Motivation.. or why I can't seem to ride my bike

If my previous post indicated any malaise in the sport of cycling in Mozambique, you're spot on. However I cannot blame my lack of motivation just on external factors. Certainly the pockmarked marginal and roads around town sporting random bathtubs is not inviting for skinny tyre users. And as I'm no lover of an MTB, I pretty much need to ride where it's nice and smooth. However, it's not just that. It's not like I don't have goals to work for.. even though some of them are slipping away, much like my Argus startplace (group D, starting 6:36).. which will go to someone else as I won't be participating. There are other goals though, other races, a revamped and exciting CopaCiclismo, Panorama Tour, Le Coq Sportif Tour..

Nope, the issues are internal... It's a conflict between wanting to be competitive and wanting just to cycle. I've lost my competitive edge and need to re-train and re-tool. I need to get back into the rythmn of riding and training. But I just can't get up and out of bed. Procrastination? Some sort of reverse psycology training method - don't train to be trained?! I KNOW there are no short-cuts in cycling. The excruciating first climbs of Namaacha almost 3 years ago taught me that. The endless Caracol repeats taught me slow and steady will eventually turn into fast and explosive. But I now need to climb those hills again. I need to mentalise that I'm back where I started, only with a more expensive bike. The equipment is sussed. The technique is more or less there. Enough wasting time on blogs and Wiggle.co.uk and E-bay and reading cycle mags on how to magically get fit. It's time to put pedal to the metal and just ride.

JUST DO IT....

The slow death of road cycling in Mozambique

A title like this doesn’t leave much room for manoeuvre. The word death is pretty final, even if qualified by an adjective like slow. There’s a finality in that title. So why bother writing it, or indeed reading it once written. Well, perhaps because in writing this piece on slow death, one wishes to somehow cheat death… The desire for immortality is great. So onto what I have to say…

And let me qualify the statement above, in case the title wasn’t sufficiently clear. We are talking of road cycling, as a pose to mountain bike, bmx or cycling as a form of transport.
We are talking about Mozambique, as a pose to South Africa or Europe or Australia. We are talking about a slow death, akin to a degeneration until final finality is reached.




Why?

Quite simply cycling in Mozambique has been dying ever since independence. I can only guess that far back, but it seems to me the mass exodus of the Portuguese post independence in 1974 took with them much of the desire and capacity for cycling.


Certainly something remained, but not on previous levels, and as bike parts broke and cyclists got older and left the sport, fewer and fewer young ones took their place. How though do we get from steady decline to slow death? Now, in 2012, Mozambique is a country far removed from it’s pre and immediate post-independence days. The majority of the population, under 20 year olds, have no memory of independence. Their desires and needs revolve around Vodacom and MCel, Coca-Cola and Shoprite, Game and Mandioca, Coconuts and Ice Lounge. The richer aspire to Apples and Mercs. Some entertain delusions of grandeur as rally drivers and tear along the 25th of September in fantasmagoricaly painted neon cars. Most go for a walk on the beach, careful not to get wet in the dirty bay water. Some actually run. Many own a bike and use it to get to work, to carry food and animals.

But road cyclists out to have fun? Or compete? Or train for world level events? Well, you’re hard-pressed to see any of those. The few that flit about, at ungodly hours to avoid the traffic, are either over-the-hill executives or spousing partners, with a new-found desire to be youthful and fit, to nationals who have a distant memory of a glorious Mozambican cycling past and try to maintain it by doing a few kms and then sitting down for a long coffee session at Café Nautilus, commiserating on the state of cycling, on all the errors made by others while doing little to actually improve it. Even they are getting old. Some old farts well into retirement age find a desire to be competitive, and free from family commitments, teach the younger-folk how it’s done.


In all this is a demographic of increasing urbanisation, zero growth in terms of infrastructure (read roads) and a proliferation of crappy Japanese car imports that flood the streets and choke up the city arteries. At the current rate of concentration (called “urbanisation” by some), all (i.e. 99%) of Mozambique’s population will live in a city, own a car and take 2 hours to drive 10km to work, and all this by 2020. In this scenario, where is the space for cyclists? Indeed, are cyclists even relevant in this reality?

