Coming back from Belgium I was quietly confident that I had done enough to be selected for the World Championships. But inclusion in the SA squad is something I never take for granted. So it was a joy and a relief when I saw my name in the team again. However, before this year I had never done more than one overseas trip in a year, so I had a few new challenges to face. Another trip meant I needed more funding and as everyone had contributed to my first trip to Italy and Belgium I wasn’t sure how much more funds I would receive for this trip. Then the next problem was who would go with me? Anet had used up her annual leave going with me to Nationals and Italy and Belgium so she could not go with me. So I had to find someone else to go with me, but when all my friends work it isn’t as easy getting someone to go with me. In addition the trip can get physically demanding so whoever goes with me must be able to cope with that aspect of the trip.
I slowly worked my way through an invisible list of friends and family who could come with me and while I was doing that my friend Roxy contacted me and volunteered to go with me. I thought it would be such a nice idea because Roxy had introduced me to para-cycling but I started as she finished so we never got to do a trip together. I was a bit weary of taking her because she also has a disability but as we were going as a team and had a manager and a mechanic I thought we could cope. So with someone to go with me I only had to focus on training and the funding of the trip.
It is sometimes amazing how God plans our path and only looking back can we see how all things work together. In a matter of a few weeks I went to two shows with two different friends of a comedian that is a church friend of mine but she had moved towns so I hadn’t seen her so often recently. Sitting in one of those shows I thought how great it would be to do a similar show as a fundraiser for my trip. The idea stayed with me and a day or two later I saw her in my church. I decided it was a bit presumptuous of me to tell her my idea but I still found myself talking to her about it and to my utter surprise she was onboard with the idea even before I had finished speaking. We continued to correspond and suddenly my little idea had grown and we had about eight artists taking part in the show. It was a journey of faith. The concert was set for the 2nd of September and I was flying out on the 7th. The tickets sales were initially very slow and as time passed I needed to pay flights, accommodation and so forth. I was so grateful that I received some money from Cycling South Africa for my placing at the World Cups but I knew that would not get me the whole way. I just prayed that by the time I needed to do each payment I had enough funds.
The day of the concert arrived and we still had a few tickets to sell to reach the minimum amount of tickets that I needed to sell to get the minimum amount of funds to pay everything. And then suddenly everyone woke up and Anet, who was managing the tickets so I could focus on training and the trip, could barely keep up with the demand for tickets. Walking into an almost full theater was humbling. Yes, I know the artists were popular artists and worthy of a full house but the thought that the whole evening was to support me and so many of my friends were there was just an amazing feeling. It was honestly one of those special evenings which I hope to remember for the rest of my life! The fact that most people laughed at the comedy section which Mariette performed and that we sold enough tickets was wonderful. There were some very special moments during the show, like when Carlyn and Anique dedicated a song to me and it just happened to be one of my favorite songs at the moment and one where the words of the song means so much to me (which they did not know).
I can really encourage my readers to go to any shows featuring Mariette Loubser, Kaleidoscope Band, Bottomless Coffee Band, Carlyn Ganz, Jacob Swann, and Danie du Toit (Spoegwolf). They are brilliant artists and you will enjoy the show!
Why am I writing so much about the show? Because I hold firm to the belief that you need to enjoy the journey and not just the destination. To me the show and the whole evening was so special and was definitely part of my cycling journey.
The rest of the week was doing admin from the show and packing and making sure everything was in place for our trip. The Thursday night Anet came around and it was just weird talking about the trip and everything knowing she wasn’t coming with. We both felt quite sad but we had made our decision and there was no turning back.
I have been trying to get writing on my experiences at the World Champs but I took a few weeks off and now I am busy with pre-season testing. I hope to get the next blog done in the next week of two so keep checking back or subscribe to receive my blogs in your inbox!
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