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Well since I have no dh bike at the moment I have decided to build myself a pump track to train on in the off season. There is a demand for a good pump track in the Cape Town area, so here we are J

Now there are just a few things to keep in mind for anyone who might want to build a pump track:

1.       The soil should be easy to handle but still solid when it sets.

2.       The rollers shouldn’t be too steep and should gradually level out.

3.       The gaps between the rollers should not be closer than 1m.

4.       The birms should be steep enough so that you can really commit and gain speed from them.

5.       Try and make sure that the rollers are at very least 30cm high and 60cm wide.

6.       The gradient of the area should be as level as possible.

7.       There should be water available close by.

 

I have found that these few steps really help to get it right the first time round! The only other thing you can do is have fun with and make some cool features!

This past weekend there were a acouple of events taking place, the Malelane Toyota Downhill Challenge and the Halloween Dirt Jump Jam at Gum trails. I obviously could not race the dh as I don't have a bike, but I got my jump bike out after 3 months of no jumping and went through to Gum Trails for some fun!

Here is an awesome pic taken by Retroyspective, thanks bud!

right now I am still on the hunt for a new ride....
Untill next time....

Red Bull Urban Assault 2012

This was a crazy week for me, I wasn’t even thinking about racing as I don’t have a bike at the moment. I had been building a pump track and doing some planning for next season. However on Friday afternoon I headed to The Bike Shed for an xc ride and to chat to Jaco Veldsman. It was the day prior the Red Bull urban assault and as far as I was concerned I was just going to go and watch.

Then while chatting to Jaco he offered me the chance to race a Rocky Mountain Element 50 xc bike which he has as a demo bike from Hullabaloo. At first I was sceptical and a bit worried how the bike would hold up, however I decided it would be better than watching J So I thought I would give it a go and have some fun. We fitted some dh wheels, cranks and bars which gave it a more dh feel to make me feel a bit safer.

On Saturday afternoon I headed out to Cape Town to sign in and do some runs down the hill. I did get some funny looks when I arrived but after a few runs down I was having fun and felt I could go pretty fast on the xc machine! I did feel quite loose down the high speed section of the track and also down the stairs but it was a blast.

Sunday morning came around and I was a little tired as my good friend had his 23^rd birthday the night before, but I was just here to have fun and do my thing. I got in 2 practice runs before the race run, I felt solid, smooth and in control.

In the first run I had a good run, I did make a few mistakes, but I still felt good down towards the bottom and I came across with a 2:49, I was sitting in 2^nd spot overall behind Johann Potgieter with a 2:43. I would normally be disappointed with that time, but considering I was on an XC bike! I was very pleased and quite surprised to be honest J

Now that I had seen where I stood I felt I had some more in the tank for run 2 and was looking to close the gap a bit. I also knew that I had to keep it together because in Urban assault they average out the 2 run times and don’t take the fastest run.

In the 2^nd run the wind came up slightly and I really pushed hard, I didn’t make any major mistakes and felt that the run was better, however when I crossed the finish line my time was slower, a 2:50. This was a bit of a shock to me because I really thought that I would have a faster run, thus I was a bit disappointed in myself at the time. I did come around a little while later when I realised that I was still in 2^nd overall and that I had done it on a full on xc bike!

I would like to give a big thumbs up to Jaco Veldsman and Rocky Mountain bikes ( Hullabaloo ) for hooking me up with the bike for the weekend. For anyone looking to get an awesome xc bike that get the job done both up and down hill, go and speak to Hullabaloo Products.

I would like also like to thank my other sponsors who have stuck by me, Seattle Coffee Co, Virgin Active, Red Bull SA, Leatt Brace, Evoc, Adidas eyewear, Flexfit, my trainer John Wakefield @science2sport and Csixx. Without you guys this wouldn't be possible!

Until next time…..

Final European race of 2012

After last weeks disaster, it continued into the final IXS European cup in Todtnau, Germany, as my bike was taken away from me after the race….

That’s right, I headed back to Germany with no dh bike, however the team did say that they would bring it to Todtnau for the final round of the IXS cup series. In the mean time I headed to Christian Textor’s (TEAM MOUNTAINBIKE RIDER) house who invited me to come and stay J

It was really cool there and I got to do some dirt jumping, pump track and endure riding which was a nice change. However there was still one race left and I was looking for another good result; I had arranged to go to the race on Thursday evening with another friend, Arie Schindler. On Thursday morning I finally got hold of my team manager after an email, facebook message and a whatsapp message. She just said that she was not bringing the bike and my season was done, this left me in a panic because I had already arranged to go and now I had no bike. Luckily for me my friend Christian was able to lend me his Nuke Proof Scalp for the weekend and I was able to stay with Arie J Thanks a lot boys!

Anyway, we finally got there and I was excited to end the season well even though I had the flu and I was riding a bike I had never ridden before. We set up camp, registered and walked the track, it all looked good, pretty fast, long and physical.

Friday practice came around and I was having fun in the sun, I was also loving the bike even though the setup was pretty soft for me, it was still good and tracked like a beast! I got in 5 runs and felt pretty good for the weekend. However this is Europe and it couldn’t let me leave without some rain, so on Saturday morning I woke up to thundering rain and a very wet track. I was a little disappointed but still excited to have some fun playing in the mud! I was not too bothered about Saturday as I knew that it was just seeding and nothing more; I just used the seeding as further training for Sunday and I ended up 54^th. I knew I had way more in the tank for Sunday and the weather was supposed to change so I was feeling confident.

Sunday was upon us and it was time to get it done; I got some new lines in the morning practice session and was ready to let it hang out! We had a long wait until the final just to get the nerves going, but that’s all part of it J Finally I heard those beeps and I was off, starting off really well, carrying good speed and letting off the brakes. I was feeling really good until about one and a half minutes into the track where I popped into a fast, flat root section and landed a bit off the main line; I got bounced right out of the track into a boggy hole. I almost came to a stop and lost all my speed, I knew then that I had blown it but I thought just keep pushing to see how you do.

I got to the bottom 10 sec faster than seeding even after the mistake, I ended up 37^th for the day which was not too bad considering what happened. Looking at the splits, I would’ve been in the top 20 again for sure. All this while on a strange bike and being sick; I’ll take that J

So the European season has come to an end for me and I could not have done it without all the support from sponsors, friends and family!

Thanks to the great companies behind me, Seattle Coffee Co, Virgin active, Leatt, Adidas eyewear, Csixx, Evoc, Red Bull SA, Flexfit and my trainer John Wakefield @science2sport

Thanks in particular to Christian Textor, Arie Schindler and Lars Peyer for making this last race possible!