The Amazing Adventures of an Average Actuarial Cyclist

Suddenly it's December and time for the last race of the year - the 97km  Die Burger Cycle Tour hosted in Stellenbosch. After the Cape Argus this is the biggest road race in the Western Cape and also my favourite road event on the calender. I'm usually fit this time of the year and while lacking the razzmatazz of the Argus, the vibe at the front end of the field is more relaxed and the wider roads & smaller field generally makes for safer cycling. I was lucky enough to be seeded in Group %, among with the Elite Ladies, it was a privilege to be have a front row seat to see how its done by the biggest names in woman's racing in SA like Anriette Schoeman and Jennie Stenerhag. The race starts with a neutral zone (which I have learned the hard way last year is anything but...) and then a 5km climb up the Old Helshoogte road (where I got dropped last year after falling too far behind in the "neutral" zone). The pace up "Helz" is always ferocious...

The Coronation Double Century is a unique event. 250 teams of 12 take part in a 202km ride starting & ending at Swellendam. It's the only event in SA where amateurs get the opportunity to ride in teams and also the only event where the weakest teams start first and the strongest last. This makes for some hairy situations as faster teams are passing slower teams all day long and there are no road closures. It was my second outing at this event and my first ride for the Sanlam Investment Mixed team. Despite 5 punctures and 2 broken spokes, we completed the 202km in 7h23m, the 103rd team overall and 15th out of 59 mixed teams. Below is some photos of our ride: Team Sanlam Investments before the Start 6:30 and we're off Your's truly leading out the team at Montagu Riding together near Bonnievale Helping a teammate out

Wines2Whales Day 3 (77km 1450m climb) was here and it was time to pick the ego off the ground and make up for the previous day. My lack of heroics the previous day meant we had to drop down one group to start in E. We left Oak Valley at 7h40, quickly crossed Paul Cluver to drop down on some singletrack to the Houwhoek Inn Hotel. The benefit for me of dropping down one group was that the pace on the singletrack was more leisurely, allowing me to slowly regain the confidence I lost the day before Singletrack After Houwhoek Inn we dropped down to Botrivier via the historic Kat Pass. Dewald & I decided to play it safe down the pass as there were some treacherous sections, still some other riders couldn't resist bombing down the pass at full speed and one idiot almost ended Dewald's race prematurely when he couldn't control his bike on the downhill. After the waterpoint at Botrivier school Dewald & I picked up some speed, raced through open wheat fields,...