There's a feeling you get when you're riding a steel-frame race bike with down-tube shifters on a rough gravel road. You give in and you accept your fate. You grind up a punishing hill without looking for another gear, because you know you don't have one. You listen to the crunch of dirt under your 28c tyres and you don't even think about punctures anymore, because punctures are a part of life.
Eventually, all your worries start to melt off your shoulders. Life is distilled to the essentials: landscape, body, bike. You could just keep riding... How far could you go? You turn your face to the sun, born again in the simple act of pedalling, humbled by the world and your tiny place in it.
I usually get this feeling once a year, in the Baden Valley north of Montagu, on a private road that's only open to cyclists during Eroica - a weekend-long celebration of vintage cycling. The road is bumpy and rough, snaking off a ridge towards a river, surrounded by mountains. It would be technical on a mountain bike; on a road bike, it's hell.
But it's a beautiful kind of hell, and my old Peter Allan carries me along with dignity. I ride in the drops, skirting shale bands that rise like shark fins from the ground, guiding my front wheel around rocks and ruts. My mind slows down and eventually goes quiet. I listen to my breathing, pausing only to reach down and change gears.
I am a tuft of sheep's wool, adrift on the breeze.
SUFFERING AND GLORY
Eroica South Africa is an offshoot of the OG event, L'Eroica, which has taken place since 1997 in the hills of Tuscany, drawing thousands of so-called eroici each year. (Eroica was the inspiration for Strade Bianchi - the World Tour race on the same Italian roads, first held in 2007.) The name means 'heroic' in Italian, and that's what Eroica celebrates: the beautiful conquest of cycling from days gone by.
Denne historien er fra July/August 2023-utgaven av Bicycling South Africa.
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Denne historien er fra July/August 2023-utgaven av Bicycling South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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GEAR FOR THE AGES
Some bicycle components, tools and accessories - by design, luck or a bit of both - become icons of performance, reliability and permanence in cycling.
A RACE LIKE NO OTHER
IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.
WAR ON WHEELS
IF YOU GO FOR A RIDE IN CAPE TOWN AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A CYCLING GANG WAR, WHERE THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE ARE STRAVA RECORDS AND SALTY COMMENTS ON INSTAGRAM. THIS IS THE TALE OF THREE RIVAL ROADIE CREWS AND A REMINDER THAT CYCLING IS A SPORT BEST TAKEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR.
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HAVE YOU GOT TOUR FEVER? If you have a good fitness base, let the pros inspire you to take your riding to the next level.
THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START
\"THIS IS WHAT DECONDITIONING LOOKS LIKE,\" I said out loud to no one, as I looked at the heart-rate reading on my phone and gasped for breath. \"This shouldn't be so hard.\"
DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR POWER-TOWEIGHT RATIO
POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS one of the most telling metrics in cycling - and thanks to indoor trainers, many more cyclists are now familiar with it. Right now it's never been easier to calculate your power-to-weight ratio and use it to improve your performance.
EASY RIDER
A FEW YEARS AGO, my wife and I along with her parents, brother and his wife-cycled down the Danube River in Europe.
LEADING THE WAY - RYAN GIBBONS, 29, SA PRO RIDER, MULTIPLE SA & AFRICAN ROAD CHAMP
AFTER JOINING LIDLTREK from UAE Team Emirates, South African national champ Ryan Gibbons aims to be the best lead-out man he can be - while also helping his new team in their quest to climb the World Tour rankings.
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
