The Ama-Riders Cycling Club are keeping the wheels moving for a brighter future thanks to their enthusiasm and one man’s drive and initiative to use the sport as a vehicle for change.
The colourful Ama-Riders kitted out in canary yellow cycling strip and showing great team spirit and camaraderie, turned heads at the G2C MTB race from Makhanda to Port Alfred.
This bunch of enthusiastic cyclists with the help of a sponsor and their own determination, achieved their aim of cycling G2C after only starting out as an organised group at the beginning of the year.
Keen mountain biker Antony Wannell was fortunate to have seen the group cycling on the road in Makhanda in January this year.
“I identified them cycling and stopped and said to them … ‘guys you have an amazing thing going here, you have to formalise it. Then I told them: ‘Let’s work towards cycling the G2C’. However, in between cycling I suggested to them to work on a few other initiatives together’.
That’s how Ama-Riders sprung to life, with Wannell emphasising that the group continues identifying township youth to join their cycling initiative. He said this programme contributed greatly to “keeping kids off the streets and away from a life of potential crime, drug abuse” and other social ills.
He said inculcating in the young cyclists a mindset of being a helping hand to others who needed it in the community was an important part of their programme.
“They are for example helping young single mothers with kids who can’t leave the home and leave them unattended. For example, they will run to the shop for them, to buy the items for them, come back and drop off the items for them. They have set up a group that specifically runs these errands for the community. It truly is amazing to see,” said Wannell.
Wannell said the group who have raced several races in the region, was in the process of partnering with the “Love of the Mountain” initiative in Makhanda to formalise trails in the region. “Our plan is to fix up the single track paths on the trail routes in the area and use our Ama-Riders as guides along them.”
“Our goal with this is that we want to do the same in Kenton, Port Alfred and hence we have partnered with Kariega Foundation for this initiative. We want to set up trails between the three towns, where the different groups help each other.”
Said one of the enthusiastic riders: “The G2C was very nice and lots of fun … we have done a lot of cycling single track mountain bike races as a group already and we would like to grow into a bigger group. Today we cycled about 62km and it was most enjoyable.”
Wannell said he and his group of riders were thankful for those who dug deep into pockets to help the Ama-Riders register and participate in the G2C race. “But to take this participation to the next level we need proper sponsors,” he said.
“And we appeal to people … if they have any previously loved no-longer-used bicycles or equipment, to donate it to us because we have so many kids who we want to bring into this whole programme … we want to train some of the Ama-Riders riders to properly maintain bikes as well,” added Wannell.
- This article first appeared in TALK OF THE TOWN – the community newspaper for Ndlambe and Makhanda, in supermarkets and other outlets every Thursday.
