Landrover

Development Riders' Group. Each of the 3 places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za

An Under 16 category was introduced this year by an anonymous sponsor; Rosalia Kubjone The winner of the 2009 BIKE4BEASTS men's challenge was Damien Booth, crossing the line by the nose of his wheel just ahead of Cornell van der Westhuizen, who finished in a tight second place. The winning time was a new course record of 02:27:25, beating the previous time by a mere 45 seconds. Bernard Bronkhurst finished in third place. The winning lady was Kerry Baytopp, with a time of 04:15145. Rosalia Kubjone took second place, and Karin Irvine-Smith in third. The winning team was Team Garmin, with a new course record time of 03:53:42. A youth category was introduced this year and was won by William Mokgopo who was also the fourth fastest rider. William and Rosalia were both sponsored by Terex and are members of the Diepsloot Development Riders' Group. Each of the 3 places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za

An Under 16 category was introduced this year by an anonymous sponsor; Rosalia Kubjone

An exciting addition to the weekend's MTB activities was the BIKE4BEASTS 31km Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Landscape. On Monday 27th April, riders gathered at the main gate, the route went past the Confluence picnic spot at the lookout over the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, before passing along the Limpopo River – including an amazing and nervous sighting of elephants – before returning back to the to main gate. It was a leisurely ride and we all got to dip our toes in the Limpopo River, which is still flowing, as well as look across to Zimbabwe and Botswana. Thanks to SANParks for supporting the Fun Ride.

Many of you ordered commemorative CDs of the event. We are still taking orders so if you would like one then please deposit R50 into the race account, and email proof of deposit. The CDs are a truly memorable record of the occasion with some great photos. We were very privileged to have Rob Till taking photos of the event – a huge thank you to him as well as the other photographers who contributed to the

BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge cycle shirts (R350) available if you wish to purchase one. Please place your orders and payment before 20th May 2009.

A final thank you to all our volunteers who gave up their time to assist with the organisation of the event. I think you'll agree that their efforts and encouragement on their check points was awesome – thank you to Global Vision International, Projects Abroad, De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve Staff, Endangered Wildlife Trust staff, Venetia Conservation Society members as well as some of our local neighbours. Exciting news is that we are planning a new BIKE4BEASTS challenge at another Diamond Route reserve in September 2009. This will help to spread the BIKE4BEASTS brand to a broader audience and generate more support for the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

We look forward to continuing our relationship with you in this new event.

It was a truly wonderful day and we are all looking forward to next year's challenge.

Welcome to the first post-race newsletter of the third annual BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge. Lycaon Logistics were thrilled with the success of the event, which is growing in popularity and can only get bigger and better each year.

We would like to start this newsletter with a huge thank you to all of our sponsors who so very generously supported the event. In addition to major sponsorship from the Diamond Route, the organisers would like to thank Land Rover South Africa, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Powerade, Terex, Olympic Communications and South African National Parks. Special thanks go to Jacques Willemse of UHN Potatoes for providing a helicopter for rider safety. Sports coverage of the event was provided by SABC news, which aired on the day of the challenge.

Over the past three years the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge has raised almost R200, 000.00 for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). The proceeds of this year’s race went directly to one of the EWT’s Working Groups, the Carnivore Conservation Group (CCG) which has several carnivore conservation projects across southern Africa.

Each year, a different threatened species is chosen as the mascot for the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge. In 2007 the mascot was the black rhino, and in 2008 it was the Endangered African Wild Dog. The mascot for the 2009 challenge was the Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, which is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Of all the big cats, the Cheetah is the least able to adapt to new environments and they also face greater pressure from other native African predators as available range declines. In the past, the Cheetah pelt was viewed as a status symbol of wealth, which led to their being hunted. Current global Cheetah population estimates vary from 7,500 to 10,000, with approximately 550 of these found in South Africa. The EWT’s Carnivore Conservation Group is currently conducting four different Cheetah conservation projects in South Africa, and BIKE4BEASTS has helped to raise the profile of these projects, as well as generating funds to support them.

Thank you to all for your generous donations and efforts to raise sponsorship for EWT. Three riders managed to raise more than R2000 – thank you to Colin Donian. John Power, Andre Cloete and Bruce Allen. Donations are still pouring in – we are currently on R90,000 raised for the Carnivore Conservation Group. Exxaro Sands and Base Metals donated R5000 and then set a challenged any other corporate to beat the. Standard Bank rose to the challenge and then donated R6, 000. Thank you to both these two corporates and the challenge is still open!

