30.11.2004
I'm going to the airport in Basel/Mulhouse by train and bus. My luggage weighs 44kg, 17kg hand-luggage included. I try to get a good deal at the Lufthansa office. Luckily I only have to pay for 1kg overweight instead of 11kg. The lady charges me 74.- CHF. Now I'm waiting for check in at gate 44.
Frankfurt gate B48: I'm waiting for my departure. Went through the custom twice and then realized that I don't have to pick up my luggage. Finally the plane takes off. Nick from UK is sitting next to me. He's going to Cape Town for playing cricket. Ah, I'm sitting at the window.

01.12.2004
I can see Africa for the first time. It looks dry, very dry. There are some rivers and mountains. The arrival in Cape Town is shocking, shacks everywhere. These are the African slums, very small and primitive little houses. Craig picks me up at the airport. We're driving to Cape Town, passing lots of shacks. People are walking on the highway. On the way to Hout Bay, Craig shows me the DHX road. It's a real rollercoaster. The track is amazing. The tar is ok, there are some bumps, the turns are hot and it's steep. Did I mention that the temperature is much different from Switzerland? It's almost 30° C hot. As refreshment we get some gelati at Luigi's. Then we go to Mike's house. He's got a room form e for the next few weeks. I put my boards together and I show Mike the newest wheels. After my first rhobos tea, we're going to Crayfish Factory. Mike and his buddies go surfing. The waves are about 6foot high. That's almost 5m. I'm sitting in a backyard pool. The coping is nice but unfortunately the transitions and corners are much too small. Two hours later it starts raining and we're going home. We meet Stuart and then we're driving to Cape Town very fast. The meeting fort he race in Grabouw has already started. Aki, Betty, Beni and Damien from Switzerland are here. I meet some guys who went to the races in Europe in 2003. After the meeting we're going home and eat supper. Mikes brother is here. Neil is a surfing teacher and model. Mike shows me some video footage of the DHX 2002.

02.12.2004
I try to get a rental car. Mike helps me doing some phone calls. He goes surfing and I keep on looking for the cheapest car around. After a few phone calls I got a cheap offer. Then I'm going to town. I want to get a SIM card but I can't find the cheap stuff that Mike told me to buy. But there is a nice road, so I'm going for a skate. The Chapman's Peak Drive is a lovely road at the coast. I walked up and at a flat section I was riding for one or two meters when a Road Patrol came around the corner. "Skateboarding is not allowed on the Chapman's Peak Drive!" I'm waiting for 10min. and continue riding downwards. I walked through the checkpoint and the Road Patrol is here again. But they go down south and my track is free as it should be. Skateboarding on the left hand side is new for me, kind of weird. The tar is very slippery compared to my home town. Back in Hout Bay I get something to drink and a sun blocker. The sun is burning and there is a nice wind blowing. I'm sitting at the beach, enjoying the sun and the sea. I meet Kerstin, Lee and Jackie at Luigi's. They help me buying a SIM card and some airtime. We hang around at Kristin's house and eat Swiss rolls. We (Mike, Marc, Kerstin, me) go for a walk with the dogs (Spook and Rusty). We walk up to the Chapman's Peak, not to the top but it's far anyway. Orange, month, silver, wad. Did I just say miau? In the evening we're miau watching the film "finding Nemo" at Marc's home cinema.

03.12.2004
Someone from my car rental office (Around About Cars) is coming to pick me up in Hout Bay at 09:00. I signed the contract quickly and here it is, my metallic blue Fiat UNO. Back home, Mike and I give the car a totally different look. We put loads of stickers on every part of the car. Even the rims are nicely decorated with loads of Globe stickers. We drive to the beach in Llandudno. On our way we meet Nas and Simone at the bus stop and of course we gave them a lift to the beach. We're lying at the beach. The sun is burning on my white legs. There are some good surfers and some really nice girls. I'm impressed. And there are some good boulders. Mike delivers some race advertising posters to the shops in Hout Bay and then we go for a skate. As I mentioned before, the tar is rough and slippery compared to Switzerland. We're riding and sliding a nice turn on Mount Rhodes. Ian came with us for taking some pictures. After a few slides, Mike lost his right rear wheel. It was a new 68mm Powell Bomber 85A. It just slipped off the bearings. I'm going to Signal Hill very late in the evening. There is just enough light for two short runs. The road is nice but very slow and boring. The sunset was awesome.

