November 18, 2004
By Sheree Russouw
RONALD NDLOVU grew up in a cramped shack in Ivory Park, never dreaming that he would one day become a professional cyclist competing in a top Johannesburg race.
And though he has never won a race, 30-year-old Ndlovu vows that he will soon hold the coveted gold medal for the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge in his hands. "By 2008, I'm going to be number one," he says, resolution in his voice.
Ndlovu is one of 32 cycling enthusiasts who, three years ago, formed their own cycling club and business, the Shova Lula, or Pedal Easy, cycle co-operative. Today their technicolour kits and glimmering bicycles stand out amid the dusty slums of the informal settlement situated on the outskirts of Midrand.
This Sunday, team members will be hopping onto their bicycles to join 24 000 other cyclists from across the country - and the world - to compete in the Cycle Challenge.
"I always loved to ride bicycles," says Ndlovu, whose worn and dirty clothes cast a sullen shadow in the summer sunlight. "But professional cycling was always something that white people did - not black people from the townships."
In 2001, he was one of a group of Ivory Park residents who formed a Section 21 company to repair and sell affordable bicycles to their community.
They approached the Johannesburg Eco-City Initiative - which has created a 2ha self-sustaining village in Ivory Park as a place where people work, play, grow their own food and generate their own energy - and formed a bicycle cooperative.
Their concept has an environmental edge - trying to get more people in Ivory Park to ride bicycles instead of catching taxis to work or driving their own cars, thereby cutting down on harmful carbon emissions.
Many of the bicycles that are turned into working wheels at their workshop in a large metal shipping container have been imported from the US and Europe at a discount price, with the help of a range of NGOs. They have helped turn Ndlovu and his peers into bicycle mechanics - and professional cyclists.
The cycling team started out small, but now has 32 members, up from eight in 2001. Says Ndlovu: "We have so many people who want to join, but we just don't have enough bikes - especially good bikes."
For some, Sunday's race is their first and they are nervous. Other more experienced team members, like Khutele Mahlombe, are keen to improve on last year's time.
And the team clearly has its work cut out in the grueling race, which spans an exhausting 100km through Sandton, the Johannesburg city centre and Kyalami.
"I was 150th last year," says Mahlombe, who has raced the Challenge every year since its inception. "It's hard - we are racing against excellent cyclists who have competed in the Tour de France.
"When we first started, we feared the distance. But now we see this as part of our training. It's a chance for us to gain experience in cycling. It's tough but exciting."
The team members spend their weekends riding out to Johannesburg's city centre and Pretoria, often clad in civilian clothes. This is because they do not have cycling kits, and the colourful outfits donated by clubs like the Midrand Cycling Team simply aren't enough.
Mahlombe shakes his head. "We are still suffering. Some of us don't even have normal clothes to wear, never mind cycling outfits. Some of us will look swak on Sunday. We would like to have had green outfits with our team emblem, but we just don't have any money for that."
Their bikes are not state-of-the-art either. Most are rusted with age and made with heavy steel - instead of the lighter aluminum that cyclists use today.
"You never know what it's like with one of these bikes," says Mahlombe, pointing to a decaying bike that looks as if it belongs in a scrap heap. "Cycling in the location is so much different to being on the road and competing in a race.
"Many of our bikes will probably count against us…we've got the guys who want to succeed in cycling and we've got the energy. But now we need the equipment."
Mahomed Ebrahim, from NGO Afribike, says he is trying to organise racing gear for the team members and hopes to transport them to Woodmead for the start of the race on Sunday morning.
"It's amazing that these guys are cycling in professional competitions. And they are really helping their community too," says Ebrahim, adding that the bicycle cooperative has now been replicated in Tshwane and parts of Limpopo.
"As NGOs, we've helped put them on a business level. Now they know how to make a profit and keep the wheels turning.
"This project is small and may seem insignificant, but it's filling a gap in a community where people don't have the money to travel and children walk up to 3km to go to school…it's saving South Africa, because we don't have to import as much fuel."
Sylvester Petje, 20, rummages for a wheel in a heap of spare parts. He is clad in his cycling kit - a burst of green, red and purple - and is preparing for Sunday's race.
"I always wanted to be involved with computers but I never had the money to study," he says. "But this is so much better. We are helping our community. I really want to become a cycling champion one day - I know I can."
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