Israel is a Middle Eastern country of 8.7 million people located on the shores of the Mediterranean sea. It has a predominantly Jewish population and is regarded as the biblical Holy Land. Racing a bike in Israel has been on my to do list for a long time as I have heard many conflicting stories […]
Imogen Smith’s Otway Odyssey recap
I’ve never done the Otway Odyssey – weird, because it’s one of Australia’s best-known races. There’s just always been some clash that’s kept me away in the past, so this year was my first go. A few aspects of the race sounded pretty interesting to me: It’s known for its longclimbs, crazy good singletrack, and […]
5 takeaways from a 500km day in the saddle
As a former road racer I have always been a fan of big miles on the bike for training. As a cycling coach now (Mind Matters Athlete Coaching) I still endorse the benefits of a solid endurance base that can only be strengthened through extended duration in the saddle. But how far is too far […]
The Pioneer Stage five – Final stage brings a few surprises
Tired legs roll out of Bannockburn This morning we got up before dawn and munched through breakfast in the dark. It’s always unbelievable to me that, given my usual appetite, when we get into the depths of a stage race I find myself completely without interest in food, so that eating is stripped of any […]
The Pioneer Stage 4 – Mt Difficulty and other difficult climbs
Click. Beep. Click. Beep. Click. Beep. Ok I’m definitely in my smallest gear, but how is that possible? I’ll just check again. Beep. Yep. Shit. Getting going again Today Mike and I started Stage four of The Pioneer with the goal of making it to the first feed zone, then reassessing things after our nightmare […]
“That’s one of my hardest days on the bike” – midweek at The Pioneer
Related Event: The Pioneer
Today’s stage from Alexandra to Bannockburn looked a little innocuous on paper. 79km, with a couple of big climbs – but all farm track. That’s over 20km shorter than Stage 2, but similar climbing, but no singletrack – so it should be faster. And I think for many people, they probably liked it. And deep […]
Pioneer hits the Alex trails for the Queen Stage
Why is it that we only crash when things are great? All those awful, cold, wet grovels where you’d pay good money for a legitimate Out, nothing. Nothing goes wrong. Except maybe a flat tyre, but that’s fixable. Now when you’re ripping through trails, performing well, loving it – that’s when life deals you a […]
Queenstown rocks The Pioneer’s first stage
Related Event: The Pioneer
Sure, we all raced a prologue yesterday. We did 20km, got a bit muddy and had some fun. And while it gave us our start position, and settled some nerves, it was but a drop in the ocean for what lay ahead. All that would start this morning. My pet hate at any stage race […]
Pioneer Prologue-2018 event kicks off in challenging conditions
Related Event: The Pioneer
Cold. It was cold. We got up at 5:10am, which if you’ve just arrived from Australia feels a lot like 2:10am, and bolted some breakfast before heading for the first shuttle up to Coronet Peak, the ski station that towers above Queenstown and just happened to be under a whole lot of snow just a […]
Unrivaled Adventure and African Experience at the K2N Stage Race
Africa; the dark continent. Industrialized South Africa has burst into the mountain bike scene with a lions roar but what about the rest of the continent? Fellow Appalachian Adventurers Thomas Turner and Gordon Wadsworth set out for the first annual Kilimanjaro 2 Ngorongoro Stage Race across Northern Tanzania to find out! While the K2N is […]