TransRockies 2008 - Mountain Goats

Stage 4 - 7

2008-08-28T13:10:00.009+01:00

Stage 4 Report
Nipika-Whiteswan Lake: 109.7km/2567m climbing

An incredibly long and scenic stage through one of the most remote areas in the Canadian Rockies, today's 109 kilometre ride pushed even the most seasoned athletes to the brink. Completing today means we were past the halfway mark, and this was a key factor in getting everyone through today's trek.
I was worried about this stage as soon as I saw the 110km set distance in the event guide at the start of the week. This would be my longest session yet on a mountain bike going offroad all the way. I have done a few sessions with the Dubai Roadsters club with my mountain bike trying to keep up with the roadies but this was gonna be a huge test! The day was going ok for me until just after Check Point 1, there was a long fast descent on Jeep track and my front wheel slided from underneath me as it hit a little rut in the road. Slam, bang and I went down big time on my right ankle, elbow and shoulder. I laid still for a while just to make sure everything still feels normal and then slowly got up. There was a motorbike marshall not far from me who was quick to ask if I needed any assistance.

Green was in front of me and a few guys that passed me shouted to him that his partner went down. Luckily I escaped with a few scrapes and bruises and off we went. I cant even remember all the hike-a-bike sections that we had to go through everyday but mark my words…..we had them each and every day!! My right knee started to hurt pretty bad from Check Point 3 onwards and we still had another 40km to go. It was getting worse with every pedal stroke and I knew I was in for some torture all the way to the end of the stage.

The last approx 20km was on well groomed fire road and Green was ready to be let loose with his offroad time trial skills. I was very disappointed as my knee hurt like hell and I also just had no fuel left in the body for the day! It was really the toughest 20km I ever had to do. Got frustrated with every little thing and just wanted to get off the freakin bike! I was seriously thinking what the hell am I doing out here in the mountains at this stage. We rode in eventually at 7hr23min. I could not wait to get some proper food in me and try and get some treatment for my knee. Well at least ‘hump’ day was done and we only had 3 days to go!! The campgrounds at Whiteswan was in a beautiful spot and I will never forget walking out of the dinner tent and seeing the bright moon show itself just above the ridge of the majestic rockies…what a sight!

Stage 5 Report
Whiteswan Lake--Elkford: 88.5km/2247m climbing

It was 6am again as soon as I shut my eyes. We were back in the tent last night after having heaven in Nipika Lodge for 2 nights. It was pretty cold again early morning and all I can think of is kickass coffee and 7 pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. I was feeling a bit better this morning after taking some painkillers and icing my knee. The food also did a great job to get me recovered from yesterday. If you asked me last night if I will be able to get on the bike this morning..I probably would have said no and actually considered quitting for about 10min or so…….not good I know!!!

The race organisers set us off again in bright sunshine at 8am with ‘highway to hell’ blazing over the loud speakers!! The blood was pumping again and we had only one place to get to –Elkford. The stage started off with a fast fire road section with crazy Larry (Rockies luggage guy) directing us on the first bend. The 1st check point was after about 20km but we didn’t need it and went straight onto the first climb which started at the 20km mark. Did not feel too bad on the climb after my knee warmed up properly. A friend of mine helped me to strap my knee in the morning so that its well supported during the pedal action. It definitely helped but I needed to get through the first hour of everyday just to get it warmed up.
We reached some awesome technical downhill sections between the 75 and 80km mark just before we hit the fire road taking us into Elkford. It was more rocks then tree roots which suited me much better. As always the time machine Green was ready to pounce on the fast gravel sections and pulled a group of about 7 riders towards the finish. Green then dropped everybody in the group and I barely managed to get onto his wheel again to ride into the finish in a time of 6h30min. The local volunteers at the finish did a great job with the refreshments on offer, muffins, cookies, chocolates etc!! Unbelievable after Cliff energy bars for the whole day! It was our first day back in relative civilization with a shopping market etc close to the campground. We even had mobile phone reception…on & off though…

Stage 6 Report
Elkford - Crowsnest Pass: 102.4km/2998m climbing

There was no rest for the wicked today, as TransRockies traversed the Continental Divide in a grueling 103 kilometre stage punctuated by periods of long, steep climbing. The organisers weren’t kidding when they said we have a 7km climb starting 2km into the day! Man did my knee hurt, my left leg must have done 80% of the work all day long! We then faced really nice winding single track before hitting the first climb after Check Point 1. But the killer of the day was not the heat or the length of the course but the three…yes 3!! 200 odd meter hike-a-bike sections between 85 and 95km. We tried to ride some of it but I was just too tired and it seemed like everybody moved in slow-motion just fighting for every inch to get to the top of these inclines.

With only two days left of competition, teams saddled up under a blue sky already knowing the day would be technically punishing, but unaware what the toll would be for a picture-perfect morning. Temperatures climbing above 30 C, combined with the length and difficulty of the route, saw several teams drop out of competition throughout the day and those that made it to the finish line were feeling a little worse for wear. Still, the theme of the day was definitely “No Pain, No Gain” and those that pushed through were rewarded with the realization that the most difficult days of TransRockies VII are behind them. Though difficult, the course had something for everyone and offered riders a chance to cruise some epic trails that TransRockies was forced to bypass in 2007 due to wildfires.
Big crash! – We were heading down a loose gravel descent at quite some pace and passed a team on the left feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves. The next thing we knew the road turned sharply to the right and at the speed we were going there was just no getting around that corner!! We slammed on the brakes, it slowed us down but the inevitable fall was getting closer and closer! These huge natural rainwater chutes lined the side of the road and I managed to traverse 2 little ones and then I saw the big mamma which I was heading for! The next moment my front wheel was down into this ditch about 1m deep and the rest is history. When I eventually got up, helped out the ditch by fellow competitor, I looked back and Green was also licking his wounds. I laughed afterwards as he said he thought that corner was ‘The End’ just before he went down bigtime!
The race was really turning into a huge mental struggle more than anything else. Just trying to convince the body to get back on the bike for yet another days punishment proved to get more and more difficult. I started to set myself loads of goals/milestones in order to break up the massive day that lay ahead. The goals started with getting out of the tent in the morning, then breakfast, then get the wet chammy cream bib onto your warm skin, then get on the bike and start at 8am, then just reach CP1, then CP2, then CP3 and finally onto the finish. I could not think about the finish first thing in the morning at all! It just seemed like something insurmountable, but by breaking it up in small sections I managed to tick them off as I go and next thing I knew we were riding across the finish line at a time of 8hr29min. This was our longest day on the bikes but the thought of getting to Fernie tomorrow pushed us on! Once again the Green-Train pulled us to a sprint finish victory, boy that guy got some legs on the drags!!
With Stage 7 on the horizon it was quiet in Tent City tonight, as thoughts and dreams turn to tomorrow’s celebratory finish in Fernie – but only after 80 kms of riding up and over 2101 metres of elevation.

Stage 7 Report
Crowsnest Pass -Fernie: 78.8km/2101m climbing

No ceremonial Stage 7 cakewalk, the final leg of this year’s TransRockies was the toughest in the event’s history and took place on another blistering day above 30-degrees Celsius.

