After 15 458 km on the saddle, 176 days and 19 countries, an adventure and journey of a lifetime came to an end on Saturday 31 March, as James Lea-Cox and Mark Yetman rolled into the Cape Point car park to a huge welcome by friends, family and loved ones.
6 months ago in London they set off on their bicycles from Trafalgar square with a small crowd of well-wishers flying the South African flag. This was the start of a journey that would take them through 19 countries, specifically and in order England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ruanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and finally their home country of South Africa.
James and Mark also decided to use this opportunity to raise awareness and funds for a good cause. “We chose the Wildlands Conservation Trust because of all the fantastic work they have been doing in so many areas of conservation, specifically around fighting rhino poaching”, commented Mark. “After travelling through Africa for 6 months we have seen first-hand the dilemma of balancing Africa’s need for economic and social development, as well as the need to preserve our ecosystems and the environment which we ultimately all depend on, but which are under such threat on this continent. We hope that the awareness we have raised on the issue, as well as the financial support for Wildlands will go towards helping them achieve their goals.”
When asked to summarise highlights from their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip, Mark and James responded, “This has indeed been a life-changing experience, in more ways than we could have imagined and too many experiences to put down in a short summary, so we ask anyone interested in what we have done to please visit our website (www.bigride-africa.com) for more information.”
“We want to congratulate Mark and James – we are so proud of you for completing this amazing journey – it could not have been easy – it was a BIG ride indeed! Thank you for choosing us as your charitable beneficiary – the funds you have raised will be invested into ultimately creating a sustainable future for us all,” stated Lauren Laing – Communications Manager at Wildlands.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)