tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47954630081967004132024-02-21T00:46:48.628-08:00Dan CravenPowered by mtc.com.naDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-19452434289267345162009-06-12T19:51:00.001-07:002009-06-12T19:51:28.241-07:00SlackerOnce more I have been letting my mother and all of my regular readers down since... well... I can't even remember when I last wrote something for my blog. It's a loooong story, but I have been enjoying life in England settling into the new team and surroundings (but not enjoying my 'personal' side of the cycling so much). Right now I'm in Quebec, Canada with the team, Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-36737346418944456182009-02-20T10:54:00.001-08:002009-02-20T10:54:04.485-08:00RSASunny Africa my love! Here I come! Sitting in Gatwick on my down to SA for the Tour de Boland, Giro del Capo and of course the Argus after a lovely week in Spain. Although training was not the best due to some cool photo shoots and my leg still nagging me (more in my mind than anything else) I am looking forward to the early trip home. Just hopped across the channel chatting to a Saffa Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-61719339540713896732009-02-10T13:49:00.001-08:002009-02-10T13:49:52.174-08:00Late Morocco PicI was just sent a few pictures from the African Champs in Morocco, back in November last year. Unfortunately I still don't have any photos from the actual contact with my dear Moroccan friend, but at least I now have this pic. Notice how close to the line and to the banners he is ;) Thanks Theresia. Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-80189631672576416462009-02-09T13:33:00.001-08:002009-02-09T13:33:42.436-08:00Chilly TimesTraining in the UK has not been quite as bad as I had expected. Which means that I have actually been able to train as opposed to sitting in the house all day sulking. Somehow my body seems to have acclimatised to a reasonable extent and I have been out and about in three degrees with snow covered fields and freezing toes and fingers. That means the rides have not been as long as they would Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-53763411518349935482009-01-30T12:46:00.001-08:002009-01-30T12:46:43.539-08:00Rapha-Condor 2009Although the last weeks seemed to take forever to go by, the time to jump on board an Air Namibia Boeing and jet into London finally came. I landed in a cold and wet London, Friday 23 Jan and headed over to the Rapha offices to meet some of my new sponsors as well as new team mates. After an amusing afternoon there and a quick stop over at our accommodation for the night we moved on to the posh&Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-16309907028875202009-01-17T03:24:00.001-08:002009-01-17T03:24:43.787-08:00Alive n Kicking!Don't I just love doing my disapearing act!? Especially at this time of year. Do forgive me for not updating my blog much, but every offseason I just go home, put my legs up and tend to forget about everything. Which of course includes my blog, my RIDE article and in many cases, good behaviour... But all of that is over for another few months and I am back on the bike and Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-7696466705459660532008-12-15T02:15:00.001-08:002008-12-15T02:15:40.761-08:0012-12-2008. FNB Desert Dash. 340km. Windhoek to SwakopmundA few months ago I was sitting in Switzerland, all innocent and minding my own business when I received a mail confirming my entry to the Desert Dash. Solo. I had no idea about this and with a bit of investigation was able to find out that a certain mad Irishman had something to do with the entry. So on Friday I lined up at the start of the event, completely under prepped and not knowing Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-43873265425331581912008-12-05T06:02:00.001-08:002008-12-05T06:02:57.847-08:00more readinghttp://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=3627132 Another very interesting read. Now we just need a few more people who think like Suzanne! Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-20599229377397316432008-12-03T02:25:00.001-08:002008-12-03T02:25:09.315-08:00Another worthy readCyclingfansanonymous is proving to be the undisputed leader in cycling journalism! Of course Pez and Cyclismag rock, but CFA just gets down to the nitty gritty like no one else. Here is another amazing piece well worth a read http://cyclingfansanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/12/testament-of-youth.html Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-9336887242023057272008-12-02T12:04:00.001-08:002008-12-02T12:04:28.585-08:00Quote of the month (or of the last 6 months)Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. Anonymous Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-29717357211681919912008-11-10T14:24:00.001-08:002008-11-10T14:24:16.556-08:00All Africa Champs Road Race, Casablanca, Morocco 9 November 2008 The African Cycling Champs Road Race was held on a reasonably flat 11km circuit along the coast where the men had to complete thirteen laps to make a total of 143km. There were 70 starters from 13 different African nations making it one of the best attended champs in its short history. At around the half way mark a group of 15 riders managed to break away from the peloton and soon enough Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-89921090006143201962008-10-01T23:37:00.001-07:002008-10-01T23:37:34.328-07:00Michael Barry on Svein TuftThis article is worth a read http://www.velonews.com/article/83593/michael-barry-s-diary---head-down-and-go I really enjoy the way Michael Barry writes, and since seeing Svein for the first time at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006 I have been intruiged by the man. Like everyone else, I had not expected him to do so well at the recent World Champs TT. I did however Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-13991439356771727592008-09-26T02:03:00.001-07:002008-09-26T02:03:23.277-07:00World Champs Time Trial Race Report, Elite Men, Varese 25.09.2008Alright That didn't go according to plan... I have a hand full of valid excuses lined up, but at the end of the day I gave it what I had yesterday and came home empty handed. I was disappointed