Having spent the last 10 days in Cape Town everything is set for the arrival of the first group of Zero to TTRide Hero Riders for 2008 on Tuesday.

It has been a long time since I have been on holiday in South Africa, as you would expect for January, the weather has been fantastic, the beaches have been full and the bars have had their usual summer party time feel.

The Cape Town itinerary is all set, a welcome Braii (BBQ SA style) lots of surf lessons, a wave prediction course, township football training, a wine tour, climbing table mountain, a trip to the world famous La Med sun-downer bar on Sunday and lots more.

Sam and Chris (Leaders of Trip 1) cannot wait to get their trip underway on Tuesday, Tim and Nikki have 2 weeks to go until their trip lands and I have been so excited about the thought of getting 2008 underway, that I even wrote it in the sand….

This morning has been all about airport pick ups from Cape Town International. Flying over Cape Town is awesome, especially on a day like today when there is not a cloud in the sky. Hopefully the guys and girls were able to spot table mountain, as they rounded it on their way in.

Everyone looked pretty tired, it seems that no one slept. However, now that they have all had some food and some of them have already tapped into their first beer they are already looking relaxed and happy to be out here in beautiful South Africa.

We have recommended that they chill out this afternoon, whilst we set up the welcome braii.

We've got boerewors (SA sausages) lamb chops, steaks, some line fish, salad baguettes, cold beers, locals wines and lots to talk about. This has to be my favorite meal of the year.

First surf lesson is tomorrow 9.30am

W

Day 2 has been the first opportunity for everyone to settle into the TTRide lifestyle.

Having welcomed the group to South Africa with a traditional Braii, everyone was finally ready for some sleep in preparation for the day ahead.

Our first surf lesson of the trip is what we call the leveller. Everyone gets on beginner boards for 2 hours of fun in the warmer (Indian Ocean) waters found at Muizenberg.

I am excited to say that the standard of this group is right up there, and here I am not just talking about ability, I am mainly excited about the over all attitude of this group that is already clear to see. Super keen, really smiley and just generally excited about what lies ahead.

Trip 1 leaders Chris and Sam have got a fantastic group and they are the perfect two guys to take their surfing to the next level, not just because of their own proven surfing ability but also because of the professional approach that blends perfectly with their promotion of the TTRide lifestyle.

Lucinda (the group's Cape Town Mum) has cooked up a storm for the Riders and they are now kicking back in front of a movie ready for an early start tomorrow.

The plan is another Surf lesson in the morning, followed by an optional TTRide session and then beach football with the local township kids and finally, assuming the guys and girls still have some energy left, a few well deserved cold beer/glass of South African wine at the local bar.

See you tomorrow

W

For those of you hoping to see something up yesterday evening I apologise. South African internet connections are not as trusty as we are used to back in London. However, it is things like this that promote what’s known as ‘African Time’ and this is something you have to get used to out here.

For example if someone says “see you just now” that’s not the same as “see you now” nor is it the same as “see you now now”. All three of these commonly used SA phrases mean different things and if you don’t tap into their meanings pretty quickly, you could be waiting for quite some time.

Anyway that’s that, more about Trip I…

Yesterday was day 3 and was another good settling in day for the group. It kicked off with a 2 ½ hour surf lesson which saw everyone standing up and riding waves, we are all really excited about this, everyone is smiling and rightly so.

Lunch was an opportunity for everyone to do their own thing, refuel, spot of shopping, internet café’s etc.

The afternoon was back on long beach (the one with the mountains in the background) which is under 100m from their pad. It was as hot as it gets yesterday so everyone was taking it nice and easy in preparation for their first meeting with some the local township kids at 4pm. These little fellas train with Thomas who coaches them on a strip of grass / township dumping ground every day. Ticket to Ride has been involved ever since TTRide first set foot on SA soil in 2005. We help out with the training, which we often move to the beach by picking up the players in our buses. Beach football is always a hit with the kids.

The 2 hour beach footy session went down a storm not only for the local kids but also for the group who were as energetic as them. We work with the same kids on a daily basis throughout our stay in Cape Town, which is a perfect opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and have a good time on the beach.

All this action was then followed by a Braai back at the TTRide pad with Shaun and Lucinda putting on quite a feast.

Now by this stage, even you as readers must getting tired. However the same was not true for the guys and girls who proceeded to put in what is best described as a powerful session at the local bar. When we arrived everything was quietly closing up for the evening, 3 hours later with no more of the preferred beer in stock, we wander home.

Off to go and wake them up now, because today is another day,

See you ‘just now’……..

Monday mornings how they should be.

What a weekend it has been. Our Riders are really settled in to the Cape Town leg of our journey. It’s good to see all the different characters in the group. I am pleased to say that this group really seems to have hit it off. I keep overhearing them tell each other how strange it is that they have only just met.

Friday evening saw everyone enjoy a fun night at the Red Herring watching the sun go down.

Saturday was all about the surf. Without wanting to go on about it, this group is such fun when they are in the water, they are putting everything into it and it is really paying off.

Frosty is now loving the long boarding, Wigsy is making the smallest of waves into absolute screamers, Gabby is mastering the art of non stop talking even whilst riding a wave; Charlotte really took it on Saturday and for me was easily the stand out of the day, Milly is up and riding, Sarah has come on loads having hurt her finger; Jonny quietly catches more waves than anyone else, John’s surfing is set to fly now he has nailed the basics.

Nothing seems to faze Alex after she took a blow to the nose; Max pops to his feet like he knew how to surf at birth. Olly, Harry and Jack are leading the way with the british sun burn, these guys are super keen and this will really help them take it to the next level as we continue round the coast. Jonty has taken to the idea of mastering the basics eventhough he can clearly already surf. The exciting thing is that everyone is always keen for a paddle and if this kind of attitude continues throughout the trip the standard of surfing is gonna become excitingly high.

Sunday saw the guys opting to take it easy relaxing on the beach as they prepared to head to La Med (arguably the world’s most lively Sunday night party venue).
As is traditional in South Africa, any good evening starts with a few sun downers and it carries on from there on in. Best night out so far seemed to be the general consensus.

As far as TTRide coaches go, Chris has been setting the surfing standard pretty high, boosting 360 airs, Sam has to be one of the keenest surfers ever (always setting the early morning alarm) and as you would expect his high performance level of surfing reflects this. These guys are as excited as anyone when they talk about leading this group up the coast. As for me I am loving life out of the UK office overseeing everything and making sure that everything fits into place.

Today, the focus has been on the community side of the trip. It started off with a sand castle building competition with some of the local kids from Ocean View (coloured settlement established during apartheid for those forced to move out of Simons Town). These kind of activities are a great way to interact with local children in a far more realistic way.

2pm saw Thomas (local football coach) show some of the group around Masiphumelele (the local black settlement). Thomas introduced the group to his family who also helped out on the tour. Apart from the scorching heat, our guys really enjoyed seeing how the residents of ‘masi’ go about their everyday life. What makes the tour so special is how proud Thomas and his family are of what they have and what they do and it is great for our guys to witness this first hand.

As I write this, those still standing are back on the beach helping out Thomas with the coaching of his football team. Lucinda was busy cooking up another feast when I popped in earlier and I am now off to plan tomorrows surf lessons with Dene (South Africa’s most qualified surf coach).

You’re now back up to speed with TTRide in South Africa

Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the photos.

W