Sharlene in Bicycling Mag!!

Get the March Issue of Bicycling Magazine and check this out!!

Click on the image to see the full article :)

Training update and NEW Bike :)

After my crash in the 45km Wartburg MTB race last Saturday (13 February) I’ve spend this last week letting my body heal - no weight training or riding my BMX or MTB bike – weep weep. Been training on a spinning bike but the most frustrating thing is that I got my new Intense Podium Expert Cruiser on Tuesday 16 February and haven’t been able to ride it yet. It sits in my lounge just waiting ...
With lots of physio – my left shoulder came off worse – I am confident that I shall be able to do the Midmar to Notties (80km road race) on Sunday 28 on my BMX – training for Argus.

Sharlene in the KZN Press

Inspired to race

Mathuli Mtsweni

IN order to raise funds and
awareness for the Sunflower
Foundation, a local woman
will be taking part in the
Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle
Tour to be held on March 14 in
Cape Town.

The Sunflower foundation
raises money to pay for the tissue
typing of potential bonemarrow
stem-cell donors and
gives patients suffering with
leukaemia and other lifethreatening
blood disorders the
hope of finding their donor
match.
Sharlene McGilvray (50),
who has been racing BMXs for
12 years, will be riding with
Wayne Robertson, who inspired
her to race. McGilvray will also
be raising awareness for the
upcoming BMX World Champs
which will take place from July
29 until August 1 at the
Royal Showgrounds.
“While at Dirtopia, on a dual
slalom course, Wayne crashed
out while flying over a jump.
He spent three weeks in an Intensive
Care Unit (ICU). The
doctors said that there was a
good chance he would never
walk again, but he refused to
believe them and he made a
promise that he would complete
10 Argus Tours on his
BMX just to prove them
wrong,” she said.
Robertson told the Mirror
that it took him a year to learn
how to walk again after his accident.
While in hospital he
said that he spent many hours
with young children who were
having chemotherapy and
whose condition was far worse
than his.
“I couldn’t use my legs, but I
knew that I had lived a full,
fun-filled life and was going to
continue living. The saddest
part was that some of those
children were not going to
make it and they knew it too.
For this reason, I decided to
ask Sharlene to ride and raise
funds with me so I can support
them,” said Robertson.
Should you wish to support or
donate you can visit www.sunflowerfund.
org.za and click on
Sharlene and Wayne or you can
deposit the money directly into:
account name: The Sunflower
Fund; Bank: Absa; account no:
4051834719; branch: Tokai;
branch code: 632005; Reference:
Sharlene McGilvray or
Wayne Robertson.

Argus Training Update

My training for the Argus is going really well and I’m getting fitter and stronger – but most of all – I’M LOVING IT. Up until now my training has been done on my GT Marathon Elite Dual Suspension – what a treat - glides over anything and I don’t feel a thing. Yesterday (Sunday 7 Feb) I finally got to ride my BMX with it’s extended seat post and new seat – WHAT A BLAST. It looks soooooooooooooooooo wrong but it’s LOADS of fun. The hills were SUCH a breeze but the down hills were a matter of standing up and just freewheeling – legs can’t go that fast!!!!! I rode for about 20km just to make sure the set up was correct etc and I LOVED IT. Felt EVERY bump in the road though!!!!! I was on SUCH a high when I finished riding – now I want to do a road race (on my BMX) just to see how I do.

Sharlene and Wayne to cycle Argus for Sunflower

This year is going to a really exciting one for me coz the 2010 World BMX Champs will be hosted in Pietermaritzburg from 29 July – 1 August and I plan to cross the line first in the 45+ Womens Cruiser class – so watch this space!!!! BUT right now I’m focusing on something quite different – I will be riding the Argus on my BMX to raise funds for Sunflower Foundation and to raise awareness for the World Champs. The Sunflower Fund is a non profit organisation whose sole purpose is to raise money to pay for the tissue typing of potential bone marrow stem cell donors in turn building the Bone Marrow Registry of South Africa and giving patients suffering with leukaemia and other life threatening blood disorders the hope of finding their 1:100 000 donor match. Wayne Robertson was the inspiration behind my decision to do this. In 2001, while at Dirtopia on a dual slalom course, he crashed out while flying over a jump. He didn’t land it and crushed three vertebrae and broke three ribs. The result - both lungs collapsed and was paralised in both legs. He spent three weeks in ICU on a ventilator to keep him breathing. The doctors said that there was a good chance he would never walk again. Naturally Wayne refused to believe them and made a promise that he would complete 10 Argus Tours on his BMX just to prove them wrong. It took him a year, with the help of the best doctors, wife, family and friends to learn how to walk again. While in hospital Wayne spent many hours at the CAT scan machine in the Oncology Department and was often in the queue with young kids that were having Chemotherapy and who were far worse off than he was. He couldn’t use his legs, but knew that he had lived a full fun filled life and was going to continue living. The saddest part for Wayne was that some of those kids were not going to make it and they knew it too. It was the most terrible thing for him to see. For this reason, he has decided to ride and raise funds for Sunflower. 2010 will be his 10th Argus on his BMX, so when he asked me to join him I didn’t even hesitate to take up the challenge. He’s such an inspiration and is proof that the will to survive and stay focused on what you truly believe in really does pay off.
Anyone wanting to support us and pledge their donation can do so by direct deposit to:
Account Name: The Sunflower Fund
Bank: ABSA Bank
Account No: 4051834719
Branch: Tokai
Branch Code: 632005
Reference: Sharlene McGilvray or Wayne Robertson
Or by going to http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za/ and clicking on Sharlene and Wayne