Thank you too to Karin Irvine Smith, Damien Booth and Cornell van der Wetshuizen for donating all or some of their prize money back to the Carnivore Conservation Group, as well as Andre Cloete, the rider who raised the most in sponsorship and donated his water cooler prize to the Duncan MacFadyen Research Centre on the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the “Naming of the Leopard Competition”. Over 200 names were put ‘into a hat’ and the winning name was “Leila” – entered by 10-year-old Reece Biehler from the Land Rover group. Reece will be receiving regular updates from Leila.

Riders reported some awesome sightings along the course with Kori Bustard, zebra, kudu, impala, Giraffe, Hippo and even an aardvark and the very elusive black rhino.

The winner of the 2009 BIKE4BEASTS men’s challenge was Damien Booth, crossing the line by the nose of his wheel just ahead of Cornell van der Westhuizen, who finished in a tight second place. The winning time was a new course record of 02:27:25, beating the previous time by a mere 45 seconds. Bernard Bronkhurst finished in third place. The winning lady was Kerry Baytopp, with a time of 04:15145. Rosalia Kubjone took second place, and Karin Irvine-Smith in third. The winning team was Team Garmin, with a new course record time of 03:53:42. A youth category was introduced this year and was won by William Mokgopo who was also the fourth fastest rider. William and Rosalia were both sponsored by Terex and are members of the Diepsloot Development Riders’ Group. Each of the 3 places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za.

An Under 16 category was introduced this year by an anonymous sponsor; Rosalia Kubjone and William Mokgopo were the first home in the Under 16 category. William in particular excelled coming in 4th overall. Brenda de Witt received an “emergency bush-ablution kit” donated by Land Rover for her efforts to finish the course in the allotted time as the last rider.

The “Terex Trophy” is awarded each year to anyone showing “Team Spirit”. This year it was awarded to Brenda Daly from EWT, who has volunteered every year at BIKE4BEASTS. She is an enormous asset to the organisers as well as a fantastic supporter of the riders whilst out on the checkpoints.

The G4 mountain bike, donated by Land Rover was raffled and won by Simon Nash. Simon is the organiser of the Diepsloot Development Riders’ Group operating near Northern Farms. Simon says that the bike will be a fantastic addition to the club.

Braam Fourie was the first ‘local’ home, finishing in 7th place – 2 positions higher than last year, whilst many riders from the 2008 challenge improved their times dramatically this year; I will be sending out a results and times list so you can see your improvement.

Thank you to Tim Forssman, our resident archaeologist on Venetia. Many of you commented on the “Archaeology Meander” section of the course, and how interesting it was. This area is incredibly rich in cultural heritage and it is important we conserve this as well as our wildlife.

BIKE4BEASTS also saw its first tandem entrants with Estelle and Bertus Pretorius. Congratulations to these two for completing BIKE4BEASTS and demonstrating such teamwork.

An exciting addition to the weekend’s MTB activities was the BIKE4BEASTS 31km Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Landscape. On Monday 27th April, riders gathered at the main gate, the route went past the Confluence picnic spot at the lookout over the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, before passing along the Limpopo River – including an amazing and nervous sighting of elephants – before returning back to the to main gate. It was a leisurely ride and we all got to dip our toes in the Limpopo River, which is still flowing, as well as look across to Zimbabwe and Botswana. Thanks to SANParks for supporting the Fun Ride.

Many of you ordered commemorative CDs of the event. We are still taking orders so if you would like one then please deposit R50 into the race account, and email proof of deposit. The CDs are a truly memorable record of the occasion with some great photos. We were very privileged to have Rob Till taking photos of the event – a huge thank you to him as well as the other photographers who contributed to the compilation.

BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge cycle shirts (R350) available if you wish to purchase one. Please place your orders and payment before 20th May 2009.

A final thank you to all our volunteers who gave up their time to assist with the organisation of the event. I think you’ll agree that their efforts and encouragement on their check points was awesome – thank you to Global Vision International, Projects Abroad, De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve Staff, Endangered Wildlife Trust staff, Venetia Conservation Society members as well as some of our local neighbours.

