Toss a stone in a pond and watch the ripples run.  Put a kid on a bike and who knows where he will go - perhaps even to the national mountain bike championships.

In December 2008 the Freedom Challenge delivered 10 old rigid frame mountain bikes bikes donated by bike touring company Daytrippers to its Stormberg mountain bike centre in Molteno.  After a thorough service the bikes were put to work.  Every day over the course of the ensuing school holidays enthusiastic kids who form part of the Inkwanca Care Centre feeding programme would meet at the centre to wait their turn to go on a group ride.  From their ranks a group of young riders was selected to form the core of a mountain bike squad.


Supervised by Freedom Challenge fieldworker, Avumile Kupa, and under the watchful eye of Molteno resident Annie de Wet the squad then started regular training.  In February they participated in their first mountain bike race, the local Stormberg Classic. SA junior women's champion Caitlin de Wet started collecting old kit from other cyclists on the circuit.  A few bikes were added to the pool.  In April the squad traveled to nearby Queenstown where they were amongst 300 riders competing at the Border championships.  For some it was the first time that they had traveled outside Molteno.  Piet Xhagwe,Ndumiso Dontso, Thami Gwalumpi and  Abonga Langa all finished in the top three in their respective age groups, so qualifying for the Border team going to the South African national championships on 8 August 2009. The intensity of the training increased.


Then followed a GIANT step.  In time for the national championships mountain bike manufacturer GIANT donated some new mountain bikes bikes to the Stormberg centre. The local Molteno Cycling Club provided the provincial riders with kit.  The national championships arrived.  If Queenstown was big, Harrismith was huge.  With more than 2000 riders present the riders quickly learnt of things like start line jostling.  Unfortunately in the excitement of the race Piet Xhagwe, who was riding in the sub-junior category, ignored his pre-race advice.  Leaving the main track to overtake he promptly punctured.  Despite having to stop to repair, he went on to finish 12th in his category.  Ndumiso Dontso also went on to finish in the top 20 in the very competitive junior category.  It was an exhausted but inspired group who took the long drive back to Molteno

In addition to the four Stormberg riders there was only one other black rider at the national championships.

Talking after the event Annie de Wet spoke of the incredible achievement of the Stormberg riders “They have the most basic of equipment, they have only been riding for 6 months, two of these kids are orphans, the other two do not have fathers, they all form part of the Care Centre feeding programme, yet they all qualified on merit for the provincial team and went on to be competitive at the national championships.  It just shows what can be achieved if children are given opportunities.  Who knows what we could achieve if we got more support”.


The Stormberg squad is a project of the Freedom Challenge run in partnership with the Inkwanca HIV/AIDS Care Centre and the Molteno Cycling Club.  They are also supported by the Inkwanca Municipality.  The Stormberg centre is one of a number of mountain biking centres being established by the Freedom Challenge along South Africa’s Freedom Trail.