Weekend Wanderings: The Junior Cape Town Cycle Tour 2016

A few weekends back it felt like the whole of Cape Town came to a standstill for the Cape Town Cycle Tour… And not to be left out, I too took part in the world’s largest time cycle race… vicariously through my children! 😉

Once again we headed off to enjoy the Junior Cape Town Cycle Tour on the Saturday proceeding the official event.

We joined hundreds of exciting children and their families for a busy morning of biking fun at the military base in Wynberg.

This year we were a little older and wiser and timed our arrival for about 40 mins prior to our first race. We also enlisted some friends of a similar age and riding ability to join us as the last time my daughter was all on her own (with her dad of course, but it’s always more fun with a friend!)

We signed up Abi for the 5km race and this proved to be a very popular option… in fact I think that all the distances are!

The excitement in the crowd at the starting line was palpable and one the siren started you couldn’t hold the kids back… They burst forth ready to take on the world – fairy wheels, teddies and streamers to boot!

All shapes and sizes (of kids, adults, bikes) took the track and made the morning a very festive and fun day out!

Here are a few of my photos of the fun day…

Abi just loved doing this special event with her dad by her side and if her happy memories were the only things we walked away with then it was well worth it.

Fortunately (despite a tumble on the last lap) she also enjoyed the ride and came away with fun goodie bag AND a medal to display with pride… and she eventually found her smile again after the bruising knock!

Then it was time for the big brothers to head off on their own 7.5km route…

Somehow they managed to find their way to the front of the pack and were in the very first line up of riders on the starting line!

Once the siren sounded they managed to maintain their positions quite well and zoomed past us in the first few places on the first lap. 3 laps later and Ben finished in a strong 7th place – only beaten by the boys on serious racing bikes in comparison to his rather sturdy mountain bike!

All in all we had a great day out having fun as a family and with a couple of friends thrown in the mix. As a parent I think it’s so important to encourage a love of exercise and helping kids to enjoy the process of getting and keeping fit rather than winning at all costs… and this was a great event to do just that with their motto of “It’s not a race, it’s a ride”

What fun ways do you promote exercise as a family?? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below…

Images: Kathryn Rossiter

Kathryn Rossiter

Kathryn is a South African lifestyle blogger and mom of 2 who has been blogging daily for over 9 years! She writes about travel, health, beauty, fashion, decor and family... but not food (unless it's food she's eaten made by someone else) as she is a hopeless cook. She only wakes up early for 2 things... a red-eye flight to somewhere exotic and early morning game drives. She has just finished an extensive home renovation and would prefer to never see another box again. She's never met a chocolate or glass of bubbles that she didn't like!