Red Sock Tweed Charity Fun Ride

Support a worthy local cause with this short spring bike ride through Cape Town

The Red Sock Tweed Ride is once again set to wheel its way through the Mother City on Saturday, 6 September 2014 in an effort to support two worthy local causes and to celebrate the end of the colder season.

More specifically, the 7-km dress-up cycle starts and finishes at Truth Coffee Roasting in Buitenkant Street and calls on participants to don woven fabrics, red socks and spring-themed attire in aid of both the Western Cape Community Chest and the Unogwaja Challenge.

And as the emphasis of this short ride is on fun, socialising and community support, even the less sport-inclined can get involved. After all, with just a 7-km route, it doesn’t matter if the Tour de France isn’t your calling card.

The organisers of the ride try their best to host the event quarterly – so every three months or so Capetonians should start scouring their cupboard for anything  tweed and a pair of red socks. The significance of the fancy footwear is linked to Red Sock Friday, a movement dedicated to spreading hope and positivity.

All proceeds go to the Community Chest – who in turn lends a helping hand to the Unogwaja Challenge, a 10-day cycle from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg that culminates in the Comrades Marathon (the cyclists run this on the 11th day!). This year, R1.2 million has already been raised in support of the cycling event, and organisers hope to rack up a whopping R2 million towards Unogwaja 2015.

What’s more there’ll also be loads of prizes up for grabs, so be sure to put your best foot forward for this charitable sporting event.

TICKETS FOR RED SOCK TWEED RIDE

Tickets for the event are available via Quicket.co.za and cost R100p/p; entry includes a coffee and a pair of red socks to give to a stranger. Entrance is limited to 100 cyclists.

MORE ABOUT THE WESTERN CAPE COMMUNITY CHEST

As a leading professional fundraising endeavour, community investor and social development project, the Community Chest supports a large number of community projects. The scheme currently assists over 520 social welfare and development organisations in the Western Cape with an annual spend of close to R20 million. The venture forms part of the United Way International, a volunteer non-profit company that supports and assists inclusive community efforts in order to affect meaningful, long-term social change.

MORE ABOUT THE UNOGWAJA CHALLENGE

The Unogwaja Challenge is a 10--day cycle event from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg that culminates in the Comrades Marathon on the 11th day. The event is inspired by Phil Masterton-Smith (nicknamed ‘Unogwaja’ – meaning ‘hare’ in Zulu), who in 1933 couldn’t afford the train fare from the Mother City to Pietermaritzburg and so cycled the entire journey instead. He is also famed for two of the closest finishes in Comrades Marathon history – being narrowly defeated by Wally Hayward in 1931 and ultimately beating Noel Burree by just a few meters in 1931 (making him the youngest winner of the event at age 19). Although he died while fighting in World War II in 1942, his legacy and fighting spirit lives on today.

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Take a look at our overview of annual September events to find out about more hot happenings taking place during the month.
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