It was a sombre moment mixed with joyous celebration of a great life, when hundreds of cyclists turned up to ride in honour of Gugu Zulu.
The Gugu Zulu Memorial Ride was held at Northern Farm, Diepsloot, on 23 July in honour of the former South African race car driver who died while attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
The event was organised by Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy, where Zulu was a co-founder and mentor to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Zulu’s ChilliLane Mountain Bike Group.
Cyclists donned red in support of Zulu, and made their way through the 20km ‘blue route’, creating a flowing red stream through the rugged terrain.
“Gugu was like a brother or father to me,” said Masego Tshabalala (18), of the academy. “He was a loving person who had a way of bringing life to others. When I was sad he would bring me up, tell me to keep going. He meant a lot to us.”
Lawrence Mogano (20), also of the academy, said that Zulu was once his partner at the Absa Cape Epic, and motivated him right through until the end of the race, helping him finish strong. “He taught us to never give up on life, and to love each other, help each other,” he said.
Co-founders of the academy André Ross and Simon Nash said that Zulu would often drive the youth all over the country to take part in races, and the great number of cyclists who attended his memorial ride was testament to the impact he made on people.
Zulu, who started racing in 1999 and was called the ‘fasted brother in Africa’, was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his wife, Letshego, as part of the Trek4Mandela expedition before he died on 18 July, Mandela Day.
Zulu had trouble breathing during the climb. A medical team placed him on a drip and descended the mountain with him, but were unable to save him.
Zulu was known to support a number of charity initiatives with his wife, and the Trek4Mandela initiative aimed to raise funds to buy sanitary towels for 350 000 school girls.
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