"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Wednesday 26 October 2016

GUTR Sweat Band Review

I've always sweat a lot when running and also now when cycling. Yes, runners, cyclists sweat too...

I always have a big problem with sweat running into my eyes. This was fairly easy to handle while running, using my trustee buff or even a t-shirt to wipe my eyes. Rinsing out with water was also easy on the run. Not so easy while cycling...

Sunglasses is the first problem when cycling and sweat runs into my eyes. That is long before I try to stay upright and alive while wiping my eyes. Rinsing is also not so easy and probably not recommended while riding.

Experiencing all these problems on a daily basis made me search the web for proper sweat bands. There are some nice goodies on the market with the GUTR and HALO standing out as great cycling sweatbands.


I found the GUTR locally and decided to give it a try. It is amazing! No sweaty eyes anymore! It uses a very basic concept to get rid of the problem.


The GUTR is a silicon sweatband which also means it never gets soaked in sweat. No soggy sweatband anymore. It simply directs the sweat away from your eyes. It has a little lip that acts as a gutter and the sweat just flows away and down the side of your face. It really works wonders for me!


If you have a sweat in the eyes problem I highly recommend the GUTR sweatband. It is worth every cent I paid for it.

Me with my magic GUTR sweatband.

Happy training everyone!

Thursday 20 October 2016

The Giants

Being a cyclist is quite different from being a runner. That is my experience anyway. You need a lot more gear than for running and there are many gadgets to have. This is a good thing for me as I love gadgets!

But first of course is the bicycle...

There are incredible machines available today. They also come at incredible prices. With our currency not doing great at all bicycle prices in South Africa seems to be totally crazy. Maybe it is the same everywhere... I really don't know.

I bought my Giant ATX 27.5 last year and it's been great. This is a great mountain bike for riding on the road and also some gravel and other off road if needed. It also copes well with the poor road surfaces and pot holes here in SA! It is not for technical single track in the mountains. It is perfect for me.

I've done 4000km with the ATX now. I ride it in the mornings during the week. It is perfect for our road conditions and I feel safe on it in the dark or semi dark.

Giant ATX 27.5 2

I've done a few races with the ATX without any problems. I am slow and don't plan to get very fast... However, I do find it difficult lately to keep the wheel of my wife Anette's road bike more and more as she gets stronger and faster.

So after some thinking and contemplating and more thinking I decided to buy a road bike as well. It is more or less the road equivalent of the ATX. 

Giant SCR 2

The bike is still very new and I am still getting used to it. It is great! The same effort on the mountain bike makes me much faster on this bike and I like that.

I didn't plan to own 2 Giants, it just worked out that way. I suppose they have the right bikes in the right price range for me.

The road bike will be my weekend ride for now while I stay on the mountain bike during the early morning week rides. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Happy training everyone!

Monday 17 October 2016

No Choice But To Pedal

As you can see I am changing the name of Run Tall, Walk Tall to No Choice But To Pedal. Yes, I am still cycling and it seems that it will be like this for a long time to come. I have fully recovered from the stress fractures I had but the back injury I sustained during the recovery period is still giving me problems and more so when I run.

So it is time to get my heart into cycling as it has always been with running. Let’s see if blogging will help the process along… because at the moment I have no choice but to pedal…