Reason 1: Mike Sinyard – You can ride the Cape Epic – for free!

Mike Sinyard, Mtb pioneer, entrepreneur extraordinaire and founder of the Specialized brand empire. Not only did he invent the commercial mountain bike, he also rides them – often. I was mighty impressed seeing Mike and his team ride the 600 miles to Interbike 2007! Evidently his love of riding and good causes is quite extraordinary. According to Wikipedia, Mike will be hitting the big 60 in 2010, but, has never done the Cape Epic. For those of you who don’t know, the Cape Epic is an annual 8 day stage race held in South Africa. It is commonly known as the Tour de France of mountain biking and features the whose who of mountain bike racing. Its’ also an intensely social event, with about 1200 participants staying in tents over the 800 day period (well the real mountain bikers stay in tents, the softies and GC contenders stay in motor homes!). Mike has never done it and neither have I (more reasons later on why I have stayed away and why I am doing it now!). However, guys like Tom Ritchey have and this is definitely one race which Mike should be doing – especially at 60! Its’ near impossible to get entries into the event unless you pay through your neck or get a wild card entry. So here’s the bribe, I mean deal. Mike, get me onto the Stumpjumper Trail Crew and you can join my team (http://gogreeenspot.blogspot.com ) at the 2010 Cape Epic. The team comprises myself and one other. We cover your race entry fees (which is substantial - $1000 +), you cover the rest. Some conditions, while Lance Armstrong (rumoured to be entering with Levi in 2010) will be sleeping in a motor home, you need to sleep in tents with the rest of the real mountain bikers. For eight days all we will do is ride mountain bikes, talk them and travel through some of the most spectacular terrain in the world!