Cape Town Cycle Tour

Sonday 8 March 2015.

Time for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. The race Adré was training for when he was so tragically killed on 20 January 2015.

Due to some devastating fires in the Western Cape during week leading up to the tour, some of the routes became unsafe and the 109 km race was reduced to 47 km! A number of us decided to start in a lower group so that we can ride together in memory of Adré, so my start time was changed from 6:47 to 7:58. I joined up with Schalk and Johan from State Street and Danie and his friend Renier. Willie van Heerden, who studied with Adre also stared in that group, but we missed one another in the chaos of the start. The same happened to Jayson, also worked with Adré, and his wife

Danie, Renier and myself cycled in from Table View. It was a nice gentle ride and it took us about 1 hour to cover the 22 kilometres. It was quite a struggle to get to the starting shoot, but we did managed it in the end and arrived there at about 07:35. We were fortunate enough to find Schalk and Johan quite quickly.

We got going at 07:58. The pace was fairly sedate and it took us 3 minutes to cover the first 500 meters! We reached Hospital bend after 17 minutes while ensuring that everybody stays in contact. Danie was doing quite well riding his single speed. Johan and Renier were on borrowed bikes and Schalk and Grant were on mountain bike. I was riding my 25th Tour on the same bicycle! We did pick up some speed on the downhill and made good progress until we got to Wynberg Hill. Here the group spilt up quite badly, but we agreed to wait for everybody at the top of the hill. We did not have to wait too long for everybody to get to the top and than had the enjoyment of racing down the Blue Rout to the turning point after 23 kilometres. After a brief wait, everybody was together again and we set off on the return journey. It was quite difficult to keep the group together and at Ladies Mile Drive the front goys stopped again to wait for the "rearguard"! After quite a lengthy wait, we decided to continue and wait at the top of Wynberg Hill. The group managed to regather again after a wait of about 10 minutes. The "rearguard" having stopped for some Cokes along the way. We managed to stay together down the hill, up Paradise Road and past Newlands Forest, but then we somehow lost contact. Danie, Renier and myself (the front guys), agreed to enjoy the ride up Hospital Hill and regather at the top. We stopped at the top of the hill and waited and waited and waited! After another 10 minute wait, we decided that we must have missed them or that they had some other problem and continued with our ride. The ride down Nelson Mandela Boulevard and through the City Centre was quite nice and we finally arrived at the finish after 2:25. I, illegally, rode with Adré's timing chip on my left leg and managed to get him to complete his 21st Tour. The interesting fact is that although his time was the same as mine, he finished 3 positions in front of me. I know that it is against the rules to ride with someone else's chip, but as this year's Tour was such a casual affair and considering the circumstances of Adré's death, I though that it was worth the risk! The "rear guard" eventually came in at 2:52, a whole 27 minutes after us. Our total riding time was only about 1:55!

So that is the end of a chapter. Next year I can, hopefully, do a proper tour again and make it 26 with the same bicycle!

2014 Oak Valley 24 uur

31 January was the date for the annual 24 hour race at Oak Valley, Elgin. My brother once again agreed to second for me as well as his son who also entered. 

I arrived at Oak Valley shortly after 10:00 and found us a nice spot under some trees at the far end of the camping ground. Boet and Son arrived at about 10:30. We collected our number and readied ourselves fir the 12:00 start.

Race briefing was at 11:45 and Maurant Botha asked for a minute silence in memory of my son Adre, who died the previous week in a cycling accident. I decided to go ahead and do the 24 hour as it would give me some time alone for some reflection. 

We started at 12:00 with the customary Le Mans style sprint across the rugby field. My first lap took me just over 40 minutes. Lap two was my fastest lap at 39:04. I decided to do six laps before I would take my first break. At 40 minutes per lap that would be 4 hours riding time. The last 2 laps took 44 minutes each.

I had a quick stop at 16:10 and set again on some more laps while I felt fresh and the sun was still shining. I did a further 3 laps before I decided to take another rest. The next lap took me 59 minutes, including my resting time. I therefore did 9 laps during the first 8 hours 50 minutes. From here I took a rest at every second lap. My normal lap time was down to 50 minutes a lap and about 1:10 when I took a rest. It was mow getting dark and this called for increased concentration. My lap time moved out to 55 minutes. 

