This past weekend Warrick and I completed a First Aid Level 1 course with Neil Kelham from First on Scene.
Although it meant we had to give up our weekend, the skills we learnt from this course are invaluable. Both of us agreed that before we head off on this #Joburg2Kili expedition it is vital that we know what we should or shouldn’t do if we have any medical related emergencies along the way. I almost wish we had done this course years ago as there were so many things we have been doing wrong for years in terms of basic first aid. We hope that we do not have to use any of the new skills we have learnt such as CPR, the Heimlich manoeuvre, bandaging broken bones etc but it is really empowering to know that we could help in a medical emergency situation.
There are a lot of First Aid courses out there but we really do feel we chose one of the good ones. I would definitely recommend Neil Kelham from First on Scene who is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. He really makes the information relatable to all the attendees in the class and there is a lot of practical application done during the course. Click here for further details on First on Scene.
We were very excited to be invited to join in on a Qhubeka Distribution Day Ceremony, which took place in Alexandra today.
The City of Jo’burg and Qhubeka have been working together to develop a bicycle distribution program to help children travel to school faster and more safely, thereby boosting their attendance through increased mobility. Alexandra was identified as an area for bicycle distribution by the City of Joburg due to the cycling corridor that is being constructed between Alex and Sandton.
The Ceremony included speeches from relevant parties that have helped make the bicycle distribution possible in Alexandra including the corporate donors Fluor, Tarsus and AutoTrader. What really stood out from the speeches is that in order for this bicycle program to be sustainable there is a need for the entire community to be part of the process from the children, their parents, the school through to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (to make sure the roads are safe for the children to ride to school) as well as the SA Police Service.
Kwabhekilanga Secondary School was chosen to receive the bicycles today based on its position as the highest-performing school in Alexandra in terms of Matric pass rate in both 2014 and 2015, and because the majority of schoolchildren currently walk to school. A total of 50 children were present at the Ceremony to receive the bicycles. In total, 350 bicycles will be allocated to school learners (280 bicycles) and adults (70 bicycles) in Alexandra.
It was really great to see what a difference all donations to the Qhubeka non-profit organisation is making in communities such as Alexandra. If you would like to make a donation to Qhubeka, please click here for more details.
For further information about the Alexandra Bicycle Distribution Program, please click here.
Are you feeling lucky!? Guess how many Racefood bars there are in the picture and stand a chance to win a R500 Action Gear voucher! The person who guesses right or the closest guess will win. Competition closes on June 30th 2016. T’s & C’s below.
How to enter: Scroll down and add your guess to the comment section or share your guess on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #HowMuchRaceFood and include the URL link to this page.
If you don’t know about Racefood yet learn about their fantastic sports nutrition on the RaceFood website. Gareth, Camilla and Warrick have all been using Racefood as their nutrition of choice while training for and taking part in races like Comrades, IronMan and more. It’s needless to say that we’re thrilled to have this big pile of XXXX number of bars to sustain our energy levels while we cycle 4,630km from Joburg to Kilimanjaro!
Terms & Conditions:
Winner’s will be announced on July 1st 2016. Their names will be posted here and we’ll contact them via social media.
The answer will also be posted here on July 1st.
Neither Racefood or Action Gear staff may enter.
If there is more than one winner then the prize will be split equally.
There is only one right answer, there’s no trick question here.
The winners voucher will be delivered by email before July 7th 2016 and will be valid for 3 months. The voucher is valid for all products across the Action Gear website.
If your social media post doesn’t include the hashtag than it will not count.
We’ve been super grateful for all the support we have received to date to help raise funds for Qhubeka. One such supporter is St Andrew’s School for Girls who heard about Joburg2Kili through our interview on Mix FM and they didn’t hesitate to make a donation of R2850 which is the exact value of a Qhubeka Buffalo bicycle which will be handed out to a child to help them get to school faster and more often. What’s more is that St Andrew’s has challenged other schools throughout South Africa to match or beat their donation amount!
So please help spread the word to other heads of schools that they’ve been challenged by St Andrews to do something good and to make a donation of R2850 or more to Qhubeka! So, who’s up for the #QhubekaSchoolChallenge?
