Filling in the gap...

So this is the very first post. The beginning. Its like the start of a race, which, for me, is always the worst part. There is always that guy who is going to be just a little faster or a little stronger than you, and you have nothing to work with. Oh well, such is life...

I've spent ages thinking about starting this blog, and there are a few things that you need to know as a keen follower of my progress. It's about cycling, and not much else, so if you don't like cycling, then congrats for reading this far. I basic idea is that I write race reports like all those other kids out there (you'd be suprised be how many actually do!) and the people who told me to make it (the higher powers) would read it and think that I was following orders well. But they're wrong. This is not just a blog. This is so much more than a basic transcript after every race, this is a inspirational life story of a light-hearted, fun loving teenage kid who enjoys life enough to write about it and hopefully inspire others. Ok, that was a bit deep, but I think you'll eventually get the general idea. 

It's all about having fun, and to those who don't ride a bike regularly, you have no idea of the world you are missing out on. What is cycling? Is it art? Is it life? is it a science? To me it is all three, and it can be a lot of things to all different people. This may sound far to deep, but when you are out on the road for 3 to 6 hours most days a week, you have a lot of time to think about these sorts of things. Cycling relases endorphines, (a chemical more commonly known as happy drugs) in your body, which can block pain and create a feeling of happiness. How awesome is that? If cycling leads to happiness, then I'll always be up for that 2 hour burn in the early hours of a weekday morning, even with the idea of a tough school day ahead.  

So lets come down off planet Phli0, and get back down to Earth. I am 16, turning 17 in August this year. I am not only an avid cyclist, but also a runner, multisporter and duathlete. The one thing that people think I should do is swim, but lets just get this straight. I don't swim. Instead I sink like a drowning cat. So triathlons are out of the question. I started competitive cycling at the age of 15, starting out of inspiration from my older brother, Luke Reid, who was quite a hotshot mountain biker in his day. I got into the road bike scene and found an awesome sponsor through House of Paint, and road with them for 2007 and 2008, ages 15 and 16. 

In my second year as a Youth, or U16, I was blessed with a number of awesome victories in races, including 3rd overall in the U16 National Tour at Midmar, as well as the overall winner of the Illovo Eston 40km race. The other major acheivement was a solo win the U16 age category of the Amashovashova classic, a race which is hotly contested by youngsters all over the country. I also managed to do quite well in the Eric van Enter Cycling festival held at Gariep Dam in July 2008, winning the team time trial, the road race, the hill climb and finishing up 3rd in the final crit. 2008 was an awesome year, and I was incredibly lucky to have no injuries or major problems. 

Then came November 2008. I had been a part of a international exchange programme at school, and I applied to go overseas for half a term. I ended up in an awsome school called Boxhill, an international school just south of London. I ended up being overseas for about 2 months, and I did absolutely no training or excercise of any kind (it was the middle of winter). I came back a little pork pie, but the experience made it completely worth it. It was also incredibly good to give my body a break from all the training, and not just a short two week break.

So that brings us to where I am now.... Just about to race my first race of 2009, the first XC National in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. I have done about 3 weeks of training, and I am with a new team after switching to racing MTB full time, called Life in Motion (more about them later). I am not at all confident about tomorrow's race (I am writing this in a book on the dining room table of the place I am staying!) but I will give it everything. I have a brand new Kona Kula Delux, and I am anxious to put it through it's paces. I am racing in the Junior Men's category, a strongly testosterone driven one that is brutal. Normally I would have done at least a month of solid long base training, but with being overseas and everything I had no time. Oh well, we'll see how it goes...