Dirty kit

Day 8 and the fan caravan is starting to look and feel a little threadbare… We are all ready to go home now. Everything is dirty – even the poor car has never seen this much dirt: the mud is actually dropping off in places.

Caught up with Mac and the Techies at the Cycle-Lab tent. They are finished. Many nights they barely slept and sadly many customers (who are taking part in the Sunday fun-ride here in Lourensford) are choosing today to show the monster side of themselves. Sometimes wonder if the pounding music the organisers play to try and generate “atmosphere” does not contribute mightily to the stress levels.

The lady in Blue… The most faithful of the faithful fan caravans : she stood at the fence for over three hours – just as she stood at every water point of every stage – and most days both her and her husband were on walking sticks…

Learning from the snarl-up in 2011, decided this year we wont try and get to the waterpoint, just came straight to Lourensford. Already parking is almost impossible: and the sheer dedication of some of the fans: Kingpos has to take the prize : an elderly couple (one of them with a walking stick) braving the dusty roads, helping each other through the obstacles – and they see it all as a huge privilege to be able to make the journey. Day after day they wait – sometimes for hours – for their team to arrive at all the waterpoints.

One of the banners some of the kids painted

Goodness me, Lourensford is beautiful. Cannot image what the upkeep on the place has to be: there is not a leaf out of place. By now have learnt the way to tell a well run farms is to walk past the irrigation. If all the sprayers or drippers are working, tied down and pointing in the right direction, things are being taken care of. These are the little things (“the keeping your stapler full”) that often makes the success difference.

In some way its weird to think that tomorrow we can sleep late : we don’t have to get up at 5:15. This is the first time in what seems like months the bicycle can sleep in too.

The Dawn Wing Girls – one last time – this time on the podium

Interesting side benefit of being on the road: you really learn how to use your equipment: turn the cell phone camera to the front lens to check your make-up in the absence of a mirror. Have learnt how to make the Garmin and the iPad jump through their own hoops and back again. This is the time one should actually write an operating manual – and start it with ‘this is why you bought the …’

Interesting thing about crowds – for a time they are all individuals, gathering for some vague common purpose – sometimes something rare happens – for a brief space in time they become one organism… A single mind concentrated on just one thing. Such was the level of unity when when Cerise and Burry’s brother crossed the line.

The lads – dirty and worn out, but totally relieved to have done it : again – they are now officially amabubezi

Being the last stage of the last day, there were wheelies galore – guys rode in waving flags, pictures of their families, banners and pulled all manner of stunts. Pick of the pack: Owen Hanni had to push Joel Stransky in – his derailer broke 1km out, a man rode in with his lady parter riding on the front of his bike and holding her bike: another broken derailer, one chap got on his knees under the arch, pulled an engagement ring out of his back pocket and proposed to his partner (awwww- sweet!!!), two sets ran in carrying their bikes and another pair did stunt hops over the line.

The lads came in a few minutes behind the Dawn Wing Girls : well within sight of them – which is almost as good as beating them.

And suddenly it is all over – after months of planning and training and all the stuff that goes into making something like this happen – the Tour de France of mountain biking is over for 2013. It is time to go back to real life, with a heap of astonishingly dirty kit and fabulous war stories…

The largest trees we’ve seen a very long time

Woke up sometime around 4am and it really sounded as if it was raining… Or was it?

A gently sprinkling in the early hours of the morning settled the dust, freshened up the vegetation and put a sharp nip in the air of the early morning: delicious weather for cycling.

The course designers promised a tough day – and that it certainly was – but it was not one of the true monsters with an evil twist in the tail – just great mountain biking.

The cool edge stayed on the day – what a pleasure after the heat of the previous five days.

A scrape on Pieter’s arm : we have to show some of the wounds…

Near the last water point Pieter had a heavy fall – one of those that happened because he was going too slowly: not enough momentum, his wheel dug in and he landed on his head, scraping his arm, cutting his cheek (on the inside), bumping his knee and adding a few more bruises.

Nick by comparison has a few scratches: he must be the only person in the race who looks that unscathed – several of the girls have more scabs than skin and even serious sporting personages like Tiaan Strauss needed 41 stitches in his calf. Don’t even want to know what happened to him. He just pitched up at the last water point covered in blood. Sadly Henry Fagan broke his wrist today. He is such a determined person, chances are he will get back on that bike tomorrow morning and ride the final stage.