At 00:15 I saw that the battery of my Garmin was getting low, so it was time to recharge with the help of my Power Monkey. This worked well and soon I was just about at full power again. On the next lap in, I discarded the Power Monkey and was back on battery power only. Three quarters of the way through the lap, the Garmin suddenly went dead. I tried switching it on, but to no avail. At the end of the  lap I connected the Power Monkey again. It came back on and I set off on another lap. On passing the transition point, I notice that although the Garmin was on, it was frozen. At the end if the lap I came in again and tried to revive it, but to no avail. After a couple of efforts matters got worse and it froze in startup mode. It eas 02:15 and I decided that this was the right opportunity to take a rest. I leveled the driver's seat in my car and took a nap. It was pretty cool and I had two jackets and a tracksuit top on. After a while I dosed off and when I woke up it was 05:12. Up to this point I did 16 laps in 14:41.

I got going immediately, but at a very leisurely pace. The next lap took 56 minutes, but there after I stopped at each lap and was taking about 1:15 to complete a lap. I started my last lap at 11:04 and had to make sure I only crossed the finish line after 12:00 or else I had to do another lap. Something I really did mot feel up to after 24 hours in the saddle. My timing was pretty good Nd I crossed the finish line at 12:02.

Adre Erasmus - 28/07/2977 to 20/01/2015

I lost my son in a cycling accident on Tuesday 20/01/2015 and this is what I had to say at his Memorial service.

Adré - 28/07/1977 to 20/01/2015

As we have some of Adré's colleagues from the UK as well as some other people who do not understand Afrikaans here, I am doing this in English.

Our us hearts are aching today and we are very sad with lots of tears, but we can celebrate a life filled with joy by a person who made many people happy and conducted his life in such a way that I as a father can be very proud of the legacy he has left behind.

People always had something good to say about Adré. He was not flawless, but the good outweighed the flaws to such an extend, we missed most of them.

I am very fortunate that we had a very good relationship. As I am a Paul Roos old boy, the thought did occur to me to send him to boarding school from Standard 6, but we decided not to. It was one of the best decisions I ever took. I was able to build into my son's life with some quality personal attention spending lots of time next to the hockey field watching him play. He decided at a very early age that rugby was too rough. In primary school his nickname was Wolkie (Cloud for the English) because he cried so easily.

I started playing golf in the early eighties, but when Adré bought himself a bicycle with the money he made from delivering papers, I decided to join him (with a bit of encouragement from my CBMC colleagues Mike Smit and Johan Schoeman). We were due to do our first Argus together in 1990, but it clashed with a school camp, so Adré only did his first Argus in 1991. We spent many hours together on the bicycles. I still have many fond memories of this 14-year-old boy cycling to my work at the Pepkor Head Office on Parow Industria after school so that we could cycle home together. The bicycles also went with when we went on holiday and I also recall cycling the hills to the west of Mount Pleasant in Port Elizabeth swearing at him because he could not cycle up all the hills!

I always had the better of the young Adré on the cycle until 1994 when my work sent to the UK for a year. When I came back, Adré matured and kicked dust in my eyes. I think I managed to beat him in the Argus once since then and that was when he did it with just about no training during the year with the terrible South Easter. He would give done his 21st Argus this year. He did miss a number of years due to various ailments like a broken bottom bracket and some minor health issues. His best time was 2:49:17 on the old 105 km route, which finished at Glen Beach.

In 2006 he did a 3:02:20 on the new longer course with the Green Point finish. That is equal to a 2:55 on the old Glen Beach finish. Last year was not that good and, although he did not mention it to me, I think he decided to train a little harder for thus year's Argus so that he can try and break that magical 3 hour barrier again. This probably led to his death because on Tuesday night he was flying home with the South Easter on his back, resulting in him deciding to make the fateful choice of the normal but faster road between Boundary Road and Loxton Avenue rather than the little cumbersome cycle path with the undulations caused where Weir and Kei Roads join Marine Drive, which cannot be taken at high speed. Unfortunately fate had an appointment with him. I did go to the scene of the accident on Tuesday night and was not supposed to touch anything, but I did touch his leg and looked at the feet with the cycling shoes, at which I looked so often in the past when I was cycling behind him, lying in the road. I will miss them!

