Grand finale

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?” ― Lance Armstrong, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Saturday, 11 August 2012, Canon-to-Cape Charity Cycle tour: successfully completed.

I learnt again this past week that the mind is an extremely powerful thing.  Every morning we woke up at 04:30, started to pack and at 06:00 (not exactly at 06:00, there was always somebody that needed to do some final thing before getting on the bike), we were on our way to our next destination. Yes, there were maybe one or two mornings when we were tired, unmotivated, however within seconds those feelings subsided, making place for determination, motivation, pride.

I believe the most important factor  that really helped the group of cyclists, is the fact that they took the tour literally one second at a time. Not thinking about the challenges of two or three days ahead, only focusing on what needed to be done that day, that kilometre, that second.  The other factor is that they are an extremely “hardegat” (stubborn) group of people, giving up was NOT an option, come wind, come rain, come flat tyres, come excruciating pain, they kept going forward.

We arrived in an extremely windy Lourensford just before 17:00 on Friday and were greeted with a warm welcome from family and friends. The cyclists broke a ribbon to complete the tour.  Yes, it was emotional, it was overwhelming, it was the best feeling seeing them break that ribbon, announcing their arrival, their success and yes, also the relief to have finished.

Riana, in her speech, said that they as a group felt a hand over them, protecting them, during this challenging tour. I believe that next to Him sat two little guys, just making sure He does not let go for one second, looking after us the entire time.  Thank you and we miss you.

Some of the team members arrived safely this afternoon at Kanoneiland and the rest will be travelling back tomorrow, we pray that we will also get back home safely. One thing is for certain, we will go back different people as this tour gave a new perspective on life – we have learnt that anything is possible, no matter how impossible it seems. We have learnt the importance of teamwork and that solid friendships can not be broken by even the worst tests.

Hopefully we will be able to tell how much funds we were able to raise for our cause, TLC of CANSA, in the next few days. The account is still open, please feel free to support us.

Thank you again for your support during this adventure, the support was definitely also an important factor that pulled the cyclists through.

God Bless!

Elizca