After finding themselves hopelessly unprepared to repair a ripped sidewall, Oli and his Epic partner, Zone, discover a light at the end of the tunnel.

Last weekend’s ride was meant to be a simple case of klapping a few hours in preparation for Epic, which is now less than two weeks away. After an hour or so of riding, spent mostly on the tar, I found myself looking down at the rear wheel of my Scalpel Si and tuning my Epic partner, Zone, “Bru, my back tyre is looking a bit skeef!” Not wanting to stop, I ignored it, settling on the reason being a slightly unevenly tensioned spoke. Strike 1.

A few moments later the dreaded bobbing of a fast deflating tyre engulfed my morale like a sucker punch from Mohamed Ali. “Zooooooone” I shouted as we hurtled down little Chappies into Noordhoek, “iiiiii’ve got a flaaaaat”. Strike 2.

By the time he’d turned round and got back to me, I had discovered a 3-inch nail embedded in my rear tyre, poking fun at me as it sliced through the sidewall. Oh my Gumwall Greatness, the worst of the worst… as I mumbled to myself realising that the tyre would now have to be replaced. Strike 3.

This would be an unremarkable story had it not been for what transpired in the following seconds, as both Zone and I realised that neither of us was prepared in the slightest for a mechanical. No tubes, no tyres levers, no pump, no plugs, no nothing. Somehow, both of us had forgotten our tools. Strike 4.

As we glued together the shattered pieces of our morale, I began walking to Noordhoek village hoping to find a Good Samaritan among the throngs of lycra-clad Cycle Tour riders who were nestled within the village’s two coffee shops.

Jaded by our utter unpreparedness, Zone went to load us up with double shots of caffeine as I searched for a Good Samaritan. Much to our relief, as we were burning proverbial matches at a rate of knots, we were able to find two awesome okes who gladly offered a tube and pump for us to steady the ship and get back to business.

As we thanked them profusely and promised never to leave home unprepared again, Zone and I settled into a relieved rhythm, convincing ourselves that this had in fact been a great lesson (and bonding experience!) ahead of the Epic – we would not arrive at Meerendal unprepared.

And so my Chinas and Chicas, even from the depths of a mechanical disaster, light can be found at the end of the tunnel!

Ciao ciao

Oli