I recently purchased a new road bike and started doing some rides around the beautiful roads in the Cape Winelands again. During my latest ride this past weekend my mind wondered back to the last Argus Cycle Tour I completed in 2013 and the brilliant e-mail I received from a patient of mine shortly thereafter.
I have disguised my patient as Mr X. This is more to protect my ego as I was beaten by a 64 year old patient of mine! He sustained a major knee injury in August 2011 and underwent emergency reconstructive knee surgery. After a long rehabilitation he returned to cycling and he also took part in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour in March of 2013. Here follows his e-mail to me shortly after the race:
Dear Dr Dillon,
Congratulations. I understand that you have completed the 2013 Argus Cycle Race in 03:29:33 – not bad for a 40 year old man. However, we understand that you had a bet on for one bottle of top Stellenbosch red wine with a certain Mr X (aged 64). We wish to point out the following:
| Edwin Dillon – Argus 2013 – Time | 03:29:33 |
| Mr X – Argus 2013 – Time | 05:08:32 |
| Minus Age Handicap: | 00:48:00 |
| Minus Leg Injury Handicap: | 00:30:00 |
| Minus handicap for only starting at 09h00 instead of 07h00: | 00:15:00 |
| Minus bad advice from orthopaedic surgeon who suggested that
Mr X takes it easy over the first half of the Argus race: |
00:05:00 |
| Effective time of Mr X for comparative purposes | 03:29:32 |
| Conclusion: Once all handicaps have been factored in Mr X beats Dr Dillon by | 00:00:01 |
Well done to Mr X!
Kind regards,
P.S. Thank you for making this achievement possible! – Mr X