The weekend past I did something for the first time. If you asked me a year ago whether this would ever be a possibility I would have probably laughed at you and called you insane. With the new year came a few new challenges as well. Last year my wife and I attempted the Argus together. I have a 3:26 Argus time and have very little to prove in this regard, but doing the ride with my wife who have always supported me so well is something that we have been contemplating (and entered for on more than one occasion). The attempt before last year involved a gail force South Easter that saw us climb off the route just before hospital bend. Last year we made it to Misty Cliffs when my wife decided that she's had enough. This year our build-up seems to go slightly better, but I find myself constantly having to talk my wife into a ride and need to convince her every time that I don't mind being held back and that I enjoy riding with her. With time running out we need some serious saddle time. We therefor entered a few races together with me pushing her up the climbs and along some of the flats to the finish line. My shoulders and back started to take some strain in the process and our times seemed quite slow. On top of that we were both totally knackered after each such effort.
I came to the realisation that the effort is not a sustainable one and started to consider the tandem option <shock horror!>. Tandems, especially second hand ones are few and far in between and after keeping my eye on thehubsa and gumtree for a few months I ended up spotting an add in Gumtree for a used tandem.
Saturday morning we went through to Swellendam to look at the bike and after seeing the bike and talking to the previous owner we ended up buying her. After doing our setup at home we decided to do the Boekaert Soenen race on the bike the next day, all be it the short (40km) route.
Sunday saw us doing our first race on the bike. The start chute was amazingly uncluttered for us (only 2 bikes) and getting a head start on the rest of the seeded riders felt quite cool. Soon we were out of Paarl and circumventing Paarl Mountain in an anti clockwise direction on the rolling hills through the wine farms. On a particularly hot day (39deg C max) we finished the ride in 1h36m and in first place in our category (1st out of 2, which is now a standing joke with my cycling friends) and very satisfied with our effort.
Getting used to riding together like this was a particular challenge as you have to synchronize certain things, alternate other things and each have our own responsibilities on other areas as well.
I look forward to our next ride together and I am so excited to be able to share my cycling experience with the person that means the most to me in the world.
The 2012 Argus is now something that we both look forward to. With just over a months hard work ahead we are sure to have a great ride together.
I'll keep everyone posted.
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