Entries for the Cape Town Argus Cycle Tour are now open. Enter here to get your entry in before it’s too late. Here’s to hoping the weather Gods are kinder to the participants than this years event.

Participants consistently vote it as one of the best in South Africa and it continues to attract strong fields and an increasing number of international entrants. The event has become synonymous with the Easter Weekend in Cape Town, with the pre-race activities at the expo, family day, and fun runs on Easter Friday. En-route entertainment on the race day provides fun, excitement, and a unique experience to runners, family, friends, and spectators alike.

Old Mutual is proud to continue its association with this great event, which is the premier event in their road-running portfolio. Participants can choose from various distances – the scenic 56km ultra-marathon or popular 21km half-marathon and the 5km or 2.5km fun runs.

(www.twooceansmarathon.org.za)

Cape Town – Winds of up to 60km/h wreaked havoc at the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour on Sunday, collapsing tents and scaffolding.

A woman broke her arm when the breakfast tent at the start of the race collapsed with her inside, said joint operations manager for the event Brad Geyser. She had since been taken to hospital to have the broken limb set.

Geyser said: “The wind did a lot of damage. We didn’t expect it to be this strong.”

The start of the race itself was delayed 54 minutes because of the wind, with wind speeds of 40km/h measured at Chapman’s Peak and 60km/h elsewhere on the route, he said.

Scaffolding erected at the Allan Gray building, near the finish line, collapsed, crushing three cars, but injuring no-one. A tent at the finish line also came down.

Most of the structures erected for the race at the start and finish lines had to be taken down because the wind was so severe, said Geyser.

The Greenpoint stadium construction site, where most of the hospitality tents were erected in sandy ground, became a “dust bowl” which the fire department had to water down, he said.

Geyser said heat was not a problem during this year’s race, because the wind had a “cooling effect”.

In some areas there was such a wind chill factor that cyclists had to be warned not to stop.

In one of the nastier incidents, a woman cyclist hit the tar face first in the Perdeberg, breaking both collar bones and sustaining scratches on her face.

Another cyclist’s ribs were crushed when he came off down Chapman’s Peak. A doctor on a motorcycle immediately attended to him and he was taken to hospital right away.

Although 35 000 cyclists entered this year, only 25 600 started the race, said the organisers. The wind had resulted in much slower times than usual, they said.”

I too took part in this years Argus Epic. I was meant to start at 08.42 but due to the delays only got going closer to 10.00. I’m sitting here at my PC with very sore legs and odd sun tans but a generally satisfying feeling that I completed what is going down as the toughest Argus ever. The excessive wind as well as the addition of Boys Drive to the route certainly made for different prospect compared to the past 3 tours that I’ve taken part in. Well done to all those that completed the race… Next event on the calendar is the Two Oceans half marathon.

For a good overview of the race have a look at the following link: photo slide it includes pics of Matt Damon who also completed the race.

The 2009 edition of the Cape Argus cycle tour is around the corner. For the riders there is no more time for training, the next 10 days will be spent on watching the diet, making sure your equipment is in order and getting nervous.

Whether you’re a rider, a spectator or a resident in Cape Town, the following information will be interesting to you:

Click here if you would like to see a birds eye view of the route

Click here if you need more info on starting times

Click on the following link for information on road closures

The Festival of the Great White Shark is a celebration of this change and will create the opportunity for the world to come together, to Gansbaai to the Great White Shark Capital of the World.

The White Shark Festival will be dedicated to educating the public about sharks and the importance of shark conservation, through interactive and hands on programs aimed especially at our youth.

Of all the species on the planet, the Great White shark has undoubtedly achieved a level of evolutionary perfection. it has remained unchanged for 300 million years.

Visit the Website for more information.

MAP: Here

The 1st National Festival of Golf will again take place in the Southern Cape from 04-10 June 2007.

The festival provides golf enthusiasts from around the country and the world the opportunity to play on some of the finest courses in Africa and to participate in the biggest event of its kind in Africa. The venue is Africa�s Golf Capital, the spectacular Garden Route.

The festival is aimed at amateur golfers who appreciate spending quality time on the course with friends, colleagues and clients. The festival is ideally suited for companies to entertain their clients while having fun.

In 2006 the event doubled in size and the +- 850 golfers played +- 2600 rounds of golf. Participants played on 11 different courses with Pezula, Simola, Oubaai and Montagu being the most popular. We will be welcoming Pinnacle Point as a new addition in 2007 and Fancourt Outeniqua will also be open for play.

For more info, please visit the website.

The Adventure Trail is especially designed for kids and combine elements of The Amazing Race and Survivor. Bodies and minds were exercised in an adventurous quest for fun!

The Adventure Hike (for keen walkers and hikers) traversed hillsides and navigated deep gorges � a great opportunity for shared quality time.

Dates:

15th April, Cape Town – Chrysalis Academy, Tokai
22nd April, Gauteng – Hartebeespport,Pelindaba Reserve
22nd April, Port Elizabeth – Island Nature Reserve

Read More here.