We spent last night in the town of Blairmore in the Crowsnest Pass area. As could be expected the organisers sent us straight up the Blairmore ski hill for a good warm-up first thing in the morning. Then we had a few scary steep descents before hitting 3 steep hike-a-bike sections…our favourite!! NOT!!! Today’s stage was the only stage where we had about 3km of tarmac to cut across to the Fernie singletrack jungle, was sweet being on a flat surface for once! We passed a mixed team on this section and one of their bikes front wheels had all the spokes completely ripped off from the hub! The guy was running with the bike and we were surprised to see they still managed to finish 3rd in their category that evening…amazing as he probably had to run for a good 5 to 10km to get a new wheel from somewhere.
Soon we were onto the infamous clean flowing Fernie singletrack we were told about last night during the briefing but had to wait 3hrs before we had any sign of the luxury as well as conquer the last notable climb between 70 to 75km. After that it was downhill all the way into Fernie. There was a few nasty sections of track where some guys lost it a bit and went for a tumble. I past one rider who dislocated his shoulder but some local Fernie downhill guys was on hand to pop it right back. Man the guy didn’t even flinch and I got that funny feeling on my stomach!!
I can not explain how I felt when I reached the ‘1km to go’ marker!! The emotions just started boiling and I just couldn’t wait to get into Fernie and cross that line. It was a hot day and the main street was full of supporters lining the temporary hoarding watching their riders finish the toughest mountain bike race in the world (I definitely think it is and don’t ask why…it just is and if you don’t believe me then go bloody do it!!) We had friends waiting for us at the finish line and the local Fernie lager went down extremely well!!

The Mountain Goats also managed to raise over £1500 for our nominated charity – SOS Childrens Villages. We know the money will be spent well on their child soldier rehabilitation centres in North Africa and will definitely go a long way to support these kids. We would like to thank everybody for their sponsorship and also all our friends and family for the well wishes prior and during the race.

TRANSROCKIES 2008 : Stage Report 1 to 3

2008-08-27T16:43:00.001+01:00

Stage 1 Report
Panorama to K2 Ranch: 52.3km/2478m climbing

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The Mountain Goats arrived in Calgary on 6 August and travelled to Panorama with this huge rental truck (Dodge Ram), wonder how many chickens/cows/buffaloes some Africans would load onto this buggy! Took Green a while to get use to the very high driving position and being on the wrong side of the road from the UK, but soon we were flying on the beautiful Canada 1 West Highway towards Panorama. The sun was out and spirits high!! We spent a few days in Panorama just chilling out and visiting with my brother and his family who came up from Austin, TX to see us off. He was on holiday and we were forced to have the odd beer and glass of wine with him which wasn’t really in our pre-race planning!!

TransRockies VII kicked off in true mountain fashion on Sunday 10 August with temperamental weather and spectacular scenery as we wound our way from host start community Panorama Mountain Village down to the historic K2 Ranch on the shores of Lake Windermere. Wind, rain sleet and snow – in addition to spots of blue sky – introduced all riders early in the week to classic TransRockies conditions. Could not believe the snow at the top of the mountain! So glad I put that base layer on just before starting the day. We also got lost for about 45min at about the 23km mark and had to backtrack to find the marked route again. We were in a group of about 40 riders which missed one of the blue left turn ribbons. Must say we looked the part today with our sponsored POSIT shirts and socks, just a shame we could not get anywhere close to the Italian stage winners, only place we saw them was at the start and then again on the video that evening….Bravo Italia!!!

Following an introductory parade lap through Panorama, we ascended to the literal high point of the week, at nearly 2,500 metres, after tackling a steep vertical wall of approx 10km in distance that no doubt had everyone wondering early on what else TR could possibly throw at us this week. There was a control/feeding station at the top of the first climb where everybody could fill up the tanks and thereafter a singletrack section all along the ridge of the mountain for about 5km. I started cramping about 2hrs into the ride which was not a good sign as we had probably another 3hrs to go. Just took it very easy and kept eating and drinking but the cramps just wouldn’t go away, it was agonising!!. Must be the change in temperature as well as the stop-start nature of mountain biking which my legs are just not used to. Managed to pull it together and the 2nd half of the day was much faster and went by like lightning. From the top, the route descended via a mix of scenic sub-alpine singletrack and jeep track into the Columbia Valley.
We had a sprint to the finish line with a team from Poland wearing ‘Transcarpatia’ shirts. However silly me relaxed a couple of meters before the finish line and the 2nd member of their team just pipped me. What can I say…Green was not impressed!! We rode in at a time of 5hr48min.
At day’s end, the skies are clearer but the temperature remains on the chilly side.

Stage 2 Report
K2 Ranch to Nipika Mountain Resort: 73.7km/3813m climbing

Had our first taste of the local Kicking Horse ‘Kick Ass’ coffee brew this morning and it was great after waking up at 3am this morning checking whether I picked up frostbite!! Damn this place cools down in the early mornings!. Breakfast starts at 6am and race kicks off at 8am. Lots to do in 2 hrs which includes packing up your kit bag and getting it back to the transport truck so that it is in time at the next stage camp when you arrive….well I must say we gave the truck an average of 6hrs a day to get there…so no rush!! The Mountain Goats were very nervous about the day laying ahead as neither of us ever climbed almost 4000m(over 12000 feet) in a single day!!

It was a long day for everyone on, as an already gruelling stage got longer when the front pack went off course and everyone played "follow the lemming," as today's 1st Place Open Men's finishers, Sobe Cannondale riders Mike Garrigan and Jesse Jakomait explained at the finish.

The riders went awry when some of the top teams missed the flagging tape on course indicating a right-hand turn. Instead, the group marched up a steep avalanche gulley shouldering their bikes all the way to the top, missing the turn and finding out, upon summiting the chute, that the trail had gone cold.

Everybody were so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that we ended up just playing follow the lemming. A group of about 20 riders at the front of the race, realizing their mistake, turned and began backtracking, eventually finding the route and getting back into race mode. The avalanche gulley was so steep and the lower calf muscles were taking a beating! We must have had the bikes on the shoulders for close to an hour and a half! Should have done much more ‘bike on shoulder and climb’ training! Would seriously have made the day easier. The gulley was however not the first of the hike-a-bike sections as throughout the day we were faced with basically un-ridable sections, going up and down! It was a long tough day and we rode in at a time of 8hr07min. Good thing was that we knew tonight we were sleeping in a cabin and not the freezing tent…I basically thought about that for the last 3hrs of the day whilst on the bike!!

Steed Cycles rider and recently retired NHL hockey player Trevor Linden also commented on the degree of difficulty for Stage 2, saying "It wouldn't have been bad had we not gone off course (uphilll) on that scree. It was a big day without that, but that made it massive," he said. Linden said he was looking forward to the Stage 3 time trial as a much needed rest from Stages 1 and 2. Nipika Mountain Resort promises to deliver that with some exceptional private singletrack along the Kootenay River, bordering Canada's Kootenay National Park.

Stage 3 Report
Nipika-Nipika: 44.2km/1514m climbing

Two days of climbing may have taken their toll, but today we were treated to a few extra hours of sleep, well some of us... Those at the top of the standings received start times throughout the afternoon, meaning teams had time for a leisurely breakfast, a photography session in the scenic Nipika meadow and a chance to cheer on new friends as they made their way out of the chutes and onto the incredible trail system at Nipika Mountain Resort. The Mountain Goats had a starting time of 09:20am which is 1hr20min later than the normal 8am start….the extra sleep and recovery time was great!! Today was an out and back loop and meant we had one more night in the cabin before going back to basics on stage 4.

