26th November - Jeffery's Bay to Storms River Valley (Day 2)

So the morning started well when the King of George (Deano Hahn) slipped me some of his rocket fuel. I managed to stay with the bunch for the first 50kms before I needed "little" pushes.

The funniest thing said today was Eugene to Chas. The exchange went something like this... "Antonio you may think you look like a Prince on a horse in Joburg, but you like a P**s on Donkey when you ride with real roadies". Needless to say, these two guys are close personal friends. I apologise for the profanity but what I have conveyed really is some of the milder (yet funny) stuff that passes as conversation when doing these long rides.

A close second to the above was when two mysterious riders (Julian Bryant and The Bullet) shot way ahead of the pack to kill the boredom factor only to realise that Cesar would probably roast them later that night, so being clever they decided to duck into the bush ahead to hide and to come out and join the peloton from behind once it had passed. (Some say that they secretly snuck into bushes for extra mural activities - I would not like to be the one to fan this fire though.)

As a group we all had another good day on the bike. To be fair it was rolling hills stuff with only two climbs. Also only 110kms. Tomorrow we do over 150kms. This should break a couple of us including yours truly but I am not going to give up until I fall off.


Story of the day was when Capt Kevin added to his superb support effort on the bike with world class spading at the pool… Ipod in one ear and the bling around his neck… Soon he was wrapping with them and laying out the moves. Word has it that Elizabete wants to now move to SA to be a cashier in his restaurant!!

After the couple of beers at the pool this afternoon, a bunch of us headed down to the Storms River mouth. It is really beautiful down there. This coastline is really amazing stuff and I have traveled the better part of the coastline from south coast of New South Wales through to the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.

The models on tour also did a Three Wise Monkey's sketch of "Hear, See and Speak" no evil:

I am freaking tired and seriously started hitting a wall about an hour ago. Thanks to The Silent Assassin's (Laurence Morris) recovery drink I am able to eek out a few words for the blog. The fans are demanding that I write and make them famous so hopefully I have done a little of that tonight.

So we have just finished dinner (I have been writing this in between mouthfuls) and fines are on... will update you on those tomorrow if there are any funny ones. The Bullet is giving me bedroom eyes so I need to go now...

25th November - Port Elizabeth to Jeffery's Bay (Day 1)

So the journey started in PE at the Protea Marine Hotel after a big slap up breakfast. We then headed to the first store which was a mere 500 metres away where we were greeted with a phenomenal welcome from the staff at Boardwalk and ate some... you guessed it... Nandos.

Foxy told his story to the staff at both Boardwalk and Cape Road stores which moved a couple of the guys close to tears. The Bullet (Chris Thorpe) was drizzing proper but the ladies cajoled him (perhaps that was part of the plan?).

The first day was about 85kms so not too tough (thanks to Mr Wilson for those lifts up the last two hills), even for me and clearly a cake walk for the seasoned riders. After which we pulled in Jay Bay and stayed at a world class guesthouse at Supertubes. I highly recommend it if you ever get down that way.

Later that night we had the obligatory debrief from our illustrious leader and chief architect of the ride, Cesar Dias. A couple of the top guys were swerving into the oncoming lane and doubling back so they got a bollocking - I dont blame them though, it must be tough have to hold back for us back-enders.

Later we had the fines and some anonymous guy got a whip-smacked for his "buffalo" theory. It goes like this... toward the end of the ride, apparently some of the good riders drop back to the tail of the peloton to see which ladies are "wounded", ie, hurting from a hard day on the bike. Apparently these are the ones you want to target later on over a few drinks because they will, and I quote: "struggle to put up a fight". Needles to say this went down very well the blokes, but like the proverbial lead balloon with the women. Personally, I think it was disgusting and an affront to the massive progress we have made with the women's liberation movement. (Not really - I thought it was genius.)

Other fines went to Chas Michael Michaels (Antonio) for being porra; Odelle (aka Sporty Spice) for walking in on Selwyn having a shower, pretending to "brush her hair" (whatever - word has it that she wanted to see Selwyn's legend); the three ladies from the UK for being "newbies". I got one for being a fat australian (how original). Bullet got nominated for stealing Matrona's bag but managed to smooth talk his way out of it (funny that).

Lawrence, Brendan Day, Kim Smith and the other support members have been unbelievable. Their work has been nothing short of unreal with drink stops, food and Nandos banners laid out as we come to each and every stop. They have also left gifts and kit in our rooms, organised our bags to be sent to our rooms and the list goes on.


I would love to give you some stories about what it is like up the front of the peloton but unfortunately I was at the back making sure the slower riders were okay (yep - lying - just fat and slow). I must say it is quite an amazing sight to behold with some 35 riders ahead, spread over about a 1km with all the support cars.

Making a Difference - Peri Style

So we (41 of us; mostly Nandos employees) are doing a ride from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town in the name of charity, specially an AIDS iniatitive that was the brain child of Cesar Dias the diminutive coastal MD of Nandos. The aim is to raise money to support the fulfillment of that policy.

The initiative encourages staff members to get tested for HIV. Should they test positive, Nandos commits to paying for all medical bills and ARV’s while the employees get better. They then promise to send food parcels home while the staff convalesce. Also very important, is to let the employees know that they will not loose their jobs - far from it, the company wants them to get better so they can remain part of the Nandos family into the future.

I did last year’s ride, so I guess I would be classified as a "veteran". I would agree. But not because of my experience - rather because I will be riding at a level poorer than that of an octogenarian. Nonetheless, I am super excited to be apart of the team again this year, and I know my company Internet Solutions is very proud to sponsor this event for the third year in a row.