mean no cycling till the weekend. Which despite the lack of training is unfortunate because tomorrow I'm getting a new bike! Yey! It's a Merida XC 900D. Full suspension, great components, roughly 13kgs. It's a great step up from th old beast (which has been good and faithful to me). Still, it's going to be great to ride! I can't wait!
Here's a shot from the merida website. Very pretty. Hop over to www.merida-bikes.com for full specs.
We're going up to Tulbagh this weekend and it got me to thinking. It would be great to build a bike park in this part of the world (Western Cape, South Africa). I'm thinking of a place that combines lengthy trails (for the cross country guys), with mountain bike lifts (for the downhill guys), technical trails etc. Combine that with a ski village atmosphere, saffa style, and I think you have a winning combination. Imagine being on the mountain all day. You come off the mountain and get showered up in your log cabin, complete with gorgeous mountain side views. You head into the village center round supper time. You pick from a variety of bars and restaurants that all open onto a common square. You can pick from a variety of great food (of course there will be at least one restaurant offering braai vleis) and wash it down with cocktails, bubbly and great wines from the region. So if you have a few million lying around that you would like to invest in my vision get in touch. Lets make something awesome out here in the Cape!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Dusty Ride
[Edit] Posted this via email from my cell phone as a test, and it worked! Great.
Clipless Pedals
I'm moving over to blogger. Right now I'm still struggling a bit with getting the CNAME records setup so that the blog is available at www.liehann.com, but that should come right in the next couple of days.
In the meanwhile, here is a shot of my new pedals and cycling shoes.
The pedals are Shimano 540s and the shoes are Meridas. (I can't find the model name on the box or the shoes). What I like about these shoes is that they are made for walking and riding, so if you absolutely have to you can hop of your bike and keep moving the old fashioned way. I got the shoes on Monday but unfortunately that pair had a manufacturing defect so I had to replace them. Luckily this time everything is in good condition.
Despite hearing loads of stories about how difficult it is to start riding with cleats, and how everyone falls, so far I'm doing pretty well. Only one fall and that had more to do with me riding like a spaz than me wearing cleats. Although I probably could have jumped clear if my feat were not attached to the pedals. Riding with cleats is great. If anyone out there has not made the upgrade yet, I strongly recommend it.
Training is coming along nicely too. Today I managed Wynberg to Tokai, up to the right hand lookout point (before the tar section up to the mast) and back. I can really feel it in my legs, but I'm glad I made it. It will only get easier.
In the meanwhile, here is a shot of my new pedals and cycling shoes.
The pedals are Shimano 540s and the shoes are Meridas. (I can't find the model name on the box or the shoes). What I like about these shoes is that they are made for walking and riding, so if you absolutely have to you can hop of your bike and keep moving the old fashioned way. I got the shoes on Monday but unfortunately that pair had a manufacturing defect so I had to replace them. Luckily this time everything is in good condition.
Despite hearing loads of stories about how difficult it is to start riding with cleats, and how everyone falls, so far I'm doing pretty well. Only one fall and that had more to do with me riding like a spaz than me wearing cleats. Although I probably could have jumped clear if my feat were not attached to the pedals. Riding with cleats is great. If anyone out there has not made the upgrade yet, I strongly recommend it.
Training is coming along nicely too. Today I managed Wynberg to Tokai, up to the right hand lookout point (before the tar section up to the mast) and back. I can really feel it in my legs, but I'm glad I made it. It will only get easier.
Moving to Blogger
I've moved my blog over to blogger. At first look blogger does not seem to be as feature rich as wordpress, but on the up side google takes care of the hosting, so I don't have to worry about backups, servers going down etc. Let's hope for the best!
My Bike
Here is my bike that will hopefully get me all the way down the Freedom Trail without needing any major repairs and a minimal amount of punctures. (C'mon bike, you can do it!) There are still a few changes pending - clipless pedals, paniers or at least a handlebar bag, a torch, a GPS device to name a few. Then it just requires me and the long open road.
Flight Booked
During the past few weeks the trip itinerary has been pretty much finalised. I'm starting on the 5 of April 2008 and will be in Somerset West on the 4 of May. On average I'm doing between 70km and 100km a day with three days over 120km. The longest day is over 130km. That is a daunting distance but apparently the last 20km are downhill which will help.
Tomorrow is the day that I should be getting my clipless pedals and shoes after a long wait. I originally hoped to get them before Christmas but the suppliers and postal service let me down.
But onto the other piece of big news. My flight has been booked! No backing out now. I'll be departing Cape Town International Airport at 9:30 on Kulula flight MN755. Arriving in Durban at 12:25. From there it will be about a two hour trip to Pietermaritzburg by car (hoping to take advantage of some family who are local to the area). After a quick lunch it should be an hour or two to my first stop at Baynesfield Estate.
There is still a lot to organise though. The accommodation all still needs to be confirmed, equipment lists drawn up and purchased, and of course - I need to get a GPS device. At the moment I'm torn between the Colorado 300, Edge 705 and GPSMap 60CsX (all from Garmin). The Colorado looks amazing but hasn't been released yet. The Edge is geared towards cycling which has the advantages of including a heart rate monitor, but is also not out yet. The 60CsX is less featured being a slightly older model, but is actually out. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter please let me know.
Freedom Challenge
I first heard about the freedom challenge in August. I was paging through the Mail & Guardian and stumbled across an article by a guy who had ridden the freedom challenge this year. The idea intrigued me - ride through some of South Africa's most beautiful scenery for close to a month. That evening I went online and looked up the freedom challenge website (http://www.freedomchallenge.org.za/) to get more info.
I think the thing that hooked me was the way in which the trail is setup. The route has been mapped out in such a way that every night you stay at booked accommodation. You don't have to take food or camping gear with you. A trip planner is available on the website listing all available accommodation and distances between stops. This allows you to decide how far you want to ride each day.
So I decided I'm doing it.
That was four months ago. In the time since then I've organised leave and put together a draft of my trip planner. Its going to be quite a doozy. 28 days of cycling 70km to 100km a day. The peak distance is 127kms. I'm also starting to procure gear. Bike upgrades, electronics (this is a great excuse to get a GPS device), and general camping and touring gear.
Obviously I also need to be in pretty good shape for that amount of riding, so if anyone is in the Western Cape region and wants to go for a ride in the local hills, feel free to drop me a line.
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