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bCa-bPkduUA/SLV52h44MqI/AAAAAAAAD7c/6zrexWJKeFo/s1600-h/n555212782_1309090_6138.jpg">

We were all dressed out in our white goats shirts and felt good at the start. Green pulled away like a rally KTM and I was fighting for air to try and keep up! The trail started with a fast gradual downhill double track and we caught the team in front of us within the first 2km. The legs took a while to get going and I was feeling strong in the middle section of the race with Green again coming through strong towards the end. The sun was out and the scenery was just awesome! Riding along singletrack with a cliff drop of about 50m or so right next to you were pretty impressive! We finished the route in 3hr48min and was by far the easiest day of the week. I actually enjoyed today…I think…!!
Optional massages can be booked at the end of each stage and by day 3 my legs were begging for it. I started to get into the routine of getting to the finish, take a shower, clean/fix the bike, get a massage, eat like crazy….eat again….and once more, see the stage presentations with next day 3D google earth briefing and finally watch the photos and video of the day prior to hitting the hugely annoying blow-up camping mattress somewhere around 10:30pm.

Designed by landowner Lyle Wilson, today's trail was a big hit with weary riders and the spectacular singletrack was a much-needed reward after two grueling days coming down from the Purcell mountain range and up and over the formidable western slopes of the Rocky Mountain range.

Highlights of today's stage included incredible remote Rocky Mountain singletrack and the return of summer temperatures after two wet days and an equal number of cold nights. The stage was also lauded for the best scenery of the past three days, as the trail had us cruising singletrack high on the sandy ridge above the aquamarine Kootenay River.

Much of today's trail was cut especially for TransRockies by Nipika Mountain Resort owner/operator Lyle Wilson, and the pride of workmanship and desire to create something both scenic and challenging paid off, as many riders were overheard expressing a desire to return in the future with friends and family.

Let's hope teams enjoyed their leisurely Nipika stay - leisurely, that is, when compared with Stage 4, which features 109 kilometres of some of the Kootenay Rockies most remote terrain. This part of the Kootenays is a well-kept secret for many local riders, and the long day will pay off in spades as the journey through this spectacular mountain oasis will give newcomers an authentic Canadian Rockies epic mountain bike experience.

Sunday Ride - 04 Aug 08

2008-08-04T12:26:00.002+01:00

Great ride on Sunday, the last one before the rockies.

Went out with the KingstonWheelers club on the road bike. My first real training ride with the road bike.

It was definitely different from my usual mountain bike training! I joined the fast group and they meant it when they said fast, we were averaging 35km/h at one stage, really flying through the roads of Surrey county. It was great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Came back after 2h40 and 80km, with an average speed of 30km/h in the end, only 664m climbing, but burnt 2178 calories in those 2h40 which shows where my heart rate was at times! I could keep up well enough with the roadies, they just managed to pip me on the climbs which is no surprise.On the straights we were pulled by a professional time trialist, you should see this guy, he couldn't do any other sport except time trailing!

Well, off we go to Canada, we will update the blog upon our return

Please remember our Charity SOS Children's Villages and donate a small amount through the Just Giving website, search under Rockies 2008.

YumYum

2008-08-01T09:46:00.002+01:00

Menu for Rockies published! Don't think we will be left hungry at all!

RACE WEEK MENU
Breakfast, Sunday August 10th (Great Hall, Panorama
Mountain Village)
Catered by Panorama Mountain Village
Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Home Fries
Yogurt, Oatmeal, Muesli
Multi-grain Bagels and Toast, Preserves, Muffins
Seasonal B.C. Fruit
Assorted Nuts
Coffee, Tea, Juice
Race Week Meals Catered by Anne Riches:
Eggs
French Toast or Pancakes
Multi-grain Breads and Bagels
Muffins
Oatmeal
Cereals and Milk (Soy and Rice Milk available)
Muesli
Yogurt
Ham, Sausage, or Bacon
Fruit Juices
Kicking Horse Coffee
Dinners:

Sunday, August 10th (K2 Ranch)
Roast Beef Dinner
Roast Potatoes, Yams and Vegetables
Stir Fried Vegetables
Pasta Bean Salad
Tossed Salad
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Kicking Horse Coffee
Monday, August 11th (Nipika)
Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese
Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas
Couscous Salad
Oriental Noodles
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Kicking Horse Coffee
Tuesday, August 12th (Nipika)
Stuffed Pork Loin
Potatoes and Vegetables
Stir Fried Vegetables in a Black Bean Sauce
Spinach Salad
Tabouleh Salad with assorted beans and chick peas
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Kicking Horse Coffee
> > RACE WEEK MENU
> > Breakfast, Sunday August 10th (Great Hall, Panorama
> > Mountain Village)
> > Catered by Panorama Mountain Village
> > Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Home Fries
> > Yogurt, Oatmeal, Muesli
> > Multi-grain Bagels and Toast, Preserves, Muffins
> > Seasonal B.C. Fruit
> > Assorted Nuts
> > Coffee, Tea, Juice
> > Race Week Meals Catered by Anne Riches:
> > Breakfasts (August 11th ? 16th):
> > Eggs
> > French Toast or Pancakes
> > Multi-grain Breads and Bagels
> > Muffins
> > Oatmeal
> > Cereals and Milk (Soy and Rice Milk available)
> > Muesli
> > Yogurt
> > Ham, Sausage, or Bacon
> > Fruit
> > Fruit Juices
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Dinners:
> >
> > Sunday, August 10th (K2 Ranch)
> > Roast Beef Dinner
> > Roast Potatoes, Yams and Vegetables
> > Stir Fried Vegetables
> > Pasta Bean Salad
> > Tossed Salad
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Monday, August 11th (Nipika)
> > Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese
> > Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas
> > Couscous Salad
> > Oriental Noodles
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Tuesday, August 12th (Nipika)
> > Stuffed Pork Loin
> > Potatoes and Vegetables
> > Stir Fried Vegetables in a Black Bean Sauce
> > Spinach Salad
> > Tabouleh Salad with assorted beans and chick peas
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Wednesday, August 13th (Whiteswan)
> > BBQ Chicken Burgers, Burgers, Bratwurst Smokies,
> Veggie
> > Burgers
> > Baked Beans
> > Caeser Salad
> > Pasta Salad
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Thursday, August 14th (Elkford)
> > Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
> > Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
> > Caesar Salad
> > Garlic Toast
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > Friday, August 15th (Crowsnest Pass)
> > BBQ Steaks
> > Vegetarian Chili
> > Baked Potato
> > Corn on the Cob
> > Spinach Salad
> > Pasta Salad
> > Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
> > Kicking Horse Coffee
> > FINAL BANQUET MENU - August 16th, 2008
> > Blackstone Property, Fernie, B.C.
> >
> > Catered by Claude Perrault
> > Grilled salmon with chive sauce
> > Beef flank with red wine sauce
> > Baked potato with garlic butter
> > Rice
> > Vegetable curry stew
> > Two kinds of potato salad
> > Two kinds of pasta salad
> > Tabouleh
> > Spinach salad
> > Homemade bread
> > Assorted desserts
BBQ Chicken Burgers, Burgers, Bratwurst Smokies,
Veggie
Burgers
Baked Beans
Caeser Salad
Pasta Salad
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Kicking Horse Coffee
Thursday, August 14th (Elkford)
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
Caesar Salad
Garlic Toast
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Friday, August 15th (Crowsnest Pass)
BBQ Steaks
Vegetarian Chili
Baked Potato
Corn on the Cob
Spinach Salad
Pasta Salad
Assorted Beans, Cheese and Nuts for Salads
Kicking Horse Coffee
FINAL BANQUET MENU - August 16th, 2008
Blackstone Property, Fernie, B.C.

Grilled salmon with chive sauce
Beef flank with red wine sauce
Baked potato with garlic butter
Rice
Vegetable curry stew
Two kinds of potato salad
Two kinds of pasta salad
Tabouleh
Spinach salad
Homemade bread
Assorted desserts

Sunday Ride - 27 July 08

2008-07-28T09:21:00.002+01:00

4h43 with 1751m climbing, avg heart rate 143. 107km.

