Playing host to more and more national and even international events, Bloemfontein is becoming a popular destination for big scale sporting events.
The latest event that will attract some of the top mountain bikers from across the country, will be the the fifth and final round of the Stihl 2016 SA XCO Cup series, which will take place at Happy Valley Conservancy on Saturday 18 June 2016. This event will be a first of its kind in Bloemfontein and promises to attract some of the country’s top cyclists.
Local organiser and mountain biker, Willem Raubenheimer, has developed a walking and cycling trail in and around Happy Valley.
Happy Valley Conservancy has been operating since 2013 and was officially launched in July 2014. “Our mission is to restore Happy Valley to a safe, usable and vibrant public open space in the nerve of the city,” he says.
Happy Valley Conservancy lies between Harry Smith Street, Aliwal Street, Collins Road and First Avenue. It is surrounded by the Oranje Girls’ School, the premier’s residence, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, the Chief Judge’s residence and the Westdene business area.
At the moment the route and conservancy are financed, maintained and kept clean by a handful of individuals. It was in desperate need of maintenance after the recent rains and a lot of work needs to be done before the big national event.
The Free State Cycling’s Executive Committee has sent out a request to all of the Free State Cycling Clubs and their members to ask for their assistance to either make a donation towards the maintenance and cleaning of the route, or to come and help clean it up themselves.
On Friday a mass clean-up was held at the conservancy getting the area ready for the event.
Raubenheimer says the response he received from the public was phenomenal. Financial donations came from various clubs and individuals. “I was also contacted by Willem van Aswegen from Working on Fire, who made 25 of their employees available for assistance for the clean-up!”
For more information about FS Cycling MTB Commission and Happy Valley Conservancy, send an email to wil6@live.com or mtb@fscycling.co.za. – Maricelle Botha
maricelle@centralmediagroup.co.za
