Richard Laskey
and the Ice Cream Bike The Real Mad Max
I have always taken part in races for various charities :
• In the worm for Sports Trust
• SPCA in the dog suit
• In the chain for Pink Drive
• In an evening cocktail dress and wig for Starfish
In 2006 I was at Johnson Cycles chatting to the owner Kim Johnson , when he received a call from the MD of Nestle complaining about the quality of the ice-cream bikes that Kim was manufacturing . It was the Thursday before 947 and I told Kim I was looking for something different to attract fund raising . So I asked him if I could borrow an ICB and ride 947 for Starfish and if I got it around the route he could go back to the MD of Nestle and say the bike quality is more than sufficient for what the vendors require .
It was the old Kyalami route back then so I parked at World of Golf , offloaded the ICB , rode down to the start , cycled the route and then rode back to World of Golf and delivered the bike back to Kim on the Monday . The following year 2007 I did the same for SPCA , and then in 2008 The Cows were born . The rest , as they say , is History …….
What I can add is that Johnson Cycles has been instrumental in so much for THE COWS . In 2009 as I parked in front of the store , I noticed a GARMIN branded vehicle next to me . Upon entering the store , I asked aloud “ Who is driving the GARMIN branded vehicle , I need to speak to you about sponsorship for something called THE COWS .” To which this gentlemen , whom I refer to as “ Poison Dwarf ”, said “ it ’ s me ” and introduced himself as Marc Bainbridge . No more needs to be said after that , suffice to say , I met and made a friend for life that day .
50 Cow and Belle | October 2021