Kleinemonde cyclist back home after cutting short charity tour

AFTER 5 000km and 76 days in the saddle, Kleinemonde resident Carel Viljoen was pleased to get back to his seaside home, despite a sad setback which saw him cutting his epic charity cycle tour short.

Viljoen, 65, and his brother Deon, 63, set off from Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal on July 3 with the intention of doing a round trip around the borders of South Africa before ending their intended 6 000km trip back where they started.

Besides some mechanical failures like broken gears, chain breaks and broken spokes, and a bumpy stretch along the Botswana border’s corrugated roads, all went according to schedule.

But when Deon was rushed to hospital in George with a torn urethra and had to jet to Johannesburg for an operation, Carel refused to throw in the towel and cycled the second-last leg to Kenton-onSea by himself, arriving home in the rain on September 16.

The last leg, from Kenton to Vryheid, will remain unpedalled as Deon stays off the saddle under doctor’s orders.

The plucky brothers, who rode unsupported, touting their belongings in pullalong trailers and fixing a total of 17 punctures along the way, hit their saddles in support of a charity called the Child Witness Institute, an NPO that fights for the rights of abused and neglected children.

“It was sad when Deon got sick, but I had to accept it. I missed him, but I have done solo rides like this before so it was not so much of an adjustment,” said Carel, a retired salesmanwho once cycled 2 800km, raising R22 000 for a community school.

“Deon and I stuck to secondary roads during our tour, but from Mossel Bay we had to take the N2 and, although motorists were very kind and helpful, I found the traffic noise to be an annoyance.

“Still, with all our mechanical breakdowns and the traffic noise, it was a great adventure, and our troubles were nothing compared with the trauma suffered by the children who are helped by the Child Witness Institute.”

Having attended to home maintenance issues that cropped up after his threemonth absence, Carel is already itching to hit the saddle once again in another charity-driven bike adventure.

“This time I will cycle with my wife Isabel, 64, because I really missed her companionship while I was away.” —

Picture: SUPPLIED BROTHERS IN ARMS: Carel Viljoen, 65, and his brother Deon, 63, embarked on their epic 6 000km charity cycle tour on July 3, but Deon was forced to stop in George, leaving Carel to cycle solo for a week until he reached his Kleinemonde home