Hi there,
Well ...Chris and I are still in the UK eating our way around the country and getting back to normal weight before flying back to the states this coming Thursday. We did our first swim session with the masters squad in Shrewsbury where Chris's mother lives and that was a shock to the system. There weren't many swimming pools in Africa with masters swimming sessions and so the body kinda died on Saturday. It was good to be back in water and we are also back running. The running has been tough on Chris's legs as they are so used to cycling -- he had to walk backwards after running one day as a result of the cramps he was getting. A soft tissue massage from yours truely sorted them out and although he is not 100% at least he can walk forwards and not look like a character out of a John Cleese play or a Little Britain skit!!!
Unfortunately the other task that I have been doing is pestering British Airways as they lost my bike in transit from South Africa to London. I am still bikeless 5 days later!!! British Airways managed to lose my bike on our flight from Cape Town on the 23rd May and they still can not find it!!! The BA folks in South Africa claim that it left the country AND London BA have lost it and BA London are claiming the opposite. Bottom line --- no bike, no tent, no cycling clothes, no second place trophies, no knick knacks from the trip. Fingers crossed that they find it...apparently it is like finding a needle in the haystack at Lost Luggage Heathrow so myhopes are not high.
Chris posted the words to his song that he sang in the talent quest we had on the second to last evening of the tour. It was well received and very entertaining for us but I'm sure some of you will be wondering who half the people are but you know the rules..what goes on tour stays on tour!!!
I have to call BA again....later
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Talent Show Song!
This song was delivered in fine style in the evening at our last camp site on Friday May 11th. Yes, there were some red faces..but also a lot of laughter. Sung to the tune of Wild Rover by the Pogues:
1. There once was a bike ride from Cairo to Cape
30 plus idiots paid ten grand to partake
They pedalled from sunrise until they were dead
Then lay about wasted with legs full of lead
Chorus:
Please God no more cycling
No more red raw crotch pain
Let my legs have a rest
Let's do something else
2. There's Adrie from Holland who just wont give up
And Gunther from Belgium with talent galore
Andy from Canada farts all the time
Jan is an old guy who sneaks to the line
(Chorus)
3. Andy from Scotland has his ups and downs
While Alice from Joburg rarely ever frowns
Josh is a work horse who powers away
He grags his mate Douglas who bounces all day
(Chorus)
4. Secret liaisons have been common place
Just look round this camp for the very red face
Duncan and Lucette will get the first prize
For bonking in the dirt well before sunrise
(Chorus)
5. Then there are the couples who share a tent
I've been told not to mention there names in this song
Suffice it to say that their love is red hot
Old married couples they're certainly not!
(Chorus)
6. Adrie and Eva are tightly shacked up
Their nocturnal action has broken their tent
Miles and Rachel talk into the night
Dialogue peppered with squeals of delight
(Chorus)
7. There's also a young girl whose always on heat
She's famous for chasing a fresh piece of meat
Be careful when entering your sleeping bag
Inside it you might find a short dumpy dag
(Chorus)
8. Gunther's a Belgian with plenty of power
Cigarettes and alcohol he likes to devour
Sometimes he struggles to get out of his tent
But he'll still race you so hard that your bike ends up bent
(Chorus)
9. When needing a good laugh just go look up Sean
Known as "the baby" he was only just born
His wisdom will amaze you, though King Solomon he's not
A short conversation will show he's lost the plot
(Chorus)
10. Of course I must mention the TDA staff
Jack's accurate route descriptions make everyone laugh
If we get pissed off they're quick to contend
That Africa is supposed to drive you round the bend
(Chorus)
11. Elaine and Rachel are happiest when drunk
They both like a man with plenty of spunk
Give them a few drinks and they get quite rude
Sooner or later you can bet they'll be nude
(Chorus)
12. This trip has been tiring with way too much stew
More shitting in holes I just don't want to do
My bike shorts are worn out, my sperm count is low
Why the fuck I did this I really don't know
(Chorus)
1. There once was a bike ride from Cairo to Cape
30 plus idiots paid ten grand to partake
They pedalled from sunrise until they were dead
Then lay about wasted with legs full of lead
Chorus:
Please God no more cycling
No more red raw crotch pain
Let my legs have a rest
Let's do something else
2. There's Adrie from Holland who just wont give up
And Gunther from Belgium with talent galore
Andy from Canada farts all the time
Jan is an old guy who sneaks to the line
(Chorus)
3. Andy from Scotland has his ups and downs
While Alice from Joburg rarely ever frowns
Josh is a work horse who powers away
He grags his mate Douglas who bounces all day
(Chorus)
4. Secret liaisons have been common place
Just look round this camp for the very red face
Duncan and Lucette will get the first prize
For bonking in the dirt well before sunrise
(Chorus)
5. Then there are the couples who share a tent
I've been told not to mention there names in this song
Suffice it to say that their love is red hot
Old married couples they're certainly not!
