FOREWORD
Message from the Race Secretary Ride well ,
10 million reasons to be proud of your contribution to restoring vision .
The Ride for Sight has been held for the past 34 years – with a break in 2021 due to the Covid lock down . Dis-Chem have been the headline sponsor since 2008 making this the 15th year of this amazing partnership . This successful collaboration extends to the committee from community organisations :
• Hamnet Emergency Communications , who manage the Operations and communications , and Mant the Joc and the sweeps
• Springs Wheelers – our cycling club partners , who organise the start , the lead cars and route marking
• Road Rangers bike marshals who are angels out on the route and the dedicated Retina South Africa volunteers , each of them experts in their field .
Some interesting logistics : there are 12 sweep bakkies , each with a trained medic on board , to help assess the incident and call for backup - average response time to an incident – around 5 minutes ; 5 Ambulances and 2 response vehicles with a Paramedic on board ; 4 x 16 seater busses that run from the 5 waterpoints to the stadium where a doctor and nurses man the fully equipped medical tent ; a Physio tent with 40 physios for aching muscles ; a high tech JOC with digital tracking on all emergency vehicles ; 150 foot marshal , 45 Bike Marshals and radio coms with the JOC by all .
GOOD NEWS the potholes will all be filled thanks to a generous donation of tar from Actop Asphalt .
All pre- entries receive a Dis- Chem goodie bag , a R50 shopping voucher from Cycle Lab , vision screening Vision Works , and the opportunity to enter the donation draw for only R40 per ticket . The prize on this draw is a fantastic Orbea Gravel bike worth R30 999 from Cycle Lab . do good at the 2023 Dis- Chem Ride for Sight
As a responsible corporate citizen of South Africa , we ascribe to the philosophy of doing well by doing good .
And we ’ re passionate about creating ways for our loyal customers and the passionate sporting communities we support to participate in our various initiatives !
The popular Dis-Chem Ride for Sight is the perfect example of how the proverbial rubber meets the road in our efforts to support those in need through the philanthropic work done by the Dis-Chem Foundation .
Proudly hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni , this iconic race remains a highlight on the Gauteng cycling calendar and is enthusiastically supported by the local cycling community year after year .
In addition to offering cyclists an early-season test of their fitness and endurance with the 116 km Super Classic and the 62 km Challenge , the event continues to raise funds to help identify the genetic cause of retinal vision loss and look for ways to effectively treat conditions such as Retinitis Pigmentosa , Stargardt Disease and Usher Syndrome .
On the day all finishers receive a super event medal , and a free entry to our amazing lucky prize draw . Prizes are a Venter Bike trailer , a Sealy Posturepedic Queen bedset , gift hampers and prizes from CycleLab , Vision Works , Low Vision Centre , Moscon , Inzpire , Burnshield , and a great chillout at Cathedral Peak Hoteltotal value R80 000 +.
And the 10 million reasons- well that is the amount of money that this event has raised over the last 34 years to beat retinal blindness .
Thank you for your continued support
To date , the event has raised over R10m for research and upliftment projects conducted by Retina South Africa , with the Dis-Chem Foundation once again meeting your contributions in 2023 to add to that impressive total .
As you line up for the 34th edition of this popular road cycling event , I would like to thank you for your continued commitment to helping us restore the gift of sight through cycling . Your unwavering support of the Dis-Chem Ride for Sight cycle race gives hope to sufferers of these debilitating conditions .
We ’ re also excited to welcome back a full field for the first time since 2019 . We hope that you thoroughly enjoy the race as you ride for such a worthy cause !
Stan Goetsch
Director Dis-Chem Pharmacies
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