[Event] Eroica South Africa

[DJR]

Pristine Japanese and Italians taking on Africa.

[DJR]

At the Kingna Distillery we were pleasantly surprized by breakfast burgers with egg and bacon, which came at exactly the right moment for the Ds because we missed our planned breakfast, having chosen bike talk and bike checking-out over food. It also helped if you sampled the very mellow brandy that was there for the tasting and you decided to swallow. Also, another opportunity to sneak an extra Colnago picture in!

[DJR]

Hansom tandem is local, the Il Campione I know nothing of.

[DJR]

The roads are mostly gravel, but the surface good enough that, with a little dodging of the rougher parts, my 23 mm tubbies got through it unscathed. I would recommend a little more volume though.

[DJR]

Italians and Belgians hanging out together. Notice details like real leather bar tape and classic shoes!

Edited March 19, 2017 by DJR

[DJR]

French name, but made in Cape Town! Francois Du Toit rode the 90 km himself. It must have been a kick to see all the Le Jeunes and a few Du Toits from the 1980s all around him in the field. 

[DJR]

Of course there is no way on earth I’m not going to sneak another picture of my Colnago Bititan into this thread, not if the rest of team DJR is riding through it. I sprinted ahead, jumped off the bike, plucked the water bottles out, snapped it and was totally astounded with the image.

Edited March 19, 2017 by DJR

[DJR]

Mino Denti is another new name I learnt. So, this is what Dr Google has to say about him:

 

"Mino Denti (born 5 February 1945) is a retired Italian road cyclist. As an amateur he won the team time trial event at the 1965 World Championships and placed third in 1966. Later in 1966 he turned professional and won the Tour de l'Avenir in 1966 and Giro del Veneto in 1969. He placed 61st in the 1968 Tour de France."

 

The fact that his name translates to "Little Teeth" brought a chuckle, especially when you remember that he rode against Eddy Merckx, The Cabbibal, for the best part of his career.

Edited March 22, 2017 by DJR

[DJR]

One last local, for Le Turbo.

[DJR]

This, to me, is what riding Eroica is all about: Getting to the finish line with a few new friends! Niels, thanks for the great job on the Le Jeune!

[DJR]

This year we had to rush back to Cape Town for prior commitments, but the team director (wife) enjoyed the outing so much that she suggested we stay the whole weekend next year! She loved the vibe at the start venue, the friendly cyclists and locals who engaged and talked like they were old friends. She loved the food and drink and the music as well as the extremely diverse crowd. From somewhat rounded grey old racers, so tall skinny snakes, scholary types, but also tattooed hipster dudes!

 

Now, just in case you don't understand, Stan, that is indeed very high praise! And of course, it opens doors for Team DJR to buy more bikes! A win-win if ever I saw one!

 

Till next time! Ride those classic beauties safely! 

Edited March 19, 2017 by DJR

[DJR]

Just discovered another bike brand among my pictures, this one American. What a diverse bunch of bikes! Like their owners! It was a real united nations of cycling, if you ask me!  

 

Ps. If you have more pictures of other bike makes that participated, please add them. I'd love to know how many there were. I can think of at least Schauff also.

Edited March 20, 2017 by DJR

[Fat Boab]

Sorry came late to this thread. But was this year's event open to non-SA bikes?

[Eppie]

Sorry came late to this thread. But was this year's event open to non-SA bikes?

The Eroica is open to bikes from any country. It is only in the Tour of ara that you have to ride a SA built bike.

[DJR]

Oooh, the Tour Of Ara is one of those dreams I have.......will have to start training in stead of just dreaming!

[Beattbox]

Out on the road, it quickly became clear that it was a good idea to keep it short. The old single speed Hercules was a handful up every hill and some comments were made about the upright riding position. Something along the line of “if giraffes rode bicycles”! It rides a bit like a bulldozer, one gear, one speed, with no way to make it do anything other than what it wants to do, which is to go slow. On the downhills, its 20 kg heft made it run like hell, but its old rod activated brakes didn’t really make it stop, just made some noise and slowed it down a little bit! To the young Ds’ credit, he rode it in style and refused all offers of help to ride it in a team relay!

This is such a great pic. Thanks for the report - brilliant as always, I think a small seed has been planted for next year...