If you still want to say next year that you took part in the worlds biggest timed cycle race, then go HERE to enter.

Entries opened on the 1st September and they are going fast. I entered yesterday afternoon when the entries were about 48% full. Not even 24 hours later( 6:05am today, 6 September) the entries are at nearly 57% full. That’s nearly an 8% increase in less than a day. My guess is that by Monday next week they should all be taken, and I think today is the perfect day to get those entries in!

The downside for me is that I now need to start training, and organise a road bike, as I’m not riding it on a mountain bike again next year! I have ridden about 7 cycle tours on a mountain bike, and it’s not ideal.

So get those entries in and let’s start training. Well maybe I will only start training in January!

Keep cool my babies.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

As we go into our second part of the global event that is Earthwave, we have flipped the theme on its head by going for a completely different angle. I have always thought of surfers to be the super chilled out people who like to hit a bong from time to time. Which I’m sure is true for a couple of them. Obviously to think that all surfers partake in smoking Stuyvesant Green is a large generalisation. But let’s just go with it anyway, because it’s quite fun.

I don’t really have a problem if people do smoke the reef(er)…you like that? Reef like the Great Barrier Reef. Reefer like Stuyvesant Green. Hilarious if you are in that type of mood. Which we are.

So when we arrived we were listening to the commentator of the event and with words spewing out like “China” and “Bru”, we knew we were in for a day of laughs.

The first laugh came from some little kid we saw, dressed in a full wetsuit, complete with swimming goggles. The little tyke could barely see where he was going, but at least his parents could be confident that he was protected from the UV rays, the cold, and pretty much anything else that life could throw at him. He was walking like a zombie, it was hilarious!

“Luke… I am your father!

Ahhh good times!

Then while we were waiting for all the action to happen, we noticed a cordoned off area where people and photographers were standing around. We took the 20 metre walk to this area and noticed there was some sort of competition going on for the kids. They were searching for prizes of candy or something, which is all well and fine. I’m cool with that. Really.

But upon closer inspection, I noticed something that was slightly out of place. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed but…but…

Let me gather myself for a second here.

Think of happy places.

There was a grown man, wearing a wetsuit, digging for prizes! Bizarreness at the highest level!

“It’s a bong! It’s a bong!”

I have not seen that variety of humour in quite a long time, but it does have amusing results! I was nearly crying with tears. People must have thought that I was an emotional wreck, but I was in fact quite happy.

There was also a little stop for all the hungry surfers. Some might have been hungry from all the surfing and exercise and others might have had a hunger of a different type.

You could refer to this as “Munchies”

I am awesome.

There was also a water bar. Which I thought was quite odd, considering we LITERALLY had about a kazillion cubic litres of water in front of us.

Interesting

Then onto the absolute best photo of the day. It is due to my comedic thinking that when I arrived at the beach, I was looking for anything related to the reefer. And so it came to be, that the photo of the day had to be Photoshopped a little bit. Look, it’s not the best Photoshop work, but I think you might get my point. It’s quite a classic in my mind! You won’t see this on the regular news report.

 

Smokin’ the reefer

And that’s it. That signals the return of summer in Cape Town! Well, Spring at least, but it can’t hurt to pretend. It also signals what a great event Earthwave is. I have just learnt that Brazil beat Cape Towns record of 71, by getting 84 surfers on one wave. Well done Brazil! That’s awesome, I can’t wait until next year where Cape Town will no doubt try and smash the record. We need at least 100 surfers next time! Come on Cape Town, I know you have it in you.

To be honest, I have no doubt that the theme of this article had to do with the sunlight making me quite happy. It’s hilarious what the sun does to you.

I’m sure I have walked past people today who have thought “Who is that bronzed gladiator?”

It’s just me, don’t freak out.

Keep cool my babies.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

I just took a stroll to Woolworths in Claremont to pick up the newspaper, and my eye was immediately taken to the Cape Times, because they had a photo of the Earthwave event on the front page. From what I have now read, there were 71 surfers on the wave, and not 75.

Now we have to wait to see whether any of the other Earthwave events happening around the world managed to break that record of 71.

For the official Earthwave website, where you can find out all of the intricate details of the event, click Earthwave.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

I mentioned on Friday that there was some sort of surfing event that was possibly taking place in Muizenberg on Sunday and I was not too sure on what was happening. Not knowing anything about surfing, I did not have a clue if this event was really happening so SLXS decided to take an afternoon cruise along the coast until we found ourselves in the heart of Muizenberg. I never realised the event was going to be as big as it was and so was a bit shocked when I arrived to park. I learnt that it was called Earthwave and I was here to experience a record being set. It was for the most people surfing a wave at one time, which was quite a sight!