(Chorus)
6. Adrie and Eva are tightly shacked up
Their nocturnal action has broken their tent
Miles and Rachel talk into the night
Dialogue peppered with squeals of delight
(Chorus)
7. There's also a young girl whose always on heat
She's famous for chasing a fresh piece of meat
Be careful when entering your sleeping bag
Inside it you might find a short dumpy dag
(Chorus)
8. Gunther's a Belgian with plenty of power
Cigarettes and alcohol he likes to devour
Sometimes he struggles to get out of his tent
But he'll still race you so hard that your bike ends up bent
(Chorus)
9. When needing a good laugh just go look up Sean
Known as "the baby" he was only just born
His wisdom will amaze you, though King Solomon he's not
A short conversation will show he's lost the plot
(Chorus)
10. Of course I must mention the TDA staff
Jack's accurate route descriptions make everyone laugh
If we get pissed off they're quick to contend
That Africa is supposed to drive you round the bend
(Chorus)
11. Elaine and Rachel are happiest when drunk
They both like a man with plenty of spunk
Give them a few drinks and they get quite rude
Sooner or later you can bet they'll be nude
(Chorus)
12. This trip has been tiring with way too much stew
More shitting in holes I just don't want to do
My bike shorts are worn out, my sperm count is low
Why the fuck I did this I really don't know
(Chorus)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
We did it!!!
Hey Team Janet-and-Chris-in-Africa!!!
We did it!! We arrived in Cape Town on May the 12th to a buzz that was unbelievable and a huge crowd of family and friends of the TDA riders from all around the world, including my dad who had traveled all the way from New Zealand. There were also a few surprises such as Rich one of our clients and friends from San Diego who was at the finish line. I looked up after crossing the line and there was my dad who I knew would be there and standing next to him was the fabulous Rich. Great fun. Jan from Holland got to the finish line and the next thing he knew he had a blonde hanging around his neck giving him kisses. His wife had flown in to surprise him and Rach our lekker TDA staff member knew she was coming but it it very secret. It was a blast to see Jan's face, he was beaming from ear to ear..very much an 'ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' moment. Chris and I both enjoyed Jan's company on the Tour, not only racing but also socially and we will be hooking up with him next February in Canada as Jan is a hot cross country skier!!
Besides family and friends there was also an array of African dancers and drums and members of the public at the waterfront who were just hanging out in the shopping area wondering what on earth all these cyclists were doing. The Cape Town Waterfront complex is very much like the Auckland Viaduct and a really good looking place to have a race finish. Seagulls, boats, lots of noise, shops, restaurants, people having lunch under umbrellas etc. The weather was superb - hot and sunny and a great view of Table Mountain in the background, we couldn't have asked for a better day. Once we arrived at the finish, our bikes were taken by little helpers who placed them in a safe place (a tent near the ampitheatre) and we all then had to get flags of our respective countries and proceed in an orderly manner to the ampitheatre where the Mayoress of Cape Town was going to welcome us and then give us our finishing medals. We all had on our new Tour d'Afrique Cycling bike jerseys and so I must say we all looked great. We had to stand on stage during the official speeches and then it was team photos, individual country photos with flags and then we were given a little reception nearby which included champagne and food!! All this happened between 2 and 4pm and it was quite emotional and hectic at the same time. Lots of hugs and kisses and hellos to TDA family members who were busy putting faces to names that they had either read on the official TDA website or the individual blogs. It was madness!!
