I have been living in Cape Town since the mid-80’s.

My initiation into the 2-wheeled world began when I was in Sub-B (Grade 2), growing up in the Little Karoo town of Oudtshoorn, in the early 70’s. I cycled to school on hand-me-downs until I had finally saved enough pocket money (from working at the Cango Crocodile Ranch) in Std 9 (Grade 11) to buy a brand new Western Flyer (all of R172)! That weekend I rode to the Cango Caves & back – my very first “cycle tour”. In matric, I progressed(?) to motorised transport, by purchasing my first motorbike: a Kawasaki 50cc “scrambler”. After 7 “lean” years (no bicycle) and 7 “mean” years (motocross & enduro racing), I finally came to my senses again and threw my (now seriously abused) legs over a bicycle again, participating in my first Argus Cycle Tour in 1995. To date, I have completed 15 tours and many more road & MTB events.

A house-fire in 2005 freed me of most of my material possesions & re-ignited (excuse the pun) my urge to travel. I realised that all this “stuff” simply holds us back from living to our full potential. After all, it's a big world & our lives are short - go figure . . .

My transition to a vegan diet only happened on the 1st of September 2008, after 10 years of vegetarianism. A few weeks later, I experienced an amazing “lightness”, as if some kind of weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I recently figured out how this feeling came about. It was a combination of the shedding of my sub-concious guilt of still being involved in some form of “unfairness” towards our fellow animals by using their “products”, along with the final purging of those cholesterol- & toxin-laden substances.

In the spring of 2009, I set off on a self-sponsored, unsupported, solo cycle-tour around Mpumalanga and eastward towards Mozambique. After warnings of thick sand in the south of that country, I re-routed through Swaziland and down through KZN to Durban. After an excursion in the Midlands, I headed north again to work at a backpacker’s in Kosi Bay for the festive season, returning to the Mother City in 2010, where I began to hatch plans for a more extensive trip into the African interior.

The following year (2011), I found out that the UN was to hold their 17th COP (Conference Of Procrastinators?) in Durban, to discuss the international issue of CLIMATE CHANGE. I figured that anyone who cared for our planet as much as I do, would be there. Intending to demonstrate what can be done by an individual to alleviate global warming, I decided to cycle there (from Cape Town). My plans were almost shattered when I got a bad bout of the flu shortly before I was due to leave. A doctor, as well as an ex-pro cyclist, cautioned me that ignoring my condition would certainly compromise my health by placing unnecessary strain on my heart, so I had to look for another solution while waiting for the symptoms to subside. Having halved the remaining time to get to the conference, I would have to cycle the 2000kms in 2 weeks. Besides not having confidence in my ability, my intention was to inspire ordinary people to ride bicycles, so I had no desire to be seen as another “Lance Armstrong” by the masses. Help came in the form of an offer to use an electrical conversion system: a battery-powered motor in the hub of my front-wheel. Reluctantly, I convinced myself that it would present a more achievable (“sustainable” ?) solution for poorer people, who might otherwise get into debt to buy a car or motorcycle.

The ride was harder than I expected, due to heavy rains & head-winds. My electric “assistant” bailed on me shortly after leaving Tsitsikamma on a particularly miserable day. The rainwater had infiltrated the controller-box, rendering the whole system a useless dead-weight. By the time I reached Port Elizabeth, I was running out of time, so I bought a bus ticket. I only needed to get through the dangerous Transkei section of the N2 (no shoulder), so I asked the driver to drop me at the first refuelling stop in KZN, from which I cycled the final 100km to Durban.

Many years ago, I heard a rap-song, with the words:

“Be selective, be objective, be an asset to the collective.”

This outlook on life still inspires me, along with another credo:

“Do as much as you can, for as many as you can, for as long as you can.”