Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle tour 2012 - done and dusted!
Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 9:00PM 
The weather today was almost perfect! Except for a slight bit of wind out towards Simonstown (mainly on the blue route), and the extreme heat a little later in the day, it was perfect cycling weather!
I was fortunate to head out in Group J at 6.51AM and managed to complete the 110 km ride in 3h35mins (according to my Garmin 705 - official times are available tomorrow).
As always the scenery along the route was a real highlight. Even though I live in Cape Town we seldom take the time to spend a few hours cruising around the coast. What better way to do it than with 40 000 other cyclists!?
It was a fairly uneventful ride for me. I was a little less fit this year compared to last year (I was in England the week before the race). And it showed in my time which was a few minutes slower than last year. I had put in some distances in my training rides. Yet, I still cramped going up Suikerbossie. As I was climbing I decided to get out of the saddle and stand... That was when I felt my quadriceps twinge. I made the top of the hill within the 3h30 split, but I just didn't have the legs to push it home for the last 15km's or so. So, I ended up in a slightly slower bunch watching my right quad and enjoying the crowds into Sea Point and the finish.
The lead ladies (about 30 minutes ahead of me) had a serious crash in the final sprint! Wow, I watched it on television. I believe someone shattered a pelvis and there was a person with a broken colarbone, and some very bad scrapes and cuts. That is always the danger of high speed, super dense bunches, in the final sprint.
I was fortunate to be back at the finish, safe and sound, by about 10.20 (about 20 minutes after the last group of riders started the race! Yikes!) so I missed the heat of the day. When I got to my car about an hour and a bit later it was 35 degrees! I can imagine that it got even hotter past 1 and 2pm.
I got my special green number for my 10th Argus, and also received a special medal at the end. Super!
So, tomorrow it is back to work. I'll take the day off cycling. But on Tuesday morning I'll be back on my mountainbike!!!
I've added a few pictures from the race in this post. They were taken with my GoPro HD camera mounted to my handlebars in 30 second stop motion throughout the race.
Reader Comments (2)
Well, in 2012 I rode the 110km in just over 3h20. This year I PROMISE I will be doing a slow and gentler ride... There are two reasons for that: first, I will be riding with my wonderful wife Megan. Her last Argus was a marathon 7h30. I hope she can manage 5 hours or so this year. Second, I will be riding the Argus on my Brompton M3L folding bicycle. It is a 3 speed so not a lot of gears to play with! It has 16" wheels and folds into a tiny package, yet it rides like a regular sized bike!
You can trace my escapades at http://CapeTownBrompton.tumblr.com.
Great article. I'm wondering why don't you come and cycle through the different taste in my Country?