Earthwave 2007 is a global event and takes place to raise awareness of the impact us humans are having on climate change. I think it’s a fantastic idea, as being outdoors, setting a Guinness World Record, having fun, getting bronzed like a gladiator and raising more awareness on global warming is never a bad thing.

Obviously I saw all sorts of people there with their cameras and the E-TV chopper was flying over, trying to cover the Earthwave. They were all covering the same story. So why copy them? SLXS are excessive, and so I took a stroll outside the perimeter of the competition and found some interesting things that you will not find in the regular news report. This is also the article that sees me returning to full guns blazing, because I am back!

I have never been diagnosed with SAD(Seasonal Affective Disorder), but I can quite confidently say I suffer from it. This is when you get all unhappy and depressed in winter, from a lack of sunlight. I know I have it. I still manage to get through winter by doing crazy things to keep me happy, but a bit of summer sun is always welcome.

I have not felt so relaxed in a while, as I was today sitting on the beach for Earthwave, watching the surfers and enjoying the extremely chilled out surfer vibe. I sometimes find it very nice to chill out with the surfer crowd, because nothing seems to worry them. I’m sure a couple of them like to hit the reefer from time to time which owes to their uber-relaxed vibe. So to keep the whole chilled out theme of the article, I decided to skip most of the Earthwave in this article and focus on the atmosphere that surrounds these events. This is earthwave, SLXS style.

The VR3 blazed into Earthwave at full speed, and myself and Charlie managed to find a parking spot literally right opposite the event. Parking was packed and people must have been swearing that some car called a “VR3″ got the best parking spot. It’s the type of power that the VR3 commands everywhere in Cape Town.

The first thing we did was go for a stroll around the shops nearby, to see what action was going on outside the event. I can’t say too much was happening other than the fact that we found this shop. “Crow’s Nest Second Hand and Pawn”

Interesting theme.

We had obviously arrived a little bit early and there were no surfers on the beach but it was quite clear that some guy had possibly inhaled some second hand smoke when I found him cycling in the sea.

And that is no Photoshop work, like you will see in one of my next photos. That is some guy just enjoying a little cycle in the sea, which is quite good for the metal parts on your bike.

Chilling

I suppose I should also mention here that they did set the record at, and I stand to be corrected, 75 people surfing one wave at the same time. Wicked cool! And SLXS were there to experience all this! We watched a world record taking place, oh how I get around. I’m actually going to do another piece on this, but I’m busy Photoshopping a photo to fit in with the whole “surfer vibe” It was the strangest day and we saw the most odd things at Earthwave.To be honest, I found the people there quite interesting. It’s nice to move around Cape Town a bit and experience the whole of Cape Town.

I was just intrigued at the whole crowd milling around this event. I actually do have some photos of the surfers, which will come up in part two of Earthwave. I just thought you needed to see these to get your eyes accustomed to what SLXS saw yesterday.

What a fantastic day.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

This was not ideal news to me yesterday, because the competition never took place this year, the one year that I really did follow it!

Obviously big wave competitions rely on the weather, and no one can change this so it’s up to the “Weather Gods” as to whether or not the waves will be good enough. I was particularly excited about the competition as I have heard the power of the waves at Dungeons and they really are crazy. So I can’t get you photos of the actual event, but what I can do is post some photos of Dungeons from up in the chopper.

Dungeons finds itself just around the corner from Hout Bay, and flying over there really is quite beautiful. I walked to Dungeons through the sand dunes in the previous article

This time round we decided to take the easier route, with the better view. It’s a pity it ended without really starting, but 2008 is another year and I will be down there.

And I’m going to look good!

“Ed, I’ll be down there!”

Sean Lloyd

Editor

 

Looking over Hout Bay after flying over Dungeons.

 

 

It’s a pity we did not see any sharks, that would have been cool.

 

 

Directly above Dungeons, the best view of it. You will see the path leading down to the water, that’s the one we walked down.

