Tomorrow the 40th Cape Town Cycle Tour, more commonly referred to as The Argus after its former media sponsor, will be held in Cape Town, a year after the race had to be called off due to extreme wind speeds. No such action is likely tomorrow. The event planners have gone out of their way to make it as water-friendly as possible. It is surprising that Cape Town appears so empty, and that so few cyclists have been seen on the roads this year. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Argus Cycle Tour
Cape Town fires reduce 2015 ‘Argus’ Cycle Tour Route by half on Sunday, becomes ‘Solidarity Ride’!
For the first time in the 38 year history of the Argus Cycle Tour the temporary 47 km route this year will be less than half of the standard 109 km route, due to the devastating fires raging in the South Peninsula, an important part of the Argus Cycle Tour route.
The Route reduction comes ‘in solidarity and support for those affected by the tragic fires burning on the mountains around Cape Town‘. Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities and keen cyclist Alan Winde has requested participants to wear a red arm band, to demonstrate their solidarity. Continue reading →
Cape Town to be connected via web of cycle and pedestrian lanes!
A R20 million project by the City of Cape Town will expand cycle and walking lanes in the Cape Town city centre to new lanes to be developed in suburbs outside the city centre, reports the Cape Times.
Cycle lanes will be developed in Athlone, Rondebosch, Mowbray, and Salt River, and will lead to the green cycling lanes already seen on city centre roads, such as Bree Street and Somerset Road. In addition, walking paths and cycling lanes will be developed in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Philippi, Steenberg, Atlantis, Delft, Kuils River, and Bonteheuwel. The linkage between the city centre lanes and the Liesbeek Parkway cycle route, as well as from Observatory and Woodstock, will commence next week.
The Pedal Power Association has welcomed the planned additional cycle routes, stating that the Argus Continue reading →
World Design Capital 2014: Audacia sulphite and preservative free wines inspired by design!
I was invited by Eclipse PR to attend a media briefing at the offices of Cape Town Design NPC, the company operating Cape Town’s role as World Design Capital 2014, on Thursday, the first such invitation, and received earlier in the day. While it was thin on media news, and poorly attended, it was a most interesting session, in learning about the unique new sulphite and preservative free Audacia Wines using indigenous woods for its maturation, one of the about 450 registered World Design Capital 2014 projects. Being an official project, it has raised the bar of Audacia’s design elements.
Co-owner Trevor Strydom is passionate about his pet project, and started talking to me about it in the reception whilst we were waiting for the meeting to start. Audacia Wines is a partnership between Trevor and Paul Harris of Rand Merchant Bank and Ellerman House, describing itself as ‘The Red Wine Boutique Winery‘
. Given how tough the wine industry is, and that there are no subsidies for farmers, it is hard to survive in the industry. Harris inspired Trevor with the quote: ‘change only occurs when the pain exceeds the joy‘, and advised him to find a point of difference for his brand, which currently is very well known for its weekend market off the R44.
Trevor read up about the law of winemaking and additives, and found that only two additives are allowed: enzymes, and wood. He made his winemaker Michael van Niekerk make samples of red wines with different woods, given that every winemaker uses oak, whether as staves, chips, or powder, and they tried woods such as bluegum, acacia, and fig, to the amusement of van Niekerk. Being offered tea by his daughter one afternoon, she drinking a cup of rooibos tea with him, he had the brilliant idea to try rooibos wood (Aspalathus linearis), and they were delighted with the results, not being picked up on the nose nor on tasting the wine. Whilst consulting his patent lawyer Mohammed Valli, he was initially sceptical whether a non-drinking lawyer could identify with his project. He was most impressed with Valli’s conclusion that the anti-oxidant properties Continue reading →