Mbombela cyclists to hit Bulawayo

An event bound to be the biggest, most innovative and fun filled event to raise funds for charity is set to hit the streets of Bulawayo over this festive season.

A group of Zimbabweans based in the diaspora with friends in the country have organised a charity cycle ride which will take cyclists through most of the suburbs of Bulawayo to raise funds for the City of Bulawayo Mayor's Christmas Cheer fund.
 
The event dubbed The Bulawayo Mbombela Charity Cycle is according to organisers developed with a spirit of trying to revive the cycling culture of Bulawayo and bring the people of Bulawayo together as they raise funds for the less privileged members of the community. As the name suggests, the ride is set to attract both professional and non professional cyclists to compete. The fun of the event is that the old type three speed bicycles will be used in the ride. Professional racing bikes will not be allowed.
 
Explaining the concept to media, the organisers said that the event is specifically designed to celebrate a culture of cycling which is synonymous with the people of Bulawayo.
 
"The City of Bulawayo has for a longtime had a general culture of having its people use bicycles as their most preferred mode of transport. Every day the morning and evening rush hours of people to and from work are characterised by a number of cyclists of all age groups, gender and social status."

"In the olden days where transport was very scarce, the people of Bulawayo who worked in the cities used to cycle every Friday to their rural homes to visit their families. Some would cycle distances of up to 100km on their old type bicycles carrying goodies for their families from the City. The bicycle then grew to be identified as an integral part of every family as it was seen to be the provider."

"Even in today's world it is very rare that a homestead in rural Matabeleland would do without a bicycle or two. With the somewhat harsh economic conditions prevailing in the country, the numbers of cyclists in and around the City of Bulawayo is gradually increasing and rejuvenating the cycling culture of Bulawayo," said the organisers in a statement to media.

On how the name of the event came about, the statement indicates that the event is tagged Mbombela in order to give an emphasis on the inclusiveness of the event and make it attractive to the people of Bulawayo who would love to identify with the event.

"The proposed name of the event is "Bulawayo Mbombela Charity Ride". The name is so designed to give an emphasis on the inclusiveness of the event."

Mbombela is a term that generally refers to the economy class in a passenger train. In the streets of Bulawayo the term has been brought down to mean everything that relates to the general common people in the society. It is also used to refer to a gathering of the common people which brings together everyone to be of the same class as referred to by the economy class in the train.

In the cycling sectors of the City, the traditional three speed black bicycle has also got to find itself being referred to as Mbombela because of the direct inference of the bicycles to the old steam train that used to transport people to the gold mines.

The event is expected to take place over a two day period stretching into the early hours of the third day. The event will kick off with a fundraising launch dinner evening scheduled to take place in the evening of the 19th of December a day before the charity ride. Proceeds from the evening dinner which is expected to draw the who is who of the City of Bulawayo will all be donated to the Mayor's Cheer Fund.

On the day of the ride Bulawayo Businesses have been invited to sponsor teams that will cover the estimated 50km race in a relay with a lap covering about 5kms each. Prominent business centres have been identified as points where the teams will pass the button before completing the race at the City Hall car park where entertainment from several Bulawayo musical groups and artists are expected to entertain the crowd for free through the night.

The race is expected to start from Retreat Shopping Centre cutting through Morningside, Montrose and Bellevue to the high density suburbs of Nketa, Nkulumane, Pumula, Magwegwe, Gwabalanda, Luveve, Emakhandeni before proceeding through Richmond, Mzilikazi, Makokoba and eventually into town to finish off at the City Hall car park.

The last lap of the ride which will be from the 3rd Avenue Lobengula Street Terminus to the City Hall car park is expected to be left to be finished off by prominent Bulawayo residents who may include the Mayor himself and Members of Parliament. Prizes and floating trophies will be presented to the winners and all participants will receive a medal for taking part in the event.

The event which is set to be an annual event will be done in full partnership with the City of Bulawayo Publicity Office and is expected to grow in the coming years to cover more areas in the City according to the media statement from the organisers.