However, girlfriends - you would have been proud of me - while all of this madness was going on - I managed to:
1. circulate,
2. give all the team congratulations-we-did-it-hugs
3. find my husband who had disappeared earlier in the day - read the next paragraph AND more importantly
4. also managed to nip out to do a spot of shopping and buy a hot dress!!! On Saturday morning while we were all riding in to meet the police (who were going to lead us convoy style into Cape Town), a couple of the riders asked me why I was riding so fast! My response - I'm on a mission to find a dress! After 4 months of being on a bike I was not about to turn up to the finale dinner in bike shorts or REI overland/cargo trousers. I had been telling all the girls that I was going to buy a little black dress and I did, in record time - less than 10 minutes. Inbetween sipping champagne and eating spring rolls I bought a dress. I could tell by the look on the faces of the women in the Marion and Linde store that they were not used to seeing a female cyclist in cycling gear including the mandatory clicking Shimano cycling shoes! I asked for a little black dress that had to cover the cycling shorts tan lines on my legs and without any hesitation one appeared. I put it on and it looked hillarious with my cycling shoes but as the assistant said..if it took 12,000km to get legs like mine she would ride a bike too! I didn't have the heart to tell her that legs like mine were genetic but hey if it means another woman hits the tar pedalling then who's checking little white lies huh!
So re lost husband. We left our beach camp at 7.30am and had until 12.30pm to make it to the point where the Cape Town police were going to convoy us into the finish line. It was only about 60km and Chris didn't see the point in hanging around when he could ride all the way to Cape Town, check into the hotel we were all staying at, shower and eat all before our arrival at the finish line at 2pm. So, he did just that!! Some of the riders were concerned that he would not be with us at the finish but he was. We couldn't miss him. All our gear was on Doris the truck and so when Chris got to Cape Town he went to the Nike store and bought some clothes as all he had were his cycling clothes. He also bought some new running shoes..racing flats that could be seen in the dark. There was Chris..black shorts, white t-shirt and irridescent green shoes. The team all laughed when we saw the shoes ..honestly they were bright!!! He joined us on stage with the TDA cycling jersey but those shoes....they were bright. I will publish some photos when I get back state side and you will see them gems!!!One other husband got lost as well.....when we got to the convoy start point Adrie wasn't there either, Eva and Jan and the rest of the Dutch group had no idea where he had got to. Turns out that he missed the traffic light (or robot if you are from South Africa) and he inadvertently rode into Cape Town. Hillarious that the number one and two racer boys missed the convoy..one planned it, the other missed the right turn and sailed through to Cape Town.
After the medal ceremony we all had the task of emptying out our red boxes as Doris was leaving the next morning to head back to Joberg. What a job. Chris and I donated most of our gear to the 'give it to someone who needs it pile'. We gave our mountaineering 5 season tent to Joash from Kenya as he is a mountain guide on Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro when he is not guiding the blind rider Douglas. His face was priceless when I handed it to him. He deserved it..he worked his ass off for Douglas and if he was riding individually he would have given Chris and Adrie a good running especially on them hills! We gave our thermarest sleeping mats to Jack, our camelpack hydration units to Windy from Ethiopia with instructions to give one to Mahmoosh who was one of the riders we rode with us in Ethiopia. Spare bike parts and tyres went to the pile as well as Chris's cyclocross shoes which were on their last legs, water bottles went in the rubbish pile and so compared to when we started back in January we're currently lighter in terms of gear. While doing all this and trying to get it done before the dinner time of 7.00pm we found out that there were no accommodation bookings for the African Routes guys - Trevor and Wimpey which we thought was really poor. These guys worked their butts off for us and you would have thought that TDA or AfRoutes management would have made sure the boys had some kind of room for the night. I guess they could have slept on the truck but Chris and I thought that sucked so we did the right thing in our minds and booked them a room. Trevor and Wimpey deserved it and we were pleased to see them at breakfast the next morning - slightly worse for wear - after our finale dinner but having had sleep and food before embarking on a 20 hour drive to Joberg.
