A young Grahamstown couple will attempt to conquer the “Dragon’s Spine” to raise funds for children with cerebral palsy. The Dragon’s Spine consists of a 4 000km mountain bike ride from Beit Bridge at the Zimbabwean border to Cape Point, via Lesotho.
A young Grahamstown couple will attempt to conquer the “Dragon’s Spine” to raise funds for children with cerebral palsy. The Dragon’s Spine consists of a 4 000km mountain bike ride from Beit Bridge at the Zimbabwean border to Cape Point, via Lesotho.
Dylan and Misty Weyer will start their goodwill adventure on 1 September and estimate it’ll take about 65 days and seven rest days.
Ninety per cent of the funds raised will go to non-profit organisation (NPO), Malamulele Onward, which provides specialised therapy services, equipment and care-giver training to 11 poorly-resourced rural areas of South Africa and Lesotho. Misty is a field therapist and off-site manager for the organisation.
The remaining 10% that they raise will go to a smaller NPO in East London called Greensleeves Place of Safety.
The Weyers chose these particular NPOs as they believe the organisations are accountable when it comes to their finances, and carry out great work improving the lives of many children.
“We expect that this will be the biggest adventure we have embarked on so far, and are confident that both South Africa and Lesotho will break us physically, humble us mentally and leave us in complete awe of the beauty their landscapes offer,” Misty said.
The couple have been preparing for the challenge by training as much as their schedules allow this year and going on long rides over weekends.
They’ve also competed in some local races, Misty says. She rode in the inaugural Grahamstown-to-Sea in July and Dylan took part in May’s Woody Cape mountain bike challenge.
Misty also made the most of a work trip to Johannesburg earlier in the year when she tackled the Parys Island Dirtmax Series 60km, the Bryton Big Five Series 50km and the Babba’s Lodge 70km mountain bike challenge.
But they’ll only know if they’ve prepared sufficiently once they’re already on their 4 000km quest.
“To do so on behalf of those who have not the means or the physical ability to lead a normal life is a fitting motive and provides the impetus to press on when the going gets tough,” Dylan said.
You can support Weyers’ cause by donating money or even by offering to accommodate them during one of their overnight stops. To find out more about the Dragon’s Spine event and how to get involved, visit: http://groupspaces.com/DragonsSpine4CP.
The Weyers live in Grahamstown and Dylan is a former Rhodes University student.
Stepping stones to the Dragon’s Spine
“Together we have tackled some of the tougher but possibly less known races in South Africa,” Misty says.
These include the Transbaviaans 230km 24-hour mountain bike race (Dylan only), the 50km two-staged Grootvadersbosch Trail Run, the 42km African Otter Trail Run, the 150km Eden Duo Adventure Race, the 265km three-staged Garmin Wartrail and Expedition Africa, a 500km expedition-style adventure race.
More recently they hiked the 300km length of the Wild Coast, (Port Edward to Kei Mouth in December 2012), self-supported.