 

 

Wow

For those of you accustomed to my style, you will realise that I don’t always focus on the story that other people do. I focus on the other parts of journalism…the parts not seen to the average observer. As you might well know, we are not “average” So that is why, in true SLXS fashion, I have virtually nothing to say about the rugby! But somewhere in the next few lines of writing, you will find something you enjoy.
You might all wonder what exactly goes on here at SLXS. It’s a well kept secret, but I am a writer, an explorer, a story teller and a comedian. You might wonder why it is only men that are featured on the site and why SLXS are so stuck in the old days, where only men were allowed to report the news(Like Ron Burgundy)

In order to diversify the site, I decided to recruit a new member to help out at an historically mens only game. Rugby. And so it came to be that the SLXS news team, from Cape Town, were seen with a new co-anchor, in the form of Brittany. Welcome Brittany!

Welcome co-anchor. ‘Ello darling!

Applause

Crying

People throwing their underwear

Shouting and screaming

Old men passing out

Pleats in the pants

Anyway, as you would have read earlier, Rondebosch were not the favourites to win. They have not played well of late but for some reason they set on the after burners on Saturday and I was surprised when I put my drink down to look at the score board and realised we were winning! We were literally tearing the game apart but I was preoccupied with other things and can’t exactly go into the details of the game because I was not offering my full attention to the game. What I can say though is that our planning on the day was stellar!

Charlie V had arrived early and blocked off a road leading into the schools metalwork room so no one else could get in. I had to chauffeur our co-anchor to the game and so could not be there on time. Jerry D was also running a bit late and so Charlie V took one for the team and secured our parking. All we needed to do when we got there was call Charlie V, tell him to pull his car forward, and we could fit another two cars in. Brilliant! The call was made, the cars were in, and SLXS were in business. As always.

I took a meander in my new diversified disguise. It was quite weird because I was walking through the school,thinking that people would want to touch me and praise me for my writing talent. But it seems that they were more interested in our co-anchor. Pleasant. So I took a back seat and enjoyed the day for what it was. A mix of drinks. Jerry D was back to top form after hitting a bit of a slump of late. When last did you hear of him? Other than being mentioned in The Bomber article? Welcome Back Jerry D. Hitting top form, as you can see in the photo below:

Spilling a rum and coke on his T-shirt, and a bit of 5 o’ clock shadow. Jerry D is back! And all that is man.

Please also notice the cup that Jerry D paid R7 for from the Milo man. The most expensive cup of the day. Jerry D literally does live the dream. Bachelor pad in Stellenbosch, flat screen the size of a swimming pool, near all the dirty parties, he pilots the Bomber(Now with Garmin GPS…I think we need a review Jerold), plays X-Box all day and in between…well in between….I’m not sure what he gets up to. I literally do not know what he is thinking or doing but I do find it strange when I am working on articles and interviews(To come in the near future) that he will call me on a Monday morning for a beer at The Waterfront. Luckily my schedule allows this, and so we normally do it. When I get onto the subject of work I just hear Jerry D mumbling in a Spanish sounding language before changing the subject. It’s clear Jerry D is not into any legal businesses. Only underground stuff.

The only news that I have on the game is that Rondebosch played like crazy men. I was actually expecting them to get cleaned, and they not only held up, but they gave the Bishops guys a very good run. It’s a pity they lost it in literally the last 4 minutes of the game with a final score of 27-24. The photo below is the only one I took of the game as we hunted down the Cape Town dream in dramatic style at Rondebosch. It was excess at the highest level, but I survived so that I could tell the story.

The Bosch boys forming a tunnel

I have never seen the Rondebosch crowd going so crazy for their team! They brought out the big guns on Saturday and the support was amazing. Everyone was going mental on the sidelines when we realised that the boys were about to take the win. But such is life that Bishops won it and congratulations to them for that. But it was so close! It really was an awesome game, one of the better performances I have seen from Rondebosch.

They need to play like that every game, I have never seen them like that. And judging by the comments made about the game, the Rondebosch supporters have never been prouder, even coming off with a loss.

Bishops, well done, and we will see you again next year, I hope it’s as much fun. As well as I think Bosch played…the results still say Bishops won and a congratulations goes out to them. As unlucky as Rondebosch were to lose the game in the dying minutes, it also takes the midas touch to score in the final minutes from Bishops after being dominated the whole game.

Back to the other parts of the day. As I say, I usually shy away from the mass hysteria and follow other stories happening around the story that I am covering. And so I found myself going into the bathrooms, where I stumbled upon this:

 

 

“And this coach, is how babies are made!”

 

Just a tub of Muscle Science Xplode performance booster chilling in the change rooms. No big deal really. I’m sure it’s available at all good pharmacies. But then on closer inspection, notice the white residue around the tub. Like someone has literally put their face into the bucket, and taken the whole tub up their nose. Interesting way of delivering the supplement into your muscles.

