Hi,

Had to change the intro from yesterday to this morning. Yes its trying to rain. Lekker koel nie koud and an earthy wet soil smell.

Well what’s to report?

DC

Two DC teams were out and about this past w/end. The Social team on Sat doing a plus 100ks and I Andre’s team on Sunday.

Time slowly but surely ticking away and not that many w/ends left to get up to speed.

Would appear that John has five teams up and running. Fantastic if we can realise this on the day.

Club Race day

One couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions. Coupled with the fact that we weren’t starting at sparrow(time slot was allocated to us), a beautiful scenic setting, an exciting 4k cycle route going thru a scenic little Boland suburb, and a group of “Workers/Officials” that made it happen.

For those of u that weren’t there, for whatever reason, u were without a doubt the losers.

The racing was excellent, from the youngsters to the Elites.
The turnout was just what we needed. Not knowing what to expect and how the roads and route would accommodate the faster riders it turned out just perfect.

We now have a pretty good idea of where we can improve and what bunches we can handle. All bodes well for the future.

Sad though that we did not have the support that one would have expected from the local cyclists and even more so from our club. Maar nou ja, so leer jy mense ken. What’s in it for me? And yes everyone, I’m well aware of the fact there was MTBiking taking place and that we all have different priorities; but to support your club for the only event they host once a year, is that asking too much??

While I’m on a roll let me make use of this opportunity to thank all the sponsors namely;

Fabi, Herman van Zyl; Flandria; Maverick; Masons; HCW; Mr. Price; Hannes Pretorius; Mikes TV Repairs and all the volunteers for your unselfish contribution
and/or time.

And last but not least many thanks to our announcer Hendrikus Lemmer, (ek hoop djy het djo tip gekry)

Olympics

Natalie coming a credible 16th in the 10k swim. One silver medal with the possibility of several more. Not over until the fat lady sings. Let’s be positive.

Controversy rages. Unbelievable the number of records broken especially in the swimming events. Was it?

1. the deeper pool -1m
2. The open lanes on either end
3. The temp of the water
4. Special lane barriers
5. or the special material used for the swim gear
6. Special guttering
7. And then of course Phelps and his so called “underwater work come 5th stroke”

Phelps himself alla Lance Armstrong just didn’t happen on the scene. He’s been around for quite a while. Taking into account that at the age of 15yrs and some months he was the youngest swimmer ever to break a world swim record.

One just has to go back to LAs book “Its not about the bike” read the first few chapters to see where he came from and what it took to make it. Theres nothing for nothing and NO free lunches

Talking about records. Questions being asked as to why the likes of Bolt doesn’t finish his race. Looks around at 90m very casually and slows down for the last 10m still breaking the record. Of course, it’s all about money.

The big money payout is in the Golden League events. So little by little with breaking that record= more payouts. But what a chance one is taking. Another bite of the cake if all goes well and why not??? After all a record is a record. Of hoe??

How does one reward/compensate/accommodate someone when their tool of the trade namely your pole for the pole vault event has suddenly gone missing. You can’t compete and the responsible officials shrug their shoulders and walk away. Well it happened. Tragic to say the least.

Other

The light is starting to change for the better so we should be able to start earlier on w/ends. Will keep u posted.

Remember

1. To still have lights back and front and reflective/light clothing.
2. To make everyone aware of obstacles etc on the road whilst in a group
3. Spanners, spare tubes and a pomp that works
4. and the blog

Regards
ek