#DriveChange Day 2. How can you help :)

Goooooood Morning kiddy winkles 🙂

Quick moan! Bicycles are in fact actually even allowed on the road too. Don’t be dooshy, there is enough space for everyone and we’re all just trying to get somewhere 😉 Also, the lets see how close we can get to a cyclist at 50km/h down Rabie Road isn’t fun and shouting funny noises at cyclists is also lame. unless you’re a sexy woman, then go crazy. But seriously, an oke might have been cycling for 2 hours already to get to his low income, manual labour job – give him a break. Cyclists, concentrate & obey the laws – it’s dangerous out there.

That done, check out these awesome Guinea Fowls I bumped into!

Back to “How can you help” 🙂 The Auto Trader #DriveChange team will be at Menlyn, Fourways, Southgate, Centurion & Eastgate Malls in Gauging this weekend and if you donate R50 you get to colour in a car 🙂 The funds will be used to buy bicycles for Qhubeka.

Qhubeka distributes bicycles to students to improve access to education, reduce travel time and improve educational outcomes. 🙂

Follow on twitter @Qhubeka, @AutoTraderSA & @ThisJustinGuy

THEY PICKED ME!!! Auto Trader & Qhubeka #DriveChange :)

You know when your phone vibrates, you look at it and you’re like “Why would *Insert Company Name Here* send me a tweet?”, because on Friday that’s exactly what happened to me. Auto Trader tweeted me and challenged me to be a part of their & Qhubeka’s #DriveChange campaign! They may have heard i have an issue saying no 🙂

As you may know Auto Trader have teamed up with Qhubeka to #DriveChange and raise funds to help communities get off their feet and onto bikes to help make their daily commutes quicker and safer. To raise funds and awareness they have asked me to commute to work for a week on my bicycle. Like, I excite. Hard! So day 1 🙂

Only turned the Strava on in Fairylands when i stopped to get a selfie with the sunrise (about halfway between my house and my work). I went a very direct route because as you can see I had a bag with my laptop and work clothes on my back (I won’t be travelling with the laptop on any other commutes).

Thinking about the campaign and what it means while I was riding the streets, paths and sidewalks, I realised that there are 2 sides to this coin. Firstly, bicycles can change lives. It was part of how I changed my life but in this instance I imagined walking to work vs the cycle. Walking would mean leaving at 04:30am and arriving at work exhausted after a 3 hour journey. it would also meaning walking back. That’s 6 hours a day. No. Thank goodness for bicycles.

The other side of the coin though (secondly), is that it’s difficult. Drivers generally disregard cyclists, I can’t explain how scary it is and how frequently people don’t use there indicators. I have a “bike parking” and shower facilities at the office, if I didn’t I’d be stinking up my meetings and worrying about the safety of my Scott. The general planning around bicycle commuting is a big deal – there are logistics. People who don’t have (at least) bicycles are living a crazy existence in which I couldn’t function. People with bicycles as their main means of transport are doing a great job, you need to be organised and motivated. Especially if you don’t have the supporting facilities.

But I arrived safely on day 1 🙂 Hoot and wave if you see me out there! And come to the malls this weekend to donate R50 to colour in the Auto Trader/Qhubeka cars. We only have these 2 weeks to raise funds guys and the funds will be used to buy bicycles for Qhubeka 🙂

So.Hungry.

We talking diet plans. I believe in every diet plan – they have all worked for somebody out there. But people’s bodies are different, so different plans are going to work for different people. So you do banting… or vegan… or cabbage soup, I don’t really care (sorry), but like religion, don’t tell me yours works and mine doesn’t. That gets me hey. Sjoe.

Anyway, I’m currently eating 5 meals a day which look something like this;

1. Rolled oats and/or Muesli
2. 3 egg omelette
3. Lunch (Hand size portion Protein & fist sized portion Carbs & Veg)
4. Protein shake (FutureLife & Whey)
5. Dinner (Hand size portion Protein & fist sized portion Carbs & salad)

I’m pretty good but not religious about it. I do try to add eggs & tuna to as many meals as possible as per Logan’s direction. Sometimes it’s Ice Cream though 🙂

Trick for me is that I get 4 of these meals at work, makes it easy.

Strength Training: Week 2!

So last week I started with a personal trainer named Logan (Inbox him for rates & availability) at the MultiChoice City Gym (I work for M-Net). He has me on a good eating plan, a strict 3-days-a-week training programme and basic supplement/protein shake for growth. This guy…

In the first week I really struggled to finish the sets and was in a world of muscle pain. It was tough getting motivated to come back this week, especially considering that last Wednesday i had a meltdown at my desk and basically lost the ability to move, think or speak.

This week I’m getting through all the sets, increasing the weight on some exercises and have been feeling good walking out of the gym. The first week, like in most sports, is the mother fugger. Once you get past it, it gets easier. So stick at it.

And I can’t deny that my legs felt strong on Sunday’s cradle ride. I just know there is a world of benefit coming from these sessions. Peace.

Can we talk about the cradle for a freakin’ minute please!?

Howzit Champs!

The Cradle hey. So wunnerful. I mean, i rode past Homo Naledi and then got wide-eyed around the neck and deck spot as 4 lions were chilling not too far from the cycle lane. It’s a special place.

Then I got another puncture. I must be averaging a puncture a ride out in the cradle so far this season. Seriously. There is so much glass and crap IN THE CYCLE LANE!

I’ve asked around a little and there are a couple of opinions ranging from drunk people throwing bottles out their windows on these roads at night to local farmers (who apparently dislike the cycling community coming to the cradle) dropping it along the route to discourage people using it.

Is there a clean up operation, can I help, how does it work?

The Best Thing I Could Have Done :)

So after IronMan 70.3 in Durban I haven’t run, cycled or had a swim. That’s 5 full weeks. First real break since I did East London 70.3 and full in PE this year. I’ve seen a real change in my body and I’m feeling good, it really feels like the best thing i could have done 🙂

I went to go see a chiropractor on Tuesday as I am starting out on a 12-week strength training program at my gym with a personal trainer, and I want my shit aligned – By “shit” I mean my spinal column.

He asked me to undress, made me lie down on a flat bench and proceeded to break my spine. It was clicking so loud it sounded like someone was clapping. Sick bastard loved it too, smiling & laughing the whole time. I thought I had passed away.

But then I stood up, and let me tell you something, I felt amazing. Thank you Jesus. He explained to me the position we get into for long periods on the bike is not ideal for the body structure, but that many exercises will help prevent any injury. He finished off by saying “most of the time the problem with triathletes is that they don’t get treatment when they are injured. ahem.”

My seed corns have gone and not returned. My two dead toenails seem to be coming back to life. I’m excited guys. This break has made me hungry and freshened up my body.

Riding cradle on Sunday and building toward Global Eleven in November, see you out there kids. Happy Days.