Well I can confidently say that Canadian Spring sucks. The mercury has stayed well below zero for the week with no sign of warming up. So much for an early spring - bloody groundhog! Anyway again a bout of cabin fever had me out on my bike and breaking my own personal records. Today on the bike the temp got down to a chilly -11deg C, which needless to say with the windchill factor was a chilly ride. I only managed to get a 1hr40 ride - I would have loved it too been longer but I was simply just too cold. It is a whole different experience riding in the cold - and I think my riding mates from South Africa would have been amused to see me 'leopard crawling' across a 150m frozen stretch of track! But I was out of options! Needless to say, I always enjoy my time on the bike - the ability to clear your mind, work your legs and arrive home feeling good - far outweighs any other options!

With the cold weather and my lengthy morning commutes to work, I have got through some amazing books. Yes, I know I am obsessed - but I am into reading about individuals who do extreme rides - with the recent two books about a guy who rode around the world - after riding north-south through Africa (Part 1) . If you are looking for a book I thoroughly recommend reading both of Alastair Humphrey's journey around the world - it certainly will ignite the adventurer in you. (see the links in this article below)


My current book is about an individual who is an individual who is riding form Alaska to the southernmost point of South America. The twist to this ride is that he is undertaking the ride on a tandem bike without a partner - picking up individuals on the way.

In South Africa it is Cape Epic week (www.cape-epic.com) - this event is still one of the best run events, truly world-class. Time flies, it is hard to think that we did this event 2-years ago. I am jealous of the guys doing this event and creating life-long memories.

I am traveling this week - so not a good week in terms of training. I have packed my running shoes and have hit the hotel gym - possibly one of my least favourite training activities, hotel gyms. Anyway, I suppose it does serve a purpose. Hopefully the next week will see me starting my commute rides into work - I really hope that the daylight is sufficient, this is the only thing stopping me beginning my training schedule in earnest!