I’m down to my last stash of Woolworths fruitcake pulled from my freezer this afternoon. There are 3 … no wait, only 2 now … 2 treasured slices left.

As far as fruitcake goes it’s pretty decent: moist and just the right amount of fruity sweetness. It’s not special in that its spectacular fruitcake, it’s special for all the memories that come flooding back as I find the treasure in my freezer.

I bought this loaf at the Woolworths in Cape Town International Airport at the beginning of a very long journey back home to Squamish. It felt like that last desperate effort to somehow extend the magic of a wonderful trip, a way to bring a little bit of South Africa back home with me. I’d spent two glorious months under the African sun playing bikes, seeing family, being with friends and mostly just falling in love with the Cape. Even though I was born in South Africa, I’d never visited many of the places I went to on this trip before. I was leaving with a heavy heart, and even in the airport, still thinking of ways to extend my trip.

This special loaf of fruitcake is made by Woolworths, a food brand in South Africa, so is not available to me here in North America. Simply by being a Woolworths product, it is delightfully South African.

I went to South Africa to do a 3-day mountain bike stage race in October. Woolworths was the food sponsor for this race. The aid stations, or water points as they’re called in South Africa, always had this fruitcake on offer. The race was challenging in so many ways with long distances each day and steep, sometimes difficult climbs. At the same time, it was also filled with so many wonderful moments: great riding, unbelievable views, kind, welcoming people that were so encouraging and supportive and an absolute rock star of a race a partner. The struggles of the long climbs are crowded out by all the heart warming memories of the race experience. Among those memories is the Woolworths fruitcake that we came to look forward to so much at the water points.

So this last slice, yes, we’re down to the very last slice now, has all of that joy infused into every bite. I remember the relief of arriving at each water point because it was another check mark on the mental goal sheet. My race strategy for each day was essentially, just get to the first water point, then get to the next water point, then head for the finish line. Bite sized pieces was the only way I could take on a challenge of this size. Each water point was an accomplishment and celebrated by the awesome crew who kept our spirits high as we rolled in with the other stragglers each day.

Even beyond the race experience, anything with the Woolworths brand is associated with my time there, and will always bring back memories of the great time I had in South Africa.

It may just be fruitcake, but it’s so much more than fruitcake.