So it was away from the changing rooms again when I heard lots of screaming. I thought Mike had downed the last of his bottle of rum and was now in an alcoholic daze of sorts. It turns out Rondebosch had scored, and so I ran away from the change rooms for no reason. I was keen to see what else was lying around. Badger milk perhaps?

The game ended in much excitement and for me this was a cue to head to the pavilion to have a beverage. Which was quite a pleasant experience.

The SLXS co-anchor, Brittany was…where was she? She is so sneaky, I never know what she’s thinking. Did she write anything for this article? Where is she now? I’m clueless.

After the debauchery ended there, we headed to an old friend, Forresters Arms for a beer. By this point most people were not speaking English at all. I was making out some morse code coming in, and I was sure I saw some smoke signals as well. But no English whatsoever.

We then headed back to the SLXS playroom to catch up on some….I don’t know what I’m talking about. We had a little lie down, and then it was off to Wadda in Claremont.

Wadda had a weird vibe as I saw people who were so drunk they literally did not know what planet Earth was. The upstairs section was closed, which made for quite a sweaty downstairs section. We met up with Mike, kicked it for a drink and then we were home again. The day was too long to be able to make a big party that night!

As you can imagine, we have been coming off a rough winter and some of our dams are overflowing. This means that we have not been seeing much sun. And we underestimated having a little bit of rum in the sun.

Some classic quotes came from the day, after the headaches hit home hard:

“It feels like there is a little man with a jackhammer behind my eye, and he is pounding the back of my eyeball and that spot where your medulla oblongata sits”

“It feels like my brain is going to explode into little biscuits”

“I want to go to Italy now so I can break plates”

Classic stuff!

You forget how hard we work to get you these pictures and commentary. I was at the rugby from about 10:30am, and only left at about 3pm. Then it was all work from there as we sent it into the evening until about 1am or so. Work on a Saturday? Unheard of in the world. But I do it. I love it.

As you can see, I managed to avoid going into the details of the game here, but I still kept you reading. Such is my power with words.

I’m like…like… I have absolutely no idea.

WAIT!

There is more!

You might think that this is the worst rugby write up ever as I was not really concentrating on the game. Luckily for me, I managed to get hold of the Bishops videographers report on the game which I received from Jason M of Bishops. I will edit this into a little piece for the people who really want to know about the game.Do I continue to amaze you?

I think I do!

It might take me some time to edit as I’m trying to get my head around things such as “Knock on”, “penalty”, “phase plays” and “kick down field”

I will write you soon.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

 

I just received an e-mail from Jason M of Bishops, alerting me to the dedicated rugby website that Bishops have running. Well worth a look, instead of going to the link I gave you earlier to the schools general website. I checked the schools rugby website out- Quite impressive. It’s not completely up to date but it lets you know the essentials, including all the Bishops boys who have represented the Springboks which includes Dugald MacDonald.

For those of you who are unaware, Dugald MacDonald is a complete Iron Man. Not only has he played rugby for South Africa, but he has rowed across the Atlantic in a transatlantic rowing race in a two man boat. Can someone spell IRON?

In addition to this, in 2005 Dugald and two of his varsity friends became the first South Africans to walk to the magnetic North Pole.

I met Dugald a couple of years ago when I was quite young(I am however, still youthful) at none other than Peter Cronjes house! For those of you unaware of this, Peter Cronje played for the Springboks in the 1970’s, awesome! Peter was also the first person to ever score a 4 point try! Myself and Pete like to kick it sometimes and I was over at his place for dinner not too long ago where I enjoyed quite a nice roast dinner. It was lovely. To make this even more bizarre…I used to live two houses down from Peter Cronje. Then there was the time when I lived in Rondebosch, right next door to Joel Stransky. As a little kid I used to kick around with Joel, how awesome is that! I have quite a rugby pedigree…which is odd considering I know nothing about the game.

I will now go on to blind you with even more information! Peter Cronjes son, David, played for the Rondebosch 1st XV in 2000, where Rondebosch beat Bishops at home, at Bishops, and at the Villagers sevens tournament! How times have changed…

Even more bizarre is the fact that my brother also played for the 1st XV in 2000! And I turn out to be a mountain biker…Quite odd really.

One more bit of knowledge…You might be interested to know that Justin Melck also played for Rondebosch in 2000 and he now plays for a side called “Western Province” And he has the biggest set of guns I have ever seen on a person. His hands resemble baseball mitts.