4.12.
I picked up Zeke and Chrigi at Stuarts guesthouse. We're driving to Grabouw. High Rising is a US American satellite research center. There are some nicely tarred roads in this "restricted" area. The racetrack is very short (900m) and not fast (65km/h): flat start, right hand 90° turn, very long left hander to straight, tight hairy chicken, short straight steep, final 90° left hander, slightly upwards to the finish. We have foot brake very little for the chicane in practice. The shuttles go up to the start on a different road. Because of that we get plenty of practice runs. We're riding the whole morning. I'm on 77mm Strikers 78A. The time trials started right after lunch. We get two runs. Unfortunately the times are hand stopped. Aki is first qualifier in front of me, Stuart and Mike. There is enough time for some fun runs and a mini ditch session. Then we drive to Kleinmond where Stuart's parents got a small weekend house. We eat pizza at Roxy's. No more extreme stuff happening tonight, we're all tired.

5.12.
The first race day: in contrast to the weather forecast it's nice and sunny. A slight headwind is blowing. It gets stronger in the afternoon. There's no more foot braking necessary for the chicane. I'm riding the new 76mm Flywheels 81A for the first time ever in competition and I think it was a good choice. These wheels grip much better than the Strikers. As expected I qualify for the final with Mike, Stuart and Aki. Riders ready? On your marks, set, go! Aki takes the lead and I'm very close behind him. Stuart passes me in front of the chicane. I try to follow Stuart. And here comes Mike. Stuart and Aki are fighting for the first place. I'm right behind Mike. We both take the last turn at full speed and I try to pass Mike on the outside. The finish line is too close, I'm too late, only 20cm missing for the 3rd place. Shit! Whatever, Aki wins, Stuart 2nd, Mike 3rd and I'm 4th. During the Streetluge final, I'm bouldering some nice little rocks. Aki takes some pictures. The first four racers of each category get a medal and a small prize. I win a six pack of Red Bull. We stop for some playing in the mini ditch before we're going back to Cape Town. After a short sightseeing tour through Cape Town City I drop off Zeke and Chrigi at Cool Runnings in the Longstreet. I'm going home. After another slide session I'm cooking eggs and bacon. Mike and I go out to Champs Bay.

6.12.
Today we're going to Cape Point. Mike, Jen, Betty, Sabrina, Damien and I are ready for a mission to the most southern point of Africa. The landscape is awesome and there are free animals everywhere. Turtles, ostrichs, bugs, baboons… There are some nice rocks. I'm happy to have my climbing shoes with me. We got in serious trouble with a bus when we went home. The bus tries to block us. He doesn't let us overtake him. But we are faster. So I pass him. He seems to be angry. We block him and let him pass. He's waiting for us at the checkpoint. We have a nice little conversation. A policeman asks us if we got drugs or if we drunk alcohol. I answer: "no I only drunk red bull the whole day long". That's it! Jen shuttles us at the Red Hill. Mike does some nice slides. It's all fun. Then we're going to Nas 18th birthday party. There is enough food and some really sweet girls. After that Mike and I check out the 5rand party at Mercury in Cape Town. Jen tried to make me drunk… cheers!

7.12.
Not much going on, we're doing a big CD rip off. Mike gives me a wetsuit and a surfboard and we go to the beach. Mike shows me how to stand up. Let's go. The water is cold as ice. Soon I got salty water in my mouth, nose, ears and eyes. I catch some waves and I'm able to stand on the board shortly before I fall into the cold sea again. I'm very tired and I'm seasick. We bought something to eat and went home. Mike falls asleep and so I'm going for a skate on the Chapman's Peak Drive. Supper is ready when I come home. I pack my boards and leathers in my skate bag and go to bed.

8.12.
I get up at 05:00. Unfortunately our shuttle driver is sick. I'm going to Ou Kapseweg single. There's a strong wind blowing. It's not a proper tailwind, it's more blowing from the side and so my speed is only 77km/h. I bomb the bumpy Red Hill in Simon's Town and then I pick up Zeke and Chrigi at the Backpacker's Lodge. On the waay back to Leander's house I'm riding Ou Kapseweg again. There's less wind and I'm faster. 84.8km/h, I feel that I can go faster. I bring the boys to Leander and then I'm driving home to Hout Bay. In the afternoon we're going to the beach in Llandudno. Mike surfs and I'm bouldering some nice rocks. It's steep athletic climbing with nice moves on big holds. I meet another climber. Joe shows me an 5m high edge with a heel hook start. I'm happy to do it in my first try. There's a riders meeting in Cape Town in the evening. We're going to a gig in Constantia afterwards. Mc Totally Rad's DJ's are playing. There's an MC too. The sound is awesome.