The fan caravan who are veterans of previous years have been looking forward to the days in the Boland with mixed feelings: sure, we are that much closer to home, that much closer to the end of the race, but for the Fan caravan life gets exponentially more difficult. Traffic jams and badly planned spectator points are just some of the niggles: this morning there was another cycle race and a ‘run’ that intersected the route to one of the spectator points and provincial traffic dpt simply closed the road : a 6km trip took just over an hour : worse than rush hour traffic in Cape Town!

Also the various groups start running into each other and falling over each other… Not pleasant. The celebrities and ‘WAGS’ of the pro’s and racing snakes have absolutely no interest in mixing it with lesser mortals. The A+ personality types of their husbands/boyfriends must rub off or something… Its a bit like being in Plett at Christmas: when a big group of entitled people with high demands and ‘expectations’ converge on one point, it gets interesting, especially when that space is already occupied by ‘the unworthy’.

Bbeautiful Thelema!

On the other hand, the stops of the last two days have gone though some of the most beautiful wineries in the Boland. Thelema: the last water point of today must be one of the most glorious pieces of real estate on the entire planet. What a rare privilege to be able to hang out there for a bit and enjoy their splendid trees and vineyards and rows of purple Irises.

Pieter’s calorie consumption today was a whisker over 5700. He is still eating like a horse: its going to take some serious discipline to re- train his system to want less food. Either way, today they still have to eat for tomorrow – its not going to be a gentle stroll to Lourensford.

The Dawn Wing Girls… Of course!

And the Dawn Wing Girls? Today, the lads overtook them on the last stage and crossed the finish line well ahead of them. Some people start going backwards after the third and fourth day – other gain strength – and then its all in the strategy after that (but that’s a very long story!).

Unfortunately in overall ranking they are so far ahead the lads are unlikely to mention the gap in polite conversation, but there was a great deal of satisfaction in overtaking them. Let’s celebrate that victory!

Yesterday’s quarry (Michael Mol and Vanessa Hayward) was roasted and toasted before the first half of the stage today… They came in a good half hour after the lads.

Right now there is a nippy nasty wind out. Can only hope its going to calm down by tomorrow morning.

Team Fat Bob

Special mention of the day has to go to Team Fat Bob. They were recently interviewed on radio and the interviewer asked them where the name ‘Fat Bob’ came from. Apparently their number one fan (and chief sponsor) is a penniless teacher in England who always tells them:”don’t worry what things cost”, “just work on how you’re going to pay for it!” Wise words… Either way, this is their tenth Cape Epic.

So, tomorrow is the last stage of the last day… Will be sure to post a ‘before and after’ of the lads. Bets: Nick will look much the same, but Pieter’s going to have some bruises and scrapes to show.

The lads – CLEAN for a change – at the start of the day

So… Day 6, Stage 5 is done and dusted… Literally.

At the rate this race is going, the soil conservation lobby group will have a case to make for land-grabbing : we are ‘stealing’ the Boland bit by bit.

By now the riders, the fan caravan and the crews have fallen into a routine of sorts. An event like this is all absorbing : wherever the people congregate, conversations are mostly about this race, previous Epics and other mountain bike related stuff.

One youngster who is not racing this year – he is here to support his girlfriend – said its far less stressful to race : being a spectator is a nerve wracking business. Especially for those with a little bit of inside knowledge – the people who know how fast something can go wrong – how quickly accidents can happen, and then it does not help that people waiting at the waterpoints see the constant procession of wounds, people collapsing from heat and exhaustion and all the mechanical mishaps. Worst of all, being a superstar – even a previous winner – does not mean that you somehow have extra protection.

The ‘cool cats’ : a team with true grit who always have a laugh to share with their fans

Ester Suss and her partner (I think they’ve won the ladies race three or four times) had to abandon on day 2: severe upset stomachs, dehydration and heat stroke. In some bizarre way, every day is a new day and somehow every day they all start from scratch : if you’re strong, you’re strong – if your legs are ‘jelly’, you just have to find a way around it – sometimes it is just pure stubbornness – pure ‘won’t-quit power’ (its the pig-headed version of willpower!) that gets them through.

Just today one of the lady riders was sobbing like a baby at Waterpoint 3 : she had reached the end of her tether, the end of her energy and it was all just too much… But credit to her and her dad, after a little break, a cool wipe-down and drink, she found the ‘wont quit’ to finish the day.

