By now all of us are back into the swing of things and we are furiously working to get back into our fitness routine and trying hard to work off the remnants of furious festive feeding. It might be my imagination but the year seems to have started with a real air of positivity with new goals and new trails in mind! I have a good feeling about 2015.
With the New Year there will be a few changes at Full Sus, again all positive, Rochez O’Grady our regular nutritionist is leaving the team and is heading to South America to chase new trails – we wish you luck Roachie! While we are going to miss Rochez, we would like to welcome Di Carolin to the team. Di is our newest columnist who will be looking at MTB from a women’s point of view, she will be covering everything from starting out, gear, tips to events, skills and fashion, so a regular ladies page in the midst of a testosterone driven publication. Full Sus is completely behind ladies in the sport and love that so many ladies read Full Sus regularly – Di’s column is your space!
Seamus completed his first Attakwas, which is normally the first race for many on their year’s race calendar, well done to him and to all the others who finished this Epic training ride. It’s a tough race, although you wouldn’t have thought so if you saw Christoph Sauser and Ariane Kleinhans power to victory. It would be amiss not to mention the ABSA Cape Epic taking place from 15 – 22 March. The buzz around the world’s premier stage race has begun, with a lot of hype being around the Table Mountain prologue starting at UCT this year. The world’s best racing on SA’s most recognised heritage site is sure to be an awesome spectacle – I have my spot picked out already!
Remember to visit www.fullsus.co.za and download our stage race calendar or check up the MTB events coming up on our calendar. It’s great to have a ride or two planned as motivation and we are lucky to have an event on pretty much every weekend in the year.
My wish for this year is that we stay safe while riding. It is our responsibility to look after ourselves. We need to be visible on the roads (we all train or commute on them), obey the rules of road and trail, be sensible and know your limitations. But my biggest wish for this year is that we all work on our manners, not only while social riding but particularly at organised events. Be tolerant! Everyone has to start somewhere and despite wanting to improve your time or beat a mate, unless you are potentially going to finish within the top 10 in your category there is no reason to behave poorly (that goes for the top guys too but hey us mortals are not likely to ever get in their way).
Safe riding, have a brilliant 2015, and see you on the trails!
Sus the Winners
Over the festive season we asked you, the Full Sus readers to tell us where the best place you rode you bike this holiday was. The entrants went into a draw to win a Junglenow hamper and the lucky winners are as follows: Jorg Knorr (Gordon’s Bay), Chris Knight (Kommetjie), Daniel Pulker (Sea Park, Port Shepstone), David Langford (Boksburg) and Colin Simms (Vanderbijlpark), congratulations guys – we hope you enjoy the prizes!
Sus the LBS: Budget Bicycles (084 236 2959)
We would normally write a bit on the local bike shop but JJ Maritz did such a good job of it we thought we’d share his reasons for why his LBS is the best…
My local bike shop is a small shop in Despatch (Eastern Cape) called Budget Bicycles. It’s a small business owned by Marius Erasmus and his wife Natasha.
Don’t be fooled though, it might be small, but they have everything you need and some things you think you will never need… until you do. Beside from being a sub three hour Argus racer, Marius is also an ace bike mechanic and actually uses a toothbrush to meticulously clean your bike after he serviced it. The amount of effort he puts in to make your bike look and ride like it just came off the shop floor is crazy. And don’t get me started on how cheap they are. Man I feel so bad when he tells me the price of a full service that I scold him and force him to charge me a bit more…
Natasha is so clued up on bikes, it’s scary (and a bit intimidating) and she makes a great cup of coffee. She won’t let you leave the shop without a caffeine rush so bad you’d be ready to take on the Trans Baviaans, wide-eyed, right then and there.
I’m pretty sure that (and this is my humble opinion) these small LBS’s are the heart and soul of the cycling world… I personally would be lost without Marius and Natasha. I’m sure they would appreciate any sort of publicity, but as humble as they are they would never expect or ask for it.
You can find them on Facebook at Budget Cycles or drop by the shop at 8 Moreson Street, Despatch.
