Every second Sunday in March the city welcomes the Cape Town Cycle Tour, when 35 000 cyclists saddle up to take part in the largest individually timed cycle event in the world.
When our client South African Tourism asked us to cover the event, Flow writing studio head Melanie Feris put a plan in place to ensure that the story, with images, could be published on the same day.
Flowstars are up for any challenge and take on assignments with gusto, so covering the event was all part of a day’s work. While I was at the event Melanie kept tabs on my progress, calling to check if all was in order.
Flow subeditor Keith Nicholls was on hand to check copy and images, and to make any necessary changes.
I was tasked with covering the event, and the plan was to get as close to the action, and to the finish line at the Cape Town Stadium, as soon as possible. Taking road closures into account, and that thousands of people make their way to the inner city to support the event, it meant an early start.
As a Capetonian I knew that the cool pre-dawn darkness I woke up to was heralding a beautiful day with perfect weather for a cycle race, so armed with a laptop and a camera I made my way to the inner city to capture images and soak up the atmosphere.
Even though the course was shortened this year, from 109km to 47km, it did not stop cyclists from taking part, nor did it deter thousands of people from lining the streets along the route to shout encouragement and to make a day of it.
The walk to the finish line gave me the perfect opportunity to take pictures as hundreds of cyclists whizzed by. However, on at least two occasions, I had to quickly jump out of the way as cyclists came barrelling toward me. While there were very few supporters on the part of the route through the inner city, the sound of people shouting and music blaring grew louder, the closer I got to the stadium.
The carnival-like atmosphere was infectious, and I had to drag myself away from the action to find a quiet place to download photographs and update the blog. Like all Flowstars do, I stepped up to the challenge and enjoyed every minute of it.
