He has celebrated completing nearly as many Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tours as he has birthdays. And this year Nicholas Stone, 26, will get the key to that special group of cyclists who call themselves Club 21.
Club 21 represents cyclists who have ridden 21 or more Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tours and raises money for charity through the annual event.
For Joburg-based Stone, who will compete in his 21st tour on March 13, the memories of his first tour in 1991, when he took part as a six-year-old on a tandem with his father Richard, are still vivid.
The rules have changed since then, and now cyclists have to turn 12 during the year of the event (or 10 when riding on a tandem with an adult).
“My dad has always enjoyed cycling, doing 22 Cycle Tours himself. The first time I entered I was going to get a week off from school in Grade 1.”
The two competed again in 1992 on a tandem. Stone’s younger brother, Kyle, joined them for the next two Tours, on a custom-built “Tridem”.
After that he cycled by himself.
Stone said he had fallen off his bicycle many times during Cycle Tours but walked away with only a few scrapes.
“I remember once in 2008, just after Ladies Mile, I fell and my back tyre was badly damaged. My dad turned back and we repaired the wheel and I was able to continue with a broken helmet, cuts, bruises and scratches and a badly buckled wheel.”
Stone said he always felt motivated to come back.
“It is almost like being in the Tour de France when you battle up Suikerbossie.
“The spectators are amazing and when the wind doesn’t blow, the weather is great and there is no better scenery.”
Stone said the race did not necessarily get easier each year.
“I now know what it means when people say that with age it never gets easier. I have to admit that the last few years the Cape Doctor has visited and reminded us of its presence. What has helped is that I know every bump, manhole cover and baboon on the route.”
Stone said he would like to be more competitive but his job as a technical engineer at SAA took up a lot of his time.
“I do a lot of mountain-bike riding and I enter quite a few of the more popular rides in Gauteng so I end up riding most of the year.”
He would continue to enter the Cycle Tour every year.
“As long as the Stormers are the best rugby side and my health and wealth permits it, wild horses will not stop me.”
This year Stone and his father, now 55, will be among 35 000 competitors for the 34th Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour.
“The Cycle Tour is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in a healthy activity and one where the family can be involved in as well.”