Posts Tagged ‘clif bar’
Small mountain of Clif Shots in Africa. A sight for sore eyes indeed.
Dear North Americans: Edible Gold, also known as”Clif Bars” do not exist everywhere on this earth. Appreciate it, dammit!
When I come to South Africa for training, I take 2 pieces of carry on: 1 a “small laptop bag or personal item” and the other a full size rolling carry on. The roller I fill exclusively with Clif products. About 12kg worth. (26lbs) No matter how I try, by Christmas I’ve burnt through it all. Its also fun to watch friends faces light up when they taste their 1st (and only) bite of say, a Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar.
Once I’ve run out of Clif products, I’d train on dried peaches, dates, nougat, Coke (once bonked) and in my opinion, the best sports drink in SA- Enduren– made without colourants, flavourants or preservatives by my Cape Epic team mate Barry Pauw.
On the all powerful Facebook I learnt that Olympic Cycles in Cape Town has some Clif product. Not sure if they also smuggled theirs in in carry on luggage? I hurried over and they were kind enough to hook me up with a small mountain of Clif Shots. Pic above. Its the only product they had, never mind the Builder Bars, Electrolyte Drink, Shot Bloks, Clif Crunch, Mojo Bar or Luna bars. With quite a bit of racing coming up (XTERRA SA this weekend) the Clif Shots are dearly needed. Swimming with dried fruit in your pockets does not work so well…
Olympic cycles also stock Specialized and I saw (with my own 2 eyes) a S Works 29er Epic without on owner! Thats rare and wont last…
Apart from the amazing taste and variety of products, I also really appreciate the 85% and over Certified Organic ingredients, the Environmental and Social conscience. “Raising the bar.” By Clif owner and founder, Gary Erikson is my #1 Business read from which I have learnt many a lesson. One of them: “In business and in life, travel light, so you can change direction quickly.”
Go read about the Big 5 Aspirations on the “SOUL- who we are” page:
Sustaining the Planet
Sustaining the People
Sustaining the Community
Sustaining the Business. “Grow slower, grow better and stick around longer”
Sustaining the Brands.
I’m lucky to be surrounded by amazing people and amazing companies, of which Clif Bar is undoubtedly one of my favourites.
“Oakley safe houses” has always been a mind blowing experience. My 1st was at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where the Oakley Safe house was on Bondi beach. “Oakley Safe House” refers to “per invitation only, Oakley athletes welcome (get away from the press and crowding fans), great new shwag handouts, fun activities (paddle boarding this time) and big parties!”
Radar and Jawbone frames to pick form…
Then add Oakley icons, lenses and ear piece socks for further customizing.
David Hyam, whom I’ve been racing with/against from 1989 to 2000, now with Oakley Europe, pimped me with the new Oakley goodies after a nice morning ride on Queen K.
After 3 long months of hard work demolishing my house (while packing away some hard training) I spent a week on my parents farm to say good bye to them and Africa before hitting the US for some serious racing.
Because internet in Africa is slow, expensive and hard to get, this story (and a few to come) are only seeing the interweb now. Also, if you only have a week in paradise with your folks, sitting on the computer is like a prison sentence…
Here are some of the highlights:
My dad would join me on my recovery rides, and let me tell you, I was on the ropes most of the time! Quite something for a 66 year old “ballie” who beat colon cancer 3 years ago. As you can see, he also rides for Specialized Factory Team as he is the one with the REAL genes in the family. My friends calls him “Tarzan”.
I’m in Alabama getting ready for XTERRA South East Champs this Sunday. Feeling good and ready to tear it up. Stay tuned…
I’m very excited to post my 2008 race kit. As you can see, the design is the bright coloured South African flag. Which ties in nicely with the rainbow stripes of the current World Champion. A very unique look…
