Dark Africa....... Not so dark?

Been here a little more than a week and a half and the weather is beautiful, 30+ days, high teens at night. Have been riding everyday and met local riders that have shared great rides with me. The baboons can be very intimidating, they are usually found in packs along the roads, the old ones like to bare their teeth, but my local friends say they are just smiling at me, but also warn me not to stop or feed them. I am fascinated by the fences and gates here in South Africa, they mean business, designed to electrify you or cut you up badly. Personal security is a big business in this country. The highways are very good but dangerous after dark. Everyone knows about the Cape Epic and wishes us well. This will be a tough race if the terrain is similar to what I have rode so far, the rock seems very loose and the low bushes are full of thorns, snakes and spiders, some of the biggest I have ever seen....... Should be exciting!!!! The lodging is good and the food is fantastic. The bikes are fantastic and everyone wants to touch the Flash. On our way down the Garden Route towards Port Elizabeth for our safari..... Looking forward to it! ......... Don

Wow!

The boys have been expecting the 2011 Scalpels that we'll be racing to arrive the last few days. Since I was in the area this morning I figured no harm in dropping by. And there they were gleaming black and white. There are not enough superlatives to describe how giddy one feels when lifting up a full suspension bike, complete with pedals, and computer, and bottle cage, and set up to run tubeless; all the things you need to race your bike, but most manufacturers strip off when they list bike weights and it's still so unbelievably freakin' light. Thank you Olympia! Thank you, thank you, thank you Cannondale!

Crash

Uggghhh that one really hurt. Not the type of crash you're thinking. Preparing for Cape Epic is incredibly exciting, but we still have to deal with all the normal worldly concerns like computers crashing. Thanks to Tomek for helping me put the jersey design back together.

Go Cannondale!

Dropped in to see the guys at Olympia today. They had just finished setting up Don's Cannondale Flash. Fully set up and ready to race including computer, bottle cage, bar ends, and pedals it weighs only 17 lbs 12 oz.!!! And that's ready for endurance racing without any stupid light parts. That's just sick. Whooo Hoooo Cannondale.

I Feel Good

36 days skiing at Silverstar. I feel good! We will leave March 1 for Africa so I should have lots of time to toughen the butt before the race starts March 27. One last thing to attend to a few days before we leave, The American Birki ski race. Me and 7500 others looking for glory, it should be a great time as usual. Only 1 out of 3 bikes have come in from Cannondale so far, no worry they will show. Stormy my German Shepherd and I skied 7 hours this weekend at Birch. I am happy, she is a mess. Too much of a good thing, chasing those deer make for a stiff dog. I am getting very excited about Africa. It is the last of the big classics on my bucket list. I have been told that dogs can be big trouble while training in the South African countryside. Every farm has a four legged security service on duty 24-7. I love dogs but this worries me a little given the amount of time I will be training on my own in unknown terrain. I am really looking forward to having my daughter Lisa join us from Johannesberg for the 5 weeks that we will be in country. She will help us become more accustom to the way of life South Africa offers. Lisa has enjoyed her time in SA traveling to many areas during her stay. Alex, her guy, might be able to join our crew during race week, don't know wheather he can take time away from his work.
Gary is over the top with his computer savy, setting this blog thing up. I hope it will give you at home a little insight to our great race adventure. Gary is about to have a rock star experience racing Cape Epic, he just doesn't know it yet. Mountain stage racing is over the top in so many ways. It will take month after the race to digest the experience and then you start thinking where your next fix will come from. I have been really lucky to have done Trans Rockies twice, Trans Alps twice with great partners and friends and La Ruta with a great riding buddy. Cape Epic will be the icing on the cake for me.
I will add more thoughts later............

Tour de Nick's

What do you do when you live in Winnipeg, and are training for a South African stage race in March?

Why you join your buddies for their 8 hour 3:30 a.m. (that's right a.m.!) ride in the -35 windchill. I made it for 3 1/2 hours and then my frost bite adn I were off to work.

The evidence is here thanks to Tom Kolesnik.

Lindsay and Ian are training for the Arrowhead 135; 135 miles non-stop race on snowmobile trails in the freezing cold of northern Minnesota. Hah, only 135 miles. Hrummpphh.

Pugsley

You need to get in 3 hours of tempo, but it's -25C, the wind is howling, and the trail is covered in snow, ice, frozen foot prints, and snow drifts. The answer is the Surley Pugsley, a beast of a bike that makes the aforementioned ride a blast.

No those aren't carbon aero rims. Endomorph 3.7" tires are the largest volume production bike tire available.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, my gift comes in the form of a racing buddy that has agreed to have a go at Cape Epic, Gary Sewell will be my Prairie Boy partner in March. Years ago at a provincial road race championship in Wawanesa Gary and I and a dozen others were pushing hard on the last lap and all hell broke loose. Wheels touched and riders went down on a downhill at 50k plus. I was lucky enough to be on top of Gary and his new carbon bike for the nasty ride. Gary and his bike were a mess but he told me to get back on my bike and go for it and so I did. When they brought Gary in covered in blood I felt terrible but he quickly assured me that it was only skin and that is racing. I thought to myself, that's a tough guy with a great attitude. Many years later Gary came to mind for the tough guy role I was looking to fill with Bill out and the rest is how they say "history".

Breaking News

Bill is out with a back injury. Plan B will have to come together quickly.

Cape Epic

Cape Epic www.cape-epic.com is one of the four great mountain bike stage races in the world, the others being Tran-Rockies, Trans-Alps, and La Ruta de los Conquistadores. Participation is limited to 1200 racers with a limited number of invitations and the remainder determined by lottery.

Bill Benson and I have been fortunate to be given an invitation and will take on Cape Epic March 2011. A dream trip for ourselves and families. Can't wait.