Some of the kids along the way : they were utterly fabulous – shouting themselves hoarse, blowing their vuvus and dancing

Most wonderful thing about this race is the number of people who are doing it all for various charities: from JAG to BIG Tree and the Durbanville Childrens home to CHOC – the guys who do stuff for children with cancer. Pieter and Nick’s charity – the Christine Revell Children’s home – fund is getting along nicely: not sure of the final numbers yet, but its already way over their initial target: which is stunning – makes it all worth it!

Today’s calorie consumption was a relatively modest 3993 calories : so poor Pieter will only need to eat about 20 cheeseburgers to replenish. Thank goodness he does not make it all up out of cheeseburgers – at the moment both him and Nick are eating like horses : literally enough for 3 people : and of course beer and wine and milkshakes and cokes and Appletizer. Surprisingly, they don’t eat much sweets and chocolate – nuts are about as ‘junk-foody’ as it gets – unless an ice cream happens to be floating by of course – ice cream is not junk food, its a basic food group.

The beautiful Boland

Since the Dawn Wing girls are so far ahead, chasing them is not even on the radar – they are lying fourth in the women’s race (they are performing like superstars!) the lads have adopted a new quarry – Michael Moll and Vanessa Hayward. Beating them is now the object of the game!

Just one final note about the Boland and the magnificent hospitality the farmers along the way have shown everyone : wow – we have a world class event here. Thank you everyone – this level of commitment cannot be faked or bought – you’ve got to have your heart in it.

Fans come in all shapes and sizes : even dogs with sunglasses

Tomorrow’s stage is rumored to be a real monster. Mercifully it looks as if the weather is likely to be a bit more moderate – 28 instead of 32C, with a slight breeze from the sea (if everyone’s lucky), but the race profile looks like its going to be a challenge… Tomorrow is going to be a day for ‘vasbyt’.

Mercifully today’s route offered a bit more variation – a little bit of track through the pine forests – bit along Baine’s kloof pass, bits of very dusty single track, but overall riding interesting enough to  challenge the pro’s and give the newbies something else to think about.

So by now some bits of the anatomy are – well – a little tender… And other bits are plain downright  agonizingly painful. Pieter’s big toe nails are a fashionable shade of blue… Its now only a matter of time before he loses those nails : but as long as they hang in there another few days. Don’t ask how hard it is to put the shoes on in the morning… And the language when he accidentally stubs those toes against a rock. Lets put it this way: all 33000 characters in Estonian and a few borrowed from Russian. Nick spent a lot of time standing today… And this evening he changed his racing saddle for a very well padded ‘couch’ style saddle – now we’re talking PADDING here… Serious padding.

The people who are really getting to do this thing in style are the Absa babes (WAGS of the celebrity riders). They get preferential parking, as soon as they stop, someone’s on hand to wash their cars… Then they get to sit in the Absa tent and people bring them stuff – like drinks and eats. They even get wet wipes to clean their designer sandals.

The ‘ag shame’ moment of the day belongs to a 2 year old. He recognized his dad’s clothes and bile from quite a distance, but as soon as he got close enough to see his dad’s dusty face (it looked like bizarre make-up), he screamed and ran back to his mom. A the end of the race, the dad had the good sense to wipe his face first.

The Dawn Wing Girls are streaking ahead : they are riding like machines… The lads are regrettably left in clouds of dust – dreaming of catching up to those two yellow jerseys…

The waterpoint of the day is definitely the show put on by Welvanpas : beautiful farm, fabulous scenery. What a pleasure – hope the visitors go home with some positive stories.

Accommodation tonight is in 110 on Main in Paarl : its gorgeous here – soft white bed, aircon, a pool… And a beautiful black cat sitting amongst fallen frangipani on a hot Summer’s evening.

For tonight, its over and out from Paarl : the Boland is beautiful – great to be almost home!

Stage 3 / Day 4

This is what the washing looks like – the liquid is not chocolate milk

We are halfway – cannot pretend not to be more than a little pleased… This is definitely a case of an event one enjoys in anticipation – and then again in retrospect – but while you’re in it you constantly wonder why people do this to themselves and each other. The day they strap that participants armband on your wrist, it does look a little like the admission band to a mental hospital – maybe that’s why they do it!

