LOCAL mountain biker, Shaun Tischendorf (50) tackled his first Freedom Challenge – Race Across South Africa (RASA) on 8 June.
The daunting 2,300km challenge stretching from Pietermaritzburg to Wellington in the Cape took the athlete 21 days and 10 hours to complete.
The Race Across South Africa (RASA) is organised by Freedom Challenge and takes place mid-year. It is a non-stop, self-navigated (with no GPS devices allowed) mountain bike race.
“This year there were 45 riders who set off in batches over a week,” Shaun explained. “We were allowed a maximum of 26 days to complete the ride and were required to be self-sufficient and carry all our personal belongings with us.”
Shaun is one of the few cyclists to complete RASA and is now a ‘blanket wearer’ as he was awarded his Freedom Challenge Basotho blanket on completion of the challenge.
“The route follows the Freedom Trail along a wide variety of off-road terrain – dirt roads, farm roads and tracks, footpaths and animal tracks,” explained the cyclist. “Apart from the riding, there were numerous portage sections where fellow riders and myself had to hike, push and even carry our bikes.”
The trail passes through many wilderness areas, nature reserves, public and private land and it showcases the diverse landscapes, fauna and flora along the way. It traverses some of the more isolated parts of South Africa, from coastal to mountainous to semi-desert areas.
Shaun, who has been riding for over 10 years, is a civil engineer technician. He found time to train for the arduous event by completing long rides over weekends.
On completion of the race, Shaun said the high points were the beautiful scenery of the country and the complete isolation one has from civilisation. He then went on to admit that the low points include exposure to the extreme cold, which sometimes reached -15 where water bottles froze completely.
Asked if he’d tackle the challenge again, Shaun was quick to respond: “Never say never. But definitely not next year!”
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