Yes, I know what you are thinking right now:

“This Editor is a vast fountain of knowledge!”

Well…you know…I suppose I get around a bit being a writer and all.

This Saturdays game is going to be intense, and I am currently prepping myself. SLXS is ready to get excessed.

Sean Lloyd

Editor

The field at RBHS where Saturdays clash will take place. Table Mountain waits patiently in the background.

The Rondebosch vs Bishops game is near legendary. It’s not even the best game, as Rondebosch have had a poor side for years now, and inevitably lose to Bishops. But the game always attracts a large crowd. A lot of people go to actually support the teams, while others go to see who is there. The amount of women who attend this game are quite astounding, and that’s the reason I have been going now for a few years.

Rondebosch and Bishops are both situated in Rondebosch, literally down the road from each other. Rondebosch are the public school while Bishops are the private school and it’s not unusual to see a Lamborghini or an Aston Martin cruising through the grounds of Bishops. The rivalry is also legendary, and you have to be at the game to experience it.

The game at SACS last week showed that Rondebosch are nowhere near close to beating Bishops on Saturday, and I left before the end of the SACS game as the beating Rondebosch were taking was quite severe. I must be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about rugby, and that’s why I don’t claim to know anything! The game takes place at Rondebosch Boys High School this coming Saturday. It will start at around 11am, but SLXS will be there from about 9am just to get a good spot to view the action from. What I have done here is talk about my reasons for going to the game:
It’s an awesome day out

There is nothing quite like chilling with your friends while watching a bunch of High School kids taking each other apart. It’s fun to see the tackles where you can feel the pain of the guys, and you just thank yourself that you don’t play rugby. You can chill in the sun from about 9am waiting for the main game at about 11:30, while you chat to your mates and laugh about what you got up to on the Friday night.

Ladies and gentleman

There are ample viewing opportunities for both guys and girls. All the guys go to the game to see the girls, and all the girls go to see the guys. Somewhere in the middle of this you think you are at some sort of fashion show as Cape Towns best looking people come out to play. It’s the only reason I have been attending the game every year.

After the game the fun starts

After the game the bar is opened, everyone is out in the sun, and we all play! Usually the VR3 opens it’s Car Bar(If it does not open during the game) and Jerry D might even bring his cooler bag as well which comes with practically an entire bottle store. After an hour or so we are all having a great time and then we get someone to drive us to Kelvin Grove where we mingle until the evening hits us hard.

This Saturdays after party will be nice

I will be attending Wadda afterwards to see who is going to be there as I’m sure all the good looking people from the game will be there as well. If that does not work out we are also on the guest list for the Bang Bang Club, which is always crazy. I have done this many times before, so I know how to plan for after the game.

Look, to SLXS, the game is all about having a party and a good time. The Bishops/Rondebosch game starts as soon as you wake up on Saturday morning, and it ends when you go to bed on Sunday morning at 5am. But oddly enough, there are a few people who are interested in something that gets played that day. It’s called “Rugby” And because I know nothing about it, and never even watch the game even though I am standing on the field, I spoke to someone who knows a thing or two about rugby.

The SLXS call(The feared call) was made to The Editor of SARugby.com, Gareth Rosslee. I explained to Gareth my situation of not knowing anything about the game. I mentioned that the only things I know are commentators shouting “Aaaaaaah it’s Dan Carter!” and the now legendary “Ah it’s Skinner, large and in charge!” This is obviously referring to Bob Skinstad and I believe it happened a few years back when a commentator shouted this. In fact, I don’t even know how true it is, but it’s always funny anyway.

So I asked Gareth to do a little piece on this Saturdays game. He obliged, and I was happy. Over to Gareth:

Rondebosch host Bishops in a derby match on Saturday in a game that Bishops are the overwhelming favourites to win. The two schools are geographically close together, but their rugby form has been miles apart in recent times with Bishops dominating the event for most of living memory.

In fact, Rondebosch haven’t beaten Bishops since Jan van Riebeeck scored an intercept try in the dying minutes back in 1654, and are not being given much of a chance to turn it around on Saturday.

Bishops - with wunderkind Nick Koster at number eight and the sons of Dave and Nick Mallet running the show from flank and flyhalf - have enjoyed another successful season and head into the derby match having beaten SACS and Wynberg over the past two weeks.

Rondebosch will need to tear up the form book and re-write it in another language if they are hoping to pull off a shock victory in the final match of the season. They limp into the game having lost to Wynberg and taken a beating from SACS and are not being given much of a hope to turn it around this time out.

