2012 Review

The last day of 2012 is here and what a whopper it's been! This is always a time of reflection and looking back over the past year has made me realise how much living and loving happens each year.

January saw yours truly turn 50 and Erin start her 1st year at Vega doing Brand Development and Management. In February our gorgeous firstborn, Erin, moved in with her boyf Warren - and our nest suddenly seemed a lot quieter and emptier. March was quiet (except for the usual Cycle Tour action)and Russ and I remembered our late mothers on their birthdays on 17th and 24th: we're so lucky to have had them help shape our lives. April was hectic with Chaeli being awarded the 1st ever Social Activism Medal by the Nobel Peace Laureates at their annual summit in Chicago. Chaeli kicked it with past presidents like Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and FW de Klerk and also schmoosed with movie royalty like Sean Penn. And she has the pics to prove it! In May Erin celebrated the last birthday celebration of her teens on the 14th. June saw The Chaeli Campaign launch its 1st Jozi Ambassadors chapter in Lenasia South.

On 28 July Russ, Erin, Warren and I were invited to attend Chaeli's Matric Dance pre-party with her and her partner Damian, the rest of the Reddam Matrics and their families. August was choc-a-bloc full of action. The Chaeli Campaign turned 8. Chaeli turned 18. And I discovered that my heart's electrical system is taking strain dancing to its own discordant beats and have had to learn how to take tablets on a daily basis.

September saw our play, 'In The Wings', hit the stage at the Joburg Theatre in its 2nd season and The Chaeli Campaign claimed September as Chaeli Peace Pop month - with 4 of our Lavender Hill Ambassadors and Chaeli addressing the full Council of the City of Cape Town. October was ridiculous and another moment for me to let go: Chaeli was invited to be a keynote speaker at the UNESCO Conference in Paris and I did not travel with her for the 1st time - she and Erin had a ball: sisters in Paris - what can I say?! November saw both our daughters start their exams: Erin doing her 1st varsity end-of-year exams and Chaeli writing IEB Matric exams. November both flew by and took forever. Chaeli won the Youth Leader of the Year award at the National Disability Awards and met the Pres and several members of his Cabinet when she did a presentation in front of 3000 people in Nelspruit. We did manage to have a celebratory braai (so unusual for the Mycrofts!) on Russell's B-Day on the 28th. And then December arrived with all of us spending a fair amount of time at Pick n Pay Steenberg doing our Red Sock Friday Christmas promotion. Early in December we heard that Erin had passed her 1st year with distinctions in 6 of her 10 subjects. We celebrated Christmas with our buddies the Terrys and had the Keets and BSA friends pop in - always a blessing. And then 2 days ago we got Chaeli's Matric results - a B aggegate with mega marks ensuring entrance to study at UCT next year.

And these were just some of the highlights ... Hectic! Frenetic! Fabulous! Soooo ... I salute the wonderful year that was 2012. And even more importantly a big shout out to the people who made it so special.

Letting Go

Last night I hugged my daughters goodbye at Cape Town International Airport. Erin's 19 and Chaeli's 18 and they're off to Paris for a week where Chaeli will be doing a keynote address at the UNESCO conference on Wednesday. This is the first time that I won't be travelling with Chaeli and she's off to have fun with her sister, while doing her work as a disability activist and Children's Peace Prize recipient. I thought I'd cry, but I didn't ...

Instead Erin was the weepy one: not sad to be leaving mama but tearful to leave her boyf, Warren, for a week. Chaeli was all smiles and excitement. I also think besides missing Warren before leaving, Erin suddenly fully realised the responsibility she was claiming in heading this Mycroft mission to Paris, and for a moment it was overwhelming.

These sisters are going to have an amazing adventure and come back with memories that they will share forever. What a gift to each other of their time and their care and their love and laughter. So often Chaeli is in the limelight as the activist and the speaker, but I am SO incredibily proud of my beautiful, amazingly strong firstborn Erin. Her support will be unseen (as it often has been in the past) and people will swarm around Chaeli - which is good and right - she has important work to do whilst having fun at the same time.

But Erin has an equally important task this week (this mom thinks that maybe it's more important?) as Chaeli cannot shine without her, and will not be able to accept her responsibility as a voice for the voiceless without Erin supporting her daily physical needs. And then the sisters will also step in to support one another emotionally.

