Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019

ADVERTORIAL Founded in 2011 as a fundraiser for the CHOC Cows, and as a way for a grieving Bainbridge family to remember their son, brother and husband Craig, who tragically passed away from cancer on the 8th of April 2011, the Believe MTB race has become an extremely popular event on the Johannesburg racing calendar. The 2019 race will take place on 28 September. A fter Craig passed away, our family decided to host an MTB event, having already been involved with the CHOC Cows. Although not an avid cyclist, Craig had ridden for the Cows at the 947 road race in 2010. This was in spite his ongoing chemo treatment at the time, and was a remarkable achievement for someone who had been undergoing treatment for almost two years. It really emphasised Craig’s personal motto of BELIEVE, as well as the CHOC COWS mantra of LOVE LIVING LIFE, something that Craig embodied throughout his life. pull it off. Nights spent packing goodie bags and capturing race details would blur into early mornings to set up the event in the dark, whilst hoping and praying we could actually pull it all off... Hoping to create a small family ride, supported mainly by the CHOC Cows, and to continue to raise much-needed funds for CHOC, the Believe MTB was born. Nobody could believe the support it received that first year when more than 900 riders lined up on the start line! Built from nothing but an idea on how to raise some funds for The Cows, the event was always heavily reliant on family labour to Hosted annually in September at Northern Farms in Gauteng, the race is aimed at getting riders back on their bikes for Spring and training hard for the upcoming 947 Cycle Challenge, where the Cows are always an ever-present with their love for life, crazy outfits and ice-cream bikes. With the backing of Northern Farms from day one, the event quickly grew year on year, and has become an eagerly anticipated favourite amongst local riders. Fortunately, we are blessed to be a big family, and as we have always counted the CHOC Cows as a part of our family, helping hands were never far away. Cows arriving early for the race were always eager to jump in, wherever needed, and what seemed impossible at 4:30am was ready to start by 6am. Also, the love and support for Craig, the Believe MTB and the Cows was never more evident than the annual migration of some of Craig’s friends from Dubai, where he lived when he was first diagnosed. The Dubai boys – Matt, Craig and Dom – would fly out each year to ride the race, remember their friend and support the Cows. THE EVENT Northern Farms has always gone above and beyond to help develop the race, including opening a new section of track at the Believe race each year. This has become one of the great attractions of the event, with excited riders lining up, ready to tackle whatever new challenges Ian and his team have created. This always ensures frenetic racing up front, with some top riders claiming very hard- fought wins in the 55km races, and these newly created trails are always spoken about long after the race is completed, along with the ever-expanding facilities at Northern Farms that keep pace with the growth of the event. For those not looking to push the pace too high on the 55km, and those choosing to ride the shorter 25km event, probably the most memorable and talked about part of the ride is the ‘mandatory robot stops’ for apple sours at the water tables. Although never compulsory, riders somehow can’t resist the temptation, normally only feeling the full effects 300m down the track, when the dreaded robots leave legs feeling heavy, and in some cases bring riders to a temporary stop. The aim of the robots is 56 ISSUE 122 SEPTEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 56