Exciting news is that we are planning a new BIKE4BEASTS challenge at another Diamond Route reserve in September 2009. This will help to spread the BIKE4BEASTS brand to a broader audience and generate more support for the Endangered Wildlife Trust. We look forward to continuing our relationship with you in this new event. It was a truly wonderful day and we are all looking forward to next year’s challenge. Yours in sport and conservation,

Project supported by the Diamond Route.
The Diamond Route is a massive national project which focuses on linking the conservation properties of the Oppenheimer family and De Beers. These properties conserve vast conservation areas and provide a safe haven for a wide variety of unique, rare and ecologically important plants and wildlife and provide endless photograph opportunities. These properties are open to the public whom are encouraged to explore this wealth of tourism opportunities.

Please visit the website www.diamondroute.co.za or contact Duncan MacFadyen, Manager of Research and Conservation: E Oppenheimer & Son on Duncan.MacFadyen@eoson.co.za

A big hello to all our riders, old and new, and to our sponsors.
Thank you to all of you who have returned your feedback forms. Your comments were extremely encouraging and have given us more to build on for next year’s challenge. It has also been lovely to catch up and hear about everybody’s ‘normal’ way of life.

Included are some of the wonderful comments and feedback:
Our heartfelt thanks for a truly stunning weekend. It was special in everyway - from the challenging ride for the main guys and gals, the superb countryside, the excellent organising and planning, the beautiful sunsets, the team of people and to top it all, the memorable fun ride through Mapungubwe. Sue and Rory Attridge

We have voted this our favourite race-weekend. The Chrystals.

The BIKE4BEASTS ride has certainly become part of our annual family holiday plans and it is something we really enjoy. This was my third ride and I continue to enjoy them just as much each time and I find the course really challenging and exciting every time, in spite of the sand. It was great to be able to do the Mapungubwe FUNRIDE on the Monday with my 9-year old son, James – his first long ride/race – and to experience elephant sightings, Poachers Corner etc with him. August van Heerden.

We go to a lot of these weekend MTB events and yours was the best so far overall – racing, relaxing, things to do, atmosphere. Karen and Damien Booth

BIKE4BEASTS is great. We first felt as bit cheated about the sponsorship money, since it hits you after you have entered, but having done it, pre-race party, race, post race and fun ride….. absolutely worth the money! Elsabe & Bertus Pretorius

And a fantastic suggestion from Colin Donian (one of riders who has competed every year since the beginning in 2007). Seeing as the sand is such a big deal on the course, Colin suggests having a “sand” hot spot, where we identify the longest sandy section and have it marked out for the fastest person to cross the sand trap! Thanks Colin – we are totally open to suggestions to make the course as fun and interesting as possible. And if it helps you make it through the sand!

Karen and Damien Booth also came up with a great idea, which targets our corporate sponsors. “Break the course record and the sponsors pay for every second broken.” So, sponsors? What do you think? The men’s and team course records have been broken every year, the team by almost 15 minutes and the men by a mere
45 seconds.

We are also considering a shorter route for younger riders and partners – many of you have raised this and it something we will try and offer. Don’t forget the FUN RIDE, the day after the race, is a shorter route and is a very leisurely ride.

There has been some fantastic coverage of the Diamond Route BIKE4BEASTS 2009 Challenge, with coverage from SABC2 and magazines “Mountain biking”, “Land Roving” magazine and ‘Ride’. Many regional newspapers have also done post-race follow-up reports, as well as the mountain bike websites, Ndorfin and Adventure Zone. Check out too our website www.lycaonlogistics.co.za

We hope by now that all of you, who ordered the commemorative photo CD, have received it. Compiling it was a mammoth job and it’s not too late to order one of these CDs to remind you of your memories of the day!

Money is still coming in so I am unable to give the grand total of sponsorship raised just yet. You may remember we raised R31, 000 in 2007, our first year, and then R54, 196 last year. Our target for 2009 was R75, 000. Due to the hard work and efforts from riders, supporters, corporate and sponsors alike, we smashed our target and raised at this year’s challenge almost R93, 000. Congratulations to you all and a huge thank you from this year’s mascot “beast” – the cheetah.

Harriet Davies Mostert, the head of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Carnivore Conservation Group (EWT/CCG) has written personal thanks, since all the money raised has gone directly to CCG. “On behalf of the Carnivore Conservation Group, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all riders, supporters and the sponsors. The EWT is a non-profit, non-government organisation, which relies heavily on public support. The monies raised from B4B will be used to continue with existing CCG projects. Most recently, a radio-tracking collar was purchased and put on a male cheetah at Venetia. This has caused much celebration amongst the researchers at Venetia, since they have been attempting to collar a cheetah for almost a year, and it’s not an easy job. The cheetah (yet to be named) will enable us to further study the movements of carnivores between Venetia and neighboring farms – a very valuable exercise in determining populations and carnivore movements. It is also fantastic that the cheetah was the race mascot this year, and the first use of the funds raised was spent on a cheetah. Thanks once again.”

