What do you do when you can’t ride?

It’s been almost a month since that horrid day when my ankle snapped and I was summoned off my bike for 6 weeks. At first I wondered how I would keep busy, but somehow I managed.

A lot of my free time went into thinking about riding and I eventually got an indoor trainer. Riding with a space boot on is interesting to say the least. It constantly feels as if your one leg is longer than the other… Not a comfortable ride at all. And no amount of riding movies on my laptop in front of the trainer could make it less boring and frustrating. Riding has literally become something I have to force myself to do. I’m sure this will be fixed once I can do some proper mountain biking again!

Furthermore I spent countless hours reading and drinking coffee at the Jonkershoek tea garden while Hanco was out riding. This way I could still experience a small bit of nature and see some of our riding friends.

Most importantly – and I think that this is probably one of the best things to come out of this broken ankle – I spent even more hours finishing up my thesis. I am on track and ready to hand in at the end of October. I even managed to conjure up an extra unplanned chapter!

I also baked and baked and baked! Cupcakes, lemon cake, brownies and eclairs to name but a few. This is a hobby of mine that I didn’t get as much time for when I spent all my free time mountainbiking. Due to my excessive baking, both Hanco and I will have to spend some extra hours on the bike once I can ride again!

There are only 10 days left before I see the doctor for the last time and get my x-rays done to make sure I’m healed up. There after it’s physio and recovery. My riding goal is still to do the Lourensford 15 km race at the end of September and after that I will see how my ankle takes things. I do not plan on racing or competing seriously the next few months, just riding and enjoying being back on the bike!

Taking my Dad for his first MTB experience

A while back I set a challenge to my Dad telling him he must do an MTB race with me before he turns 70.  Being an athlete in his younger days focusing on long distance running and being quite good at it then, he naturally accepted my challenge. With the Binneman name being well known in the road cycling of yesteryear he was thrown in at the deep end.

I decided to take him for a short spin at Majik forest, the same place I first started cycling and where the mountain biking bug bit me.  Majik forest is just around the corner from where I grew up and it consists of a good climb up a jeep track and some easy to moderate single track on the way down.

My dad was armed with a set of my riding bibs, shorts, golf shirt, an old DJ helmet, gloves and my trusty Commencal when we decided to hit the road.  We started at the car park and pedaled up a short hill, my dad was full of fury and sprinted up the first hill, that also being the last. :)

He then pushed the rest of the hill since according to him it was too steep.  There after we had a bit of a flat ride through the vineyards.  I enjoyed the scenery and savoured the moment of riding with my dad for the first time in my life, while he on the other hand was concentrating profusely to keep the blue machine on track.  He kept reminding me that bicycles of his time were not like these and that he has not been riding a bicycle in years!

As we reached the top we stopped for a water break and enjoyed the view.  Eagerly we packed the water bottles away to get going down the single track.  This would be my dad's first time down single track ever and he reminded me of it every five seconds exclaiming how narrow the road was.  He did pretty well for a first timer of 69!  As I was riding behind my dad I felt very proud and also very blessed.  How many people can say that they went riding single track with their dad at age 69!

On the way down my dad had a minor off and had a lay down in the fynbos.  He could not stop laughing and quickly jumped back on and on we went.  When it got technical he decided to jump off and walk.  We made it through the most technical part and as we got to the flattish part just before entering the dense forest he took another dive into the grass.  He rolled over and back on his feet quick as a cat, of course laughing so much that he was barely able to get back on the bike.

Our ride was over for the day.  My first MTB ride with my dad was successful.  He enjoyed it as much as I did.  This would surely be a day I will never forget.

I just want to say thanks to my dad for joining me! You are the best!  Thanks to Arné and my mom for waiting back home while the boys had some fun out on their bikes.

First solo adventure

By this time most of our friends have heard about the bad news of Arné breaking her ankle on Monday and for those who did not, go read all about it here!  So on this public holiday I decided to sleep late and then go for a ride later during the day when it has warmed up a bit.