I also have some very fond memories of motor cycles trips to Welkom to watch MotoGp and a memorable trip we had to Kirkwood in 2003, riding down there on Saturday and coming back on Sunday. 1,700 km in two days! This was repeated some years later with Francois Meyer and Christo Kleynhans as company.

His commitment as a family man did result in us having very fewer motorcycle trips since the twins were born, but that underlined his commitment as a family man.

We also had a fairly regular date for a light lunch at Curry Quest, a quaint curry restaurant within walking distance of his work Mowbray. This just did not happen often enough and I was about to schedule our next one for early next month.

I loved my son. We had a great relationship. I am missing him and nothing will be able to fill the void. I rejoice in the knowledge that my son is in a better place and died doing something he thoroughly enjoyed! I will never forget the sight of those familiar cycling shoes in the road next to the Milnerton Lagoon!

Attakwas 2015

Saterdag 17 Jauarie 2015 en dit is weer Attakwas tyd. My broer het ingestem om saam te gaan om my  motor om te neem einde toe. Ons is Vrydag net na 12:00 uit die Kaap weg en het, na ‘n aangename en voorspoedige rit, net na 18:00 by NA Smit Vakansie-oord aangekom. Omdat het ons vir ons “aandete” gekoop en my nommer opgetel. Na ‘n lekker braai, het ons die vere geslaan en albei soos klippe geslaap.

Ek was in groep B en my wegspring tyd was 06:35. Ons het so om en by 06:00 by die wegspring area aangekom. Die weer was perfek. Die groep A het 06:30 weggespring. Soos gewoonlik was die organiseerders baie stiptelik en ons het die pad 06:35 geslaan.  Daar was ongeveer ses groepe wat almal 5 minute na mekaar weggespring het.

Die aanvanklike pas was redelik en ek het ‘n goeie pas gehandhaaf. Na 25 minute het die voorste manne van grope C by my verby gekom. Die begin tempratuur was 13 grade Celcius. Die “jeep tracks” deur Chandelier en Doornrivier was in ‘n baie goeie toestand met geen onverwagte donga’s of spoel slote nie. Ons is na 1:19 by waterpunt 1, waar ek vir ‘n vinnge glas water gestop het., verby. Die eerste 65 kilometer van die Attakwas bestaan hoofsaaklik uit redelik goeie ”jeep tracks”. Daar is ‘n paar areas wat redelik rof is en ook drie bulte waarvan die gradient en oppervlakte sodanige is dat dit nie uit gery kan word nie.  Dan moet dapper en stapper maar gebruik word om bo te kom. Teen hierdie tyd het die tempratuur na 22 grade Celcius geklim.

Ek het redelik goed gevaar teen die laaste bult af net voor waterpunt 3. Daar was twee kort stukkies van 10 meter elke wat my moed my begewe het en maar afgeklim en gestoot het. Net voor die waterpunt loop die roete so ongeveer 100 meter in ‘n stroom af. Daar iemand voor my wat ‘n bietjie gesukkel het, met die gevolg dat ek so ‘n bietjie gewag het. Ongelukkig het ek nie genoeg momentum opgebou om deur die stroom te kom nie, met die gevolg dat my voorwiel teen ‘n klip vasgeteek het wat veroorsaak het date k my balans verloor. My spoed was baie laag, maar met die val slag val ek toe met my bors op die fiets se handvatsel wat regopstaan. Vir ‘n oomblik kon ek nie behoorlik asem haal nie en my bors was ontstetend seer. Ek kon gelukkig onmiddellik wwer aan die gang kom en by die waterpunt herstel. Die skade blyk nie te groot te wees nie, behalwe vir ‘n stukkende plek op my regter maarmerrie en ‘n bors wat pyn wanneer ek my linker arm optel! Ek het ongeveer 15 minute hier vertoef terwyl ek my waterbottel volgemaak het, ‘n paar glasies Coke gedink het en ‘n halwe Spur Burger ge-eet het.

