CHOC Riders in the 94.7 Cycle Challenge

A week or two ago, I was asked to offer my motorcycle and services to transport the CHOC cameraman during the 94.7 Cycle Challenge on Sunday 15/11/2009. This is an annual charity event organized by Radio Highveld and Momentum Life Insurance and of course, I jumped at the chance of being part of the event. The race attracts approximately 25 000 bicycles to the 100 km course through the streets of Johannesburg.




The picture shows a group of CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation) dressed in cow suits escorting an ice cream bike just before the start of the race. The ice cream bike in this case, is filled with donations and not ice cream.



We assembled at 5 am sharp and started organizing for the start of the race. This is a mammoth event and requires planning and excellent timing. The riders are divided into groups of 1000 bikes with each group starting at five minute intervals.



Riding a large cruiser in between thousands of cyclists is not for the faint hearted especially with an enthusiastic cameraman trying to get close-ups and ground level shots of pedals turning; down-hill is fine but the up-hills are a nightmare. As the riders spread out so the task became easier and by nine’o’clock we were happily cruising up and down capturing hours of video footage. A quick breakfast was even possible.



The CHOC ice cream carts are not built for racing and 10 hours later they arrived at the finish line assisted by fellow riders. This has all be worth the time and effort as over 2 million Rand was collected before and during the race.