Before I can race 750km across the Karoo, I need to know exactly what I’m working with — so I head to the world renowned Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town, for a full physiological baseline test with Reece McDonald and Mark Stevens of Science to Sport. Body composition, lactate accumulation, fat max, VO2 max, peak power — every number gets measured, and not all of them are kind. I’ve been focussed on a dramatic weight cut in the weeks leading up to this (bad idea). What follows is the 20-week countdown: the targets get set, the ego takes a hit, and the training begins.

What is the Nedbank Gravel Burn?

A 7-day, 750km+ international gravel stage race across South Africa's Great Karoo, from the Cape Epic's founder.

What is a lactate accumulation test?

A test that finds the power output where your body starts producing lactate faster than it can clear it — a key marker for endurance training.

Who is Dave training with?

Reece McDonald and Mark Stevens from Science to Sport, based at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) in Newlands, Cape Town.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — The Fear Before the Numbers

1:33 — The Weight He Already Cut

3:38 — Lactate, Fat Max & the Truth About Fuel

11:24 — Pushed to Failure: The Max Test

18:48 — Setting the Targets for 20 Weeks

20:38 — Why "Underwhelming" Was the Wake-Up Call

23:10 — What's Coming on the Road to Gravel Burn

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

Alec @alec.gates

Regardt @regardt.stander

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

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#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #podcast #toyota #gravelburn #gravelcyclist #enduranceathletes #mtb

South Africa's road cycling calendar is shrinking — and it's not because nobody wants to race. National commissaire

Stephan Aucamp breaks down exactly what it costs to put on a bike race in this country, where the money actually goes,

and why most events run at a loss every single year.

Stephan is a national road commissaire and works at Cycle Lab, giving him a rare view from both sides of South African

road cycling — as an official and as someone selling the sport every day. We get into the real cost of running a

Winter League race, why South African road teams can't pay their riders, what's been lost since cycling clubs started

dying out, and what it would actually take to fix it. Then we shift gears completely for a long, opinionated Tour de

France 2026 preview — Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock, and a teenage French rider named

Paul Seixas who might just blow the whole thing open.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — Cold Open: The Great Bike Weigh-In

3:17 — Meet Stephan Aucamp: National Commissaire & Cycle Lab

15:36 — Denis Human: SA Cycling's Unsung Hero

21:34 — What It Actually Costs to Run a Road Race

26:15 — Why SA's Top Teams Can't Pay Their Riders

31:54 — What Road Cycling Lost When the Clubs Faded

36:01 — The Fix: Filling the Winter League

50:38 — Building a Town Hall for SA Cycling

57:58 — Tour de France 2026 Predictions Begin

1:00:27 — Is Paul Seixas the Real Deal?

1:07:27 — The Marco Pantani Story

1:11:48 — Why Cycling Needs Its Rugby Moment

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

He and his wife sold their dining room table, cancelled their lease, and quit their jobs

in 2023 to chase one goal: getting South Africa onto an Enduro World Cup podium.

[NEWSLETTER / LINK]

Jason Boulle is South Africa's 2024 Enduro National Champion, and one of only a handful

of South Africans who have ever raced a full UCI Enduro World Cup season. In this episode

he tells the story from the beginning — discovering the sport through YouTube highlights

in 2015, qualifying for his first international races through a three-day enduro in

Lesotho, and the decision he and his wife Leslie made to leave stable jobs and a Cape Town

lease behind to give racing in Europe an honest shot.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — The Cape Epic footage that first pulled him into the sport

2:03 — Filling in on the Cape Epic Media E-Bike for Stefan Sahm

2:30 — The vision: getting a South African onto an Enduro World Cup podium

7:27 — Three years at Wild Air Sports, and learning to say yes to everything

9:40 — Meeting his wife Leslie at the Dusi

11:09 — Quitting their jobs in 2023, and qualifying for Europe through a race in Lesotho

