One of the most extreme sporting events in the world, the Desert Logistics Desert Dash, takes place for the third successive year next Friday, December 14.
The Desert Dash is a 24-hour mountain bike ride from Windhoek to Swakopmund, covering a total distance of 340km, and according to event organiser Aidan de Lange, it is probably the longest MB marathon in the world.
â??It is certainly the longest MB marathon in Africa and in the southern hemisphere. I havenâ??t heard of any other events in the world that are longer,â? he said.
A total of 170 cyclists have entered the Desert Dash, with 63 teams and 14 individuals registered for the ride.
Participants will ride in two-person or four-person teams, with the former completing about 135km each and the latter 210km each. The individual riders will cover the whole 340km on their own.
The participants will start at the Windhoek Country Club on Friday afternoon and ride over the Khomas Hochland before it crosses into the Namib Desert. They will ride throughout the night with the first riders expected at the finish in Swakopmund early on Saturday morning.
Last yearâ??s Desert Dash was won by Johan Fourie who covered the distance in slightly over 19 hours. The cut-off time for the ride will be 24 hours.
All about participation
According to De Lange the Desert Dash is not about winning, but about finishing the extreme event.
â??This is one of the most extreme events in the world and itâ??s not about winning for us, but about participation. All the participants who finish the Desert Dash will be winners in our eyes,â? he said.
Last yearâ??s overall winner Johan Fourie will once again compete in the individual category as well as Namibiaâ??s former African mountain bike champion Mannie Heymans. Several South African riders have also entered the Desert Dash.
The ride has grown steadily since its inception in 2005. In that year 48 riders entered the event, with most completing it.
The entrants more than doubled in 2006 with 110 riders in 2006, of which only two did not complete the ride.
One of them was Nico van der Merwe, who tragically died after getting a clot on the brain. A medical back-up team was on hand to rush him back to Windhoek, but he died shortly after reaching the hospital.
Van der Merwe was a manager at Wilderness Safaris and had entered the event to raise funds for the Children of the Wilderness â?? a charity organisation founded by Wilderness Safaris.
Special award in honour of Van der Merwe
De Lange said that a special award would be donated at this yearâ??s Desert Dash in honour of Van der Merwe.
â??It will be an annual award donated by Children of the Wilderness and will be in recognition of a competitor who has shown endurance and courage to complete the ride,â? he said.
The main sponsors, Desert Logistics have doubled their sponsorship from N$15 000 in 2006 to N$30 000.
Sean Fallis of Desert Logistics said it was an honour for them to be involved with the Desert Dash.
â??The Desert Dash is synonymous with our company, since the cyclists have to show the same endurance as that of our symbol, the desert horse,â? he said.
There are several secondary sponsors, including Fruit and Veg City and FNB Namibia.
Amongst others, FNB Namibia will be sponsoring an all-womenâ??s team, the â??Fiets Chicks,â? consisting of Elanor Grassow, Carmen Bassingthwaighte, Lydia Theron and Zoe Mitchell.