Had to go up 2 climbs 8 times each but at least got some climbing in.

Training

2008-07-28T09:10:00.008+01:00

Less than 2 weeks before we begin.
Herewith my training calendar as of February 08.

Since May 07 I have done over 12000km. I did not do nearly enough climbing and this will show at the rockies but I feel confident that we will be able to do well at the race.

Update from Willem in Dubai - July 08

2008-07-20T20:55:00.002+01:00

3 weeks to go!!

Its past mid July now and the reality of the race we are about to take on is slowly hitting home!! All the emails sent out by the organisers and others related to the race suggest an Epic, harder then ever..climb, climb, climb and technical race….oh yes and once again CLIMB!!

I was a bit taken by all the warnings and decided I will spend a few weekends at the infamous Jebel Hafeet mountain in Al Ain, central UAE on the Oman border. There is a great hotel at the top of the mountain with rates reduced through the summer as not too many people venture out there in the 50 degree Celsius scorching summer…let alone any cyclists!! But, avoiding all weather forecasts and getting up to start riding at 3.30am does the trick!

This week is my last hard(ish) training week where after I will start tapering down to let the body recover fully before the race starts on 10 August. I will be doing the standard 2 to 3 sessions during the week in the evenings and then the long Friday ride (120/130k) with the Dubai Roadsters with a double Hafeet Climb planned for very early on Saturday morning. Hopefully the Hafeet climbs will give me the strength needed for the long Rocky climbs….as they say…’we will have to wait and see’!!

Funny incident last weekend at Hafeet…I asked a local Arab guy to take a video clip of me while riding. He was very friendly and more than willing to do it……I got going on the bike and he followed me in his car. Then I heard the music pumping out from his car…it was Celine Dion, some ‘Alive’ song! I had a good laugh when I watched the clip afterwards, here was this friendly Arab taken a video of me on Hafeet as the sun was just rising with Celine Dion being the theme song!! I was thinking this is mega cheesy!! My friends are never seeing this clip!!

Our charity page www.justgiving.com/rockies2008 received some donations during the last 2 months which is great but we are still way off our target!! I know some of you might think you want to see us finish the race first..well..thats fine as we surely plan to finish which means you should seriously think about your donation!! Our target of £1000 is nothing compared to what all of us spend on our daily luxuries, lets get stuck in please, just another 3 weeks left!!

Will be sending regular updates through these final weeks, which will be more to do with the logistics behind the travel and what to take with etc….that seems like quite a task in itself, never mind riding our bikes for 7 days!!

Genius....

2008-07-17T09:54:00.002+01:00

I am a genuis. After 2 years with my Polar 720i, I finally got all the functions to work.
Now it gives me kilometres covered on its working odometer, avg speed and max speed.
Halleluja.

Herewith a short training graph for this week up to date, more info, more fun!

Knysna Pictures

2008-07-16T15:37:00.005+01:00

Some photos of Willem strutting his stuff at Knysna

.

Knysna Training

2008-07-16T15:32:00.003+01:00

Just a quick view of the training Month.Will blog about week in Knysna in the next few days.

We rode a total of 387km which took 19hours and as an example I burned over 15000kj, thats alot of hamburgers! Total climbing of 4500m.

Felt strong and both Willem and I broke 4hours easily for the 85km race in Knysna. It too had 1800m climbing so in total we climbed over 6000m for the week, but then again thats about half of what we will climb in the Rockies with much more technical terrain.

The Longest Day............

2008-06-16T09:10:00.007+01:00

This Saturday 14th June was one of the longest days of the year for Europe/England The longest day usually falls on 21st of June. This means hours and hours of daylight going past 22h00 in the evening , these days my "going to bed and reading time"....I'm like an old man.

It was also the longest day I've ever spend on a bike. I left home at 08h30 and returned at 17h30. 9hours of which 7 of them was spend on the bike. I went out with Nirvana Cycles and eventually ended up on my own. I rode for approx 130km and climbed about 1700m, not much for that amount of time although 2hours was spent commuting back and forth to Dorking and the ride with Nirvana did not involve that much climbing. It was another beautiful day in Dorking, Surrey. The roads were dry. the singletrack sweet and it was not a struggle staying in the woods for the whole day.

I felt ok afterwards, noticeably my backside hurt like a mother. I only got up at 10h00 the next day but I think that has more to do with the Beyerskloof Pinotage I had as a nightcap than the tiredness. I felt fine on Sunday, didn't go out for a ride but that is because believe it or not I had some housework to do, mow the lawn, clean the garden etc. Something i only do once a year.

I am getting anxious getting back to SA now, Ive already packed my bike and I'm commuting in with the Specialized this week.

All the best, keep checking in.

http://www.justgiving.com/rockies2008

Knysna Oyster Festival

2008-06-13T13:27:00.006+01:00

About the Festival

With 25 years of fun and games to celebrate this year, the ten-day annual Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival, one of the country’s longest running festivals, will boast a jam-packed programme of sport, entertainment and 200 000 oysters!

More than 80 exciting events ranging from super-popular sports events and adventure challenges to wine and whisky tastings and gala evenings, are expected to draw a crowd of some 65 000 people to the beautiful Garden Route town.

The festival’s two main sporting events, the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon and the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour, will give participants the unique opportunity to run and cycle through the ancient indigenous forests that have made Knysna famous.

And if marathons are not your style, there’s a full programme of adventure and soft sports for the whole family to participate in, including paddling, golf, bowls, soccer, night biking and angling.

To live up to its name, the festival will present a variety of oyster-related events including the annual oyster-shucking (opening) competition, the ever-popular oyster eating competition and the Pick n Pay Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras presented by Tabasco – a fabulous evening of oyster cooking and wine tasting.

If you can never have enough oysters, don’t miss the Tabasco Oyster Hotspots where participating restaurants all over town will be selling oysters in a variety of tastes and flavours at give-away prices!

Wine and whisky are a big part of the celebrations this year and will flow at the Wade Bales Wine Festival and the Knysna Whisky and Jazz Festival.

The grand minesweepers of the South African Navy will once again enter through the Knysna Heads to honour a long-standing tradition of participation in the Oyster Festival. And the Navy’s internationally acclaimed 40 odd piece Band will entertain festival-goers during the street parade and live concert at the Waterfront.

SOS Children's Villages Update

2008-06-12T12:30:00.002+01:00

Rehabilitation & reunification programme
for former child soldiers, Malakal, Sudan

Located in the south eastern corner of Africa’s largest country, Malakal is a Sudanese town with a population of two million. Twenty years ago it was a beautiful and lively place but it has been haunted by war. The fighting, which officially ended in 2005, has left Malakal scarred and tired. Many people in the town are subsistence farmers but today they cannot grow enough to feed their own families. Children’s health, education and psychological statuses have suffered.

Young children were snatched from their families at the height of the civil war and used as soldiers. Today, many have been dismissed from duty, and even though the killing is over the impact of war remains fresh in their minds. They are lost, scared and cannot find their parents. SOS Children set up an emergency relief programme to support these child soldiers, many of whom are now young adults, and give them back their lives and their families.

Rehabilitation and reunification

Our rehabilitation and reunification programme for each child soldier lasts around ten months. To begin with, the children are reintroduced to everyday life. We give them shelter, food, clean clothes and an education. Many children have never been to school and without an education will never break out of poverty. We help them overcome the trauma of war through drawing, drama classes and counselling. They find that being able to express their feelings eases their pain. To help them develop teamwork skills and make friends, they have helped build the houses they live in while on the programme.

