2nd August 2011

Kinda funny...

Car beats train in rush hour traffic

A cheeseburger was on the line. It was a bet. I was taking on the high-speed Gautrain to Pretoria in my little Opel Astra, in morning rush hour traffic.

I didn’t want to lose, but nobody believed it could be done.

Star journalist Shain Germaner was cocky as he left, secure that his train journey would beat my highway race with ease.

“Make it a bottle of Jack,” he quipped as we left The Star’s office in Sauer Street. Certain that my pride would take a knock and there was no way I could outdrive a 160km supertrain, I kept the bet to a cheeseburger just in case.

The rules were simple: we left at 7.02am in our cars. Germaner would drive to the Rosebank station, park his car and board the train.

I would drive on the highway and keep to the speed limit.

Our destination: the Pretoria News office in Vermeulen Street.