That's it for 2017

Only a few hours left of 2017! It was a quick year, but also not...

On the cycling front I can at least say I am still cycling. I must admit there were a few times where I thought about not doing this any longer. Having said that, I am making progress.

I did miss my distance goal for the year. So for 2018 my goal is 6500 km again.

I am reasonably happy with the year's cycling, but I will be the first to admit there are many frustrations that face me with the transition from running to cycling. I will do a post about that so lets just say I was an old school, conservative type runner that now find myself in the world of cycling and tight fit and lycra... where's my lose fitting one size too large cotton t-shirt?

On the racing side I have not much loot to show for 2017.

I had incredible bad luck with punctures this year. Four races were not finished due to multiple punctures. I even had my bike serviced prematurely and wheels checked multiple times, but in the end it all seems to have been bad luck.

I felt a bit better about the puncture situation when I saw this post by Louis Meintjies yesterday:

Anyway, that's it for 2017! Have a great New Year everyone. See you in 2018! I will start the year with a post about my thoughts and goals for the year. Happy New Year!!!

The Power of the Dark Side

I'm not sure if it is only here by us or everywhere that cycling is referred to by runners as the dark side. There has always been some friendly and some not so friendly banter between runners and cyclists. To put it short... I have gone over to the dark side after being on the light side for 34 years!

Now I will feel the power of the dark side. Well, that is the truth, as I experienced yesterday. I visited a local cycling shop and fell straight into the trap of the dark side.

This is my new SPCA cycling jersey.

I walked into the cycling shop and straight to these cycling shorts... on special as well!

I was overpowered and immediately had to have them. It is a perfect match!

In my 34 years on the light side I never bothered about something like that. The power of the dark side is strong indeed...

The Cycling Tan

One thing that cycling gives you is the cycling tan. I've always had a sock tan from running and some running shorts type tan. A bit of a running vest tan as well but I must say my cycling tan beats that.

The fore arm... note the watch outline and then the nice tan between the watch and the glove. White hand with tanned fingers. Beautiful!

The upper arm... this gives any farmer a run for his money.

And of course the legs... lovely, especially when wearing shorts.

I'm told all of this means I'm having a great summer. Yes, I can go with that. I'm having a great summer!

Please take care in the sun everyone. Have fun!

It's a mindset

Wow! A year since my last post... give or take a few days! I think the fact that I am still cycling and know I will not run again played a huge part in my lack of interest to blog during the past year. I always ran with my heart and I must still get to that with cycling. I'm not sure how or if I will ever get there. It's a mindset and I'm still a work in progress. But hey, I'm now a cyclist!

I've accepted the fact that I will not run again. My back won't allow this and I'm now fine with it. That is a huge step for me! The passion and love I had for running is not the same yet for cycling and I think this is my main battle currently. I have to accept that I am now officially on the dark side...

I've set myself new goals and I am working towards them in the same way I did with running. It's working and I am definitely more keen to get out there and train than I was some months ago. Again, a mindset, and working towards goals has always worked well for me.

We're in summer and riding is lovely.

Sharing my running life through this blog has always been fun and motivational. I think it's time I start doing that with the cycling now. The stories are getting bigger and better. I might throw in some vlogging between the blogging. I'm still thinking about that, but making videos might be a good addition to the blog. I have some ideas for a vlog. Let's see where it takes me.

For now, take care and be safe out there. Cheers from the bike!