faired recumbent (02:16:40, averaging 46.1 km/h). The oldest cyclist to complete the race within the maximum allowed seven hours is Japie Malan (92 years old at the time) during the 2012 Cyle Tour – on a tandem in a time of 05:49:00. He is the oldest man (90 years old at the time) to complete the race on a single bicycle during the 2010 Cycle Tour in a time of 06:48:52. He is also the oldest man to have ridden the Argus for the first time, which he did in 2004 when he was 84 years old. The oldest woman to complete the race is Mary Warner (80 years old at the time) during the 2006 tour, in a time of 06:43:38. History of the Cycle Tour In 1978, Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann organised the Big Ride-In to draw attention to the need for cycle paths in South Africa. The Ride-In drew hundreds of cyclists, including the Mayor of Cape Town at the time. The ride was first won by Lawrence Whittaker in September 1978. This race was originally planned to run over , including a leg to Cape Point, but was reduced to a route when authority to enter the then Cape Point Nature Reserve was refused. The organisers convinced an initially reluctant Cape Argus, a local newspaper and sponsor, to grant the event the right to use its name. The event now forms part of one of five cycling events which take place over a period of one week starting a week before the Cycle Tour and culminating in the Cycle Tour. The other events include: Tricycle Tour (youngsters under 6 years of age) Junior Cycle Tour (youngsters between 6 and 12 years of age) MTB Challenge (Mountain Bike) Giro del Capo (5-day pro stage race, the last day of which is the Cycle Tour itself) Route alterations and stoppages Between 2000 and 2003, the race followed an alternative route due to the closure of Chapman's Peak Drive, with a return trip via Ou Kaapse Weg and the Blue Route. The race has been stopped three times due to extreme weather, although in the first two cases many competitors had completed the race before the stoppage, and once significantly shortened due to fire. It has been cancelled once: The 2002 race was stopped at 14:45 at Ou Kaapse Weg when temperatures reached The 2009 race was stopped