Chabad Team Completes Cape Town Bike Race

What are your ideal virtues; helping those in need? Learning Torah wisdom? Raising charity for a good cause? Laying Tefilin for Prayer? Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle and good exercise? The Cape Argus Chabad Team might just be what you’re looking for if you answered “all of the above.”

“After studying in Yeshiva in France and my home town of Miami” says Menachem Korf, “coming to Cape Town has been a real learning experience. But seeing how a healthy body and soul work together and empower one another is what I learnt from joining the Cape Argus with the Chabad Team.”

Joining together in support of the Friendship Circle that helps children with special needs, the group of businessmen, professionals, Rabbis, and yeshiva students has been training together for months on an almost daily basis. Rabbi Levi Popack explains that “the Rambam says a healthy body makes for a healthy soul and this was the driving force in combining the work of Chabad with the unique experience that the Argus offers.”

We are grateful to all our sponsors and the success of Team Chabad was in no small part due to them including our nutritional partner GI32 keeping us hydrated and energized where even the unusual heat on the day of the race didn’t deter the riders with some of them coming in at record speeds of 3:16 and the first time riders taking a “slower” pace of 4:40 to complete the largest race in the world (35,000) a 110 km journey through picturesque Cape Town.

“I found the 2012 Argus Cycle Tour was a particularly special event, due to the fact that a group of guys came together and formed Team Chabad,” says Jason Mayo, another proud member of Team Chabad. “An Argus cycle team assembled, all with the common goal of having a great time training together and participating in the 2012 Argus Cycle Tour.

Raising money for an outstanding cause, the team spirit and comradery made preparing and riding in the 2012 Cycle Tour an event to remember.

The morning rides would start in Sea Point and head off to Hout Bay but always leaving early enough to make it back for the morning Minyan at Chabad Centre where everyone could put on Tefilin and join in the Bochurim’s learning groups together afterwards.

“It’s great to be able to have the Rabbis and Bochurim who add so much to our spiritual and Torah learning experience, while at the same time participating with them in this exciting project” says Darren Rabin, CEO of Aquazania Cape Town.

Lance Fanaroff, CEO of Integr8 and another sponsor of the team may not have been riding with the team, but laying Tefilin with Rabbi Levi regularly is his way of joining in, “because Fitness of the Body, leads to Fitness of the Mind, which leads to Fitness of the Soul”, Lance says, as he gently unwinds the Tefilin straps off as his way of exercise with Team Chabad.

“The 2012 Cycle Tour, my fourth event, was definitely one of the toughest I’ve participated in” says Daryn Edison. “Although on par with the windy 2009 tour, I still enjoyed every minute leading up to and on the event day. Truly an amazing event that still manages to surprise me with the fantastic organization, vibe, support and camaraderie from all involved. Cycling for charity for the first time just added to the immense anticipation and enjoyment.”

Rabbi Pinchas Hecht, another Rabbinic team member, mentions that “Over the years the excitement around the cycle tour has tempted me to give it a shot and I’ve “threatened” to do it a number of times however it was only when the prospect of riding for a meaningful cause presented itself that I finally took the plunge. The whole process of preparing for the race and then completing it has been an enjoyable adventure made that much more meaningful and fun being that we did it with a group motivated and committed to the same cause.”