Pacs cycling club grows
The Pacaltsdorp Cycling Club is still in its infancy but members are already embracing this longawaited experience with the "balanced wheel." Membership is growing steadily with quite a few youngsters joining and making an impression in social training. One of the aims of the club is to introduce youngsters to the discipline of cycling and at the same time take them off the streets. The man at the helm is Faizal Marks. Budding 12-year old Cuan Marshall Wildeman is one of the youngsters who is showing great promise. In a recent ride, from George to Sedgefield and back, Cuan stunned the adults in the training group when he finished the 80km distance in an impressive 3 hours 20 minutes with an average speed of just under 24km/h. It was only his seventh race.
He left most the field behind on their way back at Wilderness through the Kaaimans Pass and challenged some more advanced cyclists at the uphill - and this after 65km. Cuan is also a keen runner and is currently working on his swimming with coach Bronwyn Macdonald at Wellness World. His dream is to represent South Africa in triathlon at the Olympics one day.
Coach Marks said they need children like Cuan to have a dream and work towards achieving it. "Cuan is already an inspiration to his fellow youngsters in Pacaltsdorp." Miquel Arendse is another youngster who currently trains with the group.
During the Knysna Oyster virtual ride from Knysna to Sedgefield and back, a distance of 50km, the group finished in a time of 1 hour 40 minutes at an average speed of nearly 30km/h. Marks believes the club will grow from strength to strength. "There is plenty of undiscovered talent in Pacaltsdorp. Hopefully youngsters like Cuan and Miquel will be a huge inspiration for their peers to join the club."
The club trains from 05:30 until 06:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at the Total Garage Pacaltsdorp. All cyclists in Pacaltsdorp are welcome to join.