22 May '17: ATC Weekly

 

Incidents on Cycle Paths - Knysna Big 5 – Comrades Talk - Unogwaja

On Saturday morning, two of our members were held up on the Cycle Path near Woodstock.  Luckily the members weren’t harmed but had their cell phones and one bicycle stolen.  You are strongly advised NOT to use the path unless in a big group.  It seems two or three riders are not enough.  We will be avoiding that area until the problem is addressed as attacks on the path are now happening frequently.

 

On Wednesday, after our Club Time Trial, we will have two information sessions in the bar at the Green Point Cricket Club.  The Knysna BIG5 organising team will join us to run through the 2017 event highlights.  Jan Van Rooyen, a Comrades, Ironman and ultra endurance veteran, who has done eight Comrades Marathons and earned a silver at six of these, will give a talk on the race, offer some tips and answer questions you may have about the event.

 

Join us for a drink and come prepared with any and all questions you might have about these two events.

 

The BIG5 Challenge takes place in early July as part of the Knysna Oyster Festival.  It is a unique multisport challenge, with 5 events taking place over, which will quite likely be, the best 10 days of your winter.  Events include Mountain Biking, Open Water Swimming, Paddling, Trail Running, Forest Running and an off-road Duathlon.

 

This “commute”, inspired by Phil Masterton-Smith, who did this in 1933 in order to get to race Comrades, is a 10 day, 1660 Kilometre cycle from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg, followed by the Comrades Marathon on the 11^th day.  The Unogwaja starts on Thursday morning at the Southern Sun Waterfront.

 

Piet Viljoen and Miguel Netto will be taking part in the Unogwaja Challenge and are raising funds for The Light Fund. For more details and to donate, please visit:  http://unogwaja.com/

 

You can join in for part of the first leg and ride with the group to Franschoek.  The ride will start at 04:30 and you need to book a ticket (R200 Donation) to join in.  There is also an optional shuttle service (R100) available to return from Franschoek.  Free refreshments will be served before the ride and at the breakfast stop in Franschoek.  To see the riders off, click here to book a ticket.

SWIM:  The canal swim will be on Saturday afternoons at 14:00. 

 

BIKE:  No ride on Thursday morning as we will join the Unogwaja Day 1 Cycle 2017.

 

On Sunday, we will do a supported long ride, starting from the Root 44 Market, between Somerset West and Stellenbosch.  Followed by breakfast at the market.  The ATC Ranger will follow us as we head through Stellenbosch, over Hellshoogte to Franschoek.  Stronger riders can head up the Franschoek pass while other riders can pause at the Hugenote Monument for some refreshments before heading back the same way.  The ride will be between 80 and 100 Kms.  We will start promptly at 06:15, so please arrive at 06:00 and load your refreshments into the ATC Ranger.

 

RUN:  This week is our monthly 5 Km Club Time Trial, to be run on the blue track, on Tuesday at 06:00 and on Wednesday at 18:00.

 

The third Cross Country League event, scheduled for this Saturday on the Kaapzicht Wine Estate, has been postponed to a future date.  This is due to technical difficulties.

 

For more information on this and other events taking place this coming weekend, please follow the links provided below:

 

Embark Southern Suburbs will launch their group training program for the Cape Ultra Tri and other Triathlons happening in the 2017-18 season, on Tuesday, 23 May, at the Bill Bowden Pavilion, Wynberg Boys’ High School.  Please arrive at 19:00 for a 19:15 start.  For more details, please email:  STeve@embark.co.za.

 

Enjoy the week!

ATC