“It’s not a race. It’s a journey,” says Grahamstown resident Leonie Yendall, 50, who is about to begin a coast-to-coast mountain biking adventure of approximately 1 300km with her friend Helene Gabriel, also 50.
“It’s not a race. It’s a journey,” says Grahamstown resident Leonie Yendall, 50, who is about to begin a coast-to-coast mountain biking adventure of approximately 1 300km with her friend Helene Gabriel, also 50.
Yendall, who suffers from glaucoma – a disorder which can permanently damage vision and lead to blindness – is the inspiration behind the adventure. For her it’s an experience to tick off her bucket list.
The two are preparing for a four-week journey, which will start 15 August and end mid-September. They will bring nothing but their bikes, their tent and some cooking utensils.
The route comprises back roads and wilderness areas and the women will get water and food in whatever town they come across.
The cyclists will take off from Paternoster on the West coast, then take a detour through the Klein Karoo, ending in Port Alfred.
Yendall is particularly looking forward to the Tankwa Karoo area, which she says consists of over 200km of nothing but flat land. “It’s like a moon landscape.”
The avid mountain biker has completed the Cape Argus 10 times and takes part in various local cycling events.
“Mental preparation is not something that crosses my mind. I just rely on the riding I do,” she said this week.
The two women are in no rush to complete the route.
“On a good day we ride well and on a bad day we just stop and read a book,” she said. “I just want to go there, to see how it looks, to see what the uphills are going to offer, what the downhills are like, who we going to meet and what we’re going to eat.”
Yendall’s bucket-list trip will be documented on the Saints and Sinners Cycling Club Facebook page. More information can also be found atwww.groupspaces.com/saintsandsinners.