With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), we have been able to reunite families.

2007

339 former child soldiers were on the programme. This is a high number for two reasons in particular. The first is that many people were killed in the war and some of these children may not have any immediate family left. Secondly, some families will not accept child soldiers, their sons or brothers, back. These children have killed and are not welcome at home. Other families discourage their children from returning home so as to protect them from being harmed by members of their community who think those children are responsible for killing or any other bad deeds done in the past.

SOS will support the children who cannot return home until they are fully independent.
Sudanese child soldier
Success
Today, 85 of those former child soldiers hold certificates in a number of different skills studied at the SOS vocational training centre and are able to compete in the labour market.One of the child soldiers has just entered university and has a bright future ahead of him.

Happily, last year, most children were reunited with their immediate or extended families.

Working in partnership

SOS Sudan is a member of the Child Protection Working Group in Upper Nile State and we has a strong partnership with other NGOs and UN agencies.

In 2007, the SOS Sudan National Director:
• contributed and participated in a presentation for the international and national NGOs to shed light on SOS’s role in peace progress and capacity building, which includes assisting child soldiers in South Sudan and running Family Protection Centres in Darfur
• acted as spokesperson for a UNICEF program, ‘Unity for Children Against Aids’, represented the Sudanese Movement for Children and became a member of ‘Education for Girls’ (partnership between UNICEF and the government) supporting the child advocacy program for NGOs and the government in Nyala, El Fashir and El Genana.

2008 Update

There are 200 new former child soldiers on the rehabilitation and reunification programme this year, from the Khorfulus area and Malakal town.

They began by receiving group and individual counselling. Some have already been reunited with their family members and others are being supported to be reintegrated into their home communities.

The young people - mostly boys, but some girls - are now undertaking vocational courses including car mechanics, carpentry, electrics, plumbing, construction and sewing at the SOS training centre, or have been enrolled at school.

The climate of southern Sudan is very harsh from April up to November; there is heavy rain that mixes with the muddy soil to make it difficult to move by car or any other means of transportation except through the rivers. This is just one of the reasons that can lead to young people abandoning their classes. To try to reduce this problem, the young people are provided with rain coats and gum.

The rehabilitation programme includes three environmental days in Khorfulus, whereby the former child soldiers help to clean the town. This new initiative was introduced in 2007 and proved successful in helping to change the attitudes of some community members who perceive the children as ‘wrong doers’ only. This work encouraged community leaders to support the rehabilitation programme and proved helpful in finding employment for those who graduated from the SOS Vocational Training Centre.

Thank you

We are very grateful to our supporters who kindly contribute to our former child soldier rehabilitation projects which are able to give so many vulnerable children the chance to lead a normal life.

2008-06-12T12:26:00.005+01:00

Pimped my Ride & Knysna 85k race!!

I picked up my bike this afternoon from Wolfi’s bike shop here in Dubai. They prepared a new set of wheels for me and also fitted Ergo grips for more comfort on the hands for the big downhill sections. I was so impressed when I walked into the shop and my Trek 6700 was all of a sudden transformed into a racing machine! The bike just looks awesome and that just by changing the wheels! I went for the Mavic Crossmax SLR rims with Nobby Nic tubeless tyres. Myself and Green spoke to a few people now and apparently the Nobby Nic tyre is the way to go for the Rockies as you need a tough tractor-like tyre to get you through the rocks and various other conditions the race will through at you.

Must say I cant wait to take my new wheels out for a ride but sort of don’t want it to get dirty as well..(if you know what I mean!). But sure as sunshine in Dubai, I will have it out over the weekend. We are a group of guys taking on the hilly road from Hatta to Kalba on the UAE east coast early Friday morning, however that will be on road bikes which means the goat will have to wait till Saturday.

As I read through Green’s update on being in SA in July, I thought to myself why should he have all the fun and decided to join him down in Knysna for the 85km race on Saturday 5 July. The mountain goats will test their legs on the 85km race and of course enjoy everything Knysna has to offer over the weekend which includes the Oyster festival, great wines, food and lots of sport events. See picture of the forest track where the goats will be strutting their stuff!! Knysna is a beautiful town on the south east coast of South Africa. The town nestles on the banks of an 18 km² estuary where the Knysna River meets the tides of the Indian Ocean. Some interesting facts:
o The lagoon is home to the unique Knysna seahorse, the exquisite Pansy shell and at least 200 species of fish.
o Humpback and Southern Right whales frolic along these coastal waters from May to September, whilst dolphins are year-round residents.
o The indigenous forests form the largest closed canopy forest in Southern Africa and are home to the colourful Knysna loerie and narina trogon.
o Knysna is also home to the only forest elephant in South Africa.

It’s a holiday-makers paradise, this is an extract from the oyster festival website:
‘’Oysters, the tasty mollusc that made the festival famous, will be the main act this year and you'll find them featured in more than 30 delectable ways at the local Tabasco Oyster Hotspots in and around Knysna. Don't miss the Pick n Pay Oyster and Wine Mardi Gras, a celebration of cooked oysters and wine, or the popular Oyster Eating and Oyster Opening (Shucking) Competitions which give locals and visitors the chance to compete in the festival's unique annual championships.’

The Mountain Goats will use the time they have together in Knysna to talk Rockies Race strategy (that’s how much we need to eat each day to stay alive!!) and work out finer details as to what we need to carry in our backpacks in terms of spares, tools, clothing etc.

Ok then, only 3 more weeks till the Knysna race and still a few miles to get on the legs, keep on following our progress please!

South African Mountain Biking on the up.

2008-06-07T11:36:00.007+01:00

The World Cup mountain biking season is in full swing and our very own Burry Stander has been doing exceptionally well. He achieved a 7th place at the Offenburg World cup in April and on May 31st he came in 2nd place just a couple of seconds behind world cup mountain bike champion great Christoph Sauser.

This will do so much for South African mountain biking with more and more young riders now being able to do the sport proffesionally. Burry is only 20 years old so this achievement is amazing. If only I was 5 years younger, I would give it my all to become a proffesional bike rider!

Crash, Boom , Bang!

2008-06-07T10:36:00.006+01:00

Short week with only 7 hours completed. Had some studying to too plus needed a slow weekend.

Only went out for 2 hours on Saturday for a ride through town ending up at Richmond Park. It was a beautiful day with no cloud and temperature at about 20degrees when I started riding at 7h00. The park is great this time of year, the deer are out in their hundreds and so are the people, running, cycling, hiking, horse riding etc. Richmond park has a 11km round route which can be ridden clock or counterclockwise. You share the road with cars too so not ideal but cyclists almost have right of way as they are all over the place.

It's always interesting going out to the park as the cyclists get pretty competitive around there. You see them chasing each other down and sprinting up and down the straight sections, as if they are competing in some weird free for all race.I usually get caught up in it as well, and especially enjoy when I drop the roadies (road bike cyclists) on my mountain bike!