Regular Feature
As part of a regular feature, each newsletter also tries to bring you news from the field. This newsletter features the dung beetle, and a series of books entitled “VANISHING INSECTS SERIES”.

This is series of children books are written by Leigh Krueger and Duncan MacFadyen who aim to educate and inform young children about the different ways in which we harm insects and the consequence as a result. The four initial stories include, Tuggy’s Busy Day, about a dung beetle and human recklessness though driving over dung heaps, Betty and Ken’s New Home, about two butterflies and the affects of habitat destruction, Manie and Lindie Make A Move, about a mantis and ladybird’s battle with insecticides in their environment and finally Darwin and Dave’s Daring Rescue, about dragonflies and the effects of pollution. The challenge of these books is to touch the lives of the young readers in a playful yet realistic manner, hoping to gently turn them into insect lovers and dispelling ignorance about some of the finest and most interesting inhabitants we whom we share earth. Through reading these books children will become familiar with the importance of insects from an ecological perspective. Silently, we hope that parents and educators may also learn a thing or two whilst reading to the children.

This series of children’s books aims to introduce children between the ages of 4 to 8 years old (and older) to common garden insects, teaching them about their habitats, behaviour, importance and other interesting facts. These books are fictional stories with a factual base of the insect’s environment, cycles and behaviour and demonstrate through the stories, basic and simple ways in which we can conserve insects and their environments. The finger puppets accompanying the book are linked to a community project in Hammanskraal, where four ladies, collectively known as Chapz Designers, hand sowed each of two puppets supplied with the book. For more information about the book series or to order copies of the first book, Tuggy’s Busy Day, please visit: Let’s Look; Peter Sanderson; 30 Verbenia Street; Lynwood Ridge; Pretoria, 0081;Tel: +27 (12) 361-2329; Fax: +27 (12) 361-8060, Email: imfundo@netactive.co.za

or www.pulpbooks.co.za

We are still deciding on next year’s ‘mascot’ endangered animal; 2007 was the black rhino, 2008 was the African wild dog and 2009, the cheetah. 2010 looks like it may be the spotted hyaena but I will update you all once the race date and new mascot has been confirmed.

Over the past three years the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge has raised almost R200, 000.00 for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). The proceeds of this year's race went directly to one of the EWT's Working Groups, the Carnivore Conservation Group (CCG) which has several carnivore conservation projects across southern Africa.

Each year, a different threatened species is chosen as the mascot for the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge. In 2007 the mascot was the black rhino, and in 2008 it was the Endangered African Wild Dog. The mascot for the 2009 challenge was the Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, which is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Of all the big cats, the Cheetah is the least able to adapt to new environments and they also face greater pressure from other native African predators as available range declines. In the past, the Cheetah pelt was viewed as a status symbol of wealth, which led to their being hunted.

Current global Cheetah population estimates vary from 7,500 to 10,000, with approximately 550 of these found in South Africa. The EWT's Carnivore Conservation Group is currently conducting four different Cheetah conservation projects in South Africa, and BIKE4BEASTS has helped to raise the profile of these projects, as well as generating funds to support them.

The BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge route winds for 65 km through the heart of the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) which is situated in the Limpopo Province, just south of the international boundary between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It follows existing vehicle dirt tracks so as to minimise the environmental impact on undulating and varied terrain, through some of the most stunning scenery in the region.

The reserve is part of the Diamond Route, a massive national project which focuses on linking the conservation properties of the Oppenheimer family and De Beers. These properties conserve vast conservation areas and provide a safe haven for a wide variety of unique, rare and ecologically important plants and wildlife and provide endless photographic opportunities. These properties are open to the public whom are encouraged to explore this wealth of tourism opportunities.

