Riding the Shova on one wheel
Local resident to ride the Amashova race on a unicycle to raise funds for charity.
GRAY Braatvedt will compete in the 30th Tsogo Sun Amashova Race on a Unicycle. The veteran and experienced rider is the first ever unicyclist to enter the race to complete the 106km route in his attempt to raise R20 000 for the non-profit organization called AuSOMEtism.
After taking a long break from cycling and gaining extensive weight at the end of 2013 Gray decided that ‘enough was enough’. After getting his hands on a unicycle from a good friend Al Buhler who also challenged him to ride it for three months. Gray decided to set this challenge as a New Year’s resolution for 2014.
“Unicyling is much harder to ride. It has a direct drive and no gears so you have to have good balance, and in doing so this helps build up your core muscles. Patience is also important because you may fall over (a lot) in the beginning, but eventually you will get the hang of it and then there’s no turning back,” says Gray.
“During my quest to losing weight and becoming fit and healthy again. I was fortunate enough to meet a spectacular individual, who has adopted an autistic child. Shaun Murphy informed me about the AuSOMEtism charity and their slogan, which is ‘ Different, not less’ and that struck a chord for me and is the reason behind my entry and participation in this year’s race.”
The AuSOMEtism charity is a non-profit organization and was born out of a need to raise awareness about Autism and to assist the families of Autistic children to learn about the early intervention and appropriate schooling methods that will give their children a chance to express themselves and learn in an environment that encourages thinking out of the box.
For more information about or to help email gray.braatvedt@gmail.com or shaun@auSOMEtism.co.za.
