LISTEN: Benoni cyclists behind virtual race which raises R108 000 for SA Harvest

Benoni-based cyclists Dion Guy and Aiden Choles recently came up with the idea of hosting a virtual cycling race, the v360 Ultra.

They used the virtual cycling platform Zwift to raise funds for SA Harvest.

SA Harvest., a registered NPC and NPO, rescues quality surplus food, both non-perishable and perishable that would have been thrown away.

They then delivers it directly, free of charge, to a wide variety of organisations that feed food-vulnerable people on a daily basis.

SA Harvest has delivered more than 40 000 meals per week during lockdown.

The event raised R108 000. With an operating cost of R5 a meal, this amount will support the delivery of more than 21 000 meals.

The v360 Ultra started at 3pm on April 24 April with 105 cyclists, many of whom were due to ride the annual 36One Mountain Bike Challenge in Oudtshoorn which has been postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

This is when Guy and Choles came up with the v360 Ultra, so that the long hours and many kilometres of training would not to go to waste.

“We also wanted to use the event to raise money for a charity,” explained Choles, who added that riding for a cause helped to keep the motivation levels up, especially in the lonely, dark hours of the morning.

Choles set up a campaign through the crowdfunding website backabuddy.co.za

There were no prizes for the winners – the real winner was SA Harvest and South Africa’s poor.

Choles said it was a brutal start with participants going out of the starting blocks really hard, forgetting they have 360kms to race.

“We all anticipated this would be a hard race, but the reality really starting setting in about 140km in,” he said.

“But everyone was dedicated and sending each other messages of encouragement on Whatsapp, so we made it happen.”

Alan Browde, CEO of SA Harvest, sent regular voice notes to keep the riders’ spirits up while the organisation’s chairman Gidon Novick even sent a video message on Friday night as he rode his spinning bike in his pajamas in solidarity with the v360km+ participants.

“We are blown away by the effort of each and every one who participated in this amazing event and, of course, we are deeply grateful for the significant sum of money that we have received from their hours of toil.

“Hunger is perhaps the most serious issue facing our country at the moment and enabling us to deliver 21 600 meals is a significant gesture,” Alan said.

Choles lauded Jaco Davel’s winning finish in just 12 hours 29 minutes as “incredible”.

A number of the cyclists were in it to race while others joined for the ride.

By the end of 360km, comprising five laps of a 72km route called the Pretzel, only 50 riders managed to finish.

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Paying forward the calories burned towards food for others
“On endurance rides such as these, cyclists can burn up to 12 000 calories while also taking in significant amounts of food and liquids to sustain them,” Choles said.

“We therefore encouraged people to pay forward the calories they would burn on this ride towards food and hunger support by donating to SA Harvest.

“Zwift tracks calories burnt as pizza slice equivalents, at roughly 285 calories each.

“We asked riders to back themselves by sponsoring R12 for every slice burnt – you’re likely to burn about 12 000 calories, so that’s 42 slices (or R500).

“Riders could also donate R1.50 per km (about R550).”

Mental game
“If you think riding 360km in the real world sounds tough, it is harder doing it on an indoor trainer,” said Guy, adding that it requires a lot more determination to finish especially when you are not in the middle of nowhere or you know your family is in the next room.

He explained that a smart trainer is an indoor bicycle trainer that connects to a virtual world, allowing cyclists to complete in-game cycling routes.

By using the smart trainer’s power meter, Zwift adjusts the resistance to mimic the effort required to cycle up hills.

Virtual winners
In first place was Jaco Davel in 12 hours 29 minutes, followed by Dusty Day in 13 hours 20 minutes and Mike Chumbley in 14 hours 11 minutes.

First woman in was Jenny Close in 14 and a half hours and the last rider “home” was George van der Merwe in just under 33 hours, which was the “loose” cut off.

“Whether people did it in 12 or 33 hours, it’s still a phenomenal accomplishment, and we want to acknowledge each and every rider who took part and to everyone who contributed to the fund-raising campaign,” said Guy.

Guy and Choles also created the 200km+ Club.

“Completing 200km is a significant achievement in itself, so even if riders didn’t complete the full route, we wanted to acknowledged this accolade,” Guy said.

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