Knowing that this will be a solo adventure and that I will miss my riding partner more than I could imagine, I decided to change the odds a bit.  I said to myself that I will make it as hard as possible with no creature comforts such as a hydration pack, water bottle, spare tubes, something to eat or anything that could help me in times of need. Drink from the river, eat from the trees. I decided to go "cave man".

With my 1x10 hardtail and my mobile phone (to be used as a strava device and camera) I headed for the hills.  It was a cold brisk morning with an icy chill in the air.  I got going and soon my legs were spinning.  On my way to Jonkershoek I already started to feel lonely, missing the turn of my head to make sure Arné is still safely behind me, but alas, she was nowhere to be seen.  I was on my own.

Some snow on the Jonkershoek and Hottentots holland Mountains cheered me up and explained the icy cold wind blowing in my face.  This got me somewhat excited and I changed my route to go as high as I can to snap some photos of it.  Pedaling the 1x10 up some serious steep hills took some hard work and I had to dig deep to keep it up.

Flowing down the single track was pretty nice, I got some traffic but they were kind enough to get out of the way for me.  This was by far the best run I had down The Neverending story up to date.  My bike felt smooth with no rattles thanks to the clutch derailleur.  I was having some good fun and it felt like old school times with new school gear!

Heading to Firetrail was very scenic with snow on the peaks and it felt like riding in the Alps or somewhere in Europe.  Firetrail was good as always, with Bennet building there it never lets you down.  You could feel spring is in the air:  the soil is tacky and grippy, the air is fresh and the birds are out.  The fun was over for the day, just one pedal back home.

I survived my first solo adventure, despite thinking of Arné back home in her cast and how she would have loved this ride. I felt grateful in a way, grateful that I am blessed with such a great girl, such a fighter, strong and at the same time loving and caring and more often than not cute and very pretty. Sometimes you appreciate things more once you don't have it, so while you have it, cling on to it for dear life and appreciate every single moment of it!

Taking some time off

Hanco and I went to check out a brand new professionally built downhill track on Monday afternoon. We were really impressed. This new track could possibly be seen as the best track in the Western Cape and while doing a track walk, we couldn't wait to get on our bikes and try it for ourselves. This track boasts some seriously steep sections, so many corners, a few rock gardens and some jumps built over natural features. 

The friendly farm owner shuttled us up and Hanco let me go down the track first so that he could make sure I would be okay. Although the track was new to me, I trust Bennet's building technique so I wasn't afraid of not being able to ride any of the features. I surprised myself by not hesitating and riding over some seriously scary looking rocks and off camber sections. A few corners into the track my wheel rolled over a rock and into a turn, I didn't quite make the turn and put my inside foot out to correct the bike... and then I heard and felt something "SNAP!"... I managed to move myself and my bike out of the way and shouted for Hanco to come to my rescue. He reacted immediately and was there within seconds helping me on my feet again and onto the shuttle road.
 
Walking to the car was very painful but I tried to stay brave and let Hanco do one more shuttle run before we headed home. My ankle didn't look too good. It was swollen within seconds and it was hurting quite badly. Luckily young Ike took care of me by bringing me an icepack which helped relieve some of the pain. By the look of things, we had to go for x-rays... 

After a few hours waiting at the Emergency Room, the doctor confirmed our suspicions: my ankle is broken at the lower part of the fibula.... It was put into a cast and I am seeing the orthopeadic surgeon next week. Until then I am struggling along on crutches.

I cannot wait to ask the doctor when I will be able to ride again, but it wont be within the next 6-8 weeks... I am succeeding in keeping my mind off my injury, but I don't know how much of it is still denial. I am already struggling to keep busy and am completely clueless as to what I will do with my new free time. As soon as I've seen the doctor, I'll set a realistic recovery and riding goal for myself. Until then my upper body is getting some serious workouts on the crutches!

I am completely humbled by the huge amount of love and support I have been receiving from my family, my friends and even from strangers. It sucks to be helpless and immobile, but having you guys around makes it more bearable!