15:34 — XCO, downhill, marathon: breaking down mountain biking's disciplines

22:46 — Why Stellenbosch and Cascades aren't enough: South Africa's World Cup gap

31:47 — What Enduro actually is, and why it might be cycling's most adventurous format

38:35 — The Enduro World Cup's post-COVID dip, and signs of a turnaround

39:43 — Jonkershoek, Witfontein, and the case for a South African World Cup round

43:25 — Africa: one percent of the global market, and why that's the opportunity

62:02 — The 2026 season: France in May, World Champs in Liguria in October

65:25 — Why the race vlogs stopped, and the plan to bring them back

69:04 — Where to follow Jason's season

71:29 — Closing thoughts: a duty to tell the story

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

Alec @alec.gates

Jason @jasonboulle

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #originstory #podcast #revive #capeepic #enduranceathletes #mtb

Join David Jenkins and REVIVE founder Mark Myerson for a conversation that spans continents, careers, and a deeply personal health journey. From Johannesburg to Singapore to Cape Town, Mark traces the entrepreneurial path that taught him what he wanted by first teaching him what he didn't.

The turn comes quietly — weight gain, a vague feeling of wrong, and a deep rabbit hole of podcasts, doctors, and metabolic science. What Mark found there unsettled him: somewhere between 66 and 75% of the population may be metabolically unhealthy, on a silent path toward disease, without any alarm bells going off. That realisation became the mission behind REVIVE. Not a sports drink. Not a recovery product. A daily electrolyte designed for anyone who drinks water — because water alone doesn't hydrate you.

They also get into what it actually takes to build a brand that earns genuine word-of-mouth in 2026, why authentic ambassadors can't be bought, and why Tegan Phillips and Simon Stoffberg represent something refreshing in the creator landscape.

Who is Mark Myerson?

Founder and CEO of REVIVE Daily Electrolytes, South Africa's leading clean hydration brand. Based in Cape Town. Built on Kalahari salt, metabolic science, and a refusal to make anything with sugar, carbs, or artificial ingredients.

What is REVIVE?

A daily electrolyte sachet with no sugar, no carbs, and no calories — formulated for endurance athletes, low-carb eaters, intermittent fasters, and anyone serious about real hydration. Find them at getrevive.co.za.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

00:00:00 — Mark Myerson: The Man Behind REVIVE

00:01:37 — Johannesburg Kid, American Exchange, Fortune Magazine at 18

00:05:40 — The Phone Call That Crashed His Car

00:07:10 — Singapore: Four Founders, One Apartment, One Shot

00:19:42 — The Exit: Selling Up and Walking Away

00:21:00 — Cape Town Was Supposed to Be Six Months

00:31:50 — Why South Africans Don't Brag Enough About Being South African

00:38:11 — The Health Wake-Up Call Nobody Warned Him About

00:50:13 — Why Diets Don't Work: The Hormone Truth

00:52:59 — The Statistic That Changed Everything (66–75% of Us Are Metabolically Sick)

01:03:54 — Inside REVIVE: What's Actually in the Sachet

01:05:15 — Building a Brand That Can't Be Faked

01:13:02 — What a Purpose-First Business Actually Looks Like

01:14:09 — Tegan Phillips, Simon Stoffberg, and the New Creator Standard

01:32:18 — Closing: What Comes Next for REVIVE

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

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#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast

Cam heads up partner activations and hospitality for Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling — Tom Pidcock's ProTeam. In this

episode, he breaks down what that role actually looks like inside a professional race team, what big sponsors really

want from their investment in cycling, and why the gap between what South Africa understands about sponsorship and

what happens at the world level is enormous. He also takes us inside the Pinarello factory in Treviso, shares what it

was like to meet Fausto Pinarello, and gives his unfiltered Tour de France predictions — Pogačar, Vingegaard, Seixas,

Pidcock, and who he thinks wins it all.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — Welcome Back: Cam's Fly-By from Europe

1:11 — Life Inside Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling

4:19 — What Big Sponsors Actually Want

7:44 — Inside the Giro d'Italia Bubble

9:42 — The Pinarello Factory in Treviso

15:46 — Pre-Tour: The Team Heads to Tour de Suisse

19:45 — Tour de France Hot Takes: Who Wins?

