Preparing for the open road

Two days before a bicycle trip its always chaos in the Longueira household! My bike is standing pretty in the garage ready for battle, my bright yellow panniers are clean and empty airing for their load and all my spares are strewn all over.

I have just finished a remarkable book; The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coehlo. Sadly it was not the best book I have read by the author, the Alchemist will surely remain his best piece of work, but there were some fascinating underlying morals that moved me. He is in search of a sword along the ancient road to Santiago, he has been battling inner demons for weeks on the road. He is approaching his destination and still not received or found this sword. He begins to doubt whether this trip was for anything, he becomes extremely depressed by the thought. A couple of days from the end he has a revelation, not once has he stopped and pondered what he would need the sword for and what he would use it for. He has been so lost in the idea of getting it that he has forgot to enjoy the journey and understand the process. Is this not how we treat our dreams so often in life, perhaps it is the reason we never reach them.

While focussing so greatly on what is ahead and neglecting our present time, we lose so much time and in essence...lose ourselves. I keep this thought dear to me as I embark on a mission.

The destination has been left unclear, Durban, Balito, Grey Town, we are simply open to the experience of the open road. There are lessons we will learn and sometimes its not about where we are going but rather how we are getting there. There are swords to be found along the way, what will we do with ours. Will we fight the good fight, will we return warriors, leaders and better men.

Kunjani

Cycling from Gauteng to Durban: Who can do it?

So who can do a long cycle? Who can qualify to cycle 140km's per day for more than 5 days? The answer is simple, anyone can.

On Saturday I set out on a quest to cycle to Durban from the tiny town of Witbank. The trip is planned to take no longer than 7 days. The man who will be accompanying me is an incredible mentor, role model and friend...and now, he steps into my world of adventure. Its an unusual step for him to take and will by no way be easy. Camping, eating strange things, struggling on the bike might all be new things to him but the sooner one can adapt tough life lessons, and apply them on the bike, the quicker one will learn to survive and push on.

So what can you do to prepare for a cycle expedition?

1. Do your research:

You need to have a well planned route which may take some time. You need to do some research into the gradients, the terrain and the temperature during the time of the year you wish to set out.

2. Pack the right stuff.

There are hundreds of web pages that will offer you the correct advice and give some insight into what you need to pack and what equipment will be useful on the road. If you think you are prepared, draw up a "worst case scenario" of things that could go wrong and try measure your kit up against the challenge. You will know if you are prepared.

3. Have a good bike set up:

You don't need to have spent hours and years training but it is crucial to be comfortable on that bike. Make sure you set up. you can do your own simple set up at home but it would be advised to visit your local cycle shop and get it done. A simple test I use to adjust my seat height: If your knee gets sore in the front, your seat is to low. If the back of your leg gets sore, behind your knee, your seat is to high.

4. Have communication:

In my earlier trips I hardly had any communication with anyone. In a way it was freeing but what are your goals? If your goal is to rebel against a economic society and live a life of poverty and adventure, then you need to accept that uncomfortable death is possible. Like Christopher McCandalees in "Into the Wild" you will fall off the radar and possibly never be able to cry out for help when you need. If you intend to experience adventure and then get back to your normal life in a coulple of weeks, make sure you have a phone or any other form of advice to let people back home know how you are doing.

5. Renew your mind:

Every thought, every feeling of comfort and anything you think you know for sure must be chucked out the window. If not you will have the worst time of your life. You need to open yourself up to the possibility of being taught by the road, the solitude and everyone you meet along the road. Humble yourself, open your mind.

The next couple of days on the road will be a pilgrimage for myself and my very good friend, who I think might be preferred not to be mentioned at this stage, until he finishes. The pilgrimage will finish in a holy place for both of us, a place it all began...Grey Town. We were both part of the 2010 Mighty Men Confrence that changed our hearts and transformed our lives dramatically.  Our biggest hope is that we get a chance to meet the man that influenced us so much, Mr Angus Buchan.