Race report: Die Burger MTB challenge and Helderberg DH shuttle day

I started mountain biking in 2011 and the first mountain bike race I did was Die Burger MTB Challenge (30km). I have since then learned that type of riding is not necessarily what I enjoy, but it is also quite fun to push yourself. To commemorate my first race, Hanco and I decided to make this race a yearly institution. We decided to kick things up a notch last year and did the 42km. Hanco was on his Rocky Mountain Slayer and I was still on my trusty Reign, but due to unforeseen technical difficulties (having to stop every 5km's to tighten Hanco's cranks) we finished in a record horrible time of 3:47. After last year's bad experience, we hoped for the best when entering this year. Luckily we now have bikes that are more suited for the job.

 

 Hanco has been playing with his gears setup during the week and aimed to complete the 42kms using only 9 gears in preparation for his 1x10 setup that he ordered. I was just aiming to finish must quicker than last year! We were seeded in different start groups and I opted to start with Hanco in the I group. 

Once the race started, we managed to work our way to the front of our start group even passing some of the people who started two groups ahead of us. We just tried to keep a steady pace. Hanco really impressed me by pedaling up the whole of the Bothmaskop climb. Although I started out strong, I walked the last few meters of that horrid and tough hill!

After that it was all downhill. Hanco almost collided with a couple who found the descend a bit too much and just stopped dead in the middle of the downhill. Luckily he managed to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision. Meurant managed to sort out the bottleneck pile up of the past few years by allowing riders to tag out just before the Helshoogte Pass crossing and tag back in afterwards. We only waited about 3 minutes instead of the nearly 40 minutes last year!

After losing my line and falling in a muddy spot at about 22kms into the race, I bonked and tried to soldier on the best I could. With only stopping once to fix a fallen off chain, I was very happy to see the finish line and the coke waiting for me! We will definitely enter this race again next year. I will try the 42km again while Hanco is aiming to do the 60km.

We took a break from our hardtails on Sunday and dusted off the "big" bikes to go and try the new downhill track that was built on the Helderberg mountain in Somerset West. The new track is set on a Protea farm and boasts some seriously stunning views. The track is really impressive, with something for everyone. The top section is rough and technical with a few off camber sections, loose soil, rocks and steep unexpected corners, this is followed by a nice hardpacked and flowy middle section with a few jumps thrown in. The track ends with a flatish section decorated with a few triples and jumps to keep the spectators entertained. Apart from the top section, I really enjoyed the track and was grateful for all the chicken runs!

The whole day was a success, with only a few crashes. Thanks to everyone who picked up a shovel to help build this awesome new track! Looking forward to race there 6 October!

Jonkershoek Mud soldiers

Sunday morning we felt a bit bleak as the rain did not blow over during the night.  We had to once again brave the cold and wet weather to get our legs spinning.  We decided to ride in from town and then do a few single tracks in Jonkershoek.  After kitting up and getting Strava running we hit the road.

The pedal to Jonkershoek was cold but not much rain.  Once we got to the gate it started bucketing down.  I could see the cold was getting the better of Arné but she just showed how tough she can be and pushed on to the top.  Once there we took a break and took some photos of the epic clouds rolling over the mountains and small waterfalls running down the side of it.

We then moved on to "Never ending story" and I decided to ride behind Arné.  I was so impressed to see how well she rides in such muddy and slippery conditions making light work of the tight switchbacks and flowing the bike over the roots and rocks with ease.  I was so happy to see her having so much fun and really mastering her hardtail.

 As we got to the bottom we moved onto the new "old" bottom section of  "Never ending story".  Not like I remembered it but it was ok.  Not my style of single track but it is good to have more single track.  Then we continued into an old river trail....worst mistake of the day.  It was a river!

Getting out on the other side with a frown and a mouth full of dirt we had one more little climb to get the the lower Firehut trail.  As we got to the top the excitement of hitting a nice loamy trail got to me.  It was muddy and slippery and loose and my 2.1" Maxxis Crossmark made it more fun than what I could imagine.  Going through corners letting the back end hang out and hitting roots making the bike slip all over the track.  This run was slow, but damn wild! Had so much fun, my heart rate went through the roof!  Arné also looks like she had a fun run down, I could see that since she had a smile...with mud on her teeth.

