An extraordinary, ordinary sport

[FCH]

A mate of mine's father passed away yesterday, incidentally so did AA Gill. 

 

It made me think of the dynamics between us, our fathers (& mothers I am sure) and sport. Not just the dynamics on a physical level, but on a social and learning level as well.

 

See, I grew up with a dad who was besotted by bicycles, he came from less than well to do means; didn't exactly apply his mind to academics in his younger years. (he did make up for this much later in life getting his Honours degree at USB, top in his class) Needless to say, sport and physical activity was more important than studying and getting the well paying job. 

Between the stories of Saasveld and his stint as a forester in some village in Zululand which I still cant find on on a map; there were some rather epic tales of guts and alcohol induced sporting performances from him and his fellow bush wacking mates.

 

He was also a pretty handy guy to have as a friend, see he had three attributes that come in handy for others.

1: he just could not say no to anyone in need of assistance

2: he definitely knew which side was the front end of of a screwdriver so to speak

3: patience.... patience..... and more annoying patience.

 

So when it became known he didn't exactly mind stripping other people's bicycles down to a pile of wires, levers, chains and bartape; our garage became a overnight pitstop for a peloton of bicycles in need of service before the two big races of the day. The Burger Sanlam & The Argus. 

That's where I sat as a laaitie of 8 or so watching him take every bike year after year, making sure that things singed like a soprano; my exceptionally mucho important work was two fold- keep supplying coffee. (he had a bizarre love for even the worst instant coffees under the sun) as well as cleaning the chains in a cut open oil tin (in the days oil still came in 5L metal tins) filled with thinners or petrol with a brush. 

 

All sorts of wheels standing all over the place; le Jeune, Rapport, Raleigh, Francesco Moser and all sorts; one beast that never did make an appearance was a Eddy Merckx. For that little eye candy, dad took me down Chris Willems's original, original shop; way down in Durban Road..... there they were lined up side to side..... the extraordinary of the ordinary sport.

 

I remember this shop acutely, the smell of "new rubber", the promise of excitement, even unobtainable as most of them were. It was a happy place for us, daydreaming, wishing; he probably thinking "what if I actually studied"; me ...."dumbstruck".

 

Years moved on, so did we, cycling never stopped being part of our dynamic; road bikes became mountain bikes. He stopped pushing and waiting for me; I started waiting and pushing him. 

We planned a few races; which only a very few panned out in us riding together.

Soon he capitulated to ride with his own peer group, or becoming my seconding groupie on the races that required it.

And there he was at every CP waiting with food and lube in hand to grab the bikes from us; tool box open and at the ready for any "fine tuning" or mishaps to be remedied.

In between waiting for us (which you do often) he would be fixing other peoples bicycles or cars or whatever else he could fix or remedy. 

 

 

I lost my dad in April; no illness; no cheers, see you later. Just gone. A freak accident 500m away from their house.

 

For the last few months my bikes have been standing idle; told myself I am a bit over cycling, told myself I will get back into it when winter passes, told myself focus a bit more on running...... 

Its been a bleak year of people passing away that I know; but last night the penny dropped. I've ignored my bicycles and the joy it brings me; because my extraordinary, ordinary dad is gone.

 

 

I'm getting back on the bike; my first born is coming in April.... and I want to show him the extraordinary, ordinary sport. Cycling. 

 

Enjoy the last few days of the year, enjoy the people you love and the sport you love; share it with someone else. They might remember this in 30 years time from now. 

[Griffin]

Read this... read it again...

 

Thank you for helping me see the big picture again

[SwissVan]

Nice story, thanks for reminding me to stop and smell the roses ????

[CogitoErgoSum]

Thank you

 

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['Dale]

Tender stuff

Thanx for sharing

[RocknRolla]

Thanks for sharing

 

 

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[Prince Albert Cycles]

As an old ( in years ) cyclist who introduced my sons to cycling , I am sure what your dad wanted to instill in you ,  happened . Your writing showed that.

Well done .

[Formallyknownas]

Lovely. Many happy miles on your newly rediscovered joy.

[Colin Pym]

Great read, thanks for sharing!

[Bonker]

Perspective. Thanks! 

[Phatman]

So sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing, a timeous reminder of how fortunate some of us are to still have our "old man" around, and of the things that really matter.

[DJR]

Lovely tribute FCH.

[Sepia]

As DJR said.

You are extremely fortunate, count yourself blessed.

Wish I could say the same, alas.......

[Mamil]

Lovely words! The passing of our parents is one of the huge milestones of our lives. It reverberates right to the core of us.

[Matchstix]

I have no words.

Beautifully written

[Shell Belle]

Awesome. Thanks for this