I have been very quiet with this blog.

One of the reasons is that I am working on triathlon team and say NO to drafting.

Check them out.

Our house in Stellenbosch was broken into last night. Amongst few other things my bicycle was stolen.

I am looking for my bike, it is a

- black aluminum Specialized S-Works Transition, medium size
- Dura-Ace Shimano groupset
- Look KEO pedals
- Mavic training wheels
- Powertap (with wires)
- Oval A900 handlebars
- step is adjustable (up/down)

This is a very particular setup as stem and Oval I think are not available in Europe, and most people have wireless Powertaps.

If you notice any of these parts or the whole bike please email me at nikolatosic@gmail.com or call me at 0791890999. There is a reward. Thank you.

As usual on Friday many emails were being sent back and forth arranging the week-end cycles. I am currently “a retired triathlete” at the moment a combination of lack of sponsorship and rebuilding my business has taken away the luxury of my racing at the moment. I have recently put off my goal to complete in Iron Man 2009 after some serious training and have not entered Argus, although I have qualified for SA Tri Champs I am not sure whether I will be able to afford to compete.

I slept in this morning and did not meet anybody for a cycle – quite difficult to get motivated without a goal. Perhaps I have post training depression seeing as I did not even get to do the race. After sleeping in I had some errands to run. I was taken in by a terrible sight in Milnerton – the road had been cordoned off and there were ambulances surrounding a body covered in a blanket.

I immediately did a U-turn and arrived at the scene of the accident to see if it was a friend – It was nobody that I knew – but a friend none the less – as a cyclist/triathlete I feel we are part of a community where we all share a common love. My condolences go out to the friends and family of Colin Van Schalkwyk. I am sorry that on a day of love such a loss should occur and that this day of love and happiness shall forever mark the tragic loss of Colin to his wife and those that were close to him.

I think there is also the real fear that that could be any of us, or that the friends standing alongside the road could also be us - or perhaps even the person in the car. It was a tragic accident and nobody was to “blame” – I am sure there may have been error in action that caused the fatal accident but no intent to harm.

As Cyclists we get confident and we sometimes ride two to three abreast and get angry with cars that get annoyed. Many motorists alike are angered by cyclists. However no matter who you are I guess the cyclist never wins. I have never heard a story of a car being taken out by a hit and run cyclist or any cyclist for that matter. Cyclists, please be alert – these cars are bigger than us, yes we have our rights too but by being on the roads with bigger, heavier vehicles going at speed, every cycling session is a risk and we need to practice caution.

A lesson in life to never take anybody or anything for granted including your gift of life – Love deeply and live for your dreams…. Spread the love… let those close to you know how important they are and never leave angry always kiss and make up or accept your differences and part on good terms.

On returning home I did a face book search to see if I recognized Colin – it felt quite eerie that I could go onto his profile picture and see his gentle smile and his lovely comment on his passion for cycling. What I did recognize was the beautiful view of him with friends in his profile pics on Chappies Peak and the bike that I saw alongside the road….R.I.P.

After writing this post I saw Dan Hugo only to find that he too had been knocked off his bike by a truck - lucky for all of our our friend Dan was lucky to have got away!