On the Wednesday before the race we collected our race numbers and began working on putting the packs together for our riders first thing on Thursday morning. We invited some of the residents from Forest Farm to ‘work’ for the day. This gave them the experience of being in an office environment as well as earned them some money for Forest Farm. They were delighted and welcomed the change of scenery. Once all the packs were done we ordered them lunch – pizzas and burgers were the highlight for them. Thank you Forest Farm for allowing your residents to be a part of our Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge again this year. Our cyclists collected their race packs at the pre-event which was held at the Baron on Main on Thursday evening pre the cycle event. Gearing up for Sunday’s race they encouraged each other as they shared a drink and some snacks in what was a very relaxed pre-event. For days before our big race the extreme heat was nerve wrecking for many of our riders, sponsors and supporters alike. Due to the recent drought we were warned to keep hydrated and also to get our participants to carry their bikes instead of riding along the sand to the start because thorns were a huge problem with punctures pre-race. Team IMAGINE were on site setting up hospitality from 5am on Sunday morning and many of our cyclists stopped in before they headed to the starting pens which was very conveniently only a few 100metres from our site. Some had breakfast; others coffee and some just got into the team spirit by heading to the start with their fellow IMAGINE cyclists. Others like Rob Hawley had his warm up by helping us put up the gazebo and banners – thank you Robert!
Our presence was evidently more noticeable this year than ever before as we have had a few new riders come on board that saw us on the day which is awesome awareness raised – thank you to all our cyclists for making this happen! We once again thank our continued sponsors Palladium Accounting Software and SIS Global for sponsoring our cycle shirts but we are also very pleased to thank our new sponsor Umkhonto Outsourcing Solutions for also being a sponsor on our shirts as well as sponsoring our hospitality post-race. They were truly a huge value add to our day going the extra mile for the charity, our riders, the cause and the event in general. They provided us with awesome slush puppies as well as special slush puppies for those that have a liking to chilled Vodka. Umkhonto was also instrumental in adding to the fundraising on the day as well as creating an atmosphere that was clearly enjoyed – many of our cyclists dropped us emails the week after the race to thank us for the excellent hospitality.
Our fastest IMAGINE rider this year was Colin Branson coming in at a time of 02:55:42 which is 32mins34secs faster than his time last year – well done Colin! The competition was extremely tight with our top 4 riders. Second in was Rob Wesselo with a time of 02:56:31 which was almost 4 mins faster than his time last year – well done Rob W! Simon Shaw grabbed 3rd place in the IMAGINE category literally seconds behind Rob W with a time of 02:56:48 – well done Simon! In 4th place was one of our most incredible riders, Iron Man Cameron Condie finished this year’s cycle challenge in a time of 02:57:58. Condie fell off his bike in Steyn City and broke his collar bone but got back on and still finished his ride with a sub 3 times – last year he finished with a broken wrist – Condie is a legend! Our most improved time from last year was from Liesl van Heerden who improved her time by over 1 hour and 12 mins – well done Liesl. A really big thumbs up to all our first time riders that made it to the finish – you all had great times and we are hoping to see you all on your bike’s again.
We extend a huge thanks to those that spent time out in the heat encouraging and supporting our riders as they passed by. Special thanks to Martie Nyman who worked endlessly on the day to ensure all our riders were hydrated & fed at the finish and most of all to each and every one of our cyclists – you all contributed towards a very worthy cause helping us raise awareness and funds for people living with cerebral palsy. They say charity begins at home and the Directors of IMAGINE definitely lived up to it – they were all involved in this event, Rob Hawley and Shiraz Howa both took their saddles. Although Shiraz never made it to the finish line we really admire his courage and bravery for getting himself and his wife on a bike and starting the race – well done Howa’s! Sean Permuy enters through the charity every year but he does realize that as much as he loves cycling he is also quite good at being a host so this year he chose to show off that talent by helping us run the hospitality site – thank you Sean for getting your hands dirty!
Thanks for all the support!
Team IMAGINE