On my way back I cycled into a small street where only one car at a time can get through, I was behind one of these Volkswagen people carriers when it stopped suddenly even though I am to blame for not concentrating, I crashed right into the back of it, front wheel first, followed by my right cheek, the imprint is certainly still on there. The driver stopped immediately and did not get out, after giving myself a once over for injuries I rode over to the passenger side. The driver rolled down the electric windows and then joined his girlfriend or wife in a wide eyed staring contest with myself. They looked at me as if I was an alien that just landed from outer space where they enjoy wearing lycra and probably worship it too. Or they must have thought I was a helmet wearing angel as I was dressed completely in a white cycling outfit , complete with white overshoes! Anyway, I assured the driver and his chickie that their automobile was not damaged and that they should be able to continue, this comment just caused their stares to widen considerably, probably not believing that I was more concerned with their car then my possible injuries. I then had to assure them that I was fine, and eventually they were off. As I said nothing major, few bruises and my cheek will be red for the weekend, nice, with my white cycling clothes I will look like snow white, hit with an ugly stick and fed a shiza load of hamburgers by the dwarfs.

It was always on the cards that I would have an accident on the bike. It's a wonder that I get to work sometimes the way I ride in traffic but to be honest of I don't take some chances it would be "dead" boring!

Back to my training for the week. After 2 years with my fancy Polar 725I heart rate monitor , I finally found out that the watch has a build in altimeter( I am not the most tech savvy although I have a lot of gadgets) and that I could monitor how much climbing I did on the day. It is such a great feature and just adds to the quality of these watches. With this instrument I can obtain all the training info a lone athlete could ever ask for, it measures heart rate, maximum, average etc as well as speed, cadence , distance etc.

As you will see from the graphs it will now show total ascent only from 5 June onwards, but expect to see some impressive figures next week plus some crazy ones when I am in South Africa, I am being led to believe that I will feel like a real mountain goat when the training week is done!

To all readers, friends and mtb enthusiasts, keep coming back.

Enjoy the week!
Vlieg Noord.

Green Training W/E 31 May

2008-06-01T17:43:00.002+01:00

Good week with 9hours completed. Went out with Nirvana Cycle shop again on Saturday. It was another great day with lots of sunshine, no rain and kilometers of great singletrack!

We did 3hours offroad and I got 5 hours in for the day. The best thing about the day was my recovery though, I felt fine the rest of the day and was ready to go again the next day, but I blew my front fork out and had to take it to Nirvana for a service.Guess it will have to be the Specialized this week for commuting to work, but it's ok, I will take it to the 10th floor with me and keep it next to my desk,I've already cancelled all my meetings for the week...

Can't belive its June already.Only 19 more days and I will be in South Africa. First to our game farm for a couple of days for some hunting and 29degree weather in a South African winter.My bike is coming with, should be great riding on the farm, always wanted to and I am sure I will see alot of game riding quietly along the farm roads.

Then off to Knysna on the South East coast for a training week with a past participant in the Cape Epic and I will be fininshng of the week with the Pick and Pay , Knysna Oyster Festival Mountain bike Marathon race. A great 85km challenge with 2000m plus climbing, after a hard week it should be fun!

Being in South Africa will afford some luxuries(very few) including a sports massage after each training day and hopefully one after the race on Saturday as well.Thebest thing will be the look on my parents faces when the masseus comes by each dayHopefully it will be a Fabilina and not a Fabio doing the massaging, although, it should not matter as its for the skae of recovery after all.

My last week will be spend in Pretoria, relaxing and spending time with family and friends, but I am sure they will get me out on the bike once or twice while I'm there.

Keep coming back for more updates, only 2 months until the Mountain Goats strutt their stuff on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains!

Please also visit our charity page an try to make a donation for a great cause:

www.justgiving.com/rockies2008

Update from Willem in Dubai

2008-06-01T17:34:00.005+01:00

And then June arrives..!!!

Hi All, can’t believe how time flies with only 2 months left before the Rockies. Must say that I am now really looking forward to it and just the fact of seeing green grass and trees will get me excited as it will be such a contrast compared with Dubai.

My training is going well at the moment and had two good sessions over the weekend. Started off on Friday morning with a roadbike club ride and did a total of 150km which was a good 4.5hrs on the saddle. We set off at 5.30am and it was already 29degrees Celsius, by the time we got back into Dubai at around 09.30am the temperatures soared up to 42degrees. Believe me I just wanted to get off the bike and into the shade, luckily the Lime Tree Café serves a great breakfast and the watermelon/orange cocktail juice is unbelievable!! Well deserved after having sand blown in your face for the last 70km back into town! I was pretty tired after the ride but after a good feed and nap I was feeling fine again which is great news as I am recovering faster between sessions.

Saturday morning…I was up again at 4am to start riding at 5am as I had some other commitments today. Went out on the mountain bike for 2hrs on the gravel roads behind Jumeirah Islands in Dubai. See picture of me trying to wake up just before I get on the goat!! I recovered well from the long ride the day before and was cruising along on the gravel tracks which are now actually quite sandy with the wind and construction vehicles crossing. Did a good 2 hrs and was on my way home just after 7am and in time for my course starting at 9am.

Oh yeah,,, I am getting my bike ‘pimped’ out with a set of new Crossmax SLR Mavic wheels with Nobby Nics tubeless tyres. Will hopefully have it in the next 2wks and will post a picture then!

Want to bring to your attention again our SOS Children Villages sponsor initiative. See link: www.justgiving.com/rockies2008.
Please take the time to visit SOS’s website and learn about the great work they are doing in Sudan and other devastated areas. They need all the help they can get and the Mountain Goats think the sponsorship target of £1000 is really not a big ask! It’s so easy to donate…just get on the above link and donate…easy!!!

Will update soon…happy riding!!

AN IDEA OF THE ROUTE….

2008-05-27T10:22:00.003+01:00

We cannot give you accurate specifications on the route for 2008. The race organisers don't publish the actual riding route until the day before the race at sign-in.

Attached are two maps of the route , 1) shows the stage route for 2006
showing altitude and climb (very similar to the past two years, except
in 2006, the race went from Fernie to Panorama! instead of Panorama to
Fernie). 2) this map gives the general route again, but you can get an
idea of the topography.

> 1)

> 2)

TransRockies Challenge 2008
August 10th - 16th, 2008

Training Calendar - W/E 25 May

2008-05-25T20:55:00.004+01:00

ACCESS GRANTED: CANADA

2008-05-21T17:20:00.006+01:00

Got my Visa today after a 3hour wait. But it was worth it cause we are good to go. Me and my weirdly named British citizen team mate that is.

Been reading some older blogs of Transrockies 07 today and it frightened me!Apparently your race time will vary from 5 to 11 hours per day depending on how bad a day your having. Can I please have 7 good days?

Another issue will obviously be the altitude varying from 3500m to 4000m. Climbing will be tough enough but struggling to breath even further will be a problem.

Well, were not going to get dressed up for nothing!

Speaking of dressed up, check out our photos of our shirts made especially for the rockies, we will each have a normal t shirt plus 1 riding shirt, so we can look the part.

Keep looking in. Vlieg Noord.

TrailBreak Ride Results - 10th May 2008

2008-05-13T12:50:00.004+01:00

Green had a good ride on Saturday in the South Downs and had the 7th best time overall from 69 participants. As you can see a gold award was allocated to his name.We congratulate Green on this achievement, whoever we are.

Green said in an interview afterwards he was quite tired and could feel his legs had a good workout, but he was positive that he would recover soon and felt he was able to do another 100km on the next day.

We eagerly anticipate the first time Green break's 5hours on 100km with at least 2000m climbing.

We will keep the blog updated with his progress.

Training Calendar

2008-05-13T08:34:00.007+01:00

Looking a little better the last few weeks. Clocked 5h31 on 100km with 2000m climbing on Saturday 10th May in the South Downs in South England. Relatively happy with the performance although temperatures "soared" to 27degrees which was tough as it hit the high's when we did most of the climbing.The goal is to break 5hours on a tough 100km and then on to 4h30 before the rockies.

