By Destine Nde
When Isaac Newton first published his three fundamental laws of motion, and argued that they would allow him to describe all terrestrial and planetary motions, many members of the British Academy of Science doubted and debated him. But his profound experimental success ended up revolutionising the worlds of science and engineering.
After having tried and failed thousands of times, many people, even some members of his team, concluded that Thomas Edison would never succeed in inventing the light bulb — that his dream was fantastic and could never become a reality. Nonetheless he persisted, and eventually got his breakthrough. Today almost every building and street around the world is brightened by light bulbs.
‘When I started, everybody said I was crazy — that I had lost my mind,’ said Wikus van der Walt, founder of the Annual Trans Baviaans Mountain Bicycle Race. Like many great innovators who persisted in the face of scepticism and doubt, his passion drove him to establish a national and increasingly international sensation.
Before 2004, when The Trans Baviaans, as it is now popularly called, was founded, Van Der Walt was an employee of CapeNature – a government organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in the Western Cape. As such, they used to send out teams of people to visit these wildernesses and nature reserves.
Van Der Walt was a consistent member of those teams, and he loves mountain biking. ‘So’, he explained to me during our discussion, ‘whenever we went out on these visits, I always brought my bike along. And, after working hours, I’d go biking for long distances, seeing and enjoying the views.’ These regular, wide and varied exposures soon set his heart ablaze with the love of nature.
Of all the 113 sites for which his organisation, CapeNature, is responsible for, The Baviaans Kloof is the largest. In fact, ‘it’s the longest wilderness area in South Africa’, he stated with pride.
With his heart blazing with a passion for mountain biking and viewing nature, Van Der Walt was plunged into the ocean of innovation – to find a way of sharing the joy and exhilaration of these twin passions with others,  and create experiences that would ignite the same spark in them.
The search was long and daunting. For starters, ‘conventional bicycle races are circular in nature’, he explained: ‘you finish where you started’. Second, ‘traditional races at that time were between 60 to 80 kilometres. But the route through the Baviaans kloof, starting from Willowmore and finishing in Jeffreys Bay, is a staggering 230 kilometres!’
Nonetheless he did find a novel way of turning his dream into reality. Cyclists have to finish the 230 kilometres from Willowmore to Jeffreys Bay through the Baviaans Kloof within 24 hours, with multiple check points along the route where they can stop and refresh themselves with food and beverages. Just with one friend, Van Der Walt tried this and it worked. This was unprecedented, but his complementary passions fanned that spark into a flame.
I asked: ‘So is nothing in the Trans Baviaans a copy or imitation of the standard, more conventional bicycle races?’
‘Nothing’, he answered, and added, ‘Everything we do is traditionally Trans Baviaans. In fact, other race organisers are now trying to copy from us. In standard bicycle races, for example, you find water tables along the road. But in ours we give participants real food – braaivleis, potatoes, salads, and so on.’
Today, the Trans Baviaans is a blockbuster, attracting hundreds of happy, excited and adventurous riders from around the world. They are thrilled to participate, not so much for any material gains as for the unique experience. And Van Der Walt is even more thrilled that hundreds of people, not only in South Africa but from around the world, now experience the raptures of his combined passions: cycling and nature.
‘Indeed, from its launch 21 years ago to the time of Covid, the event grew by 35 a year on average. And since then, it has grown steadily once again, to the point where we have reached our maximum capacity.’ This, he says, is 1 350 riders. For the first time, the event is being run over one weekend instead of two, which makes it easier for competitors to find the time to participate.
‘Anything new on the horizon to improve or diversify the event?’ I asked.
‘Not much at the moment, but we are opening up to new sponsorships. As you can see,’ he pointed to the colourful stands, umbrellas and banners all around us, ‘we already have a few partners.’
‘And the local communities involved? Willowmore, the Baviaans Kloof and Jeffreys Bay; do you have any sorts of partnerships or ongoing empowerment projects with them?’
‘Yes we do. Yesterday we visited Zaymaan’s Hoek Primary School in the Baviaans Kloof, and handed out stationery and other vital equipment. However any member of these communities can ask for our assistance through our website.’
‘In any case,’ I remarked, ‘these communities should be grateful, for the Trans Baviaans has an undeniable socioeconomic impact. Restaurants are packed, guest houses are fully booked, people have temporary jobs, local arts and crafs are being sold, and so on. It’s a ripple effect’.
This prompted Van Der Walt to day that a professor from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth and one of his students were conducting a study of the event’s socioeconomic impact.
On Friday 8 August, at around 2 pm, Trans Baviaans 2025 was officially opened in Willowmore. As previously, the streets were crowded with tourists, school children, community members, and police and traffic officials.
The race opened with a vibrant procession along the main street, captivating the senses and delighting the minds of onlookers. Well-crafted posters and decorated vehicles headed and tailed the procession. The drummers and trumpeters produced such inspiring rhythms and melodies that everyone either danced or sang along.
A group of dancers in the middle of the procession set the pace for the crowd to follow. The colourful costumes and caps of the flag bearers added to the spectacle. The spectators clapped, and cheered. Officers of the law did their best to make sure all went well, without an accidents or disorder. In a word, the atmosphere was electric. And this was only the opening. The real event began at 10 am the next day, Saturday 9 August 2025.
FEATURED IMAGE: A proud Wikus van der Walt, founder of the Annual Trans Baviaans Mountain Bicycle Race, in front of the start line. All pictures: the author.