Moonlight mass revolution

Cape Town is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in the world. It’s a wonder why more people don’t cycle in the city. Reasons to cycle:

• It’s cost-effective (in fact it costs nothing at all)
• It has zero carbon emissions (that’s a BIG reason)
• Cycling keeps you fit and healthy
• Its fun (Bonus!)

Reasons that could possibly deter people from cycling are the lack of sufficient bicycle lanes, lack of respect from motorists and there being no bicycle culture outside the sport. This is the thinking behind the moonlight mass initiative- to raise awareness for cycling in the city and the safety of cyclists in the urban environment and create a cycling culture.

The brainchild of Daniel Graham and Elad Kirshenbaum, Moonlight mass is a casual night bicycle ride starting at the Green Point Circle on a full moon once a month. Started as a social experiment on twitter the ride has been gaining popularity. On Tuesday there were way over 1000 riders, and the numbers are sure to grow!

Cycling on our Trend-e-bikes

The cycle was great fun, and felt so good to be part of an initiative where the people of Cape Town come together to champion a cause. My ride was particularly exciting and pumped up, some would say I cheated a bit (I heard that a lot). I was given the new Trend eBike to ride- a premium electric bicycle soon to hit SA stores! A very cool, trendy, eco-friendly alternative to a car. Look out for the initial launch of Trend eBike at the Hermanus Whale festive in September

The next moonlight mass cycle in Cape Town is on the 4 August- join the revolution!

For more info on moonlight mass cycle follow the event on twitter @moonlightmass, and @trend_e_bike for updates on the Trend eBike

World Wonderer completes first stage of Amazon adventure!

"It was a great privilege to delve into the personal mind and spirit and see what moves and stops you..." 1st July 2012, saw the commencement of young adventurer Davey du Plessis solo navigation of the mighty Amazon river from its source to the the sea. The estimated 6500 km journey has been broken into three stages. An initial hike to the summit of Mount Mismi (the source), followed by an estimated 800km cycle through the Peruvian Andean Mountains, finalized by an estimated 5700km paddle to where the Amazon meets the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. The entire journey is directed at a cause relative to the adventure - promoting Individual Empowerment on tackling the many issues faced by the natural world and working in collaboration with the Adventurers & Scientists For Conservation Organisation in collecting visual and research data on the environment traversed through. Davey at the summit of Mismi mountain in the Peruvian Andean Mountains Davey du Plessis faced the Mismi mountain range with no guide, no maps and only GPS way points to provide the general direction of reaching the summit. The 4 day, 60km hike, Davey faced below -10 degree temperatures at night, arrid terrain, pure isolation and total self reliance. The day of summiting, Davey had to navigate his way through 1 foot deep and wide sheaths of glaciers covering the summit peak and due to the self navigation, Davey followed what was thought to be a route to the summit, but was actually a route caused by wind movements through the glaciers, this error resulted in a frustrating false summit of Mount Mismi. With a clear goal of reaching the summit Davey re summited the official Mount Mismi, upon which the official Amazon source to sea navigation commences. The successful summit of Mount Mismi and return to the village of Tuti results in the completion of the first stage of the adventure. Davey is now set up and geared for the second stage of the adventure, the cycle through the Peruvian Andean mountains.   Public research states, thus far, that Davey du Plessis is the youngest and second, to Mike Horn, individual to attempt such an adventure solo. "Despite the frustrations and cold experienced, the solitude provides the platform to really work on ones self. To find your own forms of motivation, rectify any negative and pessimistic inner dialogue and truly trust in yourself and your decisions. It was a great privillege to delve into the personal mind and spirit and see what moves and stops you. Even though it is only the first and smallest stage, in terms of milage, the pure isolation and self reliance provides a great platform into the next stages of navigating the Amazon from its source to the sea." For further info and details on the journey, check www.worldwonderer.co.za.