While we struggle to secure a space to field races in the busy city streets, even more angered motorists have to wonder if knocking us down would resolve their problem once and for all. I mean, if there are no cyclists, and then they can’t paralyse the city to hold races!
And the few cyclists that do exist cannot even band together to form some sort of consensus and try and defend their interests... They are lost to their own desires and needs, with no sense of future. And the few organisations that should be zealously striving for our protection fear the fear of failure more than actually making a mistake. You have to break a few eggs to make a cake. But in cycling we might as well wear gridiron suits before we're let onto the roads to compete. And more worryingly, politics begins to intrude in the province of sport.
As for new riders, these are seen in mixed light On the one hand we are few, so any extra are welcomed. But they are also seen as a threat, to be beaten down so as not to challenge the hegemony of the few old-timers able to tootle along at a reasonable pace. The average age of cyclists is 35. Compare that to the national average.. under 20, and you can see that there is no growth in cycling, only a lingering, slow death. By 2020, when the cities will be completely choked, the few cyclists that remain will have to go across the border, to Swaziland and South Africa, in order to train and race. Or go spinning in a gym!


Not that these same pressures don’t exist in these neighbouring countries, but at least riders there have staked a claim, defend their interests, and fight to grow their sport. Their races are well organised, draw hundreds if not throusands, and attract their youth, invaluable asset to grow the sport!

We in Mozambique lost the battle even before starting.

My suggestions?

Practically? Buy a mountain bike. Or move to South Africa.

Morally? Well, try and defend cyclist’s interests, push for more space on the roads, encourage new riders, seek better publicity and sponsorship, have prizes that make sense to today’s youth. And above all understand that cycling is greater than our personal aspirations or desires, and therefore requires an almost religious fervour in promoting its interests. Above our own.

The reality? Well, we’ll find out in 2020. Till then, I can only hope you'll all keep on cycling.



Disclaimer – any similarity to actual cyclists is intentional, even if exaggerated for hyperbole. Do not feel offended. Feel, rather, a call to action.

Photographic Exhibition - Tjaart Van Staden

On the 27th of February a Photo Exhibition of the photographer Tjaart Van Staden will open at the Brazilian Cultural Centre in Maputo. Tjaart died in a plane accident in September 2011. He was taking pictures. I only knew him as a photographer, although he did much more than that of course; CEO of TMA here in Mozambique, amongst other things.

We did one photo shoot together, and what a memorable experience that was! Longtime Maputo residents will remember the 4-Season's hotel, a 30 floor skeleton of a beast built just before independence around '74 and never completed. Stories circulated of the Portuguese contractors pouring concrete into the ducts and pipes.. Various consortiums tried to lay claim to it, some foreign investors tried to buy it and finish building it. It remained one of the symbols of the city, and ironic reminder of the past.

Finally it was sold to the US Government, and the hotel would make way for the construction of a residential and embassy compound... In 2007, after months of on-and-off preparations, it was finally set to be imploded. An exclusion zone around the site would ensure no-one would get hurt (or get pictures or videos!). Well, Tjaart and I thought otherwise....

Early on the morning of the implosion, around 3am, we got dropped off by a colleague of his and snuck into a house under construction just near the fishmarket, which he'd scouted the morning prior. We got in there not a moment too soon, as shortly afterwards we heard the police cars driving around making sure no-one was around, and setting up road-blocks. We were in! We set up our cameras and videos, me with my Canon gear and Tjaart with his Nikons. To pass the time we rechecked the equipment, and then sat and waited...

This lead to passing the time, and what do two photographers do, when they can't take pictures? They talk about photography! We swapped stories of photo-shoots, compared ideas about great locations.. There and then we started planning another photo shoot on nearby Xefina Island, where I'd been taking pictures of the abandoned military structures. His eyes glittered with the possibilities of such a backdrop. Time flew.. But a siren quickly brought us back to reality, and we scrambled to get our cameras pointed in the right direction, just in time I might add, as the explosions set off and the once might 4-Seasons quickly slid down into a mound of concrete and bent steel, and sent a massive cloud of dust started coming our way...

The photoshoot was not a success for me. While I had 2 cameras shooting away, one film and the other digital, the film camera ran out of...film, way before the structure started collapsing.. And my digital camera ran into a buffer problem! ARGHHH.. I cursed my luck! But Tjaart shot away and captured the whole event. It all happened so fast, over in a matter of seconds, but we were so pumped up with adrenaline! We asked each other... "did you get it?!". Almost like children..

