The Amazing Adventures of an Average Actuarial Cyclist

At the end of January the seeding for the CTCT was sent out , now there were 2 more races on the calendar to prepare for the CTCT. But then out of the blue I got invited to do the Tour of Good Hope(TOGH), a 5-day stage race in the week leading up to the CTCT. 5 days of cycling, 600km, about 6000m of climbing - not ideal tapering before a big event! But this is also an amazing cycling opportunity that cannot be missed so there I was, having fun cycling every day in Paarl from Monday to Friday killing off any realistic attempt at a Sub-3 Argus! I was given the advice that the best thing to do on Saturday before the race is to not rest, but to go for another(!) ride - a light spin to work out the lactic acid built-up in the legs during the TOGH. The legs felt fine during the light spin but by now I have cycled 8 days in a row in the lead up to race day, cannot imagine that this is the ideal approach recommended by sport scientists! Sunday morning was windless, ideal conditions for...

Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT)/Argus seedings are out! I am seeded in 1B (the 5th group) with a seeding index of 16.54 based on my finish time at the 2017 Stellenbosch Cycle Tour . This is my worst seeding since 2014, coincidentally the last & only time I managed a  Sub-3 Argus  so maybe in a way it is a good omen, but my campaign for a 2nd  Sub-3 Argus is certainly not going according to script. After the high of Lormar it was back to the reality with the 2017/2018 roadie season. The first step towards a Sub-3 Argus is a good seeding, I started 2017 with my best seeding ever but the cancelled 2017 CTCT and no road races since,  meant my seeding was gradually slipping from great to bad as the year progressed. The race I targeted to get my seeding back on track was the 160km  PPA One Tonner . A good finish time in this race guarantees a good CTCT seeding. However disaster struck halfway through the race, 2 punctures in quick succession near Hermon m...

I have never won a bicycle race before. I actually came close a few times, but even on the " platteland kerkbasaar " races there are always that one up-and-coming talented youngster. The one who respectfully greets you with:  "More Oom. Oom trap lekker sterk vanoggend!" before disappearing ahead of you on the first big climb. Or that one local farmer who used to be a pro-cyclist and now dominate all the races and Strava segments in the district. Posing in front of Graaff-Reinet The Lormar Endurance Sheep Trail is hosted in the platteland near Middelburg in the Eastern Cape but is certainly no " kerkbasaar " race, about 250 riders from all over the country travelled to Fairview Farm for the 3 day stage race. Joining me were 7 fellow FAW riders. Also coming along to support were my family , Lormar being one of the few races where "non-riding" family members have the option to be part of the race village. We made a road trip of our j...

Mark Cavendish - circa 2012 The Knysna Cycle Tour (coinciding with the annual Knysna Oyster Festival) is one of the iconic events on the annual western cape cycling calendar. My first attempt was back in 2012 in my first year of cycling. I was on a 26er in a replica Team Sky jersey. I don't remember much of the race other than that it was really cold, wet and muddy and one guy cheered me on as Mark Cavendish. I finished the 80km race in just over 4 hours which I thought at the time was not too shabby for a new cyclist. One year later I was back again, and again Knysna was cold, wet & muddy, I was again riding in my Team Sky replica kit, this time on a shiny new 29er, much fitter more experienced and hence with high expectations of improving the previous year's time - and I promptly rode a half an hour slower than the last attempt (Must be the reason I can find no entry of that year's race in my blog) Our booked Brenton-on-sea accomodation 4 years late...

I promised my wife I wouldn't do something stupid like this again, and I meant it at the time... But memories fade and when Neil posted the new 2017 FAW route on Strava late in 2016 I just couldn't resist the call to again be involved in this crazy adventure(If only because the last time I forgot to start my Garmin until we were 10km into the ride and if the whole ride is not on strava the 480km ride never happened!) It is after all a special opportunity to raise money for a good cause, us cyclists pay our own way and all the money raised go towards the sterilisation of dogs at the Fisantekraal settlement. Having survived the 2016 version I had some confidence in my ability to do it again, my biggest worry were the cold Karoo night as temperatures around zero degrees were predicted (I hate cycling in the cold) The Crew looking fresh at the start So on 8h00 Saturday morning, 26 riders set off from Oudtshoorn to Melkbos on a 480km journey. The first 30km were ridin...

2014 Cape Argus I managed my first sub-3. 2015 Argus was halved due to raging fires and everyone got sub-3's 2016 Argus, now the Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT) I fell ill the night before the race and could not ride. 2017 CTCT was now supposed to be my first attempt at a proper sub-3 in 4 years. After the Attakwas early in January I managed to keep on training and keep doing races, my seeding looked good after the Stellenbosch Cycle Tour so everything was falling in place for a proper sub-3 assault. Then in the lead-up to the big day things started going wrong... First there were reports of fires in Hout Bay Then rumours started spreading about social unrest along the route at Masiphumelele near Kommetjie. Then the night before the race organisers sent us the following text message: Things weren't looking good but the Sunday morning I arrived in Cape Town ready to handle whatever the conditions, fires and protesters throw at me.  Initially th...