May the Adventure begin
Keegan "Kunjani" Longueira

The Malawi Memoir

Since getting back to Malawi I have gotten stuck into writing a 30 000 word (80 page manuscript) story  about the experience. Malawi has opened my eyes to so much. We need to live the life that's waiting for us, if we don't chase it nobody will. 

I'm planning to load the book onto the internet for free download as well as on amazon, e books and other platforms. Let me know what you guys thing. 

10 Tips for new cyclists

It was long believed that only after years and years of base training, cyclists would then hit their peak. Well doesn't that just suck. This isn't encouraging at all for those of you who have just purchased your new bike and rolled it out of your front door on a chilly winters morning. Theres hope for you I say, take heart. Heres 10 tips to get to where you want to be:

1. Get on Strava:

Strava is an online cycle program and data base where you can track your training, keep an eye on all the places you have been and see just how much you improve. I recommend you switch it on from day one. You will be surprised how much fun it is to get home, upload your training and relive it like a little kid in front of your computer screen. A bonus will be looking back after a couple of months and seeing just how slow you were when you first started.
Personal Experience: I cycled across South Africa last year in December. I uploaded all my trainings and when I finally got home from the month's adventure, analyzing every ride was so much fun. It brought back many memories of where my trusty stead and I had been together.

Track your rides and see what your friends are doing

2. Get a cheap heart rate monitor:

If you haven't got a Heart Rate monitor, get one! It is possibly the most effective way to track your fitness. For dummies, the idea is to get your resting heart rate as low as possible. Rides you were also once doing at 90% of your maximum you can now easily do at 60%, "KABOOM"...you're getting fitter. Expect not to pay to much less than R1500 for a basic entry level watch, will be the best thing you have done.

Its fun and very important to keep track of what your heart is doing

3. Time, Time, Time:

People often get consumed in the distance. I have to ride x kilometers a week. I have seen far to many riders, including myself, become discouraged, knowing they're  not reaching the distances they had covered when they were on top form. So forget about it, especially if you are a beginner. 3 hours on the saddle, legs turning over is of far more value than you think. The more comfortable you become on you bikes and in the saddle, the better you will perform when your training increases. Do your time!

Time in the saddle is sometimes more important the distance we are doing

4. Stay hydrated:

I recently returned from a race. My dad had done the Nissan Trailseeker #3, the 7okm race. When he got back in and we met at the car, he had only finished about 300ml of juice and water combined, out of a possible 1.5l on a 3hour ride.
 "I had no time," he said. Its unacceptable, theres a old saying that goes,"we don't drink for today, we drink for tomorrow." We might be fine for today but what about the next days training. Heres a thought; it takes a full three weeks to recover and get back to full performance after a bad spell of dehydration. I experienced this in the ABSA Cape Epic. Discipline yourself, drink it down!

Drink for the next day, its a discipline.

5. Look in the mirror:

 You are about to be transformed! Say goodbye to those skinny shapeless trunks and hello to that well defined lean leg mass. Take a picture of what your body looks like, if your goal is to lose weight, you have come to the right place. This will motivate you to keep going. You must do your time though.

You have the opportunity to change and you will

6. Supplements:

I have a trio of supplements that keep me recovered and moving forward regardless of what distance I had hammered out the day before. From a 225km from Balfour to Kroonstad, to a 40km hill repeat session, the formula is the same. Whey protein, L Glutamin powder dissolved in your shake and a Branch Chain Amino acid (Bcaa) will get you going again. Its all protein based and assists in the rebuilding of your muscle breakdown.

The ultimate recovery 

7. Gym:

"I need to stay out of the gym, I don't want to get big," Don't be silly. It takes time and effort to become that big, you would be so lucky to see the transformation over night. Ask any of the riders winning Tour de France, The Giro, The Mountain bike world series...they are all being conditioned in the gym. Resistance training in the gym protects your muscles agains breakdown and fatigue in races...if you can squat, how can a little hill on the bike break your legs. Resistance training also assists in fat burning throughout the day.

