A L’ORIGINE

I was born somewhere in the South, Port Elizabeth, no, that's not in England, its in Africa, a stones throw away from the Atlantic, warm with summer sunshine filled with stars in evenings blue. Though I must say I have never been to Avignon, aaah, I would have liked to have visited Avignon. I have vague recollections of Avignon from a past life, but it would have been sweet to visit her once again in this life.

When I started out I was skinny and no good. My friends invited me for a ride as I had been promising them that I would for a long time. My 1979 Parisian blue Carlton 12 speed Super Chicane was terribly abused by a spray shop in the suburbs of Cape Town.

If I don’t forgive them now it would be karma, so this beautiful velo was spoilt to a horrible dull sky blue without any decals.

My father had no extra money to redo this horrible carnage. If my grandfather were alive he would have surely restored the colour to its former splendour.

After all it was he who bought me this bicycle as a gift one December and died later on in the evening at repose.

So finally with toe straps and Bernard Hinault Patrick shoes which Evadne Orange gave me as a gift I set off up the road with my friends who had been moaning for months for me to join them. They wanted to give me a beating I suppose, and that they did.

I will recall them for you, David Martin, Brent May and Kenneth Felix. The latter being the leader of the pack. He was good, and he made you know it.

A little bit about Kenneth Felix

I could equate Kenneth Felix to Sean Kelly of Ireland, this dude, he wore toe straps and wore original black cycling shoes the way they did in the old days. His bicycle frame was taller than was his actual body height and it was devoid of any trimmings that was not needed.

There are a few people in my cycling career who really paid attention to my racing, Kenneth was one of them.

I also remember training with this three-some on other occasions, Kenneth would cry merde! when everyone was going to slow as it tired him too much he said. When I remember this now, its just so funny and it brings a smile to my face.

So back to the subject at hand... after just a few kilometers of flat road we hit the first climb of Constantia Neck. Everywhere you go in Cape Town there are mountains and up hills. I was left in the dust and under the shade of trees as I reached the top out of breath and humiliated.

So this humiliation carried on for a few rides.

Then I said to myself, I will ride every mountain, every hill, I will never get off my bike unless I die doing it and am to be carried off it, and no mountain will break me.

From then on every day, in glorious emulation, I trained for all that it was worth.

On the following ride I meandered at the back waiting for the road to tilt skywards.

Half way up the climb I said to the fellows; “I’ll wait for you at the top.”

They looked at me as if I had just escaped from Falkenberg (a mental institution in the local area). So I left them, I never looked back, and for the next twenty years I would wait for them at the top.

This woman was special in every way, the Tour De France thought so too and so, on 27 June 1933, the Tour de France opening ceremony was by Josephine Baker. ...

J'ai Deux Amours

On dit qu'au delà des mers
Là-bas sous le ciel clair
Il existe une cité
Au séjour enchanté
Et sous les grands arbres noirs
Chaque soir
Vers elle s'en va tout mon espoir

J'ai deux amours
Mon pays et Paris
Par eux toujours
Mon cœur est ravi
Ma savane est belle
Mais à quoi bon le nier
Ce qui m'ensorcelle
C'est Paris, Paris tout entier
Le voir un jour
C'est mon rêve joli
J'ai deux amours
Mon pays et Paris

Quand sur la rive parfois
Au lointain j'aperçois
Un paquebot qui s'en va
Vers lui je tends les bras
Et le cœur battant d'émoi
A mi-voix
Doucement je dis "emporte-moi !"

J'ai deux amours.

THE FIRST TIME I ARRIVED IN PARIS

The first time I arrived in Paris it was in July, beautiful July and it was raining. They say when you arrive in Paris for the first time and it rains you will have plenty of luck, well so it was, we fell in love forever.

It was 1997, I took the TGV to San Michel then to Versailles, I marvelled at its grandeur but too fast, as I wanted to get to a auberge de Jeunesse before dark.

Searched everywhere but found nothing, rushing back to Invalides caught the SNCF to Ledru Rollin then cycled the rest of the way only to get my first puncture. A young Parisien girl and her boyfriend came by me and she sent him on his way home to get the puncture repair kit, she fixed my puncture in no time on Rue Soult and I was over the moon. Tired and bedraggled I then had an epiphany: the sun only sets at ten, goodness me, and here I was rushing to and fro...

Paris must not be rushed, lazy like the Seine, shimmering in the summertime I meandered on savouring the colours and the smells. How long have I dreamed of this moment, since 1988 when I first saw Pedro Delgado win his first Tour De France, yes I was in the most romantic city in the world coming to the most romantic sporting event in the world, Le Grand Boucle, The Tour de France.

I arrived in Paris on the 4th of July 1997, my room mate spoke no l'angeltaire and my French was really bad.

His name was Careme Marie-Rose Francais, (I googled him on Facebook but had no luck there)

Morning of 05^th July 1997

One boiled egg, a roll, two glasses of orange juice and a big cup of coffee, more like a bowl, that was my first breakfast in the city of love and boy it was good. I had to leave this place by 9:30 and find a cheaper accommodation, back then like now the Franc was stronger than the Rand as the Euro is stronger than the Rand still.

Is that a conundrum?

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées also known as La plus belle avenue du monde ("The most beautiful avenue in the world") was beautiful in spite the cloudy sky as I cycled to Maison Internale des Jeunesse.

Across the Place de la Concorde where the Tour de France ends each year with thousands of people this time of year, to me it was a feast for the eyes. I went to Laurent Cycles and did some window shopping. As always since the time arrived in Paris everyone was always courteous and friendly contrary to what others have said about the French I was learning differently and I liked every moment of it.

On that second day I cycled 54kms just moving around and about. I met Ryan Board a runner from 7305 90^th Lane Crown Point, IN 46307 U.S.A.

He was my room mate at this maison I was lodging at.

I visited the Gare de Lyon as stations and trains are my thing and in the evening Ryan and I took a stroll to buy supper and when we got back another young gentleman from England called Daniel Cooper joined in and we had a party. We spoke till 2 in the morning the way strangers do in a foreign land and when we woke up in the morning Paris was misty and fresh and soon I would be heading to Bordeaux.