Road Cycling
Open Box has sponsored employee teams for the Pick n’ Pay Argus Cycle Tour for the last two years. From our base in Tokai we have plenty of opportunity to tackle big hills, small mountains and long practice rides. Bikes have been stolen and ankles have been broken before the race, but nothing gets us down. And those who couldn’t be convinced to get up at oh-dark-hundred hours and put on the little shorts of bravery were right there on the side of the road, cheering on those who could!
Times range from sub-3 hours to coming in 5 minutes before the cut-off. But at the end of the day, pretty much everyone manages to make it to the braai afterwards.
And we have no idea where that distance marker in the boss’s lounge came from. Really.
Mountain biking
The off-roaders are strictly fair weather cyclists. If it’s too cold, if there’s a hint of rain, or if we had a late night the day before, we cancel. We never go cycling before 9am, and then only if we’re meeting for coffee before the ride. People typically arrive late anyway, and this is perfectly acceptable.
Yet our stats show us as very hardcore: we’ve broken bikes, buckled rims, worn out brakes and cracked helmets. We’ve hit rocks, got stuck in mud, done summersaults, landed on heads and sometimes not even landed at all. Ramps are nothing to us because we struggle to hit them; trees on the other hand need to be wary of us, for our aim never fails. We are such extreme downhill junkies that we drive to the top and have a car fetch us at the bottom.
And yes, we’re firm believers that all rides should be followed by beer, pizza and more coffee. We are the Open Box informal, loose-cannon cycling team.
Only for the brave.