9.12.
Mike and I planned to get up early at 04:30. But then it's 05:00… We pick up Zeke, Chrigi, and Damien at Leander's house. We bomb Ou Kapseweg three times. Damien crashes hard and my car suffers. Unfortunately we're still not fast enough, only 90km/h. The only impressing thing is the acceleration in the top left hand turn in front of the straight. It's like a never ending turn. After this skate session Mike goes surfing and I'm looking for nice boulders. I show Neil how to climb. He's got fun. We're really hungry after this sportive morning and so we get something to eat. Zeke, Chrigi and I are driving to Rooiels in the afternoon. We check out the racetrack of the Hotheels Africa World Cup. The road is narrow but I like it. We eat supper at the Hangklip Hotel. I put up a half destroyed tent from Leander and go sleeping.

10.12.
We eat an English breakfast and then we go to the racecourse. There's a strong wind blowing, once more from the front. I hate headwind! I go down faster and faster. After two runs I can do the chicane without foot braking. Bassi and Aki are really fast. We get about 10 practice runs. A car rolls over my left front wheel and there are some hard crashes. Craig stops to help another skater and then the marshal tells him to skate down to the finish. He's bombing down and then suddenly the pick up is coming upwards. Uhuhuhu! Nothing happened but it was close. The course is hot, really hot! In the evening we make a little barbecue at Stuart's house in Kleinmond.

11.12.
Stuart and his girlfriend cook some English breakfast. I'm driving to the racecourse early. I'm waiting for hours and hours and then finally practice starts. The wind is now blowing from behind, yeah strong tailwind. There are some crashes, once again lot's of streetluges. The wind is turning all the time and every run is different. My second time trial is really fast. At least it feels fast. I get close to the hay bails in the first right hand turn and then at the bottom right hander I hit a stone. Gnarly! Nevertheless my time is fast. 1:53:74 it's the 3rd place behind Aki and Bassi. I'm a bit bummed that these times are hand stopped. We eat pizza at Roxy's.

13.12.
I didn't expect to do so but slept very well in my car. Sven burns a photo CD from Auerberg for me. Zeke, Chrigi and I go back home. On our way to Cape Town I'm cruising and sliding down a really nice coastal road. Back home in Hout Bay, Mike tells me that Lloyd is going to die soon. I'm shocked! I'm driving to Llandudno and there I meet Mitchell, Kira and Kerstin. I go climb some rocks and have to think about Lloyd all the time.

14.12.
After an internet session I'm heading towards Cape Town. On my way to the city I take some photos and suddenly Mitchell is coming. He invites me to go for a walk with him, Kerstin and Kira. Why not? We walk up through a beautiful forest. We're tired. Wow there's a car coming up. He gave us a lift to the top of the hill. That was cool. We're now on the Table Mountain at the De Villiers Dam. We walk around the lake. I'm climbing a small traverse. A big piece of rock is breaking off. I fall down two meters into the water on my back. The rock falls on my left foot and leg. It hurts badly. I'm happy that my camera didn't get wet. I can't walk so well and it hurts really badly. We go bathing despite the fact that it's prohibited. The water is orange colored, so nice. We walk back to the car and go home. Marc and Gustav are coming and there are lot's of posts about Lloyd. Some guys talk about Aki's green little beanie. Everyone's talking about safety and tech inspection.

15.12.
I lost about 70 pictures of my trip to Cape Point and so I'm going for a second time. Unfortunately my battery is low. I get some nice pictures. I skate a very steep road in Hout Bay. It doesn't feel so safe. My foot still hurts but its ok. There's a totally incorrect article in the news. That makes me feel bad.

