Cyclist rides for dads
Campaign focuses on men’s role in children’s life
Harsh weather conditions and burst tyres were some of the challenges experienced by Nyiko Masango, who is currently cycling from Beitbridge to Cape Town as part of a campaign to encourage fathers to play an active role in the lives of their children.
The 43-yearold father from Nkowankowa, Tzaneen in Limpopo, started cycling for ‘ Presence in Fatherhood’ campaign 12 days ago in Beitbridge and he is currently heading to Cape Town. He has since travelled 1,177km of the 3,143km he has to cycle by the time he reaches the Mother City in two weeks’ time.
Speaking to Sowetan as he had just left Durban in KwaZulu Natal, Masango said he hoped to touch many father ’ s out there to be part of their children’s lives.
He is travelling with a team of three people; a photographer, driver and a road manager.
Masango said the campaign was not only about fathers who need to be present in their children’s lives but also to elevate the status of fathers who care about their children but are denied access to them.
“I know how it feels to not have access to your children. When my ex-wife and I got divorced she did not want me to seemy son. I had to approach the courts in order to have access to my son. That is when I had an idea to raise funds for a boys leadership academy which will have mentorship programmes for boys,” Masango said.
Masango said he cycled between 110km and 140km per day depending on the weather conditions.
“I actually prefer to cycle in rainy conditions as that cools the body and makes it easier to cycle for longer distances.
In the past days, I have cycled in rainy weather in Mpumalanga and when I got to Mtubatuba in KZN it was windy and I had to change from road bike to mountain bike.
“I also had to stop when I got in Durban because of traffic.
“In Mpumalanga we were fortunate that Vodacom sponsored us with accommodation but usually we sleep in caravan park as I have a support car that is following me,” he said.
They have a Facebook page called ‘ Presence in Fatherhood’, where people are requested to donate anything from as little as R100 per kilometer.
He said there had also been good samaritans who had helped them with food but the administration to find out how much they had made from donations would be made when they reached Cape Town.
Masango’s love for adventure started at a very tender age and he had his first bicycle at the age of 12.
He said his love for adven-ture kept growing and he eventually started his professional career as a fitness coach in 2012. His physical expressions of living life without limits include, mountain biking, cycling, sky diving, hiking, running, walks, bungee jumping and many other forms of adventure.