Belgian biker

guilty as charged... http://justsomething.co/26-funny-photos-of-guilty-dogs/

My bike has taken me into work this morning. It was my first commute in the winter, temperature was around 0°, 23km, 1u03' obviously not as enjoyable as in summer, still a good workout. I don't see myself doing this saily now but untill the Argus my aim is to come into work by bike once a week (maybe 2 weather permitting) + a longer ride on the weekend.

it's still cold here (around 5°), but finally a beautiful day after 2 weeks of pouring rain, snow and storm winds. 50km along the river, beautiful! http://i57.tinypic.com/1zbb0us.jpg http://i57.tinypic.com/t7n4h4.jpg

that's gorgeous, where is this?

A lot of dogs here! those puppies are too cute! my alpha-male cat this winter.... found him in the woods when he was about 6 months (probabbly dumped there :-( ), he's about 5 years now. http://i61.tinypic.com/1tna6a.jpg

Hi guys (and girls?) another 2 months later and I tought I'd give an update for those interested. So I've been cycling a lot in the last months and I really feel my condition improving. I try to cycle into work at least once a week (22km single way) and a longer ride on the weekend. Most I did was 80km, and that went pretty easy but that was all flat along rivers and canals. I now cycle easily at around 22-24km/h on flat roads. So today I tought, let's train a bit on those hills. I got completely lost along the way and ended up doing some really tough hills, I had to get off my bike. No wonder, I just looked it up: those were hills with an average of 8,2% with a max of 13% LOL! I did one hill of 4,4% with even some cobblestones at the end, that was hard but I stayed on my bike, cycling around 10km/h. Ended up doing 71km today in around 4h, including those hills! Towards the end, my back hurt more then my legs, wrong position on the bike? So all in all, I think I nearly ready for the Argus, except having to wait another 7 months (and keeping it up during the winter months) lookig forward to it!!!

Well 2 weeks later and it's definitly for sure: I'm doing the Argus 2015! I got my mind set on it! My husband decided not too, and I understand: his condition is not as good as mine and he has a back condition (scoliosis) which makes it difficult for him to ride a bike for hours. Or if he did, he'd barely be able to walk for 3 weeks and that would ruin the rest of our holiday. in a way, it will be easier for me so I can ride at my own pace (+/-20k/h) I think I should be able to finish the race. 50% condition, 30% adrenaline of riding such a great tour and 20% determination. Now tell me that's not a plan

oh, and most important: which bike should we hire? Below it my bike at home, that I love to drive and feel most comfortable with. A lot of rental companies in CPT rent our race bikes but I've never driven one before and I don't like bikes where your bum is higher than your hands :-) I think we better go for a MTB kind of bike, no? (Most companies I've loked at have a choice between those 2 kinds) http://i60.tinypic.com/vr838l.jpg

That's a actually good idea to keep in mind once everything else is arranged (flights, hotel, registration, bikes, the rest of our holiday!...) An ex-colleague of mine has a charity in Plettenberg for children with disabilities, they can always use a little extra. so what do you take along on the ride itself? Sunscreen, water, camera,....I see there are refreshment areas, do they provide energy food, drinks,...?

yes, no need for arguing, there's plenty of time to figure out where we'll stay and what the most convenient place is for us. Nothing is set in stone yet.

thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I've been to SA before but that was in 1998 as a student on a tight budget. Visited CPT and the garden route. Loved it, looking forward to coming back, still on a budget but less tight ;-) No, no mountainbiking, just cycling on weekends for fun, always making sure there is a nice bar or street side café along the way for a refreshing beer, haha, I'm Belgian after all !

bunch riding is not an issue, this is a picture I took last year in NY. I cycle a lot in our city to get around as well, between cars, narrow streets etc http://i59.tinypic.com/68vga0.jpg

I already figured out that most rental companies only do 5-7 day rentals around the Argus so that will give us time to get used to the bikes we've only really done cycling in flat landscapes, we'll try to get some training in hilly landscapes (now I'm doubting again wether this is a tour for us or not... damn!)

we'll just do it, hell yeah! worst case scenario: we can always wait for the sweep wagon, right?

haha, and I already want to go back to NY for the 5BBT as well, oh no, such a dilemma!

Cool, we're totally convinced now :-) I'll still have to figure out the practicalities: - is it best to have the tour at the beginning or end of our 3-week holiday...? - rent good bikes from an easy location - preferably somewhere we can pick them up the day before - accomodation: if we would stay at Newlands anyway and reserve parking like Lone Ranger suggest, we'll need to pick up the bikes near the start as they won't fit in a small car. Or look for another place closer in the city bowl. yay! I'll probably keep coming back with loads of questions (and some are bound to be stupid) if you don't mind!

I haven't even booked the plane tickets yet! Still searching for some good tickets. I had already seen a lovely B&B in Newlands but that's not really practical tot get to the start. Or can we join in where the tour passes Newlands along route? Do you have to pick up the rider packets with your number etc beforehand somewhere?

haha, thank to all of you for your enthousiasm! so no excuses then, we should totally do it So what is your average speed in the tour? The ones in the videos seem to go so fast, but that is just the front group? We usually cycle around 17-20km/hour, should be ok? We just did 50km this afternoon, that's about the amount of km we do for fun. Although I remember from the Five Boro Bike Tour in NY (which I can also totally recommend, fantastic experience!!), you do get swept up by the energy of riding with so many people.

Hi all, we're planning a trip to South Africa in the beginning of 2015 After doing the fabulous New York 5 boro bike tour last year, I was looking for another fun bike experience and came across the Cape Argus cycle tour. We're now considering planning our holiday around this event (March 8, 2015) . I'm looking to hear from some people who've actually participated. I'm a littled daunted by the distance of 110K and the climbs. The NY tour was about 65km and that was the most we've ever done. But I must say that I was so thrilled by the experience, I didn't feel tired at all and could've gone on for some more k's! Also didn't have any sore musscles afterwards or anything. The event is in march, meaning it will be winter here so we won't have much opportunity to go out practising the weeks before. We're not hard core sports fans, we love cycling at weekends for an hour or 3. But it seems such a wonderful experience and a lovely way to see the Cape peninsula. We've also been to Thailand last febr and did a touristy bike tour of Bangkok. It's great to go cycling all over the world, gives an extra punch to our holidays. I'd love to hear from some participants to get an idea wether this is feasible for people with our condition :-) thanks for all the advice!