Riders Ride to Rescue Rhinos
Text: Gerrit Rautenbach. Photos: Hendrik Steytler and Brett Nattrass from Pixelate. Article from the December/January 2012 issue of DO IT NOW Magazine.
Ride the Rhino is an annual mountain bike stage race held in aid of the dwindling and endangered Renosterveld in the Western Cape. This year, the organisers went one step further. They used the race to create awareness of the threat rhinos are facing.
The PSG Konsult Ride the Rhino started in Langebaan on Friday 30 September and ended after three gruelling days on Sunday 2 October, at Nitida Wine Estate in Durbanville. This is the second year it has been held and is the brain child of Justin Basson, a passionate nature lover and conservationist.
Living in Durbanville in one of the secluded left-over patches of Renosterveld (there is a mere 4% of it left in the whole of the Western Cape) Justin’s objectives for the race are to create awareness and raise funds to help with conservation efforts. One of his long-term plans is to build mountain bike corridor paths between as many of the left-over patches of Renosterveld as possible.
Renosterveld probably got its name from the fact that there were many rhinos roaming the area when the first Europeans arrived in the Cape. This was a close enough link for the race organisers to add rhino poaching to this years awareness campaign.
But first, back to the race. When you have a tough and challenging route and you serve it up with great organisation, live entertainment and some pampering, you will get good riders queuing up at the starting line.
Stage 1 – Langebaan to Darling (80km)
Early Friday morning saw 288 (a very special number, but more about that later) riders peddling from the Langebaan Country Club towards Darling on what seemed at the time to be an easy ride.
En route riders were treated to beautiful scenery, flora and fauna, as well as well stocked refreshment tables at !Kwha ttu. While cruising through Buffelsfontein, all the riders had their eyes nervously peeled for a buffalo that had calved that morning, but in the end it was an ostrich on heat that helped one of the riders break the land speed record on a mountain bike.
That evening the good food, cold drinks and superb entertainment, provided by Darling lAfrika Mamas and a San trio from !Kwha ttu, helped riders forget about their aches and pains, and in no time at all the party was in full swing.
Stage 2 – Darling to Malmesbury (85km)
With a John Deere tractor leading the pack out of Darling, this stage had its own unique set of challenges in store for the riders, as they made their way towards Malmesbury. The notorious Dassenberg, which indicated the halfway mark of the race, was one such challenge, as what goes up must come down. But in the case of Dassenberg, it doesn’t quite work out that simple. The downhill section is far longer and a lot more technical than the uphill. So that debunks the myth: the going up is not always worth the coming down, and many a rider had to resort to walking this four-kilometre section. But by this time, the camaraderie amongst the riders was incredible to witness, as they worked together to conquer each challenge.
The evening’s entertainment and a humongous, protein-boosting steak were once again just what the riders needed to wipe away the memory of the day’s hardships and suffering.
While everyone was relaxing and enjoying themselves, the riders received a very special surprise; a surprise that would unite them even more. As mentioned earlier, the 288 riders taking part in this event was also the same number of rhinos that had been killed by poachers up to the day the race started this year. So the surprise was specially designed red Rhino shirts for each of the participants, kindly sponsored by Raiel. This meant that each rider, from that moment onwards, was riding on behalf of a rhino that had been shamelessly and senselessly killed.
During the whole of 2007 only 27 rhinos were poached. Compared to the 288 in 2011. This means that over the last four years, rhinos poaching has increased by a staggering 1,000%.
Stage 3 – Malmesbury to Durbanville (80km)
As 288 riders set off on the last leg to Durbanville, all looking identical, it was a sight to behold and a very emotional moment. For the first time in the history of cycling in South Africa, every rider in the pack wore the same shirt.
This stage saw the riders having to dig deep to conquer the gruelling, monster climb up Paardeberg, and thereafter all that remained between the group and the finish line was the killer single track to Nitida Wine Estate. While both climbs were seriously harsh, the true destroyer was the ever-present, bad old Cape Doctor. This relentless southeaster can knock the wind right out of a rider’s sails like nothing else, and even the toughest competitors had a hard time getting through.
Fortunately, there is nothing as short as a sportsman’s memory. The southeaster, sweat and tears were once again forgotten as participants enjoyed a well-earned picnic and some of the country’s best wines at Nitida Wine Estate. That glazed ‘mind-over-matter’ look they all had in their eyes on the last uphill made way for a look of total satisfaction and pride. In fact, the riders looked as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger by their first sip of wine, and they sounded like him too, saying the same thing over and over again. “I’ll be back …”
Well done to everyone who took part and supported these worthy causes, and the race results were as follows:
Ladies Team:
- Team Bizhub – Yolandi Du Toit and Nicci Grobler
- Team Daisyway – Erica Green and Louise Jansen Van Rensburg
- Jag Ladies team – Eulogy Du Plessis and Naomi Rothmann
Men’s Team:
- Endangered Tortoises – Riccardo Stermin and Billy Stalling
- Team Wilde – Reniell Matthysen and Timo Cooper
- Jag Mtbdestinationdotcom – Matthys Beukes and Gerrie Beukes
Mixed Team:
- Contego Sludge – Erik Kleinhans and Ariane Kleinhans
- Neotrend Property Developers – Dirk Nel and Ronel van Wyk
- Team Oneplan Trek – Craig Caseyhughes and Maritza Terblanche
Ladies Solo Black:
- Desiree Loubser
- Janine Wencke
- Sonja Saunders
Men’s Solo Black:
- Fourie Kotze
- Mark Bennett
- Henry Fagan
Junior Rhinos:
- GU Prg – Matthew Lombard! and Stephan Senekal
- Sludgestellenberg High – Louw Kriel and Sybrand Strauss
- Paul Roos – Bethel Muller and Stian Venter
For more information on Ride the Rhino 2012 go to www.renosterveldmtb.co.za
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