March 2011

Mon's first ride

Submitted by monica on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 05:19
Chris Birch South Africa Coaching Mon
Chris Birch Wife Monica Riding

We got Mon's bike and she is ready to go! I gave her a very brief lesson before I set off on a ride with Mike Morris and Altus, she looked very kitted up in her awesome Airoh helmet, her Hyde shirt, and MY Thor pants!!

She was very excited and managed to start the bike herself (on the list of things to check off) and when I came back from my ride she was very keen to show me how she can zoom up to 4th gear around the paddock, do a firgure of 8 using the clutch, and even ride over a rock about a foot and a half high, standing up!

Regional Harescramble

Submitted by monica on Sun, 03/27/2011 - 17:32
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Racing
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Racing

Raced in the regional harescramble event yesterday, rode my new KTM300-XC, found the bike great to ride, the difference in the frame is noticeable - and positive!

Testing the new KTM300-XC

Submitted by monica on Fri, 03/25/2011 - 05:24
Chris Birch South Africa Training

This week has been all about training and trying to get my lost strength back. Lots of gym work and I have been trying to get as much cycling as possible, not easy when I keep breaking my borrowed bicycle.

Top day today. Found a new riding area five minutes from home, its a really sweet pine forest. KTM South Africa have hooked me up with a XC300. Its very different to the XCW but seems like a big step forwards, it's a fast bike.

thanks to my Comsol Alfie Cox racing teammate Paul C for taking the photos and video today!

Kiwi humour at it's best

Submitted by monica on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 07:58

last few days have been training and sorting bikes out - so there's been time to check out this awesome music video ...

Photos from Lesotho National Enduro

Submitted by monica on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 00:20
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Racing
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Racing

A few pics from the race on the weekend - I am still tired now, we went riding on Sunday too thorugh Lesotho, and a bit of a mountain bike this morning.

Thanks heaps to Elza Thiart for the pics - Mon is stuck in the pits most of the time so thanks for sharing the photos!

Enduro Nationals Round One

Submitted by monica on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 09:08
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Race
Chris Birch South Africa Enduro Race

First round of the SA national enduro series today in Lesotho. Track was pretty cool, so wicked to be riding in Lesotho again and weird not to be here for the Roof!

Preparing for first National enduro

Submitted by monica on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 22:40
Chris Birch South Africa KTM Enduro
Chris Birch South Africa KTM Enduro

We got back to SA on Tuesday night and since then have been getting things sussed for the race in Lesotho this weekend. I got my sweet new bike but will still race the old one this weekend.

We drove in convoy to Lesotho last night - me and Mon keep forgetting things take aaaages in SA, so it took about 6 hours (we thought it would be 3!), including a few road blocks, potholes, and a ute full of chickens ...

Red Bull Romaniacs 2010

Submitted by monica on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 04:19

A nice video of the 2010 Red Bull Romaniacs Rally. I'm already getting excited about this years race in July.

More coaching in Ankara, Turkey

Submitted by monica on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:35
Chris Birch Turkey Enduro Coaching
Chris Birch Turkey Enduro Coaching
Chris Birch Turkey Snow Enduro Practice

Today we had day one of the beginners course. Mercifully the snow has started to melt making it a bit easier to get around the place, there was still a fair bit of grovelling going on! There is a good group of kids with us that are really good riders and are pinning it through the snow. It's really good to see. Monica was happy to scuff about in the snow and made some pretty impressive snow men.She's also listening to the lesson so when I teach her to ride back in SA she has a head start!

Putting the guys through their paces

Submitted by monica on Sat, 03/12/2011 - 00:17
Chris Birch Turkey Enduro Coaching
Chris Birch Turkey Enduro Coaching

today we focussed in the morning on body preparation after yesterday's bike preparation lesson. we talked about diet, exercise, hydration, and when you can have a beer after a race!

Then I took the group through a bit of a workout, one they can do in about half an hour and at home, no gym equipment needed. They were all knackered by the end of it! It's so important to be fit and strong for our sport, you can get so much more enjoyment out of it as well as get better results.

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