Cyclists raise more than R35 000 for rhinos
THE fight to save Eastern Cape rhino from poachers stepped up a gear yesterday when three cyclists raised more than R35 000 riding weedeater-powered bicycles 200km from Port Elizabeth to Port Alfred.
Leaving at the crack of dawn, Port Alfred Rotary club member Mike Millard, Bush Pig Bikes owner Sam Clark and policeman Armand van Gend braved icy weather and a broken chain during their ride to raise funds for the Chipembere Rhino Foundation.
Millard, who spent two weeks training for the ride, yesterday said he did not have to pedal the bike much during the long-distance haul.
“My arms and upper body are tired but not my legs. These bikes fly.”
Although three riders left Port Elizabeth, only two made the finish line in Port Alfred after Van Gend hit a pothole at speed on a dirt road near Alexandria, damaging the chain drive mechanism.
The two riders spent just over five hours in the saddle at an average speed of 40km/h.
During the trip, the riders stopped at Kariega Game Reserve to lay a wreath near the spot where three rhino were poached in 2012.
Rooting for Rhino founder Jo Wilmot, who works closely with Kariega and Chipembere, said the horrific mutilation of Thembi, Themba and Bull Number 84 had galvanised the world to try and save the endangered species from extinction.
She said the fact that Thembi had miraculously survived having her horn cut off at the bone raised the profile of anti-poaching initiatives.
Rotarian Bella Crabtree said more than R35 000 had been raised during the ride with more expected.
She said the money would be used to build a kennel and feed a specially trained tracker dog called Sammy, which is on standby to be flown to any rhino poaching scene in the province.
After the ride, two of the locally designed and manufactured bicycles were donated to the Port Alfred Community Policing Forum.
Police station commander Colonel Lizette Zeelie said the donation would allow police to pursue criminals into places where vehicles could not go. —