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I have always seen myself as a “low maintenance” kinda girl… but want to be even lower maintenance while on my bike - I still have a lot to learn here. I have a magic garage. My bike goes into it after a ride all dusty or muddy and comes our sparkling clean and riding like a dream! I have become a bit on the lax side in terms of looking after my bike and getting it ready for a ride not because I am too lazy to do it but because it gets done for me!
Brett has taken on that role in our house; washing the bikes, maintenance, replacing thingamajigs and fixing “phweeping” noises , checking tire pressures, wiping down and lubing the chains - what they call the A,B & C check before your ride.
A – Air & Tires
B – Brakes
C – Chain & Cassette
As a mountain bike rider, if there is one thing that makes my blood boil it’s that moment when you are standing alongside a trail with a technical issue and some riders fly past you shouting “are you okay?” But they actually have absolutely no intention of stopping to help you anyway.... Rather don’t even bother asking buddy! You always leave me thinking that you wouldn’t even know how to help me anyway….looser!
But most of the times when I have been a damsel in distress on the side of a trail I have been helped by some really amazing, friendly, awesome people which makes me love the sport of mountain biking even more!
I have decided that I need to pay more attention to this part of riding as well as really learn what to do when things go wrong out there. Things like knowing how to plug my tire and fixing a snapped or bent chain will come in handy for me. At the moment I just shout “BRETT!!!!!!!” and my personal bike mechanic comes to my rescue. We have agreed that this should be priority as I ride behind Brett most of the time and he may not notice that I have a puncture for example and I need to be able to fix it myself and get back on the bike as quickly as possible without relying on outside assistance.
So my game plan on this side of things is to learn how to use every single item in my tool bag and if what’s in my tool bag cant fix whatever is wrong – then my personal bike mechanic can look at it for me.
This is what will go into my bag:
Derailleur hanger for my GIANT LIV
A multi tool with a chain breaker
Small cloth to clean glasses or other dirty things
Tire leavers
Pain pills
Chain lube
Cable ties (for everything that can’t be fixed – cable ties will fix it!
Spare tubeless valve core
Bombs and bomb inflator
Spare cleat bolt
Chain quick links
Gear cable (chances of me using this is slim but it’s going in anyway… I might find another damsel in distress out there that might need it)
Bum cream (most probably the most important thing in my bag!)
Fold up little pliers
Plug tool and plugs
Ride for Erik @ Van Gaalens
This was a big ride for me this weekend. Not only was it for an incredible cause, it was a good tester for me in terms of where I am with my fitness and endurance. The ride started at Van Gaalens cheese farm in Magaliesburg and went out to and up Breed’s Nek and back down again to Van Gaalens. Total distance for me was 101km (880.0m ascent, average speed 20.56km/h) on mostly gravel roads, a short leg burning climb up to Breed’s and then a fast technical, rocky rutted down back to the long slog home on gravel. I felt really good all the way there. My legs felt strong and the weather was just perfect to ride in. The climb was short but brutal and got to the top after lots of conversations with myself. An awesome and welcome stop at the water point set up by Lara and the Joberg2c team, with views for miles around and time to gather myself for the ride back.
The ride down Breed’s is not a relaxing one…it’s super-fast with lots of loose rocks, erosion, dongas and dodging other riders still coming up but super fun too!
I started feeling fatigue in my legs around the 85km mark. The monotony of grinding away on a long gravel road and not feeding myself sufficiently were influencing factors and I think it’s also a mental thing knowing that you are almost at the end that plays on your mind (and legs)
It was a welcome relief to hit the last 6km of the ride on single track back to the cheese farm. This gave my mind and legs something different to focus on as well as some familiar territory to tell me I am almost finished.
What I took away from this ride is that this is only one day out of 9 days on Joberg2c and I have so much more training that I need to put in before the race. I also learnt that I need to pay more attention to my nutrition – I need to feed myself more often and not ignore my 40 minute eat alarm that I have set on my Garmin… eating while I ride has always been an issue for me so I need to focus on that.
It was a great day out… thanks #joberg2c
Training Summary
19th – 26th January
Mountain Biking : 101.2km
Indoor Cycling : 118 minutes
Running : 20.09km
Pee Squats : 200
Weight gain : 400g
Comments : Better week of training for me. Wine with a girlfriend on Wednesday evening took me out of doing much on Thursday but a solid week.
Oh… by the way, the gym thing just didn’t work. My dislike for traditional gyms hit me as soon as I walked in so have decided to go the “do it yourself” route. This week bicep curls and other dumbbell exercises were done while I did my indoor cycling sessions. It is not totally ideal but better than nothing.
Total Training summary from 1st January 2020
Mountain Biking : 145.8km
Indoor Cycling : 214.42 minutes
Running : 95.81km
Pee Squats : 600
Weight loss : 1kg
Yours in adventure
Lindsey
Lindsey Lotringer:
"To me, old age is always 20 years older that I am… sorry to everyone that’s 60! The older I get, my life gets more and more adventurous and I am absolutely loving it! Being 40 is knowing what I want, who I am and proud of what I have become. I am a partner to the most amazing guy, mother (well, step mom really but I don’t like that description) to Kim who’s turning 12, a very grateful entrepreneur of a bustling catering company which has grown into a healthy happy business over the last 5 years, I am a friend, a sister, an aunt and a daughter… I am who I have made myself into and I love it! I started riding in 2012 and it fast became a part of me… the personal challenges it brings, the smile I get after achieving, the social side of it, the chance to exhale after a busy week – you don’t need a therapist if you ride a bicycle, especially if it’s a mountain bike!"
“The fun begins where the tar ends”
joberg2c
joberg2c is riding the off-roads less travelled and trails never travelled across four provinces of South Africa. It is sharing a passion for mountain biking with those who love riding. The communities, the trails, the landscapes and the feast of flavours all conspire to make this a journey for the soul. for more info visit their website: https://www.joberg2c.co.za/