Gelukkig het die bors my nie gepla wanneer ek ry nie, maar dit was redelik seer wanneer ek my linkerhand van die handvatsel afgehaal het. Die temperatuur het nou geslyg tot 31 grade. Die laaste gedeelte is omtrent alles op distriks paaie met vier lelike bulte. Die eerste een begin sommer onmiddelik. Oor 7 km klim jy 200 meter teen ‘n redelike konstante gradient en daar is geen skauduwee nie. Gelukkig is daar darem so ‘n paar “dips” wat jou toe laat om asem te haal. Anderkant af is deur die plaaslik plantasie, wat help om die hitte te breek. Op 83 km begin ‘n 4 km afdraand waar tydens ons 250 meter daal. Dit word gevolg deur nog twee bulte oor die volgende 8 km met ‘n klim van 200 meter in totaal.

Dit bring ons by die volgende water punt, met net die laaste twee knewels oor. Dit is slegs 17 km einde toe, maar dit is deur twee ”dale“ en oor twee “berge”. Ek het die hele ent vanaf water punt 3 redelik goed gevoel ten spyte van die seer bors, maar ek het in hierdie gedeelte 30 minute op verlede jaar se tyd verloor, so die bors het seker maar ‘n invloed gehad. Ek het in die laaste 3 km ‘n lekker “trein” opgetel en dit ook reggekry om hulle aget te laat.

Totale tyd: 8:17:27; afstand 121.22 km; klim 2,929 meter.

2014 Coronation Double Century

The Double Century was scheduled for 222 November. This year we made double sure we had an entry, ending up with two entries. Fortunately it was easy to cancel one.

Plan started in May and we had our first training ride on 9 August. The team members were fairly “flexible” in that we took our time filling the team up. Clive Kerr, who rode with us in 2011 managed to “draft” some strong men from Paarl. Sieg also managed to get a couple of hard riders from Metropolitan, who also agreed to provide tops. Hennie de Clercq decided at the second last training ride that he was not ready, but I managed to get Eugene van Niewenhuizen to join us on the same day and he replaced Hennie. Danie  Kotze injured his knee two months before the race and decided that 200 km will not be good for his knee, so he withdrew two weeks before the due date. During the next week one of the metropolitan guys, Nigel Shannon, was informed that he had to e bib Bangkok during the weekend of the DC. One of the Paarl guys managed to draft in Andries Duminy at short notice, but we could not find a replacement for Danie. During the last week Clive and Sieg withdrew due to illness. We therefore were due to start with only 9 riders.

Race day was a little chaotic with Eugene waiting for us at the start and the rest of us waiting for him in the Main Street! When we finally got together we realized that his number and top was still in the Main Street. He therefore had to go and fetch that before he could start, but we were due to be off in 2 minutes! We arrived at the start just in time for our starting time, but without Eugene. So all we could do was to cross the start line and wait for Eugene on the other side. While some guys sped off into the distance, Gert and myself waited for Eugene, who arrived 5 minutes later. At last we were off at a reasonable pace, hoping to catch up with the rest soon. This happened after about another 15 minutes and at last we were in one group.

The initial part of the course is fairly flat so it was easy to maintain a reasonable pace. By the time we reached the bottom of Tradouw Pass, our average speed was 30 kph, in spite of the fact that we started 5 minutes late! En route to Suurbraak we were caught by the team, which contained my brother’s two sons. Some interesting inter changes were exchanged while we were riding together. They started after us and we managed to pus away from them. Some of my team members were also concerned about my rear tyre being flat. My response was that it was not so flat that it was bumping through, so I decided to continue until it really became a problem

The weather was just about perfect and we really had a nice ride. It was misty with coolness in the air. The mist disappeared after the first hour. The temperature remained below 20 degrees Celsius for the first 2:46. By this time we were on top of On the Tradouw, where the first scheduled stop was. We agreed to give this stop a miss and carried straight on. Our average speed dropped to 25.2 by the time we went over the top. I did managed to work up quite a bit of heat going up the pass, with my heart rate going up to 101%. Once over the top, to undulations to Montague started.  With the good whether we were having, it was quite easy to maintain a good average speed. Teams were also working together helping one another resulting in an increase in average speed.

