For most, the thought of cycling over 1 000 kilometres is more than daunting, but when South African Durbanite Geoff Brink (38) decided to hop onto a unicycle and cycle 1 606 km, his family and friends thought he was crazy.
For most, the thought of cycling over 1 000 kilometres is more than daunting, but when South African Durbanite Geoff Brink (38) decided to hop onto a unicycle and cycle 1 606 km, his family and friends thought he was crazy.
“I had never been on a unicycle before so with only four months of training, here I am!” said Brink. He is currently in the process of unicycling from Durban to Cape Town in an attempt to raise awareness for the anti-landmine organisation, The Sole of Africa.
Stopping off in Grahamstown, Brink explained how he got the idea of embarking upon this journey. “I’m a photographer and an adventure seeker and thought of no better way to combine the two and it’s for a good cause.”
Brink first got the idea in the middle of the Free State, driving back to Durban from a photography
assignment. With an estimated 100 million land mines buried in the ground around the world, The Sole of Africa is a campaign formed by the Mineseeker Foundation committed to detecting and removing land mines, as well as rehabilitating people and land affected by them.
“I have a lot of support behind me and manage to unicycle about 40 kilometres a day – I could do
more but I don’t want to wear myself out,” said Brink.
He believes that he may hold the land speed record in Africa of travelling anywhere on a unicycle, which with South Africa”s rough terrain is no easy task. “I have to be so careful it’s a long way down if I fall. Sometimes the winds are bad and balancing becomes a challenge.”
Starting out with a very small unicycle he has been sponsored a 29 inch wheel believed to be the only one in the country. With three sponsors on board his goal is to eventually get a 36 inch wheel which will make travelling a lot easier.
He is aiming to reach Cape Town in early March. Those who wish to follow Brink’s progress can view Fred Hatman’s blog which can be found at http://fredhatman.co.za/.
