The Cape Town Cycle Tour History 1990 - 2018

I have always loved bicycles; I think I got my first bike at around 13 years old. Every Saturday morning I would clean and oil my bike and then after lunch I would ride from Camps Bay to the Docks and spend the afternoon watching ships and especially those old steam locomotives shunting goods around the harbour. When I came back from Europe in 1980 I immediately bought a bike, rode everywhere I could (work, shops, etc.), and I have never been without one since.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour was previously known as the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, fondly called The Argus. I rode my first Argus in 1990 when there were only 11 236 finishers. Up to 1999 the race ended in Maidens Cove (Camps Bay), by which time there were already 29 000 finishers! Then there were four years (2000 to 2003) of the detour over Ou Kaapse Weg while Chapman's Peak (Chappies) was being refurbished, finishing in Green Point. After that we went back to Chappies, but leaving out Kommetjie and going through Ocean View instead, again finishing in Green Point. In 2009, 2010 and 2011 the route included a detour over Boyes Drive. Since 2012 we have had the normal route over Chapman's Peak finishing in Green Point.

In 2015 the route was shortened to 50km due to mountain fires. In 2017 the race was cancelled due to gale-force winds. Weather-wise I have had light rain twice (1992, 2006) and gale or nearly gale force winds a few times (2009, 2010, 2014, 2017).

I have divided this history into three sections because it has a lot of graphics to load. At the end of 2018 I have included a summary with graphs of statistics, such as my overall position over the years. The page you are on now covers 1990 to 1999 and the rest is covered in the following links:

Towards the end of 1989 my friend Eric Newton sold me his elderly Raleigh bike and persuaded me to enter the Argus. He and a number of other friends had already been doing the Argus for a few years: Pete de Jager, Sean Pope, Steven Bertie-Roberts, and others. Since I was living in Hout Bay at the time, my first training ride was half way up Chappies!

I can‘t remember much about the race other than I enjoyed it. I stopped a few times to wait for friends and to take a leak.

       

I had started doing triathlons so my fitness was much improved. I shaved a full 25 minutes off my previous time and was starting to catch up to my mates. Still riding the old Rayleigh with cage pedals! Otherwise, uneventful.

       

Bit of regression here: I shaved 25 seconds off my first time! Must have been a tough day for everyone because my overall position was a PB. Still riding the old Rayleigh bike with cage pedals!

       

Unbelievably, still riding the old Rayleigh bike with cage pedals, but putting in quite a cracking time with overall position improved again.

       

You can see I was on a roll clocking my first sub-three time! Riding my new (second-hand) Cannondale with decent clip-on pedals and proper cycling shoes, but with gear change still on the bicycle frame. My overall position was close to top one thousand.

       

Another cracking time, in fact my all-time personal best. Two sub-three's in a row! The picture shows my brother-in-law (and training partner), Brad Bailey, and I at the finish in Maiden's Cove. I was riding in Group C and broke into the top thousand overall. Funny enough, I am wearing the same crappy jersey as I wore in my very first Argus.

       

Riding in C Group again, but not delivering as expected; not sure why, perhaps wind? A good 20 minutes down on last year. Strange because I was at the peak of my triathlon days.

       

My third year in Group C, and an improvement on last year, just outside the top thousand overall; in fact, exactly the same overall position as 1994. My age group position was also pretty good.

       

My last three rides had all been within 7 minutes of each other, so pretty consistent. However I was begining to flag in overall position. For some reason I didn’t have a photo taken along the route so I have included a typical starting line scene instead.

       

This was the end of my really good rides, although starting from Group D I would have hoped to have done better. Still riding the trusty old Cannondale. This was the last time the race ended at Maiden's Cove in Camps Bay.