
During the 2005 South African National Championships in Pretoria at the Union Buildings
I don’t really like calling myself an athlete because I haven’t been a dedicated one for a very long time and even when I used to be a serious athlete I was an accidental one. The reason for starting this blog is to map my attempt at returning to some kind of respectable form.

At the Tshwane Outsurance Mayoral Ride in 2006
In 1999 when I turned twenty my diet consisted mostly of pies, Subway, pizza, beer and the odd cigarette. My exercising routine was non-existent and involved walking backwards and forwards between the couch and the fridge while watching Oprah. One day when I felt particularly adventurous I decided to walk to the video store rather than drive and halfway there I was mortified at how itchy my legs were and little did I know that the sudden increase in blood circulation was the reason for this strange sensation. It was standing there next to the road with itchy legs in Cape Town that I decided I had to make some serious changes in my life. Sometimes I think pulling teeth would have been easier and I often fell asleep at night dreaming about pies and beer but I ended up losing 25kg over the next two years. I had also moved back to Pretoria during this time and bought my first yellow Giant road bike which was the start of my accidental journey into professional sport.
In 2000 I did a race with friends just outside Pretoria and if I remember correctly the race was sponsored by Rainbow Chickens or some other kind of chicken establishment. I don’t even remember exactly how the race panned out but I won and the prize was a frozen chicken. This was a bit of a dilemma as I had ridden 40km to the start of the race and could not really fit a frozen chicken in my shirt for the 40km journey home. The frozen chicken started me thinking that if I could win frozen poultry I could probably win some money if I tried. As I have always been a bit impulsive the decision to quit my job as a receptionist at a building contractor was not really that difficult. There was a day when work interfered with a race I planned to do and being me of course the logic decision was to quit my job. When I broke the news to my parents my mortified mother just smiled and said she believed in me. I can’t even imagine what had to be going through her mind.

At the start of the All Africa Games Time Trial in Abuja Nigeria.
If you asked any one person if they believe that an overweight, asthmatic smoker could become a professional cyclist not many would take those odds but alas. Between 2002 and 2010 when I retired I had many career highlights.
South African Elite Road Championships – Bronze
South African Elite Time Trial Championships – Silver & Bronze
South African Veteran 30-34 Road Championships – Gold
All Africa Games Road Cycling – Silver
All Africa Games Time Trial – Silver
Tour D Eden Cycle Tour – 5 Stage Wins & Overall Champion

Attacking close to the finish of the Lost City Cycle Challenge. Finished second on the day.
Kremetart Cycle Tour – 2 Stage Wins & Overall Champion
Tzaneen Tour – 1 Stage Win & Overall Champion
Outsurance Mayoral Ride – 1st
Bakwena Cycle Challenge – 1st
When I turned thirty I had already considered retirement and after many years at a very high level the decision was not that difficult. It was then that I started running and looking back it was then that I started living.