We were going to organise an exhibition one year after the Implosion.. I'd taken several "before" pictures of the 4-Seasons. Tjaart had the whole implosion sequence plus a video. Another photographer friend had gotten shots from the sea. Alas, we never got around to it... Nor did we ever get to Xefina together. After that he was either in Tete, or we'd cross paths at some party or bar, but he'd always have a camera with him, and we'd always excitedly talk about pictures and locations. The twinkle was always in his eye, whether talking about Namibia or Tete or the Maputo Marginal. His life was photography. In flying so close to the sun, as it melted his wings, I can only hope that he finally captured that elusive image that drives all photographers onwards.

Rest in peace friend and photographer.

POSTSCRIPT:
I thought that since I'd opened up this post with the story of my derailed photo shoot with Tjaart, it would be fitting to add some of our pictures. As mentioned we had intended to organise an exhibition with my before pictures and Tjaart and another photographer's pictures of the implosion, but which we never got around to organising. The first 4 pictures are by me, the final one is by Tjaart, one in a sequence of about 35 images that captures the implosion in detail from start to finish.

Atop 4-Seasons hotel looking down

Still-life with 4-Seasons in background

The last night of the 4-Season's reign

My last usable frame before my digital camera locked up.. ARGHH

Photo by Tjaart - 4-Seasons implosion

Street sprints

Image courtesy of INRNG cycling blog - www.inrng.com

I've come across an interesting concept after browsing a few cycle blogs - street sprints. Many races are using 1km street sprints as a way to liven up the finish line either while the main race is happening, or the day before. Basically 2 riders sprint each other, and each winner takes on the winner of another heat until you have an overall winner.. Pretty simple?! Yep. Here's a write-up giving a bit more insight:

http://inrng.com/2011/05/street-sprints/

We could use this type of event in Mozambique to either spice up the CopaCiclismo events or just get more road cyclists (and other bike riders as well.. no limitation on type of equipment!) on weekends, people with a desire to ride but who don't yet have the legs to tackle longer road races of the 60-120km that are typical distaces in the Copa. A springboard of sorts.. In terms of organisation, it really is dirt simple:
- A straight stretch of road
- Starter and finish judge with radios
- Road marshals to ensure road closure
- Prizes for the winners.

The event would be over in the space of an hour, and it would be easy to stage events by age group, sex, ability, to ensure we get as many winners as possible. Will definately have to give this road sprint some serious thought!

Ideas? Please add them to the comments section below.

The FSA Directeur Sportif Competition is open

The Podium Cafe is hosting the annual Virtual directeur sportif competition. Now called the FSA DS competition, it consists in selecting 25 riders and sticking with them throughout the season. Their wins in real races will accumulate to move each team up the leader board until a winner is announced in November. Simple, eh?!

After the initial team is selected and uploaded, there's nothing left to do. No chores handing out bidons or changing wheels or trying to harmonise the egos of all the superstars you've chosen.

A few rules, all viewable on the Podium website. You must chose exactly 25 riders. Budget of 150 points. Only a few top-level riders allowed. So go ahead and start choosing. Deadline is the 24th of February.

http://www.podiumcafevds.com

Armstrong case dropped. Contador suspended.

The mind boggles. On the same day, these two bits of news flash out into the blogosphere. Armstrong case dismissed. Contador suspended and loses Tour and Giro titles. Tough stuff indeed. Well, at least the drawn out uncertainty is over finally. In the ned though, Contador may have lost his titles, but he still got to ride for almost two years, and will be able to ride again in August, in time for this year's Vuelta. A silver lining in that cloud. The additional cloud for him though is the fine that he might have to pay. Maybe that will take another two years though.. but it is hefty, 2.4 million Euros.
Armstrong on the other hand managed to cling to his legacy, as no doubt the case against him was goingto be another long drawn out affair that would have kept everyone in court from here to kingdom come... So not exactly a clean bill of health, but as close as he's ever going to get. To the eternal question of whether he doped or not.. I cannot offer an answer. My gut feeling says yes, and analysing his victories and seeing most of his competitors go down on doping charges "suggests" that he too may have doped...
Ok, let's move on now, time for cycling to concern itself with cycling! Go out and ride..