The meeting between the two sides at the end of the second term was an entertaining affair. Bishops ran out rather convincing 48-27 winners on that occasion, but Rondebosch did have them worried after clawing their way back to within 9 points late in the second half.

The Bishops contigent will be confident as they take the the short trip down the road to take on their neighbours and it is going to take a monumental effort from Bosch to pull off what would be one of the biggest surprises of the century.

Gareth Rosslee

Editor

SARugby.com

I hope you understood that whole piece. Gareth had me lost on “Intercept try”, “Flank”, “Flyhalf” and “Jan van Riebeeck” If I’m correct Jan van Riebeeck was that guy that was sponsored by clothing manufacturer Northface to circumnavigate the world by Penny Farthing(The bicycle) I could be wrong.

I would like to give a big thanks to Gareth for taking time out to write for SLXS,we always appreciate it when someone is willing to help us out on topics we are clueless on.

I took a little stroll around the ground today to see what is happening and to take some photos. Rondebosch Boys High School has one of the most beautiful views of the famous Table Mountain, as you might notice. It must be one of the few schools in the world who truly do have a sight like like that. The weather is great today and I found myself sitting in the stands just admiring this whole scene. A beer would have rounded it off nicely. And maybe even some girls dancing in skimpy outfits, like cheerleaders or something. But even at SLXS we can’t have everything we want. We do come close though. I then nearly fell asleep in the sun, what a serene place! It’s like the calm before the storm!

The groundsman were working nicely, cutting the lawn and clearing up all the leaves in preparation for Saturdays game where the field will no doubt be ripped up by some huge tackles. I also think the medical tent, or let’s get our rugby speak on here, “The blood bin”, might come in handy on Saturday.

You liked that didn’t you? I threw in a rugby term even though I know nothing about the sport. Hilarious.

Enjoy the photos.

See you at the game Cape Town.

The VR3 sits in the eye of the storm, looking over the field.

 

The medical tent might come in handy

Sean Lloyd

Editor

Lance- Letting the pistons do the talking

The Tour de France has once again been rocked by a doping scandal involving one of the sports top riders. It’s a race that is still trying to deal with the Floyd Landis doping scandal, and now it is hit again with another rider who has been implicated in blood doping. Alexandre Vinokourov and his entire Astana team have left the tour. Riding in what would likely be his last Tour de France, Vinokourov has ended off a career in disgrace. They are still awaiting his B blood sample, but as far as the international press are concerned, he is guilty and his career is over. The problem is, maybe he has been doping(If he indeed has) for longer than we think, and therefore he is not as great a rider as we have always believed. No matter what happens in cycling, and what doping does to the image of the sport, it is still one of the greatest sports on the planet. Here are my top reasons why the Tour de France, and cycling in general are still the greatest things on earth:

 

It produces real heroes

 

Some of the older generation will recall the days of Greg Le Mond and Eddy Merckx. But todays youth are inspired by a one Lance Armstrong. He came back from testicular cancer to win the tour a record breaking 7 times. He blew the sporting world apart with his determination, his focus and his strength. He has inspired a generation and only a bike race like the Tour de France can produce heroes on a scale like that. Lance went on to start his Livestrong foundation, which offers support to people living with cancer. It is also a great force in making government spend more money on cancer research and treatment.

 

Lance went on to show that the tour can be won by being clean. People still argue that he must have used drugs to produce his phenomenal performances, but as much as they still test his blood samples, nothing ever comes up. I don’t think Lance was stupid enough to have used drugs. He has way too much to lose. If his blood samples did in the future show drugs, his entire foundation would be disgraced. Lance was the one out training when no one else was. If you read his book and articles on him you will see that while boys like David Millar were out relaxing, Lance was training. Lance would weigh his food and test aerodynamic positions in the wind tunnel. He was involved in every aspect of the sport, and was fanatical about equipment. He would even sometimes use an old school gear lever mounted on the frame for mountain stages, instead of the newer ones mounted on the brake levers to save weight. He would use an unpainted bike to save a few grams. He was fanatical about this stuff. That’s how the tour is won. That is how heroes are made. I don’t think we will ever know how many people Lance has inspired, but it’s millions. In fact he has inspired an entire generation of people.