Although Lance Armstrong was on a lot more than gym, he often spent hours conditioning his body

8. Forget the equipment:

Forget the fancy stuff, get on what you have and cycle your ass off! You will know exactly when you get to a point where your equipment is letting you down. But its not in the first 8 months of training I can guarantee you. Stop comparing yourself to the skinny racing snake lining up next to you. Ride what you are comfortable in, its an adventure, keep it that way!

I promise, your local "Sir Brad Wiggins" won't be judging you on what bike you are riding

9. Join a club

Whether its a social riding group or an organized club set up like the one I belong to, MTN Club 100. Get involved and mix with guys with similar mindsets. They will push you forward and encourage you. Natural competition is good. When you don't feel like a 50km Saturday ride and John, who weighs 180kg, shows up with the club at your front door, I assure you, your mind will change very quickly.

There are some interesting people to meet in our local clubs

10. Smile, look around and protect our culture:

Theres no time for stubborn, arrogant road bike bunnies in our sport and I fear we are getting to that point. Stop shouting "Track, track, track," from your position on the single track. Stop racing past abandoned soldiers patching their tubes, it doesn't matter if you are leading or losing. Stop brushing off officials who have been holding those bloody flags all day waiting for your slow ass at a corner in some desolate part of South Africa...please just raise your hand and acknowledge their presence. Change your attitude, you are part of the family now, bring courage, advice and love and leave your ego at home when you come on a ride. 

The friends, the health, the views and the time on the bike it the most important thing, remember that. 

You're ready for action! Get signed up to some races. We hope to see you in action soon.

Keegan "Kunjani" Longueira

The Nissan Trailseeker adventure

What sort of a name is the; Nissan Trailseeker? Some sort of mystic battle set in the heart of Gauteng? A battle between smog and cars to see who triumphs in finding the smoothly crafted trails in amongst the hidden forests?

I have always loved my mountain bike, training in Nelspruit for the season ahead

I wasn't familiar with the races and only competed in the National Mountain bike series last year. My dad had been pestering me about entering another race. He could smell my weakness and lack of fitness uploaded on the god of cycling-strava. One week before the race I let down my guard and decided to enter us into the Third race of the series at Curro Hazzeldean. 

"Well somebody needs to do the 40km as well so we can get the feel of the whole day, so I will do that one,"I said, clearly hiding my true thoughts about doing the 70km. 

The morning of the race was bitterly cold as if every single bit of bad weather had finally broken through from Cape Town during our winter period. The elites and other 70km participants hurried off at 7:30 and left me peacefully in my car to absorb some heat and motivation before deciding to brave the conditions. The profile indicated the race would be fast, full of single track and generally flat. Unlike the National MTB Series, the profile was truthful, there were no horrid surprises, bull runs or sharp climbs the required climbing rope and picks to escalate. Don't get me wrong, I love the National series, its a true test of character and if you are serious about cycling its a must, and besides who would pass up the chance to see grown men cry. 

The name of the race described perfectly what it was all about. Its as if thousands of cyclists head out into the farmlands of Pretoria in search of trails. We twisted and turned out of town and entered the single tracks with less than 10km on the watches. The tracks were immaculately smooth and fast which is pleasant change to the technical single tracks which test your talent every conceivable second. We headed over jeep tracks, district roads. We headed over bridges and smooth obstacles. The fact that nothing was angled sharply uphill or downhill made it an incredible race for beginners and those looking to post fast times as well. It was even perfect for an unfit semi retired 23 year old cyclist lavishing in the limelight of his glorious Cape Epic in years gone by. 

Jokes aside, this race fed me some inspiration. I returned home to the car, and despite the cold was motivated to enter the next Trail seeker. The team at advendurance have rely put together a top race for the whole family. Theres stalls for food and coffee and race merhcanadise, theres music playing and kids jolting around on their bikes. It helped me remember why I had joined this incredible sport.

With all the variations of adventure races and mountain bike races going on, this is certainly a classic and must remain a race series on the calendar curled by top cyclists and those looking to have some fun on some trails. 1:39 minutes on the 37km course was far from admirable but it signals for me, the start of my training for many adventures to come.