In 2 weeks myself and a group of equally mad old legs will be off cycling the Skeleton Coast Tour over 3000kms to raise important funds for Zimbabwe’s struggling pensioners, it will be tough going (more on that further down the post!) But it is for a cause close to my heart. Please read the below post for how to make a contribution and a breakdown of the ride!
3 125KM, 30 days, “Old Legs” Fund-Raising, AU-NZ Team from Harare, Zimbabwe to Swakopmund, Namibia
Old Legs Tour, Australia New Zealand team, riding together with the Zimbabwe team, to raise funds for the pensioners with nothing left in Zimbabwe. Funds raised will assist with providing food, shelter, medical and emotional support to thousands in this unfortunate position.
We would be most grateful for all donations to help towards this very worthy cause.
To donate, please use the following banking details:
Australia/NZ:
ZANE Australia
BSB 032 023
Account Number 305217
For Australian donations, let us know if you need an invoice, as ZANE is a registered fund-raising organisation.
South Africa:
Old Legs Cycle Tour
Absa Bank 9355070826
United Kingdom
ZANE: Zimbabwe
TSB
19 Market Place
Winslow
Bucks
MK18 3AD
Sort code: 30-99-74
A/c No: 00576568
BIC: TSBSGB2AXXX
IBAN:GB12 TSBS 3099 7400 5765 68
It is VERY IMPORTANT TO REFERENCE THE DONATION WITH OLT TEAM or the person’s name (Howard, Alan, Mark or Peter) even if it is an anonymous donation. Example: OLT Team, or OLT Howard etc.
Introduction – From ZANE CEO, Nicky Passaportis, the organisation we are supporting:
The Old Legs Tour is a very proud supporter of ZANE Australia “Living in a country where people enjoy free universal health services and one of the best social security services in the world, it would be easy to forget about pensioners in Zimbabwe and their struggles, especially with the terrible events in Ukraine playing out non-stop on television.”
But CEO Nicky Passaportis and her team have never forgotten. With the help of their donors, they continue to provide food, shelter, medical and emotional support to thousands of pensioners, ensuring that their last years are as comfortable as possible and that they know they are loved. Without ZANE Australia, those pensioners would have nothing.
Every dollar donated to Zane goes directly where it is needed most. Please help us to help them to help others.
Website: http://www.zaneaustralia.org.au
Read on for more information about the ride!
Rundown of the Ride & Route – From Adam Selby
Our route to Swakopmund is going to be truly epic! We start at a gruelling pace, riding from Harare to Vic Falls, in only 7 days, through wild hilly parts of Zimbabwe, that terrify even Eric, “Chicken Legs”, our fearless leader. He says even cars get “Deaded” on the roads through and around Gokwe, so I can only imagine that we cyclists will be pushed to our limits. Besides terrible roads, we will be out of civilisation, as we know it, for most of the ride. Our camping kit and skills will be tested! Newbie riders will have to learn to Bushkak, whilst maintaining some semblance of dignity. Our ageing bodies are going to have to get up early – before dawn, after each hard day’s ride, pack up camp and find the will to hit another tough day on the road, by sunrise.
We will not finish the daily rides before 4pm, on any one day, on the road to Vic Falls. Add to that, close encounters with the wild.
As we climb the steep tracks into Chizarira and beyond, we will be riding through wild bush teeming with game. On previous trips in this area, we bumped into both lion and elephant. When we’re near the river, on early morning and late afternoon rides, we need to be constantly looking out for hippos.
In Victoria Falls, we will have a rest day, to prepare us for the frustration of border crossings in Africa, before we plunge into the remotest parts of Zambia, on our way to Katima Mulilo. Hippo and crocs a’plenty, as we basically follow the Zambezi River, on what is described as one of Zambia’s worst tar roads. Not much tar – just enough to slow vehicles down to snail’s pace and test bikes and bums for over 250km. If our arses are not worn raw, by the border with Nambia at Katima Mulilo, I’ll eat my hat! We better bring lots of Fissan paste and make sure we’re riding a Softail mountain bike.
The Caprivi strip needs no introduction! We will not be riding on the nice tar road because trucks and cars are more dangerous than the herds of buffalo, elephant and free-roaming predators. So, it’s more dirt roads and spectacular wildlife. At times we will veer away from the river, at others we will be following the river, passing through Namibia’s version of the Okavango delta until we reach Rundu. Here we say goodbye to lush tropics and enter proper desert.
* Names and images may have been changed for privacy reasons
If you are already a ZANE donor, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you are not a donor but would like to be, please follow the link below and know that every donation, however big or small, goes directly to where it is most needed. If you would like to help but can’t donate, please join the ZANE family and ‘like’ or ‘share’ our posts or write us a Google review – every positive step helps spread the word about the life changing work ZANE does.
Thank you – Nicky Passaportis ZANE Australia
Please donate to support pensioners struggling to survive in Zimbabwe
Any assistance is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to giving our pensioners a better quality of life and lift the pressure of money worries which is very debilitating emotionally.
(Donations made to ZANE in Australia, are tax-deductible)
We will have left the hills in Matebeland behind us, but now we can expect to be nicely sun roasted by day and frozen cold at night. The fabled Etosha Game Park will be a pleasant break before we hit spectacular landscapes on the road to Sesfontein, Palmweg and the Brandburg massif. Jagged mountain passes and dry riverbed valleys, will hopefully distract us from the punishing sands that we will be riding through, on this section and we can expect that everyone will find themselves humbled for fitness.
We expect to also to be falling off the bike a lot, a combination of fatigue and unexpected patches of alternating deep and shallow sand. This part of Namibia enjoys free-roaming game. The desert elephants are unfriendly and we also expect the lion to be hungry and watchful! Rhinos are probably our safest encounter. Our distances in this area will be unimpressive, but the reality is, we will need every ounce of fitness to deal with this part of the route.
From Brandburg we will be relieved to be going downhill, albeit through sand, to the coast. The Skeleton Coast at last! The main challenge here will be road condition and a sub-zero cross wind blowing at pace straight out of the Atlantic Ocean and threatening to freeze us or knock us over – probably both. However, after 30 days of Epic we will reach Swakopmund, toasty pubs and ice-cold beer and will probably be wishing we still had another month to go!
Have a look at these maps to get an idea of our route!
* Names and images may have been changed for privacy reasons
If you are already a ZANE donor, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you are not a donor but would like to be, please follow the link below and know that every donation, however big or small, goes directly to where it is most needed. If you would like to help but can’t donate, please join the ZANE family and ‘like’ or ‘share’ our posts or write us a Google review – every positive step helps spread the word about the life changing work ZANE does.
Thank you – Nicky Passaportis ZANE Australia
Please donate to support pensioners struggling to survive in Zimbabwe
Any assistance is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to giving our pensioners a better quality of life and lift the pressure of money worries which is very debilitating emotionally.
(Donations made to ZANE in Australia, are tax-deductible)