Cyclists brave cold to get kilometres in
The next race that has been earmarked as a club race is the Baynesfield race on 15 June.
AMANZIMTOTI Cycle Club reports that winter has definitely arrived.
The Toti cyclists went out this weekend, braving icy cold temperatures, but beautiful clear African skies.
The mountain bikers met at Illovo at 6.30am on Saturday morning, in a very cold wind. But all bodies were warmed up by the time they reached the top of the first hill.
The ride took in a nice route along the district road which gave them 40-odd kilometres of good training. Although a few comrades turned for home early, a new rider hung on until the gritty end. He said he had all intention of putting his bike up for sale once the group hit the last few hills, but he stuck in there and rode like a champ. It couldn’t have been that bad because he was back for more the next day.
Sunday was a glorious day of riding at Virginia trails, where the groups did a nice, fast non-stop ride of 45kms on good track. The ride only started at 9am, which allowed the temperature to warm up.
A face that hasn’t been seen for a while showed itself. True to his style, Carl Tegner, took off like a bullet, but Dammit 1 and 2 got the best of him and he limped off back to the car park to reassess his starting pace. Carl, you need to come back to some regular rides. The group misses chasing you. The riders sat down to a cup of coffee and a good chat with Pete Stainbank, owner of Virginia farm, after the ride.
The next race that has been earmarked as a club race is the Baynesfield race on 15 June. This is looking to be a great race to enter and hopefully the club will see a large number of orange jerseys on the track.
Many roadies members managed a tough 115kms on Saturday and wanted to understandably rest on Sunday so there were a mere six who braved the cold on Sunday, starting the ride with a fresh 8.5 degrees. No-one’s toes ever warmed up. All rode together to the Bluff but Shalltin Beneke was keen to have a long ride so he, together with Ron Waldburger and Sue Martin left the others to do a Sasol Fibre / Isipingo loop. There were no punctures to report and everyone was home by 9am.
There are excellent road training rides during the week, which start at Engen in Rockview Road at 5am, Tuesdays to Thursdays and an easy coffee ride every Friday morning at the same time.
The club holds its annual race, the Toti 69er on 13 July. This is one of few road races still held in KZN and it is very highly rated. For details, go to the Toti Cycle Club website.
Club members are to make themselves available to marshal this race. It is the knowledge of the riders marshalling that makes the race safe. The club needs you.
Entries for the Scottburgh mountain bike race are open on ROAG. This will be held on 31 August. Go to https://www.roag.co.za/enter-an-event/mtb/scottburgh-mtb-race.aspx
Toti Cycle Club has two Facebook groups, Mambas MTBiking and Toti Roadies, where information is posted.
If anyone is interested in joining this club, go to the website or call Caryn on 082-357-5287.
