The Ordinary Cyclist heads to Durban

The Durban Dash Down is a challenging ride. Even though 614km's, it's short enough in duration to be ridden without stopping to sleep. I finished third having covered the distance in 28h36. My moving time was 26h08. The non moving time could have been slightly less if the cashiers till at the KFC in Huilbron wasn't down. The other lengthy delay was at The Border Post (CP2) where the service from the kitchen was particularly slow. If I knew the food was going to be as bad as it was I could have left 30 minutes earlier. But the time off the bike helped to ease aching muscles and break the tedium.

I was reminded of why I don't like riding a road bike. My neck was in spasm before we got to Huilbron. I guess I'm just not conditioned to the setup. 15 kilometres of poor condition gravel road added to the challenge. That's all I will say about the race. I will leave the details for Dawn's account.

The two guys who won the race put on a superb display. They had planned it carefully, even doing some recce rides. They are both very accomplished riders. I was reminded that I am indeed a very ordinary rider—A title I am very comfortable with.

As much as I enjoy riding my bike I am not a fanatic. You won't find me getting up at 4am to crank out a good training ride before work. Cross-training sounds like an interesting concept but I don't have time and I like the idea of doing strength training but it also requires a chunk of time I don't have.

I'm like a kid in a playground. I'm never going to be the guy who swings the highest or spins the fastest. All the playground equipment needs to be played with. There are those who ignore the roundabout, don't even give the seesaw a glance, and are never found clambering over the jungle gym. For them it's just the swings. As for me, I'm happy to divide my time between all manner of distractions.

The result is that I am ordinary at most of my pursuits. But what I have learnt along the way is the value of tenacity. Take a chunk of that into an endurance race and you'll box above your weight every time.