The Chrysalis Awakes.. an ode to Argus 2013
By: Stephen Digby (Manuka @ Southeys)
The winter is over, the chrysalis stirs. Argus 2013 awaits. Let the training begin..
Isn’t it strange how lycra shrinks in cold wet weather? It seems a much tighter fit than when last it was donned….
My sturdy mount has rested too, but now longs to feel the wind in its spokes. At least that’s what it spokes-person said… A slight groan as it takes the weight, and from the bike as well! It is good to get re-acquainted, but I request my trusty steed to be gentle, as I am not the hard-ass that I used to be!
Our first shake-down ride together this season, but it seems that rather more of me has shaken down than the bike. Still, the open road beckons, and our old familiarity soon returns. Through the vast urban sprawl of Somerset West, just moments later, the grasslands appear.
Today is going to be relatively easy, don’t want to overdo it first time out. But there in the distance, rising like a dune in the Namib desert, the notorious Railway Bridge Climb. A fearful glance as I pass the start of the Col de la Rue de Winery, fortunately closed for roadworks, but I know that before long, I will have to attempt to tame the beast if I am to reach Stellenbosch by this route.
Before I know it, the Bridge is there, right in front of me, rising an impressive 8 – 10 meters in hardly any distance at all. Unflinching, I head straight at it, dancing out a steady rhythm on the pedals, grinding away, the summit so close, but tantalisingly always just out of reach. But then, as you crest the rise, the unbelievable feeling of freedom as you plummet down the other side to the traffic lights 50 meters ahead…
Breathtaking!
But now the monotony of the grasslands again, meter after meter, until, at last, the vineyards and olive groves of Croydon loom large on the port bow. Relief – half way, the turning point.
Never one to spurn a challenge, I even decided to tackle the Bridge again, this time in the other direction! Fortunately, the lights were with me, and I was able to take a run at it! This is NOT something you want to face from a standing start.
The pull of home was getting stronger now, the welcome shower, sustenance.
More good fortune – someone was going through the security boom just ahead of me, no need to even slow down!
The first 27kms done, 1983kms to go, and a scant 5 months to do it. It will be a long hard summer. But the chrysalis awakes; the modest edifice that is my body now, will soon be metamorphosed, so that once again, people may worship at the Temple of Vroom!