With one long sprint back home we started turning those cranks.  Thinking of a hot shower and the Andorra World Cup race waiting for us there.

Thank you Arné for braving the weather with me and pinning it like a true champ! <3

Muddy friends on bikes

Checking the weather prediction on a Friday only to find that it will be raining for almost every hour of the weekend feels a bit like a killjoy.  Having to choose between sitting indoors all weekend or HTFU was not very hard.  We chose the latter.

On Saturday at about noon we met up with our good friends Reto and Madeleine for a ride at Meerendal in the Durbanville hills area.  Upon arrival the weather looked okay and we kitted up.  Just as we were ready to ride it started raining.

From the word go the trails were muddy, and as we continued up the hill it did not get any better.  We got to "Stairway to heaven", a smoothly paved "single track" with some tight switchbacks that was pretty easy to conquer.  After that a bit of a climb they call "Thirsty mountain climb", which our little hardtails somewhat enjoyed.

Once at the top we were met with some seriously strong winds. Reto and Madeleine decided to descend first as they were on the suspension bikes and would for most practical purposes be faster than us on the hardtails.  Reto had a bit of an off as one berm just gave way and he ended up bending his deraileur hanger and also damaging his deraileur.  Arné and Madeleine had a smooth run down and on my run I really struggled to go fast, a combination of horrid weather, some seriously sketchy building technique and frozen up fingers does not help you when trying to go fast.

We kept pushing on to do the last bit of single track down and as we got back to the Bistro it started bucketing down.  The girls ran inside and left me spraying down the bikes to get most of the mud off.  Within a few minutes I was completely soaked!  We then had a cup of hot chocolate and chatted about our experience.

Thanks Reto and Madeleine for the fun ride!

Race report: SA Champs at Hayterdale, Port Elizabeth

On our way there we passed a small town called Hankey, I think I should go retire there.

The last weekend of my almost eight week long holiday saw us heading to Port Elizabeth for the South African Downhill Champs. We weren't planning on attending this event, but Hanco's arm got twisted when one of our young rider's dad invited us to accompany them. We were soon looking forward to the weekend: a scenic road trip, a few days away and some awesome mountain biking.

Sunrise in Plett

The roadtrip to PE was extremely long but the scenic views made up for it. Driving through Knysna and Plett with the forests  beside the road put us in the mood for trail riding and we are planning another roadtrip in that direction with that aim soon.

The Game fence jump.

I was unsure of the nature of the Hayterdale DH track and decided to leave my Nukeproof at home  and rather take my hardtail to enjoy the rest of the famous Hayterdale trails instead. I also entered a small 26km race that was being held on the Sunday morning before the DH race where I placed first for the ladies.We are spoilt with Jonkershoek as our backyard and Hayterdale just cannot compare. It was awesome to experience new trails, but I was longing for the fast flowing descends we have so much of in Jonkers. After a few kilometres, I got used to the terrain and started enjoying the trails more. I would not call them beginner friendly as some of them seem to have not seen maintenance in a while, but they are definitely challenging and enjoyable. It was a nice break from the perfectly manicured trails that is very common in the Cape (read Northern Suburbs).  It is also an amazing experience to see wildlife almost right next to you while riding!

This little guy was enjoying the grass more then the Downhill action.

Arné at the start of the Little Zuurberg trek.

And off she goes.

While I spent the weekend riding trails and snapping pics of the downhill riders, Hanco and Jason were shredding the downhill track. Both boys really enjoyed the track and felt that it suited them quite well. The only complaint was due to the insane amount of thorns everywhere!

Jason pinning the Canyon gap, me having a bite after my crash there.

Game fence jump into step down! This track is so fun!

