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Embodying the ethos of positive thinking. Carel Botha #342 | 29 June
For more than two decades a bunch of special people have got their bikes from Pietermaritzburg to Paarl through some breathtakingly...

Steven Burnett
Jun 295 min read


Communication, Connection, and Community on the Freedom Trail
As a business school professor, I often discuss and debate with my students whether it is better for a small business to develop a deep,...

Greg Fisher
Jun 224 min read


Not just a race, but a LIFE STORY
I get overwhelmed by emotions when I talk about this race. When I reminisce on the true value of my experience and the impact it had on...

Janine Oosthuizen
Jun 172 min read


Freedom Challenge... step ONE
The short story is…The Freedom Challenge we know as today was kind of a beautiful accident. A frustrated environmental lawyer thought it...

Steven Burnett
Jun 133 min read


Freedom Challenge 2024: Race across South Africa
In 2022, as we were coming out of COVID, I took part in an ultra endurance bike “race” across South Africa. The event is a Mountain Bike...

Craig Bosenberg
Dec 4, 20245 min read


Trouthaven and Its River of Emotions for RASA Riders
Trouthaven is the final support station on the Freedom Trail. It’s a cute cluster of self catering cottages set halfway up a valley, in...

Greg Fisher
Jul 6, 20244 min read


Tim James - The Final Chapter
Today Tim has the final task of pushing through Stettynskloof. Arriving at Diemersfontein he will have been on the road for a continuous...

Mike Woolnough
Jul 6, 20244 min read


Stettyns, or is it Satyns, (Afrikaans for Satin’s)
As per the narrative, the distance from Trouthaven to Diemersfontein is 51km. Only 51km – that is less an average coffee ride for a group...

Andrew Cromhout
Jul 4, 20246 min read


Winter Wonderland - Swartberg Pass
By the time you reach Prince Albert on the Freedom Challenge RASA pilgrimage, the routine of waking up long before it gets light,...

Greg Fisher
Jun 30, 20244 min read


Good Idea? Bad Idea?
In 2019 I made a bike harness so I could carry the bike hands free. I strapped on the bike at the bottom of Lehana and made good progress...

Liehann Loots
Jun 25, 20242 min read


Lehana’s
The violent gust of wind on the tin roof awoke me abruptly. I honestly thought the roof might blow away. I rolled over and looked at my...

Greg Fisher
Jun 21, 20245 min read


Too posh to push
Why are you walking? I thought this was a bike race? My non Freedom Challenge riding friends are often amazed at the many photos they see...

Rebecca Sands
Jun 18, 20242 min read


Klipfontein - Buckland's 500km ride - October 2023
So this adventure came out of the blue. You know of course I am sworn off many-hour, multi-day rides - chafe on my nether regions, a...

Aileen Kennaugh
Jan 31, 20249 min read


Finished business!
[Scratched! Part 2] Winter’s nearly over. It’s Spring. Time to keep our promise to ourselves, to return to finish our Race to Rhodes, to...

Kim Ward
Sep 27, 20233 min read


The Unfamiliar faces of the Freedom Challenge…
I have sometimes been described as a gregarious person. Whilst generally shy, I do like to meet and find out more about the people and...

Andrew Cromhout
Jul 5, 20234 min read


Memories, Musings and Abusings of a Below Average Rider from the Trail……
A looong time ago, when I was young, my grandmother had a domestic lady by the name of Rachel. I was not at school yet, when she used to...

Andrew Cromhout
Jul 1, 20237 min read


Bike Quandries
Anyone who enters the freedom challenge will spend a lot of time considering the appropriate equipment to take on the journey across the...

Craig Bosenberg
Jun 30, 20233 min read


Scratched!
Kim Ward, RTR 2023 When you start a Freedom Challenge event, you know you are going to get scratched – rocks and branches are part of the...

Kim Ward
Jun 27, 20235 min read


Women on the trail
Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. And may we raise them. Sandy Maytham Bailey Sarah van Eerden Mandy Joyce Janine...

Ingrid Avidon
Jun 27, 20232 min read


Why RASA is good for you.
Years ago, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was the measurement of potential. But then Emotional Quotient (EQ) was added to the mix of...

Fiona Coward
Jun 27, 20232 min read
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