At 76 kilometers, Nelis had a flat. My rear tyre was holding out well, but I did take the opportunity to inflate it as well as the front. Both held to the end! Gert and myself decided to continue on while the others help to fix the flat. We were caught by the rest of the group in a short space of time and the pace increased again when everybody was together. Somewhere before Montague, Gert started picking up problems with cramps and Eugene and myself got separated from the group. Eugene decided to take it on himself to pace me and I had my work cut out to stay in his slipstream. We arrived at the neutral stop at Ashton 5 minutes after the rest of the group and after 117 km and 4:15. That gave us an average of just over 27.5 kph. The group spent 23 minutes at the stop, with Eugene and myself only using 18 minutes. The cramps got the better of Gert and he pulled out at Ashton.

The road to Robertson is fairly flat and the pace was hot. After about 5 km I decided that the pace was too hot for me. When the guys looked around for me, I indicated for them to maintain their pace and leave ne behind. That was the last time I saw them! I now had the prospect of another 80 km all on my own! We had a bit of breeze on our backs and I just maintained my pace. O turning left at Robertson, the wind turned to diagonally form the front. It was not too strong so it was not a serious problem. Some groups came past me, but by the time I realised that I should try to tag onto them, they were gone. After a while I managed to jump onto a group and kept up with them. This was happening all the way to the second neutral stop at Bonnievale. I was well pleased to see our seconding vehicle still waiting. The reaction form the ladies gave me the impression that they did not expect me! I had something to eat and filled my bottles, which were more that half full, with ice and was on my way after 10 minutes. It took me 1:45 to cover the 47 km, giving an average speed of 26.85 kph. According to the pace I was maintaining, I was going to come in at about 7:45, but anything can happen over the last number of hills, which can bring once average down quite a bit.

I managed to hang onto various groups as they came past up to the last water point at 177 km, covering the 14 km in 45 minutes. The terrain was getting hillier and it was reflected in my average speed. The balance of the route was more uphill than downhill and I prepared myself for a nice “grind” to the end. Just before we reached the R60, George Wienekus, who rode with me in June during the Freedom Challenge, came past. I did managed to keep up with his team for a while, but they dropped me on the second last hill. His team started 6 minutes after us. On one of the last hills towards Swellendam, I did notice some team members from my bother’s son’s team on the last hills into Swellendam. It transpired that they came in after our team, but before me in their overall time. From the top of the last hill a group formed and we worked together nicely up to the end.

The end does have a nasty sting in the tail with 34 meters of climbing over a distance of 800 meters. According to my timer I was going to finish in less than 8 hours! I gave it all up this last hill and crossed the line in 7:55! After taking the neutral stops into consideration that would probably come down to 7:30. Quite an achievement considering that we have not managed to break 8 hours since 2005! The composition of the team had a lot to do with that and we definitely had the strongest team this year.

The final time for the team was 7:05:13 and my time was 7:19:59.

Wine2Whales Day 3

Day 3 held the promise of moving from 300 meter above sea level to sea level, so there was the promise of more downhill than uphill. People started moving again at 05:00, so there was no point in trying to sleep any longer. After the usual breakfast, we got everything ready for the start at 07:20. We also had to pack our bags and deliver them to the DHL truck for collection in Onrus after the race.

We got going at 07:20 and like usual we started with some climbs, but today’s were very much gentler than the previous two days. None of then was as long either. While I was riding I felt an occasional spray over my back leg and realized that it must be tyre sealant coming out through the plug in my rear tyre!  A guy came past and wanted to know whether I knew that there was a problem with my rear tyre! I just ignored it and hoped and prayed for the best!

After some initial farm roads, which included a nasty mud pool, we were taken onto a single track, which ended as we went onto the old gravel Houwhoek Pass. This was quite rough and challenging, but exhilarating! The first water point was at the Botriver School, but we were first taken on a “senic” ride through the town before were arrived there! After a quick couple of Cokes and some eats, we were on our way again.

