Klaus and his daughters getting ready for their races.

Klaus and his family took us and Jonathan to Mlilwane Game Park this morning in their Toyota Condor, which normally seats seven, but there were eight total.  We left at 7am to go to the Imvelo Mountain Bike races that were held within the game park.  [‘Imvelo’ is the SiSwati word for bicycle]  Klaus and his two girls were participants.  There were four races with an average of 150 bicyclists in each race.

About 200 bicyclists lined up for the start of the 35 km race.

There was a long list of instructions at the start of each race, including pointing out certain areas, that were marked with warning tape, where crocodiles and hippos were located.  One year a buck ran into a  cyclist!  The last instructions as touted as the most important — “To have FUN!”

A 63 km (40 mile) race started at 8:00, which I overheard a South African racer say was more difficult than a similar 90+ km race that he had recently competed in.  Some uphill grades were so steep that it was necessary to carry the bikes to the top.  The fastest riders finished in 3-1/2 hours and the slowest in about 6-1/2.

The Hoglets race with one of Klaus’ daughters (orange shirt) on the right side of the starting line.

The 35 km (22 mile) race started at 9:30.  Klause entered this race and finished in 2 hour 20 minutes.  The winner took 1:40 and the slowest about 4-1/2 hours.

No room for passing on this part of the race!

The 22 km (14 mile) family race started at 10:00 and lasted from 1 to 3 hours.

The 12.5 km (8 mile) Hoglet (kiddies) race started at 10:15 and lasted from 53 minutes to 3-1/2 hours.  Klaus’ daughters stuck together and finished at 1:25.

Navigating a narrow bridge

We had a great time cheering everyone on, including several members of families from ‘our’ church here, plus we got lots of exercise running from one vantage point to another.  What a fun day in a spectacular setting!

In the afternoon we harvested some more bananas and nartjies (mandarins).  There was a full grocery bag of the latter, which we distributed among the mission families.  There are only a few nartjies left on the tree, which will likely all be picked next week.