It's great to know that THEY know they have each other's back and that because they love each other they're prepared to go that extra mile (or thousand) for each other. At about 8:30pm I was back home in my bathroom when I imagined that I heard their jet in the sky. I rushed onto the verandah and looked towards the airport - having often seen the lights of planes coming in to land and taking off from the airport 20km away. And there it was: flight BA058 winking at me as it climbed the night sky, blinking its farewell, with my gorgeous girls on board - heading for Europe.

And then I cried.

Ho Hum Winter

It's freezing at the foot of Africa and I'm finding it particularly difficult to get motivated enough to get into the gym to shake off much un-needed kilograms! I have therefore decided to embrace my voluptuous curves for the worst of winter and delay the shock of exercise for a time in the near future when it would be more seemly to strip off the outer layers of clothing and build up a sweat. I'm using lifting Chaeli several times a day as the description of my 'regular exercise programme'! I call it power lifting ...

Our elder daughter, Erin, heading towards writing her final Matric exams is more of an edventure as I learn to open my fingers even further - knowing that my beautiful first-born child is heading helter skelter into adulthood. Now that is scary: coming to the realisation that your child is fast becoming independent and making decisions without you and forging ahead in a life that she is shaping for herself. It all seems so sudden. Where did all those years of growing up go?

And as sad as I feel when I reflect on the various stages of Erin's life I can't help celebrating the emergence of an assertive, strong, beautiful young woman who has taught me so much over the past 18 years as a child and will be teaching me so much more as she spreads her wings into an unknown but exciting future.

What an adventure for all of us ...

The Madness Escalates ...

Yup - not only have I committed to doing the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour EVERY year I have also signed up to do the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in Jozi on 20 November 2011. Insanity! We want to grow our Chaeli Rider contingent in Gauteng (especially for all the peeps who don't get to Cape Town for the Argus Cycle Tour but do the hot-and-hilly 94.7 on the Highveld). So come along all you cycling fanatics in Johannesburg - we'd love to have you cycling in Chaeli colours!

Maybe I should SERIOUSLY consider losing some of my body (as I already seem to have lost my mind) and also train a little more to make these cycling experiences enjoyable and not just challenging. Maybe in my next memo to myself ...

Here I'm 3km into the 2011 Argus Tour on Eastern Boulevard - clearly still having fun ...

Oh So Nearly ...

I know the question lurking uppermost in your mind this week is: “Did Mad Mom Zelda survive the onslaught of the 2011 Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour?”


Here are a few things I learnt from my time out on the road on Sunday:
1. Two bananas does not a breakfast make
2. Goo is not a viable replacement for real food – a peanut butter sandwich would probably be better (maybe even a banana?)
3. Factor 20 sun block does not protect my lily white skin (especially the 2 inches visible between the bottom of my long gym broeks and my secret socks)
4. The lighter your bike, the easier you wheel it when walking uphill
5. The Flying Custard (and my own voluptuous form) get heavier with every km

And now to cut to the chase: I started like a rocket, with the weather being perfect and feeling strong. I was still smiling at Ladies Mile bridge as I roared beneath our banner that welcomed the Chaeli Riders and did enthusiastic air pumping to Chaeli and the rest of my family shouting encouragement from atop the bridge. I made it to Lakeside in record time (for me!) and the smiles of the Terry family and a most welcome Energade. And here started my first (of many) designated walk – Boyes Drive. All went well for the next forever kilometres, stopping to drink, sucking on Goo sachets and living in the moment – focusing on one push of the hand cycle at a time. Even the baboons heading into Scarborough did not deter me and I raced towards Chappies full of the joys of another magical day in Africa. Then the loooooong energy-sapping walk up Chappies, with an invigorating swoop down into Hout Bay. It was wonderful to see Bruce Wright dance across the road in Hout Bay Village (complete with Jade on his hip) and I heeded his warning that I needed to make it to the next set of robots (just over the next hill - which seemed a long way off) in 5 minutes. He even offered to help push my worthy steed (which I was dragging along again, walking as fast as I could). Power walking with a multitude of huffs and puffs followed as I stomped towards the crest of the hill, hopped aboard the Flying Custard and ended up being the 2nd last person to make the cut off time at the bottom of Suikerbossie. I was exhausted but elated!

