Cycling Buddies reach out to Rehoboth

A GROUP of cyclists, called Cycling Buddies, recently completed a three-day ride from Windhoek towards the south.

Barely able to contain her excitement at the success of the event, one of the driving forces behind the initiative, Hayley Olivier, says: “What started out as an idea amongst a group of friends in early 2016, passionate about mountain biking, evolved into an honest commitment to create a better life experience for all we come across whilst riding the wide open spaces of Namibia. It was important for us to make it a family ride, where children could also join in on the experience and expose them to the joys and tears their parents have been experiencing on the road.”

Olivier says the first three-day ride took place on 30 April 2016, during which the enthusiastic cyclists pedalled about 263 km over three days, and handed over blankets and beanies for the elderly, as well as toys to the local day-care centre of the Hoachanas community near Kalkrand.

For this year’s ride, the group decided on the Rehoboth district community as their beneficiaries. In particular, it was the Annelie Olivier Old Age Home at Rehoboth, the Rachel Mouton Outreach Programme at Schlip and a children’s shelter at Witkop, Olivier says.

They received support from Old Mutual, Nedbank Namibia and the Coca Cola Namibia Bottling Company.

Reflecting on the recent event, Olivier says: “The first day involved a 35km ride to Farm Narais, where the Titus family set up the water point for the riders. From there, they proceeded to the Annelie Olivier Old Age Home at Rehoboth, another 45km.”

The last day, Olivier says, was a thrill ride to Witkop. “With the weekend ending on such high spirits, some of the cyclists decided to race home, just to end off the last ride with some adrenalin. The last evening was spent planning the next event. Next year can be even bigger, and we encourage organisations to join in this endeavour,” Olivier says.”

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