Rural children participating in the Bottelary Hills Cycling Development Initiative will greatly benefit from a bicycle journey embarked on by Jaco Kotze from Eversdal and Philip van der Merwe from Onrus this week.
The avid cyclists embarked on a 2 000 km bicycle journey across South Africa yesterday to raise funds and awareness for the umbrella non-profit Cycle2Ride Skills Development.
The team will complete the journey across South Africa in 23 days, from Port Nolloth on the West Coast to reach Ballito on the East Coast by 9 April.
According to Jaco Kotze, founder of Cycle2Ride, basic-education statistics in these communities reveal a lack of social and emotional development opportunities for these children, contributing to early exit or poor performance in their basic education careers.
“Providing an opportunity to become part of a cycling community brings hope and inspiration,” he said.
The aim is to raise R1 000 for each kilometre completed to expand the Cycle2Ride programme. Each bicycle introduced into a community benefits up to 16 children, offering them weekly coaching sessions and the chance to participate in at least four short-track Bicycle League events hosted in local communities.
“We have witnessed personal growth and a boost in self-confidence in the young riders.
“The programme provides bicycles, structured coaching and the opportunity to participate in community cycling events,” said Kotze. “Participants must maintain or improve their academic performance, exhibit exemplary behaviour, and consistently attend school to stay in the programme.”
The Bottelary Hills Cycling Development Initiative, launched in 2022 in collaboration with Cycle2Ride, is having a marked impact on the lives of children in the rural community.
Local youth within the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy area from Bottelary Primary School, Vlottenburg Primary School, St Vincent’s Primary School, Froggies Aftercare at Devon Valley Primary School and Pebbles Project are given the opportunity to explore cycling as a sport.
Weekly coaching sessions by professional cyclist and former SA national champion Jaco Venter enable learners to hone their cycling skills.
Training aims to improve handling skills, develop the ability to cycle in groups, improve gear selection, setting goals and training with a purpose as part of a team.
The Bottelary Hills team of 10 riders has been selected to compete in the 2025 Western Cape School MTB League on multi-speed mountain bikes donated by the WAWWA Foundation.
- The Western Cape Schools MTB League will see riders between ages 6 and 19 representing 85 schools compete across five events.
- The series kicks off at Devonbosch (https://devonbosch.co.za/) on Saturday, 15 March.
- Support the Cycle2Ride fundraising drive via https://www.givengain.com/cause/144968/campaigns/30354/