The next 15 kilometers was mostly downhill with the odd little hill in between and some nice single tracks. At 40 kilometers we took a left turn and started the day’s serious climbing. This started with a gentle climb, during which we gained 150 meters over the next 7 kilometers, followed by a kilometer downhill leading onto a 3 kilometer climb during which we gained 150 meters.  Some more gentle ups and downs took us through the second water point and onto water point three at Hamiton Russel Wine Farm. During the last couple of kilometers I started hearing a noise from the rear wheel, which I immediately identified as the ends of the plug tapping against the frame. That meant that the plug was busy coming out! I decided to ignore it and ride until I felt that the rear was getting to soft the carry on.

The Hamilton Russel water point was followed by the last climb of the race, 150 meter in 2 kilometers. Once over the top it was all downhill the finish, including some more wonderful single tracks down the Hemel en Aarde Valley and then onto the beach, where the track was marked with pallets over the sand, and onto the finish at the caravan park.

Total time 4:32:40; 75.86 km; 1,339 meters elevation gain; 1,631 meters elevation loss; average speed 16.7 k.p.h. We finished 165 out of 554 teams and fell back to 157 overall. We finished 9^th in the 50+ age group on the day and also moved up to 9^th overall.

Wine2Whales Day 2

Day 2 consisted of a 68 km circle route around Oak Valley. We were moved up to group C and our starting time was 07:20. We thought we will get up at 05:45, but the first people started moving at 05:10 and there was not much chance of sleeping after that! Breakfast was served from 05:30. Once again it was a wonderful spread. The only problem we had was to not eat too much! During the previous evening I felt that my rear tyre was not as hard as normal and I had to pump it.

Day 2 really is a “fun” day with about 70% single track including the exquisite Paul Cluver cycle park. We started off with a 70 meter climb during the first kilometer.  We lost that in the next 4 kilometers and then went on to a gentle climb, which took us onto the single tracks in the hills behind Oak Valley. This was the beginning of the “fun” part of Wine2Whales. For the next 25 kilometers we spent most of the time on single tracks. Farm roads connected some of these, but mostly the one led to the other. Some of them were single tracks that are used annually during the Dirtopia 24 hour race at oak Valley. This led us into the second water point. At one point I noticed that Mike Smit was not close to me anymore and had to wait for him. It transpired that his pedal hit a rock and he came down. Fortunately nothing serious was damaged, but he did have some minor problems with his gears after this mishap.

The magnificent Paul Cluver Cycle Park, with its wonderful single tracks and ingenuous bridges followed.

We really had  a wonderful time riding these tracks. Some farm and forestry roads up to the third water point followed this. I realized that my rear tyre was loosing air and I had to stop to pump it. After water point three we were back onto some forestry roads and then more singles tracks leading up to the final water pint at 56 kilometers.

A steady climb up some farm roads and more single tracks brought us to the Paul Cluver Packing shed. Here we were treated to some more ingenious tracks especially made for us amongst the packing crates. This included some nice berms and also a bridge, which took us above some of the tracks we road minutes earlier. On one of the berms, Mike lost his balance and toppled down the hill. Once again the bush came out worse than what mike did! When we came out the other side, I found that my rear tyre was fairly soft again. With only 8 kilometers left to the end, I went the pumping route again. From here it was also mostly downhill to the end. I very quickly realized that my rear tyre problem was more serious than I though, but I addressed it by spending more time standing up and not putting to much pressure on the rear wheel. The last three kilometers was Oak Valley single tracks again and riding with a flattish rear wheel was becoming a challenge, but it just help to the end and we crossed the finish line without any further incidents.

During the afternoon I plugged the offending tyre, taking care to cut the protruding pieces sticking out the sidewall down to a reasonable length. The problem was a cut in the sidewall, so the potential for more problems was very prevalent. I managed to get a pump from the Specialized boys and made sure that the tyre was inflated properly.

Total time 4:22:22; 67.85 km; 1,423 meters elevation gain; 1,4218meters elevation loss; average speed 15.5 k.p.h. We finished 214 out of 571 teams and fell back to 171 overall. We 14^th in the 50+ age group on the day and overall.