 

It’s for everyone

 

Cycling as a sport is for people of all ages. I have been to countless mountain bike races where I have seen parents riding alongside their kids and enjoying themselves immensely. I have seen people of all ages, sizes and races coming together on weekends to enjoy a cycle surrounded by like minded, healthy people. It’s a sport that unites people, makes them smile and keeps them healthy. It breaks all boundaries, and out there on the bike we are all equal.

 

It is also suitable for elder people, as it is low impact, and once you know how to ride a bike, you never forget. Not many people are going to be wake boarding or skiing in their sixties, but plenty of people cycle in this age group, and even in higher age groups.

 

It allows us to focus

 

Out on the bike you come to appreciate the beauty of the world we live in. You also come to appreciate what is important in life. You never hear people saying on a bike ride “I wish I had more money” or “I wish I had a better job” Out on the bike we come to enjoy the simple things so much more. We appreciate those sips of water, those views over the ocean, the mountain or wherever our bike rides take us. I have cycled through the Knysna forest in the pouring rain for The Karoo to Coast mountain bike race, into Die Hel in Oudtshoorn for the To Hell And Back mountain bike race, through Montague, over Chapmans Peak and I have experienced things you don’t normally experience. You don’t often get to walk next to someone, carrying your bike in the pouring rain in the Knysna forest, not saying anything, your legs too cold to pedal your bike, but still having the time of your life. You don’t often get to descend a hill in the pouring rain with no rain jacket with some riders coming close to hypothermia, and then reaching the bottom of the hill to find that some of the race organisers have built a bonfire to keep the riders warm(This was To Hell And Back). You go from freezing cold, to laughing around a fire with people you have never met. It’s these things that make the sport unique, and it’s about experiencing another side of life that does not come from going out and drinking and doing drugs. Cycling is real.

 

Not all sports are saintly

 

While this does not justify drug use in cycling, it is a good point nonetheless. Cycling has some of the strictest drug testing in the world. Cycling as a sport realises it has a problem, and drug testing is its way of getting rid of the guilty riders. Obviously they catch lot’s of riders doing drugs, and this makes people think that cycling is full of cheats. However, if other sports had to be as stringent with drug testing, they would no doubt also find that many of their athletes are using drugs. Cycling is not afraid to admit it has a problem. Of course they could do drug testing less regularly, and then they would not find as many riders guilty. This would make it seem like a clean sport, but all that means is that riders would be using drugs, but would just not be found guilty. This is pointless, and I would rather we have big drug busts in the press, as we then know the drug testing is working.

 

You still feel like you are flying

 

You never lose that feeling of flying when you are on your bike. Going downhill at 60km/hr with a smile on your face, not worrying about anything, feeling like a kid again and nothing else comes close to that.

 

It holds the worlds attention

 

Every year when the Tour de France comes around, you will hear even non cycling fans talking about it. It’s like a World Cup, only it’s not! Everyone speaks about the Tour de France, and many people learn about how professional cycling works by watching the Tour de France and listening to the legendary commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. It’s a race that holds the worlds attention, a sport that captures the imagination of everyone, due to the extreme nature of the sport and the iron will of the riders.

 

It shows that South Africans can still do it

 

Robbie Hunter became the first South African to ride the tour a few years back, and this year he became the first South African to win a stage in the Tour de France, riding for a South African sponsored team, Barloworld. Robbie Hunter is currently second place in the sprinters points on the Tour de France and he is showing the pro riders on bigger teams exactly how you ride a tour. He is regularly in the top 10 in the sprints in this years tour, and he is pretty much an icon now in South Africa. As I always say, we don’t have a lot of South Africans in the top ranks of sports, but the ones we do have are the very best. Ernie Els in golf, Oscar Pistorius in athletics, Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman in swimming and Greg Minnaar in downhill mountain biking. We can do it. And we do.

 

It has the most beautiful podium girls!

Enough said

 

As much as the tour suffers all the time due to drug scandals, to me it is still the greatest race on earth. Three weeks of sheer pain, suffering and a race where careers are made and lost. The Tour de France has it all- intrigue, speculation, anger, suffering, joy, pain, ecstasy and above all it is a race that pushes the human body and the mind to the very limit. It shows the resilience of the human body and mind and inspires millions.

 

This is cycling

 

This is my sport

 

And damn…I love it.

 

UPDATE: As we all know Michael Rasmussen has been taken out of the tour by his team for lying to them about his whereabouts before the tour. People say this is unfair as he has not tested positive for drugs.

