Bicycling

Radio DJ, Brad Brown has set his sights on the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge. He is a man on a mission, with a goal to finish the 94.7, lose weight and raise money for charity. Follow his regular blogs right here.

-> Let me begin by telling you how this all started. In July 2009 I got fired up and decided to run Comrades in 2010. I was grossly overweight, weighing in at 165kg's, an ex two-pack a day smoker and just generally the poster boy for poor health. In the last year I've achieved a few goals I set myself, I've also missed one or two but overall I'm in a lot better shape than I was a year ago. I am almost 50kgs lighter and even more motivated than before. I've reset some goals for the next year, including Comrades again and the Ironman in April 2011. In preparation for the triathlons I've entered I'm also taking on the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in November.

I wouldn't say I'm a complete novice to cycling but then again I wouldn't call myself an old hand at it either. I've completed one 94.7 in 2006 but honestly didn't do much training in the build up to it and definitely nothing after it. Until now that is. I got back on the bike (and by bike I mean a mountain bike that's more tractor than bicycle) in July this year. Most of my training during the cold winter months was on a spinning bike and I have probably done three or four longer rides on the mountain bike. Two of those longer rides were in races, the Norrie Cradle Challenge 65km and the Carousel 70km.

KTM bicycles South Africa have been kind enough to sponsor me a road bike which I've been riding for the last couple of weeks. The first ride I did on it was the 103km Cansa Lost City Classic which I managed to finish in under 3 hours. So as far as early season preparation is concerned I feel like I'm in semi-decent shape and definitely have a base I can work off moving forward with Cycle Challenge Sunday just over 11 weeks away.

The preparations for my charity initiative are well under way to. I am attempting to raise a million rand for breast cancer awareness. I have a real passion for this having lost my mom to it in May this year. I'm still looking for more cyclists to ride along with us in pink on the day. To find out more about what we're up to you can visit http://www.bradbrown.co.za/pinkdrive

I also tweet quite a bit from the road during training rides and races so if you'd like to keep updated with what I'm up to you can on http://www.twitter.com/bigbradbrown

I'm not quite sure what I should be aiming for at the 94.7 as far as time is concerned but I do feel like I want to race it. One thing I do know is I have to beat my previous time of 4:16. If I don't I will see it as a sign to give up cycling as a bad idea. This is where I need some help and advice, I'm currently riding an average 100km's per week, as well as 2 spinning classes. I did a sub-3 Lost City, what would be a realistic time to aim for the 94.7?

Are you also training for the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge? Get your training programme here!