May Cycling newsletter
Autumn has arrived, with it some of the most beautiful days you can imagine: cool weather, blue skies, green landscapes, colourful vineyards and open roads or twisty trails. Add to that a warm cup of coffee every now and then, it can’t get better.
A warm welcome to all the new members who have joined us recently, this is the best time of the year to start cycling. All it takes, is to get up a bit earlier on the weekend, yes not great, but once you are with a group of other crazy cyclists on a pack ride, you will be rewarded a hundred times over.
Vanessa and I have just come back from an amazing 5-day cycle tour we were privileged to do in the Riversdale area. We have so many beautiful places to explore in our great country and of course, it is always best on a bicycle.
Shanna is planning our next social on Saturday, the 28th of May. It will be a spit braai at Jan Kriel School in Kuils River. More info will be posted on Facebook.
We are also glad to hear that Francois is recovering well after his horrible crash a few weeks ago. It will be a long road to recovery and he still has some pain. We wish him well.
The following I copied from another cycling club’s code of ethics, which I thought were very true:
Sportmanship
We will compete fierce within the regulations, but will be good winners or good losers at the end of the day. A very important concept is ambassadorship. We respect traffic and traffic laws and respect the local laws in regard to public decency. In short, we will present ourselves as kind positive people, in essence we will be true sportsman in our community and the communities we represent ourselves in.
Respect
The second principle is respect. This applies to everyone. We will go to bicycle races with the expectation that the people who work at these cycle races are there because they love cycling, just like we do. Due to our mutual love for the sport, competitors will treat race volunteers and officials with respect.
Pack rides
Just a reminder again for those who are new to cycling, it is dark in the mornings and the risk of attacks is higher. So please do NOT cycle alone. It is great to see all the various groups that go out in the week and weekend.
Fisantekraal
Last month we reported on the string of attacks that have taken place at Fisantekraal. We have not left it and have taken action in addressing this issue. Pieter Joubert has volunteered to spearhead this initiative.
In addition, we are planning to visit the Fisantekraal community with Liza from Subz. They will be handing over gifts packs to the high school girls, bought from money collected by cyclists. More info to follow.
Training program up to the 50 Miler
Our training for the 50 Miler is coming to an end. After the 50 Miler, we will have a few shorter/easier rides, especially for the new riders and those who have not cycled with us for a while. So please come and join us for a ride, a chat and of course good coffee and breakfast.
| Day | Date | Comment | Rides | Dist | Ascent | Races |
| Saturday | 07-May-16 | 50 Miler Route | 88 | 1100 | Tru-Cape/Ride the Vines | |
| Saturday | 14-May-16 | Short ride | ||||
| Saturday | 21-May-16 | No ride – 50/100 Miler | 50/100 Miler | |||
| Sunday | 22-May-16 | Rest |
Winter League
The winter league is still going strong with a number of our cyclists finishing regularly in the top 10 of category 3. Well done to Leon and the guys.
Strava
If you are on Strava, please join our Cape Multisport group on Strava by sending a request to me. You’ll be amazed to see what distances some people put in week after week (of course I would pick a week where I am in the top 3 J).
Cycling tops
The new cycling tops have been ordered and will be ready in 4 weeks. Once again, a big thank you to Marius Swanepoel (one of our club members) from Realclean and Donn from Umlazi Civils for sponsoring our new cycling tops.
Promotions
From time to time we will post a few promotions we think might be of interest to the cyclists:
- Pepper spray (stream spray for longer reach) for R99 – I have stock with me
- Pepper spray with armstrap/bicycle strap from Anatomic (R295) – please contact Vanessa
- Bike Service: CMC Service Cycles (Abrie Mouton) is a new bike service company in the Durbanville area and is willing to fetch the bike from your home or to receive a bike after hours.
cmcservicecycles@gmail.com | 083 275 5504
Happy cycling and see you on the bike!
Achmed Giesler
Cycling Captain
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