"Toughest Cycle Tour EVER!"That was the headline in the paper on Monday. But, we did it! 110 km in "gale force winds." Amazing, and not fun, but still, we did it. People were being blown off their bikes at the start, as wind would sweep through the buildings downtown, and then blast through the start line like a wind tunnel. And then, most of the ride was straight into the "south-easter wind," which meant constant work, even on the downhills, when we would be blasted by really dangerous cross-winds at random moments. Here is a picture of Naomi and our friend from Maine, Suzanne at the finish line --well-deserved smiles!
We saw Alex and Maya at the 10 km mark, and gave them a high five for the road! That was my highlight of the ride, as I was cruising up the hill, and passing everyone in front of me. Here's me on that climb...Unfortunately, when I got to the top of the hill, I looked around and couldn't find my riding partner Steve. So, I waited a few minutes, but still no Steve. Well, it turns out that his derailleur snapped off and went into his wheel just moments before I saw the girls, destroying his back wheel, and his ride. HOWEVER, as he was throwing a tantrum on the side of the road, a 
spectator came up and said, "is there anything I can do?" Well, Steve said, "I've got another bike at home..." And the guy said, "Come on, let's go!" So, he threw his bike into the guy's car, and the guy drove him home, waited while he changed out his pedals, and then took him back to the course, where Steve continued the race. What a great story! And Steve finished the reace 1 hour and 5 minutes after me! Here's a picture of Steve and his wife Jo celebrating after the race. Jo happens to be the leading marathon runner in the Western Cape!
But, not only did we make it, but so did Matt Damon, who rode a tandem with his brother, alongside South African rugby star from 1995, Francois Pienaar --who Damon is playing in the movie they are currently filming here in Cape Town. (By the way, Naomi and Jaimie saw Clint and the crew filming downtown today!)
So, check out these videos: the first is the summit of "Chappman's Peak, " the second to last climb, 85 km into the ride. The other is of Matt Damon finishing!
Well, it was quite the experience. Needless to say, we've not been on our bikes all week. But, I'm hoping to ride again this weekend. My time, well, my finishing time was 4:17:50. I was hoping for under 4 hours, but given the circumstances, I was happy. Here are my stats:
Time: 4:17:59
Overall Position: 6626/25799
Age Position: 668/2419
Group: Z
Group Position: 22/491
Avg Speed 25.58
OK, 6,626th is not a gold medal, but it sure feels like a victory...
Blog ya later.
Seth./.
