ARCHIVES: Almost everything that is needed to make the race work is supplied by local people. On this basis, in 2022 the KAP sani2c will “pay back R12-million to local suppliers”. It’s not charity, it’s about giving people dignity, opportunity, skills ...
How do you move 1,000 people on 1,000 bikes across 260km from the Drakensberg to the Indian Ocean – without using tarred roads? How do you feed them, keep them safe and clean … and raise millions for education and community development? Farmer Glen Haw and his team have perfected the formula. Mark Heywood got on his bike to experience for himself the KAP sani2c three-day mountain bike race.
This is why one of the race’s two main purposes is described as being “to create employment and other commercial opportunities, and develop skills by collaborating with local organisations and previously unemployed residents on the route. By providing services to the event, they generate income for themselves and their causes.
Farmer Glen elaborates: “The route was in great shape – and then the deluge of more than 300mm fell. As the waters receded, our motivated teams were back at it, rebuilding bridges, moving rocks and landslides and clearing debris from the floods. This experience, although devastating, has been enriching in so many ways. It is these calamities that pull people together and create memories that will live with us forever.
“The race owns the school,” jokes the farmer. Rodney Stuart, its principal, agrees, but points out that the school has “the right to develop the land in any way that is linked to providing education”. As we set off, an early morning mist lifts to reveal the glory of the Berg and the Mokhotlong escarpment – a fine backdrop for your first 15km.
Several hours after the race leaders, I rolled into the Mackenzie Club, now a village of 500-plus tents and a lot of satisfied riders.Day 2 becomes a bit of a blur. It’s like a feast where you eat so diversely you can’t remember the different plates. It’s also a hard day of pedalling, as you ascend nearly 2,000m.
To give you a sense of its gradient, it took the fastest man 19 minutes. Me? It took a lot of pushing, panting and about an hour.
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