 

What people fail to realise is that sponsors put millions of dollars into the sport, and they expect to be able to trust their riders. Michael Rasmussens job is to cycle, and he has basically lied to his employers. Also by lying about his whereabouts, and missing four drug tests in the past 18 months, you would immediately suspect that he is using drugs. Although he might not have used drugs in the tour, and some people argue that drugs used earlier in the year will not increase his performance in the tour, he has still lied to his team.

As a professional rider, you know the rules that come with drug testing. It is inexcusable to miss these tests, as it is part of the job. I was hoping Michael Rasmussen would win the tour, but with the recent revelations, I think it is fair that he be removed from the tour.

Sponsors are putting millions of dollars into cycling, something they don’t have to do. Riders must keep on abusing their sponsors like this, and soon they will find themselves out of a job. Cycling is not like modelling where Kate Moss takes drugs, and her career gets even better. Cycling is not fashion, it is a sport and it has rules and you need to stick to those rules.

Riders need to understand that sponsors are paying their salaries, and they need to be truthful to them. And they need to be truthful to their sport, which is a great one.

 

Sean Lloyd

Editor

 

 

As they always say, you mess with the bull, you’ll get the horns. Well somebody clearly messed with the bull, Robbie Hunter, and he gave them the horns.

When I arrived back today after a good afternoon with Jerry D, cruising in The Bomber, I walked into the greatest show of my life. I turned on the TV to catch literally the last 2 km’s of todays stage in the Tour de France. It always amuses me that while we don’t have a lot of South Africans at the top levels of international sport, the ones that are there are making a mockery of everyone.

Think Greg Minnaar, our downhill mountain biker who regularly punishes the worlds best riders. He cleans up on the world circuit. Then we have Ernie Els in golf, Ryk Neethling in swimming and now Robbie Hunter seems to be laughing his way through France, as his wild card team proceed to put on the after burners.

Barloworld is a South African sponsored team, and Robbie Hunter is our South African rider on the team. The team did not automatically qualify and were given a wild card entry into the race. Not willing to sit back and merely take in the scenery of France, they are giving it a full go in the race. They are sending it along the roads of France, and they are making myself, and a lot of other South Africans, proud every kilometre that they ride

It was only a few days ago that Barloworlds Juan Mauricio Soler won on a mountain stage. Now Hunter comes in today at great speed to get Barloworlds second stage win, and he becomes the first South African to win a stage in the Tour de France. I actually cannot believe it! It kind of gave me goose bumps watching it, as I have been waiting a long time to see him win a stage in the tour. He came close the other day, getting a second place finish.

So I sat there laughing, while wanting to cry, as our boy crossed the line in first place! He has honestly made a mockery of everyone! A South African team, a South African rider, in one of the worlds biggest bike races, and we take them to the cleaners! Quite hilarious if you ask me…

I really think that when the odds are against you, you put in your best performance. I honestly believe that Robbie wanted a win in the tour more than anyone else. He has had some criticism in the past, in letters I have read in cycling magazines, but he has just proved everyone wrong.

I’m sitting here, nearly laughing(Nearly crying) as I think how important today is in Tour de France history. I’m so emotional! It’s pretty crazy what’s going on in my mind at the moment. I wish I could just let you in for a moment, you would be on a rollercoaster ride. You would be cruising through my head and in between the many profound pieces of writing, the fountains of knowledge, the images of Jessica Alba, the pictures of Cape Town and the utter mindless stuff that I do sometimes, you would find emotions running wild caused by my man Robbie. It would be madness and I doubt you would be able to cope.

I mean, I’m hardly coping right now. It does not help that I am by myself either, no shoulder to cry on. What makes the emotions even worse is that I have just been reading the most soppy book on the planet, The Notebook. You may have seen the film. And even worse, is the fact that I watched a film this morning called The Greatest Game Ever Played. Seriously, is somebody trying to mess with my head? It’s all too much emotion! The movie follows this young golfer who ends up winning The Open, or something like that. I could not really concentrate as I tried to hold back the tears. Why the HELL was I crying during a golf movie?

I’m a mess! Seriously, all I need now is for some James Blunt to start playing and I will be crying, blowing my nose, downing a bottle of meths and I will be just about ready to call it quits on life.

I need to get a hold of myself. Yesterday I felt so good. Today things have gone remarkably pear shaped as I see myself slowly, or quickly, losing the plot. I can’t lose my composure!

Well before tears fill my keyboard up, seeping into my laptop, short circuiting the house and killing me in a blaze of glory, I shall sign out.

Oh and one other thing…Robbie, we salute you.

Sean Lloyd

Editor