So the BMX has just been fitted with a new set of knobbly tyres which should hopefully go someway to making the 55 km of technical off road riding on a single speed BMX a little easier. I had, until this point, the same tyres on the bike that rode all the way from CT to Joburg with me – those bad boys are slicker than ever; I have been getting punctures on almost every ride lately and I just want to send out so many kinds of gratitude to BMX Direct for hooking me up. They have also supplied a new set of slicks for the 95 km road ride I will be doing on the 17th of November!

I also need to chuck out a massive thank you to Kevin from Cycle Fusion who just serviced the bike for me…guess I have no more excuses – the bike is riding like a dream, new tyres and all shiny, it’s only me that can now screw this up!  It’s going to be fine! eeeeeeeeeeek.

Cycle Fusion

You must also check out Cycle Fusion’s Project 44One – amazeballingstuff!  - http://44oneracing.co.za/

We just got in a very generous personal donation in from Ross Thomson – thanks dude – you are a rock star. I am running out of time to train and you guys are running out of time to donate. Let Ross be an example to all of us to get on it!

Donation

Target Reached!

We would never have expected to reach our target so quickly but thanks to Amazing Anonymous we have, in one proverbial fowl swoop, raised R10 000 for CHOC!

We don’t want to stop here though – we want to blow this target out of the water and raise as much as possible for kids suffering from cancer and other blood related disorders. Please hop on our GivenGain project and donate – I bet you can’t donate R50!

Donate to this cause

Hi guys

We are selling the 2 stages (Mountain bike ride and Road ride) to Companies/People who want to take advantage of this sick (in the best sense of the word) opportunity to get some great exposure!

For a mere R5000 you can sponsor one of the 2 stages thereby making a tax deductible contribution to our chosen NGO, The Cows.

Sponsorship benefits include press coverage, prominent name and product placement throughout the event, inclusion in press releases, and extensive online marketing. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to send a positive message that your organisation is playing an active role in supporting CHOC and the holistic support for children suffering from cancer and life-threatening blood disorders.

The first 2 companies to hit the donate button and contribute an amount of R5000 will automatically get the stages. So get on it as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!

Donate to this cause

Any subsequent donations received will go direct to CHOC and will make and amazing difference to the kids suffering from Cancer but will not gain the donor the same exposure. Having said this however…we will do all that we can to make a massive online fuss over you!!

A selection of my favorite images taken by Doug From Trigger Monkey during the One Gear Challenge:

All strapped in

All fun and games before the test

Up close and personal

All cow for the Expresso Show Shoot

Mad Cows

It is good looking out here...and I am not just talking about the flowers

The start of the hill: Bain's Kloof Pass

Shame, how good looking is that

what's with the dorky smile

Big Skies as they say

Did I tell you the Skies were big out here?

Check how that road goes on forever

Gat

It was nipple

Lots of nothing

The wreck of which I spoke

That will break the monotony

This oke can take some pics hey

Up close and personal

The Karoo, the magical Karoo

A few more K's to go

How does he get a road to look so good

No Go!

I call it Anthill with hole in it

The dust of which I just spoke

A drum...in a field

Starting early these days

Nice hey, and also nice hay

Go team

Not so flat anymore

Perfect riding conditions

Reckon I might make it

Made it! too surreal

Cow bike - super aerodynamic

Very quick cow

Hey it's Doug taking a picture

So many udders

Nick Bauer presents SAfm Sports Special every weekend and decided to follow up to see how the ride went – check out the interview – there is 1:20 min commentary on some local soccer match – ff that shit to get to the exciting stuff:

12.11.26 – SAfm Interview

SAfm

Through some very generous donations recently received we have now crossed the R 125 000 mark!

Help us raise even more – The donation window is closing fast – I bet you can’t donate right now!

Funds raised so far

Donate to this cause

We became small town celebrities – oh the glory:

The Messenger

Volksblad (Kimberley)

When we set out we aimed to average 70 km per day and I trained to the extent that I had got my head and my pins (tiny legs) around an 80 km ride on a BMX. During the initial stages of the ride from Cape Town every niggle and small pain that developed threatened the success of the ride (if only in our minds) but as we pushed on and got into our routine and rhythm’s, our bodies hardened and confidences grew. We never wanted to get ahead of ourselves but as the distance behind us got to around 750 km and as the distance left to ride got to under half we began to feel like nothing could stop us! On days when we felt strong we pushed on past the scheduled km’s and started riding longer distances until 70 km started feeling like a short ride. It is amazing how the human brain works and that if we are mentally prepared, our bodies follow without hesitation.

After my dad had his heart attack I just wanted to get home and with the support of my girlfriend, Marilu, and Doug (Doug is not also my girlfriend) I started getting my head around even bigger distances. To get back in time for my old man’s op I started skipping stop overs and riding 2 stages a day. The first day I attempted this we covered 116 km (the largest distance I have ever ridden in a day (on any bike). The next day we rode through Hoopstad and continued on to Bothaville turning the stage into 130 km stage! Before we set out on the One Gear challenge I would have categorically said that this would not be possible. My altered mindset (perhaps going slightly dilly from the heat) and the support I received from the guys in Bothaville had me feeling like I could keep on riding. We glided into Bothaville that day and I started feeling like anything was possible.

Our next scheduled stop was in Parys, 110 km from Bothaville, which I now knew I could comfortably do in a day. We had planned on stopping there for the night and completing the ride into Joburg the next day (another 110 km). The guys from Bothaville rode me out of town at sunrise and with some great laughs and a wind at our backs we were 20 km down when they turned around to head back for work; it didn’t feel like we had even started riding. The wind stayed at my back and the slight drizzle kept me cool and at 10:30 we arrived in Parys. I stopped just before town where Doug had pulled over to check if I needed anything and we chatted about early it still was. We looked at each other and smiled – we both knew I was thinking of riding on. Doug said to me “you can do it dude”. We quickly smashed a steers chicken burger in our beaks, refilled the water bottles and I started riding out of town towards Joburg.

Having to go back after visiting my dad and complete even one stage became extremely unattractive. My old man was adamant that I should finish the ride and not come back to see him at all (this is the same guy that tried to carry on riding while he was having a heart attack because he didn’t want to let me or the Cows down). Being able to get back in time to have a dinner with my old man before he went into hospital and be able to surprise him with the news that I had finished the ride, was all the motivation that I needed. With Doug driving patiently along with me at 20 km/h for a total of 10 hours I arrived at Soccer City at 15:30 on the 12th of November 4 days ahead of schedule. I had ridden 460 km in 3 days with my biggest ride being 220 km on the final day.

Made it! too surreal

Everyone keeps congratulating me but I got so much out of this trip for myself that I feel guilty at the amount I benefited from the challenge. The biggest treasure I got to keep from this adventure was the knowledge that my boundaries can be pushed so far beyond where my mind puts up that proverbial fence. I now know that literally anything is possible!

It is also a little serendipitous that our fundraising efforts tipped past our targeted amount on this ride and coincided almost perfectly with my arrival at Soccer City! Our GivenGain donation account is still open for another week – help us blow the target out the water and raise even more for kids suffering from Cancer and Blood disorders! Go and donate now!

Funds raised

Donate to this cause

We did the 94.7 Cycle challenge this weekend (now a comfortable distance), which was the actual conclusion of One Gear. Stay posted for some awesome pics and some untold stories from the trip. The Cows are having their awards evening on Friday…so there will also be some crazy cow pictures and mad moo stories from there that will need to be posted!

This stage was very kindly sponsored by Storsure:

Storsure