with my final position, but even more so with the way I felt during the ride. Going over the top of rollers I never felt able to get the right gear rolling to take advantage of the downhills. &Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-60068649875033508482008-09-25T00:07:00.001-07:002008-09-25T00:07:55.248-07:00World Champs Time Trial, Elite Men, Varese 25.09.2008So, Today is the day... I would like to say that the weather is 'nice' but after using that word to death in my last post I think I'll refrain from that this time and instead say that the weather is fabulous right now. Sun is shining and although it is chilly thanks to the new snow on the nearby mountains it will be perfect by the time I roll off the start ramp at 13h52. I am Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-36666737236558224732008-09-13T07:40:00.001-07:002008-09-13T07:40:39.079-07:00PicsThis is Lago di Varese, and the bike that will be taking me around it on 25 September. One or two minor adjustments and the bike will be ready. Will I though? Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-87688627298751039402008-09-13T07:33:00.001-07:002008-09-13T07:33:17.503-07:00The long waitTrofeo Morucci was my last race for a while as there is a gaping hole of 18 days without racing between it and the World TimeTrial Champs. Gaps in racing are fine when the form is off or when rest is needed, but when you're flying (and bored) and there are no races around to do, then it is just plain irritating. On the bright side I do have a lot of time to play around on the TT bike and getDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-26378716204006682702008-09-09T01:48:00.001-07:002008-09-09T01:48:04.478-07:0047th Trofeo Salvatore Morucci 07.09.2008This weekend we only had to do a 650km drive in order to get to San Martino al Cimino, just north of Rome, for the relatively short 136km Trofeo Morucci. Last years race was a fun affair where I ended up being dropped on the steep inclines heading towards the line, finishing sixth in my last road race of my Euro season. With better form and more motivation this time round I was keen on Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-60068937919118065802008-09-04T11:32:00.001-07:002008-09-04T11:32:39.319-07:00Brief updateAfter going AWOL on my blog for a while I decided it was about time to peek back in and get some updates posted. There was a brief upset with the link from DC.com to the blog but thanks to Carinus that was quickly put right again. As for actual news from my side, after a lot of fabulous one day races in August I ended up getting sick right before Giro Valle d'Aosta, my seasons goal... I justDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-31966930230273758342008-08-08T13:20:00.001-07:002008-08-08T13:28:29.049-07:00GP Folignano 05.08.08After a lekker rest day which certain people spent by the swimming pool, turning into a lovely shade of robot red we moved on north towards Folignano. My favorite race of the season.I have a slight love affair with Folignano because it is the only race that I have done all four year since I have been with FidiBC and the first time I did it I had my backside handed to me on a plate. So badly in Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-48496633891738809972008-08-08T12:19:00.001-07:002008-08-08T12:32:13.006-07:00Cigno PicsScheming that the recently installed white Hudz did their job!Pretending to sound intelligent but the soundsystem in the background was so loud I could barely hear myself thinking, nevermind the questions.First and second did not seem very impressed with things... I heard talk of tempers flaring in the final sprint but who knows!?Some of the fans that were hanging about. Always impressive how Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-4864782601171122022008-08-08T12:16:00.001-07:002008-08-08T12:37:27.652-07:00Cigno Pics830km, over 35 degrees and over 11 hours... Brings out some strange behaviour.Steven British in a still 'harmless' mode.Good book + umcomfy seat = good weirdness!Refreshment! Perfect place for skinny dipping, just a pity that we only had team mates about at the time... Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-89083398110042826612008-08-08T10:41:00.001-07:002008-08-08T13:27:44.362-07:00GP Cigno 03.08.08Last weekend we traveled sooooouth for the start of our August racing. Which means several things:- Racing in central and southern Italy- Loooong car trips and getting home in the wee hours of the morning- Infernal temperatures- Insane courses and even crazier riders- Traffic jams from... well.. Italy..and of course- Good old Italian cooking from the south!We set off on our journey to a part of Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-53552523773777567162008-07-31T11:58:00.001-07:002008-12-11T23:59:32.653-08:00Fabulously sunny days!The sun is shining, the legs are ticking over like a swiss watch and dopers are being caught left right and centre... What more could I possibly ask for? Well.. I could ask for more, but I'm not going to go into that now am I ;) Just a big shout out to my man Carini! The news about your positive test made my day, my week and even my month! Just a pity you finished behindDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-92036152406822777122008-07-27T12:00:00.001-07:002008-07-27T13:02:21.941-07:00GP Inda 1.2 Caravate 175km 27.07.2008I really liked the GP Inda last year, but as I had 3 team mates in the break I had to cover the bunch all day long. This year I wanted to make sure that did not happen again. After all, I love attacking, and I do well when I enjoy myself... Which means that I do well when I attack. At least that's what I tell myself!A few kilometers into the race I went away with one rider for a while but we wereDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795463008196700413.post-46453995308987433282008-07-26T13:27:00.001-07:002008-12-11T23:59:32.913-08:00GP Cristal Energie 19.07.2008Here is a little something from last weekend. Otherwise better known as proof that it actually happened. Gooi'ing that Namlish sign, right there! http://www.velostory.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2763 Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272818593710007166noreply@blogger.com1