G2C takes a village, or two
Organising a large event with an expected 500 participants requires big support and in addition to major sponsor BUCO, the Grahamstown to Sea (G2C) 2022 Mountain Bike Race from Makhanda to Port Alfred on November 6 enjoys the backing of other exciting partners.
Here’s how they’re stepping in: Water tables: VW Kelston Motors and Star Bread will provide water tables for the Makhanda end of the course.
BUCO will have a water table at the midpoint, and Stenden and the SPCA will support the arrival of cyclists in Port Alfred.
Refreshments: Twizza will provide refreshments for the end of the race to support the big BUCO finish.
Your bike: Enduran will supply bike chain lube for the goodie bags. The Cycle Asylum will provide spare parts at the start, a training programme and part sponsorship of the spot prize.
T-shirts: Xtreme will contribute towards the T-shirts.
Funding: VW Kelston Motor Group, Star Bread Grahamstown, Vox
Logic and our other sponsors are contributing financially.
Media: Talk of the Town is the media sponsor.
Event sigh-up and timing: Mountain Events.
Packet pick-up: On Saturday November 5, at PJ Olivier High, where Oldenburgia Trail Running events organised by Get Out and Run will also start and finish on Saturday. There will be refreshments, music and a market from 9am to 2pm.
“We hope this event will provide our sponsors with some additional exposure and runners and cyclists and spectators some added fun,” said Sally Price-Smith, chair of the Makana Residents Association (MRA), which is organising the event.
The Makhanda, Port Alfred and Kenton branches of BUCO have joined forces to provide the main financial and logistics support for the event.
BUCO’s Marius Schmidt said the event started off with 170 cyclists and had grown to more than 400 last year.
“It’s a fantastic initiative that has brought people from Gqeberha, East
London, Kenton and Port Alfred together. It’s a great networking opportunity and BUCO is involved because it’s a community-driven project,” he said.
Moving the finish to the Port Alfred Cricket Club meant people could spend the day there.
“It’s more family-driven – kids can play there, there’s no danger of being hit by a car. We’d love to see 500 people cycling, when we reach that number we’ll be celebrating!”
BUCO are in it for the long haul and have big plans for the race.
“For the next one we want to encourage people to camp overnight at the new finishing venue.”
The G2C was the inspiration of a group of Makhanda cyclists nine years ago. Penny Pinchers was the first main sponsor and when BUCO took over the company, their support continued.
Lindsay Vroom of Cathy Braans PR, with assistance from Mountain Events and BUCO, took over organising the event after founding hosts Saints and Sinners Cycling Club closed. Vroom then handed the baton to the MRA.