In the crisp, early morning of 31 May, before the sun had even come out to greet the day, cyclist Garth Lezard and hand-cyclist Cerdic Mkhize embarked on an 84km ultra-marathon from Loftus Versveld Stadium all the way to Ellis Park.
Lezard has been cycling across the world since 2010 – cycling through four countries from every continent – in order to raise funds and awareness for his chosen charity, Leonard Cheshire Disability homes. In Gauteng, these Cheshire Homes are located in Soweto, Northwold and Randburg.
This year he was joined by Mkhize, who used to play winger for the Sharks rugby team, before he was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident. He has since taken up hand-cycling, and plans to become a paralympic champion in the sport in the near future.
“The plan is to cycle between the six South African Super Rugby teams and complete the Super Rugby competition as part of my around-the-world charity bicycle journey,” stated Lezard.
“I knew I would be unable to achieve a first in terms of an around-the-world charity bicycle journey, but by including Super Rugby, I may well be the first super rugby fan to cycle between all 16 teams through three countries on two continents and produce a documentary of the endeavour to keep my story alive and the awareness and fundraising ongoing.”
Lezard is very pleased that Mkhize is joining him on this leg of the South African tour and is looking forward to the next leg ,which will take place on 12 June at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
Details: www.cheshirehomes.org.za
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