The XCO champs was held at the same venue on the Saturday and I took time out to watch the race a bit and to support some of our WP riders like Chris and Gina Nixon. I gained new respect for them after seeing the XC course and the obstacles they had to maneuver on their hardtails. After riding a section of the same course on the Sunday, I experienced why this course is seen as one of the best in South Africa. It is a really exciting track with interesting obstacles around every corner.

My seeding run over the Game fence jump and adding some style over the step down in my race run.

The WP riders did not disappoint on the Sunday and we were proud to see so many of them on the podium. I was also very happy to see Hanco getting first place in the Sports category.

Arné a very happy lady after her win and me on the podium.

Highlights of the weekend included the amazing hospitality of Jason and his dad, our awesome accommodation, being able to enjoy my most favorite breakfast - Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise, seeing all the friendly faces from the WP crowd and getting to see Nyalas almost at arm's reach. Well done to the organizers and everyone who took part in the races! See you at the next one!

It was a long drive back and it didn't take them long to doze off.

Our beautiful country.

Thanks again to Jason and his dad (and mom!) for their hospitality and for granting us this amazing opportunity!  Jason had to race in the under 16 category since he had no competition in his age group. Despite this, he was only 9 seconds slower than the National Champ and also beat two other 16 year old riders in that class who are 3 years older than him! Congrats you little pinner!

Jason and his Dad, aka "The Mechanic"

Watch out for young Jason flying through the air at 2:21 in this video:


SA MTB Champs 2013 from Greg Ritz on Vimeo.

What a weekend: Jonkershoek

It is winter in South Africa and living in the Boland area, this means that our days are filled with wind, ice cold temperatures and the odd rain shower or continuous drizzle. When we looked at the weather forecast for last weekend, Saturday was no exception. Very out of character for us, we decided to stick the finger to the rain and still get on our bikes for an adventure in Jonkershoek.

We made our way up to the deck, probably one of the most extreme climbs in the reserve as the last few hundred meters are unrideable (for us mere mortals - I'm sure there are some guys with legs of steel who can power up there). Luckily, even in severely overcast weather, the view up there makes it all worth it. In typical Hanco and Arné fashion we enjoyed a cup of tea an cookies up top before starting our massive descend down again.

This descend was by far the longest continuing downhill ride that I have ever done and it was also extremely rough at sections. I cooked my brakes about halfway through and was happy to take a breather before dipping into the last downhill (the old downhill track dipping into flow trail). I have never really enjoyed the old downhill particularly because of some seriously off camber turns that put me a bit at unease. However with my super coach Hanco behind me, even that became rideable. After such a long descend I was feeling quite over it and gatvol by the time that I reached Flow trail or Slangpad that I just let go of my brakes so that it could end quicker!

Somewhere in our ride it had started to rain and we were  reconsidering our earlier bravery and plans for a mega ride. As a compromise, we decided to still do a few more trails (the new canaries and downhill) before going hunting for coffee.  I followed the same philosophy as earlier, just trying to get the descends over as quickly as possible.

We felt like wet chickens as we pedalled to the gate, trying not to get the car and everything we touched full of mud! We ended the day with a delicious braai in the rain and looked forward to the prospect of another trailride the next day!

Photo on the right by Madeleine and Reto

Sunday's weather was the complete opposite to Saturday and this is evident in our photos. Clear skies with little wind and a beautiful sun peeking through! We met up with Madeleine, Reto and Theresa at Jonkershoek. After enjoying the old DH track the previous day, I wanted to give that another go and we headed up in that direction. Madeleine, Reto and Theresa opted for another trail and we regrouped at the gate after our respective descends.

Thank you Reto and Madeleine for the awesome photos!

A group decision was made to head up to the groenhuisie next to do all the Firehut trails. Hanco and I spent some time practicing a few spots while the rest of the group headed down. I am really grateful that Hanco spends so much time with me on the trails building my confidence. It really helps to make my riding more enjoyable!

Photo bottom middle by Reto and Madeleine

At the bottom, we decided to call it a day and made a joint decision to head to Ride In for coffee and something sweet. A weekend well spent on the bikes! Next up: Downhill Nationals at Port Elizabeth next weekend!