MtbCycle ‘Ride for Ingrid’

This year’s Ashburton Aloe Spring Festival saw the launch of the annual Mtb cycle ‘Ride For Ingrid’ on Saturday 4th September. Not only a memorial ride for the late Ingrid Flint from Jowetts who passed away in July this year from injuries in a horri¿c car accident, the ride was also to raise funds for the Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy and Upper Mpushini Conservancy- Bisley Valley Nature Reserve areas anti-poaching fund which Ashburton’s Ingrid was also passionate about.

The ride had to capped at just over 50 riders because of Covid and safety protocols, which resulted in many other riders unable to join in, but those that did had an awesome 40km ride which started at ‘The Zebra & Porcupine’ (Venue B) at the Ashburton Training Centre in Ashburton and looped back - taking riders through the Lower Mpushini Valley route, along the gravel roads up to Mountain View, through Lincoln Meade, Murray Road, Bisley Nature reserve, into the Upper Mpushini Valley and back. This route previously known as ‘The Desert Loop’ will now be known as ‘Ingrid’s loop’. Mi7 Ambulance services kindly provided back up and support.

The Mtb cycle ride raised much needed funds for the campaign which are used to pay a full time Game Ranger, Lucky Makuyana aka - ‘Hardlife’, who patrols on a quad bike, to search for snares, injured animals and lurking poachers on a daily basis in the Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy area around Ashburton. The poaching is at a crises level with many animals being killed and injured annually due to unlawful activities.

Organiser, Debbie De Wit, will be organising regular rides on this loop to raise these much needed funds in future and can be contacted on 0828203238 to be added to the mailing list for these events.

The Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy would like to thank Debbie de Wit and all the riders that participated in this event as a tribute to Ingrid for helping raise funds to protect the wilderness and wildlife that she loved.