Most of the time, when I travel, it’s solo travel. I have no one in my life who’d want to go to South Africa to escape winter and ride bikes for an extended period of time. Ok wait – a few people might want to, but no one who’s ready to make it happen. When […]
A conversation with my brother sparked a memory from a trip to India almost 10 years ago. I think we were talking about solo travel in places with a language barrier, but I don’t really remember. I was traveling from Benares to Agra by train. I had spent a few days along the Ganges and […]
I often talk to people who are holding their heads in despair as they approach 50, thinking the end of the world is nigh. When I was turning 50, someone sent me this graphic as a birthday greeting. What a clever way to reframe it. The year I turned 49, I took a solo trip […]
“Alone” on the bike, I’m left to the mercy of the never ending internal dialogue. Here’s a snippet of the ridiculous. I should really have started earlier – why do I always go out so late – was nice to see Carrie though – I think I’m going to be too hot – how can […]
Having grown up in Johannesburg, coming back to South Africa may seem like coming home. But my growing love affair with this beautiful country has little to do with being born here. This is an entirely new relationship, taking root in an completely different part of the country, that I never knew as a child. […]
A friend called me out this summer when I said that doing the BC Bike Race (BCBR) is too difficult for me. After much contemplation and excessive amounts of overthinking as I tend to do, I have signed up to do the race next summer. The commitment is in place; working through the self-doubt is […]
With my August race in Colorado having slipped off my calendar, I looked for one more race to do this year. It’s already been a great year of riding with Special Blend Gravel Camp being the perfect preparation for the Gorge Gravel Grinder, and then also Cranbrook Gravel Grind. I was hungry for just one […]
Racing is pure madness. Madness, I tell you!! You sign up for a race months out with great excitement and ambition. In the days leading up to the race, the doubts start surface, and by the morning of the race, you are a wreck. At least I am. I have done a few races now, […]
This race was back in May, and in the days after the race my life was consumed with the two events I work for, the Mega Volt and the BC Bike Race, so I never got around to talking about it. The race experience was particularly special in that the whole weekend was so filled […]
I’m just home from such a great weekend of playing bikes at Special Blend Gravel in Dufur, Oregon. It’s a 3-day women’s gravel camp with excellent riding, opportunities for coaching and endless good vibes. Each day there was a different route and we split up into groups. There was no molasses group so I went […]