25:09 — Tom Pidcock at the Tour — Podium or Stage Wins?

27:10 — Van der Poel vs Pidcock: The World Champs Race

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

Former professional footballer and content creator Mike Morton joins us for a deep dive into the state of South African football, Bafana Bafana's World Cup chances, and the power of social media in modern sport. From playing at the highest level to building an audience of over 1.7 million followers, Mike shares the lessons he's learned on and off the pitch. We explore why this may be South Africa's strongest football generation in decades and what needs to change to unlock the country's incredible talent. If you're passionate about football, sport, or South African success stories, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

00:00 Intro & Rudy Project Connection

00:24 Meet Mark: From Pro Football to Content Creator

01:53 Building a 1.7 Million Follower Football Audience

04:44 The Power of Athlete-Led Media & YouTube

08:24 Social Media, Sponsorships & Athlete Branding

10:06 Heading to the FIFA World Cup in Mexico

11:20 How Important Is the FIFA World Cup Today?

16:36 South Africa’s World Cup Group & Chances

20:08 Key Players: Teboho Mokoena, Mbekezeli Mbokazi & More

23:52 Hugo Broos, Team Culture & Discipline

29:51 Why This Is the Best Bafana Team in Years

33:58 South African Football vs Rugby Development Pathways

40:37 SuperSport Academy & The Missing Football Pipeline

47:58 Media’s Role in Growing South African Sport

55:11 Can South Africa Become a Football Power?

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

The new Specialized Diverge 4 promises comfort, capability, and versatility—but does it live up to the hype? We put it through its paces on rough gravel roads, technical descents, and long endurance rides to find out who this bike is really built for. From the controversial Future Shock system to massive 50mm tyre clearance and Shimano's latest wireless GRX drivetrain, we break down everything that matters. We also dive into the geometry, ride quality, value for money, and whether it's a better choice than a race-focused gravel bike. If you're looking for a gravel bike that can handle everything from weekend adventures to multi-day events, this review is for you.

00:00 Intro

01:36 Meet the New Specialized Diverge

03:45 The Feature Everyone Talks About

06:23 Shimano GRX Finally Gets Interesting

08:15 Small Details That Matter

10:05 Hidden Storage & Bikepacking Potential

12:10 Can It Really Fit 50mm Tires?

13:44 Worth the Money?

15:22 Is It Actually Good Looking?

17:09 Taking It Off-Road

19:45 Future Shock: Gimmick or Game Changer?

22:10 The Rider This Bike Was Built For

24:08 Weight, Geometry & Stability

27:15 The Most Comfortable Gravel Bike?

31:34 Final Thoughts & Who Should Buy It

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #gravelbike #giantrevoltreview #bikereview

Is the Elves gravel bike a hidden gem or just another carbon frame in a crowded market? In this review, we put the Elves through real-world testing, breaking down its geometry, handling, tire clearance, build options, and overall value. From rough South African gravel roads to race-focused performance, we explore who this bike is really designed for and whether it deserves a place on your shortlist. If you're considering a new gravel bike, this is a review you won't want to miss.

00:51 – Introduction to the Elves Gravel Bike

01:27 – Why This Bike Loves to Go Fast

02:11 – Frames vs Wheels: What Really Matters?

02:27 – Tire Clearance, Setup & Gravel Essentials

03:42 – Who Is This Bike Actually For?

04:35 – Racing Geometry vs Adventure Geometry

05:22 – Tire Width, Aero Benefits & Ride Feel

05:59 – Elves Value Proposition & Custom Builds

08:25 – Geometry Breakdown: Reach, Stack & Handling

10:17 – Final Verdict & Frame Set Rating

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

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Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #gravelbike #giantrevoltreview #bikereview