MOUNTAIN BIKING
Our fearless leader , Matt Wood , and Marco Martinellli ( the Sicilian )
riding event I had done since becoming a mother , and though there had been some training in the last few years , it had been minimal , and not nearly as much in recent months as I thought I should have done before a multi-day event . Still , this event was going to be the one that cleared out the cobwebs , the one that showed me I could still do this sport called mountain biking . Well , so I thought . You see , this event turned out to be something so much more than that …
The Tour de Tuli is exactly that – a tour , where you ride from South Africa into Zimbabwe , then into Botswana , and back into South Africa . It is not a race , it is an experience , and at the start you are divided into groups of 15 riders , who you will spend your time with for the entire tour . You ride with them , eat with them , and hopefully , if you have a nice bunch , you drink with them , too . And unsurprisingly , in spite of not knowing each other at the start of the tour , you very quickly bond . For you to understand why this is so important , I ’ d like to ‘ introduce ’ you to the group I was placed in .
Quite the Motley Crew
Meeting the group that I would be spending the next four days with , I was both intimidated and reassured at the same time . Our fearless leader , Matty , with his big beard , would also soon become one of my favourite people . His navigation skills were not always on point , but he has that ‘ just be lekker ’ vibe about him , and he is that guy who you know will keep you safe , no matter what . Xander , our assistant guide , was a whole lot more serious , but then , every group needs a balancing factor .
Lunch stop on day two as we travelled
56 ISSUE 157 | www . modernathlete . co . za from Zimbabwe into Botswana . ( FLTR : Paul , Steven and Rene )
I seem to have a knack for falling , like this front-end washout on day one of the Tour