The greatest positive I took out of the weekend was the fact that I recovered very quickly, I felt great the next day and knew I would be able to do another tough 100km!, we will put that to the test in the next few weeks.

I will target 10hours a week from now on, on which at least 5hours needs to be offroad with a fair amount of climbing thrown in.

Just a remidner that our charity SOS Children's Village appreciates all sponsors received:

easy giving at: http://www.justgiving.com/rockies2008

The Equipment

2008-04-23T14:26:00.008+01:00

So what will the Mountain Goats be using to complete the Transrockies?

See below a breakdown of which bikes Green and Willem will be using to race with plus a breakdown of what components are added to the bikes.

Facts of Green’s Bike:
Specialized Epic FSR Carbon• Frame: FACT 10m carbon front triangle with Az1 construction and M5 aluminum rear triangle. Sealed cartridge bearing pivots with 100mm travel and Specialized AFR rear shock with Flow Control valve
• Fork: Reba World Cup with 100mm travel and lock out with threashold adjust
• Gears: Shimano Deore XT front and SRAM X-0 9 speed rear derailleurs
• Shifters: Shimano
• Chainset: Raceface Evolve
• Brakes: Shimano
• Wheels: Mavic Crossmax
• Tyres: Continental Mountain King 2.2 Tubeless
• Handlebars: RaceFace Next Carbon Bar
• Stem: Thomson Elite 110mm
• Saddle: Selle Italia Signo

• Seatpost: Thomson Elite Setback 7degrees, 410mm

Facts of Willem’s Bike:
Trek 6700 Disc• Frame: New Alpha SLR hydroformed frame Double Butted
• RockShox Tora 318 Solo Air w/LO and Alloy steer 100mm
• Wheels: Bontrager Select Disc
• Crankset: Shimano LX 44a/32a/22s
• Size: 17.5
• Colours: Baja Blue/Platinum Silver

Our 1st Sponsor: Thank you WizzBike!

2008-04-23T14:18:00.003+01:00

A big thank you to WizzBike for agreeing to be our 1st sponsor for the race.

WizzBike runs a bike store out of Brentford in London as well as a shop in the Glaxsmithkline building where Green works.

The agreed to help out with whatever spare parts we will need during the race which would include new chains, tyres, tubes etc.

This will help us a great deal!

Also thanks to the guys at Wizzbike, Ian and Ed for building up the bike Green will be riding with during the Rockies. It is a Specialized Epic FSR Carbon frame on which a Reba RockShox fork was added plus other goodies like his Mavic CrossMax wheels, his Thomson Elite Stem and Seatpost and his Raceface Evolve Chainset.

A big thank you from the Mountain Goats!

Willem Dubai Update 3

2008-04-22T17:40:00.006+01:00

Hi there All, time flies when you’re having fun (as they say)….

Only 3 months left before the Rockies and the Mountain Goats team has to get some focused training on the legs for May/June! My approach will be to build up the miles and intensity to a peak at the end of June / early July and then start tapering down to the event with only limited long rides towards the end of July. See my attached indicative training schedule for May/June. If I can manage the self discipline and survive the heat, then the Rockies should be great fun! The fact that I live in Dubai presently where temperatures will easily rise to the low to mid 40’s Celsius pretty soon, will force me to get out of bed very early over the weekends to make a 5hr session at all possible. See also some photos taken on last week’s Big Hatta ride, it’s a 110k hilly ride but we are forced to stop halfway for drinks and then again about 20k from the end as the body just get’s so dehydrated so quickly when the suns at full blast. The picture with the red bike and local on the ‘stoep’ is taken at the last water stop 20k from the finish and suitably named the ‘Green Restaurant’..Great!!
Well, must say its easier for me waking up with the sun blazing outside than it is being freezing cold outside and tucked in under the covers (Good Luck Green!!).

The Mountain Goats also launched their nominated charity donation page, see:
www.justgiving.com/rockies2008
We will be raising awareness and sponsorship for the work SOS Children Villages does in emergency relief areas such as Sudan. Our focus is on the various child soldier relief and rehabilitation programs in Sudan but also other African countries. I will provide more detail over the coming weeks. Please get behind the sponsorship initiative!! Why not get your work/company involved?? There are opportunities to print logos etc on our team riding shirts which will offer excellent marketing exposure!! Please contact us to discuss options: w_kir@yahoo.co.uk!

We also want to make use of our blog to inform people about exciting things/events/ventures which the Goats are interested in and support. Such a venture which we want to introduce is the newly established motorcycle rental business started by Johann & Jolie Kirsten in Austin, Texas, USA. Johann decided just recently that he needed to start up a business renting out bikes, within a very short timeframe the company acquired a few Kawasaki KLR 650’s and BMW 1200GS bikes…and the fleet is growing by the day!! The company is called Hill Country Motorcycles Rentals and you can visit their website at www.hillcountrymotorcyclerentals.com .
So, if you find yourself in Texas and in need of some freedom, give Johan & Jolie a call and get on the open road with a rented beauty!! The Mountain Goats wish them success in their new venture and look forward to their support in Canada!!

Green's Training Calendar

2008-04-08T12:08:00.001+01:00

I Have just been averaging over 5 hours per week for the last 6 weeks which is not great. Apart from the usual group of mountain bikers diminishing we have also been experiencing terrible weather, including 3inches of snow on Sunday morning (6 Apr). I can't remember the last time I was warm on a bike. It's a little disheartening but in the end those conditions will make you tougher, and it makes you really appreciate the days when everything from the weather to the bike plays along.

Coming up this week:

Training Graphs
Update from Willem in Dubai
Equipment

Willem's Dubai update 2: Friday Morning Ride

2008-03-28T08:50:00.005Z

After a few weeks of dinners and the odd glass of red
wine with visitors from out of town; I was back on the
bike this morning and it sure was good being back on
the saddle. The current temperatures over here in
Dubai is around 35 degrees Celsius during daytime and
drops down to around 20 degrees in the evenings.
Therefore early mornings and evenings still make for
excellent riding conditions.

Decided not to go out with the road club today but
rather get myself back up to speed and have a bit of
fun on the mountain goat (aka Trek 6700). There is a
big open area just behind where I live presently, well
any open area is really already or will be eventually
a construction site in Dubai!. Power Grid pylons are
currently being erected in this area and also a few
Villa developments thrown into the mix! There is a
nice dirt track running along the pylons for miles and
miles with little rolling hills. Not too much to get
excited about but good enough for a few hours on the
bike to get the legs going again. See the pictures
with dirt track running along pylons and then the very
dense built up area (picture background) towards the
coast which is Dubai Marina. (All of that built in the
last 5 years!!)

Planning to get out of town next weekend to hit some
real mountains. Need to pick up the mileage in these
next 2 months. Think the aim would be to get two/three
consecutive 6 hour bike sessions on the legs over a
weekend by the end of May…..so lots of training ahead!
The Mountain Goats have booked their flights to Canada
and will arrive in Calgary on the 6th of August where
the race will start in Panorama, BC. No turning back
now, will keep you updated on the training front!!

cheers

Training - Dorking

2008-03-19T12:05:00.012Z

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Saturday when we went out to Dorking in Surrey for a training ride. We started at 06h30 in the morning which is about an hour earlier than i would've wanted to, but my fanatic friend Werner had other ideas! The ride from home to Surrey takes about 1h45minutes and is 44km. From there we climb up a small hill called BoxHill which takes about 8minutes, but is about as big a climb you will get in these parts which is a shame, as we will surely lack the climbing strenght needed for an event like the Rockies. I will have to find alternatives, or as an extreme go to Wales just to train for climbs! The ride went well, the weather was cool and overcast but basically perfect for riding.

