On the 21st April 2011, four none-too-fit middle-aged health care workers will attempt to ride/push/prod/kick or otherwise propel their bicycles over 1 000 km from the rural town of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape of South Africa to Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

The ride will cover a route called The Freedom Trail – from Hamburg, past Port Elizabeth, through Bavaainskloof (Baboon’s Ravine – imagine fierce, hungry Chacmas) which will take two days to traverse, through Die Hel (translation : Hell) and on to CapeTown, finishing on May 2nd.  Easy-peasy. If you were 20 years younger than any of this lot. And a great deal fitter.

Their reason for attempting this unlikely quest is to raise funds for the Keiskamma Trust which provides primary health care for 119 villages in the rural Peddie district of the Eastern Cape Province.  These villages are served by 11 clinics and one doctor.

Our goal for this year’s fundraiser is to raise enough money to purchase a minibus which will be used to transport very sick patients to local hospitals.

Those of us too chicken (read: sensible) to attempt this epic ride will be staying in the office to do the really hard work : Fundraising! That’s where you come in.

Please donate.  Please donate just 1p per kilometre. That’s  £10.  Think of how you’d pay 1p per km NOT to have to put yourself through this  experience. Then click on the ‘Donate’ button.  Thanks.