Suikerbossie is a very, very, very long hill. Having done my daring dash through the village I think I squeezed out the very last bit of energy I had remaining. My mind fogged up (I didn’t even think of popping one last Goo) and I tried to push and pull the FC from every angle (even ended up pushing from behind the seat and tried to get it uphill that way). I was literally drooling with effort and after what felt like forever I looked up to find at least another 800m before the bend in the road (and I knew there was yet more uphill to come) and that’s when the uncontrollable shaking and nausea started. I knew I probably had another 45 min/1hr left on the road and I’m afraid my resilience ran out. The bad news is that I did not get to finish the Argus Cycle Tour this year. The good news is that I completed 92km (10km more than last year) in 9 hrs and 10 min (the same time as last year) – so I see this as progress! I’m aiming to make it 3rd time lucky in 2012 …

A HUGE thank you to the many friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances who reached deep to support this marathon venture. Thank you for pledging support of my current insanity before I even took to the road and thank you for making a tangible difference by making sure that your pledge reached The Chaeli Campaign coffers. Our children who participate in the various programmes will benefit greatly from your generosity - please accept my humble thanks for making such a huge difference in their lives.

Me (on yet another designated walk) up Smitswinkel Bay ...

Off Again On Again

Three months of dithering ... two months of deliberating the various aches and pains of my overweight, ageing body ... one month of extreme guilt at not wanting to do what I have said I will do ... and now the moment has come for a final decision: Yes, I AM doing the 2011 Pick n Pay Argus Cycle Tour on the Flying Custard next Sunday!

Last year I had 8 weeks of training rides (3 a week). This year has been chokablock with all kinds of things that I've fabricated to keep me from dropping my ample bottom into the low-slung seat of my hand cycle. I think that I have had 10 rides in total. "But," I tell myself, "you are fitter than last year." Yeah, right!

The major difference is that last year I was blissfully ignorant of what awaited me on the Argus Trail, and I talked myself through 9 hours and 10 minutes of extreme effort to make it to the top of Chapman's Peak, where the organisers (thankfully) put a stop to my folly as they needed to open the roads to traffic.

This year I don't have the protective cover of ignorance. I know what's coming my way. And more than anything else - Wynberg Hill TERRIFIES me! No other hill has that hold over me and I'm afraid it's hubris that is my worst enemy. For any other hill I have a plan. Lurking in my little black bag attached to the Flying Custard's frame is a rope that I use for all my designated walks (Boyes Drive being the 1st) but there is NO WAY that I will walk the Flying Custard up Wynberg Hill in full view of wall-to-wall supporters chanting encourgament to cyclists flying past on their worthy steeds.

It's going to be a grind and I have commissioned my nephews, Jadon & Matthew, to be on duty to push me up that hill. Yup, the sad reality is that I refuse to walk, but being pushed is not beneath my dignity. Any other volunteers who might wish to push before they see a fountain erupt from the top of my head would be welcomed with whoops and gasps of delight ...

Soooooo ... 9 days to go and the adrenaline has started pumping, the nightmares are invading my slumber and I'm doing positive visualisation of the glow of achievement that will wash over me as I cover the last 27 (downhill) kilometres of the course. The 27km I did not get to ride last year. Of course Chaeli reckons I should start at Chappies and only do the last 27km - complete the Cycle Tour over 2 years. She makes a compelling argument ...

My How Time Flies ...

More than a month since my last promise to start training for the Cycle Tour and now, 32 days later - KENAKO: It is here! This past week I have been to the gym all of twice and had my first 5km training session on the Flying Custard (I've decided some things shouldn't change and the original name for my bright yellow steed is perfect - thanks, Stuart!). Perhaps I should stagger my training and not go to the gym for a hectic session and then try to drag my large body around on a hand cycle afterwards? Need to organise my life better ...

On the positive side - Pedal Power Association has provided funding to The Chaeli Campaign for another 2 hand cycles. One is being custom-made for Juan (disabled in a car accident at the age of 19 - now 22) as part of his rehab and we purchased the Black Mamba from Andrew Stodel, who completed the Cycle Tour using the Black Mamba in 2010 (great time round 5hrs+). Mukhtar Lee, who is a member of the wheelchair dancing school Chaeli attends has expressed an interest in hand cycling and has now had two training rides - and his 1st two crashes! As he has never been on a bicycle before he has a lot to learn about road craft and which way to lean when you turn at speed (hence the crashes!) but he is as keen as mustard. Mukkie will also feel much better about it as soon as the bike is adjusted to suit his bod - in this pic we were just trying to let him get the feel of it. We promise to remove the pillows and scarves and get more serious about posture and equipment!

So what can you expect to see out on the road on Sunday afternoons as we head into serious training for next year's Big Race? Mukkie on the Black Mamba and Mad Mom Zelda on the Flying Custard: a formidable sight and we're excited about training together!

PS: Did I mention that the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour entries open in 13 days' time? EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!!!