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I was asked to give some advice to women about preparing for the Race Across South Africa (RASA), a 2200km, non-stop, self supported, self navigated (no GPS), extreme mountain bike race from Pietermaritzburg to Paarl. As a woman, riding the Freedom Challenge has taught me many lessons. I will share one of them with you: the contents of the 2 litre ice cream tubs. I rode my first RASA in 2010. I was forty years old. Naturally my mother was concerned about my safety, health

I wrote this post after the Freedom Challenge Circuit 700km in April 2021. There is no such thing as bad weather... only inappropriate clothing. Very sensible advice indeed; and certainly worth remembering when you decide to ride the Freedom Circuit knowing that inclement weather is on the way. But the words: sensible, Freedom Circuit and Ingrid are as in-congruent as 'slightly pregnant' or 'Mike Woolnough is an ordinary cyclist'. As you have probably guessed I was inadequat

Written after the Race to Cradock (R2C) October 2020. A race done with Anthony. It was big adventure. This year we rode with the least kit ever. No change of clothes, and only an extra pair of socks, a rain jacket and leggings. No toiletries or hairbrush. We didn't shower during the ride. As you can imagine I didn't look great, and I would have been so embarrassed if, by any chance, I bumped into Bradley Cooper or Ryan Reynolds. But then the odds of that happening in Hofmeyer

My Race to Cradock (R2C) March 2019. This was a race that didn't go according to plan. A race plagued by mechanical mishaps and navigational errors. I wrote this blog on a cold, wet night while trying to sleep next to a fence on the Schurfteberg near Cradock. My heart was broken. Dear Freedom Trail, We really need to talk about some stuff. Call me insecure, or even needy, but I get the sense that your feelings for me have changed and that I am about to get dumped. I really t