South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 324

I thanked Gavin and Natasha for their kindness over the past week and prepared to
leave Stellenbosch to make my final push to Cape Town. Under a slight drizzle and with a
light wind, I left and from the start managed a rather quick pace. The views were beautiful
up until the N2 and then it became very flat and uninspiring.
I was warned by countless people not to cycle by 'Crossroads', a township notori-
ous for young people throwing bricks from bridges onto the oncoming traffic. I had come
to realize that people tend to perpetuate fear more from what they have heard than from
what they have experienced. So, I deliberately cycled through Crossroads in order to form
my own opinion (just like I did earlier in Fort Beaufort and much earlier in Northern Ire-
land.)
As I made my way through Crossroads, I did see a heavy police presence on all the
overpasses.TherewerenochildrenonthesebridgesandIhadnoissuesasIcycledbeneath
any of them….except for the last overpass.
Just as I passed underneath the last bridge, I noticed a vehicle barrelling down the
on-ramp. It came to an abrupt stop about 100 metres ahead of me. The driver jumped out
of the car and ran toward me with a canister in his hand.
I came to an immediate stop not sure what to do next. As he ran toward me he
shouted, “Are you David?”
I was bewildered for I never knew the man. I replied, “Yes.” He then proceeded to
explain that the other day he was listening to Radio Good Hope and was touched by what
I said. He prayed that we have could meet. As he drove over the N2 to go to his school in
Crossroads, he saw me and had to see if in fact it was the guy from the radio.
He then opened his canister and asked me if I wanted some orange juice.
I told him I would be happy to and we stayed for 20 minutes talking and drinking
orange juice together along the N2 in one of the most 'dangerous areas' of the Cape
Province. Then as I hopped back on the bike, he said, “By the way, welcome to Cape
Town.”
I almost burst into tears. That had been the simplest yet most moving welcome I
have ever received during this tour. In fact, I told this story to the Mayor of Cape Town
whenIwasofficially welcomedtothecity.Allotherpreviouswordsofwelcomefromdig-
nitaries paled in comparison to this schoolteacher's simple act of kindness.
We parted ways and I continued to the city. When I came across a sign with the
words 'Welcome to Cape Town' written on it, the phrase really had a new meaning for me.
My very first stop I made in Cape Town was to visit St. James Anglican Church. I
was so moved at what occurred there a couple of days prior to my arrival that I wanted to
makeavisittoshowmysupport.Letmeexplain.WhenIwasinStellenbosch,theTVnews
reported that a gang of thugs stormed into this church during a service and launched gren-
adesandopenedfireontheparishionerskillingelevenandinjuring50.Thisactofviolence