16.12.
Today is Lloyd's funeral. There were lots of friends and skateboarders. His friends tell their experiences with Lloyd and some nice stories. After the ceremony we go to Signal Hill. A friend of Lloyd has got a house up there. It's a very nice place with a nice view to the sea. I'm talking to Lloyd's dad. Dusty, Alex and I go to a contest at the Boogaloos skate park. The contest isn't that cool cause there are only two good skaters. There's a break-dance battle and some sprayers finish their artwork. We're hungry and eat a pizza. I'm driving back to Hout Bay.

17.12.
I burn some CD's. Unfortunately my super cheap CD's are bullshit! I try to surf again but the waves are bad and the water is cold. I'm not very successful. I spend the whole afternoon bouldering on the beach. Neil and I go out to Camps Bay late in the evening. It's Jonnie Walker Red Label evening. Neil's lucky and gets a VIP pass. We get free drinks. Wow these girls are bbbeautyful…

18.12.
Mrs. Zietsman gives me a lift to Green Point Stadium. The bus leaves half an hour late. The bus drive is very uncomfortable. Eight hours later we finally arrive in Plettenberg Bay. We check out the course. Short straight, right-left sweeper, straight, drop in to steep section, very big right hand 90° turn, straight, big right hander, flat finish. The road is very large, about 15m! There are some cracks. We eat special half price pizza at Cool Bananas. I can borrow one of Leander's tents. I'm tired but happy.

19.12.
06:00 we have to get up early! The bus leaves a quarter hour late. We're at the venue at 07:00. The hay bails are not placed yet and the air-fencing takes longer to blow up than expected. It's extremely hot. We got enough time for mini scooter riding, go-cart test sitting and camera mounting and answering interviews for supersports channel. We have to wait for the first run until 09:30. The race starts. There's no time for time trials and so the 4men heats are made with the time trials from Hotheels Africa. My semi is with Stuart, Dallas and Dusty. Dallas starts very, very fast. Stuart passes him on the straight in front of the drop. I try to pass him too but he comes further and further left. It looks as if he wants to block me. I have to push him. Then I stay behind him till the last turn. I pass him on the inside and I'm in the final. It's Stuart, Aki, Ross and I and we're ready for the final. Aki and Stuart are in the front. Ross wobbles, I'm scared! I try to pass him in the last turn the same way I passed Dallas but Ross is too fast: another 4th place for me… We get free barbecue in a beautiful restaurant on the country. I'm very tired and I'm going to bed.

20.12.
After an extremely loud (Aki?) night we travel back to Cape Town. It's a long, never ending hot trip. Dale gives me a lift home. We watch some TV and go to bed.

21.12.
I get up at 05:00 and drive to Ou Kapseweg. There's fog in the left hand turn. The wind is blowing strongly from SE. My first run is 88.2km/h. I can go faster. I try to stay deep longer and yes I'm a bit faster: 93:1km/h… My 3rd run was fun: I can pass three cyclists. They were in their Speedposition too. That was cool! I go to Simon's Town to check out the penguins at Boulder's Beach. I take some nice pictures. Back in Hout Bay I take off all the stickers from my rental. The job is done after two hours. In the afternoon we skate the Boogaloos skate park. There are too many kids. On our way back to Hout Bay we eat healthy food at Kauai. We slide a 20% steep road in Cape Town. Mike goes surfing until sunset and I work out a new boulder successfully. We go to Neil's birthday party in Camps Bay. Mike sings his own song instead of singing karaoke. He's the man!

22.12.
It's my last day. I get up early and skate down the main road to Hout Bay twice. Unfortunately there's some headwind, but nevertheless I reach 85km/h. I bring my car back to Cape Town. The agent doesn't see the scratches. I burn some CD's. Mike, Marc and I go to Llandudno beach. Marc takes some super cool bouldering pictures of me. Neil and Mike come to the airport with me. I invite them for supper. I'm happy that I don't have to pay for my overweight this time. I'm sitting on my seat in the Boeing 747 and I'm really tired. I fall asleep soon.

23.12.
I can see Corsica. In Frankfurt I'm lying on a bench for two hours and in the last moment I realize that I'm waiting at the wrong gate. I jump into the shuttle bus and enter my plane to Basel. Half an hour later I'm back home in Switzerland. Snow everywhere… it's cold as ice!

This trip would not have been possible without my sponsors Airflow and Globe, thank you so much. The Sportfonds Baselland gave me 1000.- CHF, thank you very much!!! MikeZ: thank you for this super cool time...