I enjoyed going out on the full suspension bike, as I had alot more confidence when it came to the more technical sections and it felt great flying through the forest on a newly built and serviced bike! This upcoming weekend is a long weekend, So I will try to at least get two solid days in offroad and spent the rest of the weekend drinking recovery milkshakes.Nicenice.

Check out the small videos taken during the ride.The guy with the big bum is Werner, not me!

Luxury At the TransRockies

2008-03-13T09:40:00.005Z

No, we will not only be roughing it out in the Canadian Wilderness, there will be one or two luxuries as well!!

Extract from TransRockies website:

‘’This year's riders will have one very distinct advantage over previous participants, and it comes in the form of feather pillows and down duvets - for a lucky few. On the nights of Day Two and Day Three the TransRockies camp will be nestled in a mountain meadow beneath rocky peaks at Nipika Mountain Resort, an eco-resort with a fabulous perk - log cabins.

For the first time, Nipika has blocked 100 per cent of its accommodation for rental by TransRockies riders, their families and friends. Because the race will both start and finish at Nipika for two days, with two completely different and incredibly epic routes, those who rent a bed in one of the resort's cozy cabins will enjoy amenities like a wood-burning stove, kitchen and full bathroom for two luxurious nights. Not to mention a fabulous porch with views of the meadow where the rest of the sorry-looking riders will be camped out in tents. Never underestimate the power of a good night's sleep as a serious advantage.

www.nipika.com

NiceNice

Willem Kirsten's Update out of Dubai

2008-03-03T09:30:00.004Z

Sorry for my absence in terms of new contributions to the Mountain Goats blog site recently. I have left the UK in January and now find myself working and preparing for the Transrockies in Dubai….Yes, in the desert of all places!!

My first month over here was spent trying to come to grips with accommodation, visas, drivers licencing, Crazy drivers, traffic and then offcourse trying to find out what the biking scene is like over here. I stopped by a bike shop which turned out to be ‘THE’ bike shop in Dubai and they really were a one-stop shop for all the information I needed. There is an arranged road bike ride every Friday morning leaving from The Lime Tree Café off Jumeirah Beach Road. Rides starts at 6am and there are three distance groups 75k, 100k & 120k. Some of the guys do longer rides up to 160k! The route takes you out of Dubai past all the camel & horse race courses at Nad Al Sheba and then towards Al Ain. We stop for a halfway snack at the gas station and thereafter the pace normally starts winding up. The lack of any races in Dubai makes the training rides a test of strength for all the guys (and really strong girls)!! The traffic also starts getting busier at this stage and I am very thankful for the support vehicles following us which blocks oncoming vehicles as we fly through roundabouts at 50km/h!

Yesterday I went to Al Ain which is another town approx 115km east of Dubai. Unbelievable amounts of roundabouts in this town!! We went through 18 before getting to the mountain called ‘Jebel Hafeet’, which is on the border with Oman. This mountain is nicknamed the ‘Alpe De Heuz’ of the United Arab Emirates. It is a 14km climb which elevates from 21m to 1240m. It has 21 bends with a 9% gradient. The first part of the climb was very tough, I think I was still suffering from trying to pull a ‘Tom Boonen’ on the last section of the club ride the day before!! Started feeling better at the halfway point, however it was midday and must have been around 32 degrees with no shade anywhere!! There is a hairpin turn somewhere between 7 and 8k mark which kicks up massively, I had to get out the saddle and into the granny gears just to keep moving forward! After that things starting leveling out a little bit and once you get to the Mercure Hotel then you only have 1.5k to go to the summit. There’s just something about fighting and winning your own race against a mountain! It’s just a great feeling and I can’t wait to get back to Jebel Hafeet in the very near future.

Ok, I am planning to explore the mountain bike terrain over the next few months…so keep logging on to the site for the next update!! I also plan to meet with representatives of SOS Children Charity in Dubai during March to discuss supporting their amazing causes throughout the developing world and especially the child soldier rehabilitation programmes they operate in places like Sudan & Somalia. The Mountain Goats would like to be ambassadors for them in order to enhance awareness of their work and create opportunity for raising sponsorship for such an important cause. We want to be involved in a specific country on a specific project and would tell you about all the details soon. Ok, keep on following the Mountain Goats progress!!

Training Graphs

2008-02-27T18:50:00.008Z

Some Example training Graphs of my last week and half. These will now be populated weekly.

Marin Winter Series 3 , Thethford, Suffolk

2008-01-22T15:52:00.000Z

The first big race of the year went quite well, but I realised there is much more work to do with regards to my conditioning and overall fitness if I were to enjoy the Rockies and other stage races fully.

The day started well with no rain and little wind and temperatures reaching 13-15 degrees which in Jan is almost unheard of. It made it much more pleasant to get ready for the race at 10h30 which would keep us occupied for at least 4 hours.

The format of the race was cross country, with a 8mile course to be ridden as much as possible during a 4 hour period.

The start was as always frantic, with people flying away as if there was a million dollar prize waiting in the end. I decided for once to start slower, which I appreciated in the end, luckily the race was quite flat, combining long drags on Forest jeep track with very muddy single track sections. In the end the single track got the better of me and it was quite a struggle powering through the really muddy bits.

I came in after 6 laps and was 19Th overall which I was relatively happy with.

The Mountain Goat

2008-01-11T21:41:00.000Z

The Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large hoofed mammal found only in North America. It resides at high elevations and is a sure-footed climber, often resting on rocky cliffs that predators cannot reach

2008-01-11T21:40:00.000Z

Race Calendar 2008

2008-01-11T21:34:00.000Z

A Relatively Good Training Week

2008-01-11T18:05:00.000Z

2008-01-11T12:54:00.000Z

2008-01-11T12:43:00.000Z

2008-01-11T12:17:00.001Z

About the TransRockies :

First run in 2002 as the cousin to the legendary TransAlp Challenge held annually in Europe, the TransRockies has quickly established itself as the one true epic adventure for mountain bikers. Riders from all over the World come every August to test themselves against the terrain, weather and trails of the Rocky Mountains in an event described by Mountain Bike Magazine as “The Hardest Race in North America”.

In 2007, the seven day race reversed its traditional south to north routing, instead starting at Panorama Mountain Resort, near Invermere, BC and finishing in Fernie, BC. The riders covered nearly 600km of spectacular Rocky Mountain roads and trails with roughly 12,000 metres of climbing in the process.

The TransRockies grew once again to roughly 600 riders from over 20 countries who competed as teams of two in six different age and gender categories. They spent each night in a travelling village of tents and RVs set up by the organizers and are also fed and supported by dozens of staff and volunteers who do everything from cooking, to setting up the campground to fixing bikes.

Not only does this colourful travelling road show make the daily efforts of the participants possible, it creates an environment that builds camaraderie and lasting friendships among riders of different abilities and nationalities.

The sold‐out 2008 edition of the race will follow the same general course routing as 2007, with the riders crossing the Continental Divide twice as they ride on some of the most rugged and beautiful mountain bike trails in the World.

During the race, riders experience some of the finest that the Rocky Mountain have to offer, from the raw beauty of wilderness campgrounds like White Swan Lake and Nipika Mountain Resort to old‐fashioned Rocky Mountain hospitality from the residents of Elkford and the Crowsnest Pass region.

In its short history, the TransRockies has become one of the premiere cycling events on the planet; renowned for the advent
ure in the riding, terrain and changeable weather, and loved for the warmth, welcome and community which surrounds the event