Cape ARgus Pick 'n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Wines of South Africa (WOSA) has announced that CapeWine 2015 will be held from 15 – 17 September 2015. (via Twitter)

* Franschhoek resident Nolan Hoffman has won the 2014 Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour. (Via Twitter)

* While online accommodation evaluations are much more responsibly handled, about half of travellers feel that a substantial part of accommodation reviews have been ‘manipulated‘, a Tourism professor told the travel industry at ITB, the international travel expo which ended in Berlin this weekend.

* The most child-friendly airports in the world, according to Travel News Weekly, are Heathrow (number one on the list, and offers children play areas, a quiet room, and a game zone), Zürich (with child minders), Frankfurt (with boarding passes for teddies too!), Munich (with touch screen terminals to explain how an airport works, and German TV series shown), Singapore (with a Butterfly Garden, arcade games, a four storey slide, and internet terminals), and Chicago (with an interactive educational play area).

* The flagship MCC Villiera Monro Brut 2008 won one of 20 Bacchus Trophies at the 16th Annual Taj Classic Wine Trophy Continue reading →

Cape Town and the Winelands region is rolling in cyclists visiting to participate in one or more of a host of cycling events from today onwards. As more and more cyclists are taking to the road, often selfishly to the detriment of motorists, anger is building up from motorists against cyclists.

Today the Bestmed Tour de Boland commences, and will be ridden in four stages of 121 – 145 km per day over the next four days. The race begins in Franschhoek and stage one ends at Helshoogte Pass; stage 2 is from Stellenbosch to Tulbagh; stage 3 covers Tulbagh to Riebeek Kasteel; and the last stage of the race is ridden from Riebeek Kasteel to the Franschhoek Pass. The organisers want to offer the road riders a good challenge on a European cycle race standard combined with the best of beautiful Boland views.

On Sunday the 37th Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour takes place, with 35000 cyclists participating in what has become the world’s largest timed cycle race. Most of the Cape Town city centre will be closed to traffic on Sunday morning, and all of Victoria Road from Hout Bay through Camps Bay to Bantry Bay and Beach Road in Sea Point is closed to traffic for the whole day, the race starting in the city centre and ending at the Cape Town Stadium. The event generates R450 million for the economy of the Western Cape, says provincial Tourism Minister Alan Winde.

The ABSA Cape Epic takes place from 23 – 30 March, a tough endurance race covering picturesque areas in the Cape Winelands, and generates about R218 million for the province.

Most cyclists have left their getting fit to the last minute, and are taking to the city streets to get ready for Sunday. Many Continue reading →