Heading home after completing the inaugural Freedom Challenge East Griqualand Meander, I find myself reflecting on five days spent pedalling through what must be some of the most spectacular countryside in the country. To be fair, South Africa has no shortage of spectacular scenery. I suspect my impressions of what East Griqualand had to offer were shaped by my low expectations of southern KwaZulu-Natal and the northern Eastern Cape. Whatever the reason, the landscape was a r

1 Tim Deane 15d 07h46 2 Franco Olivier 15d 08h25 3 Wayne Campbell 16d 12h00 4 Mark Basel 16d 12h00 5 John Barrow 17d 06h26 6 Roger Fuller-Good 17d 06h26 7 Greg Fisher 18d 04h44 8 Graeme Green 18d 04h44 9 Craig Bosenberg 19d 05h04 10 Adrian Wynne 19d 12h22 11 Brad van der Westhuizen 19d 15h05 12 Mike du Toit 20d 05h16 13 William Mills 20d 05h16 14 Grant Cowen 20d 05h18 15 George Oertel 20d 05h53 16 Brett Rightford 20d 07h47 17 Dave Hanbury 21d 05h08 18 Duncan Houston 21d 05h

1 Ingrid Avidon 3d 17h05 2 Anthony Avidon 3d 17h05 3 Rebecca Sands 3d 19h37 4 Peter Roux 4d 04h48 5 Vera Reynolds 4d 05h42 6 Devlin Fogg 4d 10h59 7 Simon Marlin 4d 11h58 8 Trevor White 4d 11h58 9 Russell Holmes 4d 11h58 10 Bruce McKinlay 4d 13h02 11 Ray Sephton 5d 06h39 12 Hayden Green 5d 06h39 13 Nicola Oates 5d 07h25 14 Nicolas Taschner 5d 07h25 15 Craig Cockburn 5d 10h04 16 Emma Lombaard 5d 10h04 Rob Le Roux DNF Dave Chivers DNF Bernardt Keudel Schaffer DNF Tania Pfaff

How do you make the decision to stop, to call it, to accept that you are going no further. The trail is there in front of you. The pull to get on your bike and ride is like an uncontrollable force in your soul. Physically you are strong and fit. You still have the time to get there before the cut-off. We’re just ordinary riders, taking on a challenge way beyond anything we have done before. We are not new to the trail. We’ve ridden almost the entire route since we signed up

1 Roger Nicholson 2d 22h58 2 Carlo Gonzaga 3d 06h20 3 Enslin Uys 3d 12h20 4 Kirsten Searle 3d 12h20 5 Des Searle 3d 12h20 6 Nick Rizzato 3d 15h19 7 Trevor Maarschalk 5d 07h38 8 Sean Maarschalk 5d 07h38 9 Jeremy Maarschalk 5d 07h38 10 Jack Black 5d 10h20 11 Saul-Marco Swart 5d 10h20 12 Lloyd Bradford 5d 10h27 13 Mark Marcus 5d 10h27 14 Dean Bradford 5d 10h27 15 Brian Kruger 5d 12h04 16 Leon Kruger 5d 12h04 17 Shaun Tischendorf 5d 12h04 18 Guy Macquet 5d 12h04 19 Kevin Scott

FREEDOM CHALLENGE ALLOWS US TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DREAM ABOUT. ONCE YOU HAVE RIDDEN FREEDOM CHALLENGE IT WILL DOMINATE YOUR DREAMS FOREVER. In thinking about how to describe what riding Freedom Challenge is like, I realized that the story has already been told - by Dr Seuss - so I started with some extracts from his incredible book 'Oh The Places You'll Go', then searched for more wisdom in the other 60+ books he wrote. I have ma

4 weeks… that’s all. Four weeks until the first batch of riders, huddled together in the shadow of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall for a departure photo, glance over their right shoulders to make sure the road is clear before applying pressure to their pedals. For me, the race started last night. I woke from a vivid dream in which I was fumbling around on the Black Fountain spine, unsure of how to get off the mountain. I lay in the dark staring at the ceiling, running through

From a distance, the Freedom Challenge appears to be about riding bikes across our country. Distances measured. Elevation accumulated. Riders leaving in small groups with the goal and desire of rolling around the dam in Diemersfontein to feel the earned weight of a blanket across their shoulders. That’s the visible part. What’s less visible, at least initially, is the community it has spawned over the years. Not just riders, but the wider circle that gathers around the event.

The last few hundred metres curve around the dam and climb through the tree line to the finish of the Race Across South Africa. Legs pump in a steady rhythm, deliberate but unhurried. No raised arms. Just a quiet easing, the race loosening its grip, pedal stroke by pedal stroke. They cross not with a shout, but with a kind of inward nod. For days and nights the trail has taken them in pieces. Endless climbs with few summits worth marking. The ever present certainty that every

“I’m not a gravel racer.” “I love the Freedom Challenge Support Stations and ice cream tubs.” “The cut-offs are too tight.” These were some of the excuses I made for myself to avoid signing up when I first heard about the inaugural Race Across South Africa (RASA), the GPS-navigated race along the Freedom Trail that would skip some of the most hectic bike-carrying portage sections. Having done the traditional Freedom Challenge event twice before, I was wary of tackling th

As the Race Across South Africa draws to a close, what lingers is not only the achievements of the riders, but the spirit that carries them. A quiet, unwavering camaraderie and a reminder of just how gorgeous this country truly is. Our beautiful South Africa. Again and again it is the landscapes that take your breath away. Our riders, our hosts, and most strikingly, the kind people along the way. There is a thread of kindness and openness that runs through even the most remot

The inaugural Race Across South Africa (‘RASA”) starts in 2 days at the Oaks Hotel in the small village of Byrne near Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The 2000km race takes place on the legendary Freedom Trail and is an interesting new alternative to the long standing Freedom Challenge (‘FC”) event that has been held (and will continue to be held) on the same trail since 2004. The differences between the two events, RASA and the FC are as follows: - For RASA t

1 Janet Malcolm 5d 11h49 2 Graeme Malcolm 5d 11h49 3 Andrea von Holdt 5d 11h49 4 Andrew Ogden 5d 11h49 5 Chris Lovemore 5d 11h49 6 Paul...

1 Nick Rizzato 3d 15h44 2 Mark Marcus 4d 08h20 3 Lloyd Bradford 4d 08h20 4 Simon Marlin 4d 15h44 5 Duncan Houston 5d 03h14 6 Craig...

Cindy Rutherford 5d 07h00 John Exley 5d 07h00 Justin Stirk 5d 07h00 Kaylee Jamieson 5d 07h00 Kevin Scott 5d 07h00 Mark Jamieson 5d 07h00...

1 Gavin Horton * 3d 14h00 2 Mike Woolnough * 4d 01h17 3 Roger Nicholson 4d 07h29 4 Marc Germiquet * 4d 11h15 5 Gerald Holland * 5d...

1 Kemsley Wood 14d 08h58 2 Willem du Plessis 15d 09h59 3 Gawie Du Plessis 15d 09h59 4 Gary Behn 17d 08h38 5 Charl van der Spuy 17d 09h05...

Clip on that Freedom feeling To enter the raffle to win this set of 4 hand pinched ceramic tumblers buy a ticket for R100 by donating...

EPIC Stettynskloof video by Pete Kirk of today's finishers. The stone saddle award is deservedly shared by Steve Johnston and Anthony...