Joburg2Kili expedition cyclists Warrick and Camilla Kernes and Gareth Pickering were recently interviewed by Jon Gericke (@bbjsportguy) on the SAfm Sports Special in-between the SA vs Ireland rugby match (which thankfully the Bokke won!).
Thank you to SAfm for sharing our expedition with your listeners to help spread the word about our initiative. If you missed out on the interview, you can listen by clicking on the links below (courtesy of Newsclip):
This past weekend we decided to head off on a training camp with the team to the Pilansberg National Park to test out all our camping equipment and to have some time to get to know the team better. However, Bobby was unable to join us as he will only be flying in from the USA next month just before our departure on the 30th July 2016.
We drove up last Friday afternoon, in the Jeep Wrangler with the trailer in tow, up to Bakgatla Resort where we had booked a campsite for two nights. Bakgatla Resort is where we will be spending our 2nd night of the #Joburg2Kili expedition so it was great to be able to familiarize ourselves with the place and note where the best campsite spots are along the fence to the Pilansberg Game Reserve.
We arrived in the dark which made setting up the campsite more challenging especially as no one had ever setup the trailer tent before but we all worked together and managed to get it all setup relatively quickly. Throughout the weekend we took note of things we were missing to make our camping experience more comfortable for the expedition such as making sure we have enough camping chairs and cooking equipment etc.
Being situated right by Pilansberg Game Reserve, we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to drive through the Park to try and see some of the Big 5. We had some great sightings during our drives including seeing two cheetah, a brown hyena, a marsh owl, jackal and a pride of lions.
Bryan also taught us about geo-caching, which is the world’s largest treasure hunt. We managed to locate one of the geo-caches in Pilansberg which was very exciting. Geocaching is something we would recommend our #joburg2kili supporters look into as its a lot of fun and allows you to explore new places in or around your city – there is a great video introducing the concept which you can visit on www.geocaching.com. Watch this space as you may hear more about geocaching on our journey.
All in all it was a very successful weekend away in preparation for this exciting adventure we will be embarking on in 43 days. Check out some photo’s from the weekend in the gallery below:
Our campsite at Bakgatla Resort
Giraffe mother with calf
Black-backed Jackal
Cheetah lying down in the grass
Steenbok lying down for warmth on a cool morning
Lion pride seen on way to Bakubung Gate
Elephant drinking at Sunset in the Pilansberg
Bryan located the geo-cache
Happy smiles all round after finding the geo-cache
This morning the MD of ActionGear, Warrick Kernes, was interviewed on the “Blewitt for Breakfast show” on Mix FM 93.8 to chat about the upcoming expedition #joburg2kili to raise funds for Qhubeka. If you missed out on it here is a recording of the interview – enjoy!
It’s funny to see people reactions when we tell them that we’re cycling 4,630km up Africa on single speed bikes. Some say “you’re mad!”, some say “I wish I could join you!” and then there’s Gareth Pickering who simply said: “Can I come?”
Gareth has spent the last few years travelling the world and fighting for his freedom as you can read about on his website (www.TheFreedomFighter.net). He was about to head off back to South East Asia when he heard about the Joburg2Kili expedition and it took him no time at all to decide that he wanted to join in. We’re thrilled to have another seasoned traveler on the team (Bobby Fuller has traveled most of the world too!) and another crazy person who’s willing to take on the challenge of cycling a 23kg single speed Qhubeka Buffalo bike thousands of kilometers for a good cause.
Welcome to the team Gareth! As you’ve already bought your bike there’s no backing out now 😉
Please support Gareth and the rest of the team by donating to Qhubeka today.
![[Competition] Guess how many Racefood Bars – Win R500 Action Gear Voucher](http://joburg2kili.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/racefood-e1466513718261.jpg)
![INTERVIEW WITH JON GERICKE ON SAfm 105.1 [Podcast]](http://joburg2kili.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/safm-joburg2kili-e1466451134437.jpg)
![Interview with Mix FM 93.8 [Podcast]](http://joburg2kili.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/mIXfm-joburg2kili-e1466012842185.jpg)
