Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Marshalling on a cycle tour is associated with specific tasks --- all addressed during the Marshal Training Course.

But, some extraordinary tasks do arise from time to time...

I stopped at two stranded cyclists. I noticed they were struggling with one bike, but could not make out what the problem was. Suddenly the bike was turned right side up and the cyclist stared at the bike, then looked at me. He walked up to me on his socks with his shoes in his hand .
 

He asked me if I had any sticky tape.

Yes, I do have something like that...

Could we please in some way fix his shoes? Then he showed me the problem - shoes in one hand and soles (with clip-ons attached) in the other hand! The soles of both shoes came adrift!

Fortunately I had duct tape (I always carry a roll of duct tape) and we tackled his shoes.

Both toes and heels had to be bound.

And minutes later he was ready for action!

While working there, an event marshal stopped and walked up to us. 

He was quite happy that the cyclists was sorted. Then he turned to me and asked help for himself.

The top button of his trousers broke off and his trousers would not stay put (he had no belt to assist). Besides, the lack of a top button caused the zip to keep pulling apart, aggravating the problem 

I offered him a cable tie & he promptly solved the worst of the problem.

Alles weer reg!!

About 50km further at a water stop I met him again. He asked if I could please cut off the long tail of the cable tie.  (the cable tie was from my off-road supply - a very robust version)

So, marshaling could be more than what you expect!

Somewhere short of Paarl I noticed a lady (athletic build, about 50) that  was pushing her bike up a small rise and repeatedly touching the front brake. I stopped & asked her if I could help. She nodded and without a word she indicated the front brake. Okey, I checked the brake for binding but all was clear. no problem whatsoever with wheel, brake etc. Rear wheel the same. I lifted the bike and spun the wheels for her to see.

Then I said to her "Mevrou, ek dink jy is net baie baie moeg" She accepted the comment with a smile. (either she was happy to know the real problem, or she did not understand Afrikaans).

Later at the Wellington water stop I mentioned it to Willi. O-ja, he remembers this lady who asked him to check the brakes. He adjusted the brakes for her, to be more open (there was no problem in the first place)

Some random pictures.

Willi taking a break near Wellington.

Near Boschendal. Occasional standing helped a lot to relieve the long stints of sitting.

A very brave man cycling for for a cause - MS syndrome.

George and Kerry passing 

Nick on his way  . . .

Gathering after the event, waiting for the last bike marshals to arrive.

A collection of punctured tubes. Surely this is a record of some kind!!

What actually happened here was that Marius picked up a number of tubes that were simply dumped along the road by cyclists. He did actually helped to repair punctures, but not for all these tubes!  

Something that we noticed is that so many cyclists do such a ride without any spares. Others do carry some spares and/or tools but do not know how to use them. On the positive side, there were many cyclists along the road that could help themselves. 

We were issued with a wide selection of tubes and a pump. The pump is very effective but very awkward to carry on the bike. The tools below the tubes are my own that I decided to take along.