CHASING SUNRISES
For Richard Damant, who hangs out at the sharp end of the cycling field, getting out of bed at quarter to sparrow’s fart five to six times a week isn’t a choice. Well, it wasn’t initially – it was a necessity. As a student, he never even contemplated getting out of bed before 8am; but after graduating he had to do his articles as a chartered accountant, and had to be at work at 8am, with no idea when the day would end.
If Damant wanted to ride – and he did – it had to be early. Now he rides from 4.30am, throughout the year. He has a cycling coach who dishes out punishing programmes, and he follows structured sessions.
“At first it was horrible. It took me about a month to get used to it and get into a routine, but then I actually started to enjoy it. The early starts haven’t curtailed my social life. I sometimes have to work late, but I still get up early.”
He does regular interval sessions, and once a week he takes part in Joburg’s increasingly popular Engen-to- Engen sessions – a 38km loop on open roads from the Engen in Bryanston, through Emmerentia and along Jan Smuts, towards the centre of town and then back to the garage.
“The ride leaves at 4.55am, and if you’re late, you’re chasing. It’s an hour or so flat out – which, when you’re rushed for time, is a pretty good and efficient workout.”
Damant says he rides no matter what, and doesn’t let rain or cold stop him. “I spent last winter in Boston, US, where cold is really cold. For my first ride I put on the thickest pair of gloves I could find, but by the time I got back it felt like someone had repeatedly slammed my fingers in a car door. After that, I made sure I got kitted up properly.”
There are some disadvantages to riding in the dark – like the time Damant went to George for work, but still woke up to ride in the pitch black. Off he went; but when the sun came up, he found he’d gone off course – he was in Sedgefield, 40km away. He had 30 minutes to get to work. “That was interesting,” he recalls.
But, he says, there are many more advantages – the greatest one being that the roads are quiet, which is not something that happens too often in bustling Jozi. Another advantage is that the earlymorning landscape is a perfect backdrop for dramatic photos, and Damant’s Instagram feed (@ richarddamant) has probably featured more bikesand- sunrises shots than there’ve been proposed motions of no confidence in President Zuma.