By Destine Nde
Willowmore came alive again last weekend. On Friday and Saturday, 8 and 9 August, thousands of people crowded the streets of this small Karoo town to either participate in or enjoy the ambience of the Annual Trans Baviaans Mountain Biking Race.
The Trans Baviaans—as it is commonly called—is unique for various reasons. Traditional biking races are circular in nature, but the Trans Baviaans is linear. Before it was founded some 20 years ago, 80 kilometres was the accepted maximum distance for offroad bike races, to be covered in some eight hours.
But the distance covered in the Trans Baviaans is 230 kilometres, and takes 24 hours to complete, with contestants riding through the night. And instead of water bottles at check points, real food is served to riders.
Many people thought this was entirely unrealistic, bordering on the impossible. Nonetheless, its visionary founder, Wikus van der Walt, stuck to his guns, and his passion for cycling and nature gave birth to the Trans Baviaans. Now for the 22nd year, riders flock to Willowmore annually to gratify the same passions, traversing an astonishing 230 kilometres in what is said to be the longest wilderness area in South Africa, starting in Willowmore (its gateway) and finishing in Jeffreys Bay.
For various reasons, this year’s race differed markedly from the previous ones. Normally, the same race is run twice over two consecutive weekends, thus giving people a choice of weekends, and also helping to solve the problem of overcrowding — seeing that Willowmore is a small town with only one hotel, a few guest houses and three restaurants.
But this year the Trans Baviaans took place over one weekend only. A total of 1 350 riders, friends, family and spectators, organisers and support staff were all crammed into Willowmore, which hummed and buzzed with energy. Indeed, for the first time up to a hundred tents were pitched at the showgrounds as extra accommodation for participants, besides the Primary School hostel and classrooms.
The opening procession was held in the Friday afternoon. This year the entire Willowmore Secondary School took part in the parade, unlike previous races, when only drummers, singers, dancers and flag-bearers. The streets were choked with people, paralyzing traffic.
Due to the catastrophic winter floods, which severed access to large parts of the Baviaanskloof, the organisers had to choose an alternative route, bypassing the Kloof, but the total distance was more or less the same.
Sadly, this year’s race was marred by local tensions. For more than two decades, registrations took place in the Willowmore Town Hall, and Van Riebeeck Square was the space for stands, commercial displays, DJs, and the starting line. But because of a disagreement between some local people and the organisers, everything was moved to the Willowmore Laerskool.
Some residents conduct informal businesses in Van Riebeeck Square, including a car wash, a fast-food truck, a clothing stand, and a fruit and vegetable stands. These traders felt they should be compensated for their loss of trading time on Friday and Saturday.
They also believe – mistakenly — that the local community does not benefit directly from the Trans Baviaans. Added to this, the organisers refused this year to compensate them financially, as they had done in the past.
Various meetings were held to resolve the issue. The most significant one took place on Thursday in the police station, attended by the organisers, Traffic and municipal officers, Andre, some traders, and relevant community leaders. But the matter remained unresolved.
Organisers maintained that the arrangements had been agreed with the municipality weeks before, and that the municipality was responsible for ensuring that all informal business were moved at least 20 metres away from the square.
This further infuriated the traders – they felt undermined and disrespected, and continued to refuse to move or close their shops unless they were properly compensated.
As a result, on Thursday evening, the tents that had already been erected around the Town Hall were pulled down and taken to the Laerskool. In the event, everything went off smoothly.
On Sunday morning I spoke with Jane Zaayman, one of the organisers on behalf of Willowmore Tourism. According to her, the whole unpleasantness was caused by a lack of proper communication and understanding among stakeholders. ‘If they understood the impact, they would’ve behaved differently’, she said.
Last year, in order to prevent the same thing from happening, she had given the traders R4 000 from her own pocket. ‘This year I couldn’t do it again, because I felt they weren’t going to lose any business. We only asked them to move from 6-8 am on Saturday morning.
‘Actually, if they fully understood the situation, they would have seen it as an opportunity to make more business. Besides that, the organisers are not obliged pay them anything, because they go through the right channels to host the event. But nobody explained this to them properly.’
The consequences may be unfortunate and far-reaching. According to Jane, due to what they regard as a ‘hostile’ reception, the organisers are considering taking the event to Uniondale.
‘If that happens, Willowmore Tourism and the town itself will feel the blow. All the different institutions involved get money: the schools, the hostel, the old age home, and the security guards. Every year, about 30 local people are employed, businesses hire extra staff, and tourists spend money in town. All of this would be lost, and the ripple effect would be huge.’
FEATURED IMAGE: The start of the Trans Baviaans race. Source: Trans Baviaans website.