For those who are interested: some of the seriously famous people who are participating this year are Alain Prost – him of Ferrari motor racing fame, Michael Mol and Vanessa Hayward, Tiaan Strauss, Corne Krige and my all time forever (sports) hero: Joel Stransky and then there’s the local heroes like 63 year old Henry Fagan.

The first water point of the day was at Skilpadrug – a patch where dust took on a whole new depth – even the pine cones were frosted. Met some ultra dedicated fans : there was a little old lady with a walking stick who battled her way through the field… And then there was the donkey who was dying to get back to his field… Only problem there was a constant stream of cyclists between him and his patch.

The desperate donkey

At Theuniskraal conditions were v-e-r-y civilised… This is the way one should run a water point. Lots of lawn chairs and tables under shady trees and umbrellas, with fine food stalls and a wine tasting going on, on the side. Here a tribe of ducks lined up to watch the procession. Had a wonderful chat with a lady from Getaway Magazine. As always – amazed by what locals do not know about an event with this much international exposure… Its being broadcast on 175 international news stations into 500 countries.

The dusty pine cones from Skilpadrug

Today it is HOT – although the car says its 36.5c – it is hell out in the open. In Namibia they used to say “as die son jou aleen vang, brand hy jou dood“. This is about the size of it: the sun and heat is relentless – there’s not whiff of a breeze. Tiaan was heard to tell the interviewer that the race only really started after water point 3 ( there was no spectator access to that point). Apparently this last bit re-contextualised heat and dust for him… Makes you think.

A curiously hard part of being the fan caravan is managing all the STUFF : there is stuff you need, stuff you want, stuff you might need, stuff you should need, stuff you definitely won’t need but have to schlep just in case – many of the spares may never be needed, but if you don’t have them…

A long line of riders on the horizon… Or are those trees?

The difference between being on the inside as opposed to being on the outside this year, is the tremendous ‘presence’, the absence of Burry Stander is proving to be. His dad and brother are riding – they are nowhere near vaguely star performers, but they are in it and doing it. His wife (Cherise) is also riding, but with Burry’s other brother – they are obviously much higher up the field – she is a champion in her own right.  It is sad beyond sadness… and the spectators have been speaking of little else – the incredible respect and high regard he enjoyed overseas. But while his family and friends are grieving, they are celebrating his life and what he stood for.

Interesting thing when one looks at the riders – there are many, many stories of desperately horrible things they have been through – stuff happened to most of them that one only imagines in your worst nightmares, and yet they get in there and keep going… Maybe it is those trials that make them strong – make them brave and resilient.

These 2 guys lost a bet with one of the wives – imagine having to ride the Epic with a plastic chicken on your head?

Spotted the Dawn Wing girls only once today: when they flew across the finish line looking as fresh as slightly dusty daisies can look. Their finishing time today was an hour and a half ahead of the lads – but since they started half an hour earlier, their lead today is just an hour. We’re not mentioning the overall lead yet – its a slightly sore point right now…

Pieter’s computer tells us he only consumed 4470 calories today – its an American cycle computer – it does not do kilojoules. Total riding time today was a whisker under 6 and a half hours – not bad.

For now its over and out from a hellishly hot Saronsberg… Tomorrow we fight again!

The little faces of ‘my kids’ have been my inspiration to get to the top of the hills while training for my first Cape Argus Pick ’n Pay Cycle Tour with my husband, Barrie (who already has 11 Argus tours under his saddle!). This 110km event was held on Sunday, 10 March 2013, and once again saw 35 000 cyclists gear up for the largest individually timed cycling event in the world. We used this great opportunity to raise funds for the Children’s Home and challenged people to sponsor us for every kilometer cycled.

WE DID IT …..110 km….EISH!!!

It was a great experience with moments of fun, moments of struggling with heat and winds, moments of pain, moments of wanting to quit and the huge moment of crossing the line together before the cut-off. We finished at 4.45.56. It was all worth it for the children of Christine Revell Children’s home!

A big thank you to those who supported and encouraged us every step of the way, especially to Clinton and Jenni for the use of their bikes. A very special thank you to those who supported our initiative to raise funds for the children’s home – It is so much appreciated.

A total of R 14 435 was deposited into the children’s home account before the 20th March and more was expected before the end of March.

