|
Orphaned
and abandoned children from the SOS Village in Cape Town
were treated to an experience of a lifetime on the West
Coast. The Windstone adventure and youth centre hosted them
for a week of adventure and learning. The children took part
in mountain biking, kayaking and horse riding as well as
some other educational activities.
The
mountain biking activity was hosted by Live2ride mountain
bike experience at the West Coast Fossil Park. The aim of
the activity was to give the children a unique experience
whilst educating them and providing some physical exercise.
This is exactly what was achieved, according to Alan Cotton
owner of Live2ride, “We were very happy with the outcome
of the week, and by all accounts the mountain biking was a
great success”.
The
children were divided into smaller groups, and they each got
their own mountain bike and helmet for the afternoon. The
session started off with some education on the background to
bicycles and mountain bikes. They were also shown how bikes
are made up and what makes them work. This was followed up
with important road safety rules and trail rules for
mountain biking. Finally before going on an outride some
basic mountain biking skills were taught like, changing
gears, braking and fixing a puncture.
The
outride was definitely the highlight for the kids and the
West Coast Fossil Park provided a perfect venue. The
available existing marked cycle trails in the park allowed
for a longer ride followed by a shorter one. The first ride
lasting for an hour had the children screeching with delight
on the down hills and panting for breath on the up hills.
For many of them this was their first mountain bike
experience, and their bike skills were visibly improved
after the outrides.
At
the end there were smiley faces all round after a day of
learning, fun, exercise and new memories. Getting the kids
off the bikes at the end of the day proved to be the biggest
challenge as they were happy to keep on riding.
|
