Johannesburg - They say the mist that sat on Cape Town on Wednesday and Thursday is usual for this time of year. They, the locals of the city, say that it burns off by mid-morning, revealing the city in all its glory. It won’t be there for much longer after 9am, they said. Or maybe 10am. Definitely gone by 11am, or noon. Or Saturday.
The mist did not lift and made the pre-reveal ride of the not-so-secret prologue of the Absa Cape Epic a little more fun and, in a sense, kept those who rode around Table Mountain undercover from prying cameras. The route launch of the Cape Epic is kept a closely guarded secret each year until the official media launch and then gala dinner. Until this year they had two launches, in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
One year I asked the PR company to send me details of the route, which was being launched in Cape Town that day, to be told that Johannesburg media would only get the route the next day at “their” launch. I politely asked them if they had heard of a thing called the “internet” and that social media thingy. They sent me an email with the information the next day that started, “Dear Kevin, I hope you are well …” Perhaps my 300-word, detailed reply as to the state of my wellness, including graphic detail of my hangover and my mother’s dodgy knees was a little much.
And so there is now one launch and gala dinner, and it was held in Cape Town on Wednesday night, guided by MC Dan Nicholl and fuelled by Castle Light and Meerendal red and white. Earlier that afternoon, Dan had taken me to lunch at the Ernie Els Winery, where we sat with Duncan Woods, the Brand Manager of the Els Group, winemaker Louis Strydom, Rob Louw, famous tweeter and former rugby player, beer king Martin Tucker and an assortment of other thirsty souls. A bottle of R1000 wine is a fine thing to drink, especially when it has the name of an East Rand boy like Els on it.
Where was I? Oh, yes, at the Epic launch. Ron Rutland took time out of his ride around Africa on his way to the 2015 Rugby World Cup to tell us stories of the continent. He and I rode together at the back of the 2012 Epic field. I bumped into South Africa’s No1 chef, David Higgs, who was with Tsepo Nyirenda, a product of the Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy, who now works for Higgs at the Saxon Hotel.
Nyirenda rode the 2014 Epic in my place for Team Absa when I pulled out because of a wonky knee. In one second, the disappointment of not being able to ride was replaced by the smile of a kid from Diepsloot finding his path in life. If there had once been mist on Tsepo’s life, the Epic has helped lift that.
The Star