Get set, ready, goooo!!!!
Now, you must surely be thinking about some sort of athletic sports event…wrong!! Even though I am far from being the ideal athlete, the Deutsche Bank Cycle Race 2010 was however an ideal way of raising funds for local charities. On that particular Sunday, I strained myself out of bed with only one thought in my mind: “To finish the 50km race”…I longed for the time when I would be crossing the finishing line and seeing the smiling faces of my friends…
Hours later, I was at Belle-Mare, together with Yudish and my other Deutsche Bank fellow colleagues…we were all impatiently waiting for our turn to start…those cycling the 100km race had already begun and since I had no news from my JCI mates (Prashant/ Jacques/ Arvind/ Roshan) that morning, I prayed that they had well started the race at their end…
Bike checked/ water bottles checked/ energy bars checked/ sunglasses checked, shoelaces checked…I was all prepared for the long road ahead…the scorching sun was shining as glorious as it could, and I wondered how I would be at the end of the race…sunburnt and exhausted…but it was all worth it…my mates and I had been training for months for this very day, so there was no looking back. The thought of having to do this for all those underprivileged brothers and sisters out there made the race worthwhile.
1005am…after the photo shoots and the chit-chats, the greenlight was given and the race started. A quick prayer for courage and I started cycling as fast as I could to be able to get to the head of the queue…in the process I was able to wave goodbye to my sister Tina who was following by car, just to make sure that help was near just in case I got into any sort of bike trouble…I had only one thought in mind…not to stop until I reached Mont-Choisy…and so I cycled without looking back… little did I realise that it was mid-way already and I felt proud of myself…I had waved the passers-by goodbye, I had overtook a dozen of cyclists along the way and I had cycled the most hilly parts of the track without stopping…it was then that my stomach started rumbling…oooppss!! Luckily the energy bars did the trick, even though cycling with one hand and eating with the other was quite of a mission, especially on the uneven roads…soon after I found myself staring at some of the most beautiful coastlines ever, and then again, some of the most beautiful green pastures ever…some of the villagers stopped and waived…others even came out of their houses and offered water…and in some other villages, the children shouted: “Allez girl, plus vite!! Bonne chance!!”. I must be so lucky living on such a pretty island where people who are complete strangers encourage each other like that…this was a huge boost for the last stretch of road ahead of me…
I was now in Poudre D’or. “Another 30minutes”, I said to myself, giving a quick glance at my watch…from my back pocket where I placed my mobile phone, I could hear messages coming through…it was those of all the people waiting at Mont-Choisy for me to reach the finishing line and asking where I had reached…”Faster”, I said to myself…so there I went, cycled as fast as I could for that last part…. and minutes after, I was there…crossing the finishing line and hearing the uproar of cheering from the crowd, the music was blaring loud from the speakers at Mont Choisy and I finally realised that I was there… and that I managed to finish the race without any trouble…and I had only one thought in mind… a nice cold Phoenix beer…
A huge thank you to all the cyclists and JCI family and friends who encouraged us from the very beginning and who were there to welcome us at the end of the race… you guys were awesome… rendez-vous now for the 100km race this October 2011. Are you ready?
Sabrina Hanoomanjee
2010 Deutsche Bank Cycle Tour – Participant
HATS OFF..
I woke up with a funny text message sent by my local president. Upon reading it, the mood was already set for the Deutsche Bank cycle race. Our friends, Prashant, Arvind, David, Yudish, Roshan, Sabrina and Veenandi took part in the race. Whilst some took part in the 100km race, the others did the 50km track. The sun was at its highest and even whilst being driven, I was feeling uneasy, I couldn’t imagine the hardship through which my friends were undergoing.
The support team present were deployed in four different vehicles and each was assigned specific cyclists. We were armed with team spirit to our coordination of supplying them with water, energy drinks and cereal bars as and when they felt the need and were acting as their shadows. Seeing them wearing our personalised JCI Curepipe jersey, it enticed a sense of pride in me. To say that we were there to support them wasn’t exactly true, since they were the one motivating us and at the same time supporting a great cause as the race in itself was a fundraising event organised by The Circle association.
The landscape throughout the route was exquisite with its lush carpet of green vegetation. I could see them weakening throughout the day, however I tried to cheer them up as much as I could. After a whole day of cycling from Mahebourg to Choisy, I was waiting for them impatiently at the finish line and my heart was filled with joy as I saw them approaching with their medals. Congratulating them wasn’t enough considering the efforts they made, it clearly instilled the sense of faith and service to humanity as mentioned in the JCI Creed and evinced that indeed the earth’s greatest treasure lies in human personality. Had they been looking forward to only fulfill a purpose, they wouldn’t have been willing to create a positive change and impact as they did in their own way. Never have I witnessed such a sense of pride to belong to this wonderful family than on this particular day.
Deepika Ramkoosalsing
2010 Deutsche Bank Cycle Tour – Support Team