The winner of the 2009 BIKE4BEASTS men's challenge was Damien Booth with a time of 02:27:25,beating the previous course record by 45 seconds. Damien crossed the line with Cornell van der Westhuizen who in second place, also broke the course record and was 0.3 seconds behind Damien. Bernard Bronkhorst finished in third. The winning lady was Kerry Baytopp, with a time of 04:15:45. Rosalia Kubjone took second place and Karin Irvine-Smith in third. The winning team was Team Garmin, with a new course record time of 03:53:42. A youth category was introduced this year and was won by William Mokgopo who was also the fourth fastest rider. William and Rosalia were both sponsored by Terex Africa and are members of the Diepsloot Development Riders' Group. Each of the 3 places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za.

Richard Durrant, race commissaire for the past three years has been highly complimentary of the challenge, and has said that the organisation and logistics for the event were exceptional. Riders reported some fantastic game sightings, including giraffe and elephant and even an Aardvark. SABC2 provided news coverage of the event.

Over 40 riders participated in the BIKE4BEASTS Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Landscape on Monday 27th April. Starting at the main entrance gate, the route ran past the lookout at the Confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, before passing along the Limpopo River – including an amazing sighting of elephants – and returning to the main gate. Thanks to SANParks for supporting the BIKE4BEASTS Fun Ride.

In addition to major sponsorship from the Diamond Route, the organisers would like to thank Land Rover South Africa, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Powerade, African Explosives Limited, Olympic Communications, and South African National Parks. Special thanks go to UHN Potatoes for donating the use of the helicopter to ensure the riders' safety.

Over the past three years the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge has raised almost R200, 000.00 for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). The proceeds of this year's race went directly to one of the EWT's Working Groups, the Carnivore Conservation Group (CCG) which has several carnivore conservation projects across southern Africa.

Each year, a different threatened species is chosen as the mascot for the BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge. In 2007 the mascot was the black rhino, and in 2008 it was the Endangered African Wild Dog. The mascot for the 2009 challenge was the Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, which is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Of all the big cats, the Cheetah is the least able to adapt to new environments and they also face greater pressure from other native African predators as available range declines. In the past, the Cheetah pelt was viewed as a status symbol of wealth, which led to their being hunted.

Current global Cheetah population estimates vary from 7,500 to 10,000, with approximately 550 of these found in South Africa. The EWT's Carnivore Conservation Group is currently conducting four different Cheetah conservation projects in South Africa, and BIKE4BEASTS has helped to raise the profile of these projects, as well as generating funds to support them.

The BIKE4BEASTS MTB Challenge route winds for 65 km through the heart of the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) which is situated in the Limpopo Province, just south of the international boundary between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It follows existing vehicle dirt tracks so as to minimise the environmental impact on undulating and varied terrain, through some of the most stunning scenery in the region.

The reserve is part of the Diamond Route, a massive national project which focuses on linking the conservation properties of the Oppenheimer family and De Beers. These properties conserve vast conservation areas and provide a safe haven for a wide variety of unique, rare and ecologically important plants and wildlife and provide endless photographic opportunities. These properties are open to the public whom are encouraged to explore this wealth of tourism opportunities.

The winner of the 2009 BIKE4BEASTS men's challenge was Damien Booth with a time of 02:27:25,beating the previous course record by 45 seconds. Damien crossed the line with Cornell van der Westhuizen who in second place, also broke the course record and was 0.3 seconds behind Damien. Bernard Bronkhorst finished in third. The winning lady was Kerry Baytopp, with a time of 04:15:45. Rosalia Kubjone took second place and Karin Irvine-Smith in third. The winning team was Team Garmin, with a new course record time of 03:53:42. A youth category was introduced this year and was won by William Mokgopo who was also the fourth fastest rider. William and Rosalia were both sponsored by Terex Africa and are members of the Diepsloot Development Riders' Group. Each of the 3 places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za.

Richard Durrant, race commissaire for the past three years has been highly complimentary of the challenge, and has said that the organisation and logistics for the event were exceptional. Riders reported some fantastic game sightings, including giraffe and elephant and even an Aardvark. SABC2 provided news coverage of the event.

Over 40 riders participated in the BIKE4BEASTS Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Landscape on Monday 27th April. Starting at the main entrance gate, the route ran past the lookout at the Confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, before passing along the Limpopo River – including an amazing sighting of elephants – and returning to the main gate. Thanks to SANParks for supporting the BIKE4BEASTS Fun Ride.

In addition to major sponsorship from the Diamond Route, the organisers would like to thank Land Rover South Africa, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Powerade, African Explosives Limited, Olympic Communications, and South African National Parks. Special thanks go to UHN Potatoes for donating the use of the helicopter to ensure the riders' safety.