The dinner was great and the prize giving was good for Chris and I - having won some sections between us we got books for those section wins as well as overall second place trophies in the form of African masks and bowls. How we are going to pack them is anyones guess but we'll figure it out.
Today is Saturday 19th and we are in a coastal town called Plettenberg Bay which is on the Garden Route. Chris is doing a work out at the Virgin Avtive Gym as his legs are doing crazy things like cramping so bad when he runs that he can hardly walk.He's found that if he does a cycle first..yes can you believe it - he can run after and so he needs the gym as we left our bikes in Cape Town. As for me, my body is in great form. I did an hour and a half run this morning along a river trail about 50km away at a Lodge we stayed at and it was great. My dad was with us this past week and we had a good time. We left Cape Town last Monday and stayed in Stellenbosch at a boutique wine/country lodge called L'Avenir..as you do..Monday night. It was a blast. We were the only people at the lodge and so it seemed like we had our very own country house for the evening. It was a beautiful place. Wine tasting in the afternoon, fire place, luxury couches and cheese and a bottle of their 2005 Pinotage to kill time with. Much better way to pass the day than riding a bike huh!
We then went towards George and stayed at the Point Hotel in Mossel Bay..superb views of wild coastline. Very much like New Zealand. Dad took lots of photos and then it was on towards Knysna where we had lunch in the harbour and then mossied onto Plettenberg Bay where we stayed in a really nice B and B. Small world. The owners two sons are golfers in the states. One was on the PGA tour until he injured his wrist and had to have surgery and now on the Nationwide Tour and the other son is on a golf scholarship in Columbia.We talked sports over breakfast and gave them my business card just in case he needed a second opinion regarding his rehab. Dad had a flight out of Port Elizabeth yesterday hence our need to get there by Friday and so we drove from Plettenberg Bay - past Goose Point - Gary Players home golf course to Port Elizabeth on Thursday. We stopped off in Jefferys Bay - a renowned surf spot for lunch and checked out the break where the Billabong surf competition will be held in July. Nice break and beautiful beach --once again though - I swear I could have been in one of many beaches in New Zealand.
It's great to see South Africa keeping their beaches, road sides and national parks so clean but it does bother me to still see the poor housing that many African native people still live in. It's been 15 years or so since the end of segregation and a lot has been achieved but when you see the projects/tin shacks for housing along the sides of the roads - hundreds of them across the road from fabulous million dollar houses it still causes a lump in my throat.Maybe in twenty years time it will be a thing of the past, Here's hoping.
OK so Chris is back from his work out..time to eat.
Hope you are all well. Off to check out Ostrich racing.
Cheers
We did it!! We arrived in Cape Town on May the 12th to a buzz that was unbelievable and a huge crowd of family and friends of the TDA riders from all around the world, including my dad who had traveled all the way from New Zealand. There were also a few surprises such as Rich one of our clients and friends from San Diego who was at the finish line. I looked up after crossing the line and there was my dad who I knew would be there and standing next to him was the fabulous Rich. Great fun. Jan from Holland got to the finish line and the next thing he knew he had a blonde hanging around his neck giving him kisses. His wife had flown in to surprise him and Rach our lekker TDA staff member knew she was coming but it it very secret. It was a blast to see Jan's face, he was beaming from ear to ear..very much an 'ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' moment. Chris and I both enjoyed Jan's company on the Tour, not only racing but also socially and we will be hooking up with him next February in Canada as Jan is a hot cross country skier!!
