Dribs and Drabs

I'm lucky to be alive and in one piece. At the end of this morning's ride I was about to turn into African road, and as I did I heard a car moaning. This sound alone saved me. The car was far off so I started a turning, wider than it would have been. Just then a BMW shot into view, coming to a stop - I shit you not - about 3 metres over the Stop Street Line: in other words, exactly where I would have been.

So as I cruised down the hill I had a hypothetical flashback of me being hit full on, then flying through the air and hitting the neighboring wall across the street with a meaty thump. Bike would have been useless fragments, and my right leg would probably be a meat lasagna.

On the positive side, a piece I wrote quite some time ago will appear in the Lifestyle section of this Sunday's Sunday Times. That will be a nice little something to add to my slowly growing portfolio.

Grim Reminder

Yesterday there were 5 cash-in-transit heists in Gauteng - yes, in a single day. On Friday night I encountered a large number of cops in an Engen Quick Shop. I asked one of them, a policewomen: "Are you winning?"
She repplied ominously: "Don't ask, especially not now, with the festive season coming up."
I nodded and said softly: "Well, good luck."
On the same day I received a hysterical phone call from my landlady, saying she was stranded on the 'motorway' and could I help her. I was at work and didn't really know what to do. She said she didn't have insurance. She said she was 'terrified' as cars were whizzing by, she was in the right lane... Anyway, that got resolved by and large.
But these snippets of information remind me that life can change, and change drastically, at any moment.

Movie Zeitgeist

I've heard that the movie 'The 11th Hour' is not worth going to see. I'm going to go anyway, simply to support the Zeitgeist. Although I expect An Inconvenient Truth II I also hope to stretch my knowledge and perceptions around what I believe to be a vastly under-emphasised issue: Climate Change. I believe we are seeing the effects more and more. The fire at the Durban refinery was caused by lightning they say, and it's not the first event, but the second in a short period of time.

Ode to 94.7

One of the highlights, believe it or not, of the 94.7 was listening to soothing music on that radio station during the drive home, with the aircon on, and the hard job of the day done. 94.7 is a GREAT radio station. It's also one of my favorite things in Joburg. I've heard other people saying the same thing. It's just a damn enjoyable station, and it really seems to connect you to the vibe, to the place, to the people.

Today's training:
Time: 1:24
HR ave: 135/164 max
KCal: 1107
Ascent: 390m
Temp: 17 min/19 max
Average speed: 27.7km/hDistance: 36.5km

I went with the fast bunch and struggled, since my legs had had the crap beaten out of them for almost 4 days in a row. Alex came back for me a few times and gave me a few pushes, but near the end my legs were really finished. The fact that my heart rate went as high as 164 on wasted legs gives an idea how hard I pushed it again (I also hit 164 in the 94.7, up some very hard climbs). I can't get it higher if my legs are gone. Tomorrow ought to be easier.

I'm very encouraged by my friend's Alex cycling performance, but overall he reminds me that consistent effort, hard work essentially, will be rewarded. In work, in training, in love, in life. I used to believe that very strongly. Possibly I went to the other extreme, but I'm making my way back. In work, in training, in love, in life.