The Bazaar takes place from 08h00 until 12h30, and the Auction starts at 13h00 and goes on until 16h00.

What can you expect?

• Bric a Brac
• Health Nutz Breakfast
• Food Stalls
• Hot & Cold Refreshments
• New Fasionable Clothing Stall
• Bargains Galore at Low Prices at the Auction

How can YOU help?

We are inviting groups – schools and companies or individuals – to host a table and donate the proceeds to our Children’s Home. If you are unable to do so, you could consider donating any of the items below for the event:

• Luxuries, cakes, sweets, cooldrinks & ice cream towards luxury table
• Crockery towards “bric a brac” table
• Breakfast cereals with health nutz stand
• Books and Magazines
• Lotions, creams and body sprays
• Toys and games
• Groceries
• Jewellery
• Wines
• Rolls for Patties & Sausage
• Arts & Crafts
• Fashionable clothing
• Computer and office equipment, etc.
• Fresh fruit & vegetables
• Food eg. Curry & Rice, potjie kos, etc.
• Furniture or hampers (to be auctioned)

All proceeds will be donated to the home and will be allocated towards our ongoing expenses.

If you have any further queries or need to discuss your assistance, please call Alicia at  (021) 697 1748.

Download the form to let us know how you can help.

Nick van Zyl and Pieter Swart are committed mountain bikers: in recent years they rode the Wine to Whales and the Trans Baviaans. They regularly participate in the Argus Mountain Bike race and the Argus road race (a handy training ride for the Epic!).

This year’s Epic will be their third. The race takes place over 8 days from the 17^th to the 24^th of March and covers a distance of 698km with 15 650m of vertical climbing. Based on their past performances they will be very much middle of the pack – remember these amateurs are competing against professionals from across the world!

Why the Epic and why Christine Revell

The road to the Epic takes much sacrifice and serious commitment – literally, blood, sweat (buckets full!) and tears. Participating in the Epic costs money – serious money; it costs time – hours and hours, weeks and months in the saddle, on the road and in the mountains.

The up-side is the exhilaration of doing something very few people are ever fortunate enough to do… to have the privilege to be able to follow a dream.

That is why Nick and Pieter find it important that all the effort should contribute to something bigger than the event itself – to make a difference for longer than the eight days in March – to help someone vulnerable – to help someone who really needs  help. This is the goal that keeps them going. It’s a goal greater than they themselves – a goal that will make a life changing difference to a child.

Surely it is worth supporting this formidable team doing it all for Christine Revell!

• Your support can either be in the form of a sponsorship of a fixed amount per kilometer that the riders complete or a lump sum contribution.
• All donations go to Christine Revell Children’s Home – except for normal bank charges.  The riders and their families cover the costs of participating in the race. After the race the riders will send the final accounting to everyone who contributed.

SEND A PLEDGE TO: epicriders@turqle.com

OR

MAKE A DONATION TO:

Bank: First National Bank of Southern Africa

Bank Account Name: CRCH Epic Fund

Account Number: 62384164647

Branch Code: 250655

SWIFT Code: FIRNZAJJ

Please use your name & surname as a reference.

Do  send a mail to the above address, and we’ll put you on the mailing list and keep you up to date with the progress of the riders: pictures, on the spot reports and personal commentaries; we will try and put you as close to the race as we can via Facebook (more details later…) Twitter and update SMS’s.

Thank you for making our adventures worthwhile…

A moment that they will be able to treasure for life since not many of us can add this feather to our cap.

It was also special to be able to reconnect with some former CRCH children who had moved on to other homes – both for the staff and some of our older children who were happy to see old friends again.

Special thanks to the WPRU for this initiative. Our children enjoyed it immensely.

This year we went to Zonnekus Day Resort off the N7 just 30min drive out of Cape Town. All the children were allocated a host parent or  volunteer ensuring that every child got all the attention they needed.

The day started out slightly cloudy but by 10h00 in the morning the sun came out and the rest of the day groups would move from the sunshine to the shade and minutes later back into the sunshine areas again. The staff at Zonnekus were super-friendly and really welcomed us.

Some of you might know that this outing is not a fundraising drive but a project that we initiated in lieu of International Children’s Day – hence we have the Adopt-a-Child outing in November every year.

Special thanks to all the host families and volunteers and staff who spent this day with us. The children had a wonderful day and came home very tired but happy.