Besides family and friends there was also an array of African dancers and drums and members of the public at the waterfront who were just hanging out in the shopping area wondering what on earth all these cyclists were doing. The Cape Town Waterfront complex is very much like the Auckland Viaduct and a really good looking place to have a race finish. Seagulls, boats, lots of noise, shops, restaurants, people having lunch under umbrellas etc. The weather was superb - hot and sunny and a great view of Table Mountain in the background, we couldn't have asked for a better day. Once we arrived at the finish, our bikes were taken by little helpers who placed them in a safe place (a tent near the ampitheatre) and we all then had to get flags of our respective countries and proceed in an orderly manner to the ampitheatre where the Mayoress of Cape Town was going to welcome us and then give us our finishing medals. We all had on our new Tour d'Afrique Cycling bike jerseys and so I must say we all looked great. We had to stand on stage during the official speeches and then it was team photos, individual country photos with flags and then we were given a little reception nearby which included champagne and food!! All this happened between 2 and 4pm and it was quite emotional and hectic at the same time. Lots of hugs and kisses and hellos to TDA family members who were busy putting faces to names that they had either read on the official TDA website or the individual blogs. It was madness!!
However, girlfriends - you would have been proud of me - while all of this madness was going on - I managed to:
1. circulate,
2. give all the team congratulations-we-did-it-hugs
3. find my husband who had disappeared earlier in the day - read the next paragraph AND more importantly
4. also managed to nip out to do a spot of shopping and buy a hot dress!!! On Saturday morning while we were all riding in to meet the police (who were going to lead us convoy style into Cape Town), a couple of the riders asked me why I was riding so fast! My response - I'm on a mission to find a dress! After 4 months of being on a bike I was not about to turn up to the finale dinner in bike shorts or REI overland/cargo trousers. I had been telling all the girls that I was going to buy a little black dress and I did, in record time - less than 10 minutes. Inbetween sipping champagne and eating spring rolls I bought a dress. I could tell by the look on the faces of the women in the Marion and Linde store that they were not used to seeing a female cyclist in cycling gear including the mandatory clicking Shimano cycling shoes! I asked for a little black dress that had to cover the cycling shorts tan lines on my legs and without any hesitation one appeared. I put it on and it looked hillarious with my cycling shoes but as the assistant said..if it took 12,000km to get legs like mine she would ride a bike too! I didn't have the heart to tell her that legs like mine were genetic but hey if it means another woman hits the tar pedalling then who's checking little white lies huh!
So re lost husband. We left our beach camp at 7.30am and had until 12.30pm to make it to the point where the Cape Town police were going to convoy us into the finish line. It was only about 60km and Chris didn't see the point in hanging around when he could ride all the way to Cape Town, check into the hotel we were all staying at, shower and eat all before our arrival at the finish line at 2pm. So, he did just that!! Some of the riders were concerned that he would not be with us at the finish but he was. We couldn't miss him. All our gear was on Doris the truck and so when Chris got to Cape Town he went to the Nike store and bought some clothes as all he had were his cycling clothes. He also bought some new running shoes..racing flats that could be seen in the dark. There was Chris..black shorts, white t-shirt and irridescent green shoes. The team all laughed when we saw the shoes ..honestly they were bright!!! He joined us on stage with the TDA cycling jersey but those shoes....they were bright. I will publish some photos when I get back state side and you will see them gems!!!One other husband got lost as well.....when we got to the convoy start point Adrie wasn't there either, Eva and Jan and the rest of the Dutch group had no idea where he had got to. Turns out that he missed the traffic light (or robot if you are from South Africa) and he inadvertently rode into Cape Town. Hillarious that the number one and two racer boys missed the convoy..one planned it, the other missed the right turn and sailed through to Cape Town.
