Modern Cyclist Magazine Issue 3, November 2014 | Page 30

MC 947

Coming through!
Escorted by his
“bodyguards”, Vin
Deysel rides to the start
of the 2013 Momentum
947 Cycle Challenge.

ing at Mission:
Aim
POSSIBLE II
VIN

Last year, 947 Breakfast Xpress’s Vin Deysel managed to
conquer the odds and complete Mission: Vin Possible.
This year, he is aiming at Mission: Vin Possible II, his second
successful completion of the Momentum 947 Cycle
Challenge, but this time he will be riding for a purpose.

“T

his story brought me to tears.
A little boy, abandoned in a plastic
bag, was brought to the home after he
received treatment at a hospital. He
was premature, but I could see that he
is a fighter, so I know he will survive.”
And this little boy’s chances have
increased considerably now that he
is one of the children at Botshabelo
Children’s Home in Midrand, which has
been carefully selected by Vin Deysel
as his “Ride for a Purpose” charity.
“I wanted to ride for either a children’s
charity or a mental illness charity,”
explained Vin Deysel, “both those
things are very close to me as I know a
lot of people with depression or mental

30

illness and children’s charities have
always been very close to my heart.”

Deysel’s first association with this 94.7
kilometre-long event started in 2012.

So 947 listeners were invited to nominate
worthy charities and the response was
overwhelming, with “hundreds of charity
names” suggested. Using Vin Deysel’s
criteria, the list was whittled down to a
handful and, out of those names, his
“Ride for a Purpose” was chosen.

“I took on the challenge without training
or anything,” he said, “and got to the
halfway point on Malibongwe and
decided that I was finished.”

“I think we tend to overlook the smaller
children’s charities in this country. I
specifically looked for a charity, which
wasn’t a ‘fly-by-night’ but that doesn’t
necessarily get a lot of support,”
explained Vin Deysel.
Although he completed last year’s
Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge, Vin

ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 2014 / www.moderncyclist.co.za

So, for the 2013 Momentum 947 Cycle
Challenge, Vin Deysel created Mission:
Vin Possible.
“I made it my mission to lose weight and
obviously finish the race. I lost between
10 and 12 kilograms and, together with
a whole bunch of mates, we trained
specifically for the race,” explained Vin
Deysel.
Vin Deysel’s training was pretty
“hardcore”.