After the medal ceremony we all had the task of emptying out our red boxes as Doris was leaving the next morning to head back to Joberg. What a job. Chris and I donated most of our gear to the 'give it to someone who needs it pile'. We gave our mountaineering 5 season tent to Joash from Kenya as he is a mountain guide on Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro when he is not guiding the blind rider Douglas. His face was priceless when I handed it to him. He deserved it..he worked his ass off for Douglas and if he was riding individually he would have given Chris and Adrie a good running especially on them hills! We gave our thermarest sleeping mats to Jack, our camelpack hydration units to Windy from Ethiopia with instructions to give one to Mahmoosh who was one of the riders we rode with us in Ethiopia. Spare bike parts and tyres went to the pile as well as Chris's cyclocross shoes which were on their last legs, water bottles went in the rubbish pile and so compared to when we started back in January we're currently lighter in terms of gear. While doing all this and trying to get it done before the dinner time of 7.00pm we found out that there were no accommodation bookings for the African Routes guys - Trevor and Wimpey which we thought was really poor. These guys worked their butts off for us and you would have thought that TDA or AfRoutes management would have made sure the boys had some kind of room for the night. I guess they could have slept on the truck but Chris and I thought that sucked so we did the right thing in our minds and booked them a room. Trevor and Wimpey deserved it and we were pleased to see them at breakfast the next morning - slightly worse for wear - after our finale dinner but having had sleep and food before embarking on a 20 hour drive to Joberg.
The dinner was great and the prize giving was good for Chris and I - having won some sections between us we got books for those section wins as well as overall second place trophies in the form of African masks and bowls. How we are going to pack them is anyones guess but we'll figure it out.
Today is Saturday 19th and we are in a coastal town called Plettenberg Bay which is on the Garden Route. Chris is doing a work out at the Virgin Avtive Gym as his legs are doing crazy things like cramping so bad when he runs that he can hardly walk.He's found that if he does a cycle first..yes can you believe it - he can run after and so he needs the gym as we left our bikes in Cape Town. As for me, my body is in great form. I did an hour and a half run this morning along a river trail about 50km away at a Lodge we stayed at and it was great. My dad was with us this past week and we had a good time. We left Cape Town last Monday and stayed in Stellenbosch at a boutique wine/country lodge called L'Avenir..as you do..Monday night. It was a blast. We were the only people at the lodge and so it seemed like we had our very own country house for the evening. It was a beautiful place. Wine tasting in the afternoon, fire place, luxury couches and cheese and a bottle of their 2005 Pinotage to kill time with. Much better way to pass the day than riding a bike huh!
We then went towards George and stayed at the Point Hotel in Mossel Bay..superb views of wild coastline. Very much like New Zealand. Dad took lots of photos and then it was on towards Knysna where we had lunch in the harbour and then mossied onto Plettenberg Bay where we stayed in a really nice B and B. Small world. The owners two sons are golfers in the states. One was on the PGA tour until he injured his wrist and had to have surgery and now on the Nationwide Tour and the other son is on a golf scholarship in Columbia.We talked sports over breakfast and gave them my business card just in case he needed a second opinion regarding his rehab. Dad had a flight out of Port Elizabeth yesterday hence our need to get there by Friday and so we drove from Plettenberg Bay - past Goose Point - Gary Players home golf course to Port Elizabeth on Thursday. We stopped off in Jefferys Bay - a renowned surf spot for lunch and checked out the break where the Billabong surf competition will be held in July. Nice break and beautiful beach --once again though - I swear I could have been in one of many beaches in New Zealand.
It's great to see South Africa keeping their beaches, road sides and national parks so clean but it does bother me to still see the poor housing that many African native people still live in. It's been 15 years or so since the end of segregation and a lot has been achieved but when you see the projects/tin shacks for housing along the sides of the roads - hundreds of them across the road from fabulous million dollar houses it still causes a lump in my throat.Maybe in twenty years time it will be a thing of the past, Here's hoping.
OK so Chris is back from his work out..time to eat.
Hope you are all well. Off to check out Ostrich racing.
Cheers
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