A former rugby player turned quad bike rider arrived in Ballito, South Africa on September 30 after an exhausting 568.2km quad bike ride.
Cedric Mkhize was among 850 ATV riders, 10 of whom are disabled, who had taken part in the first leg of the Quads 4 Quads race. They rode an average of 250km per day on a ride of a lifetime which took them from Johannesburg to Ballito. Around half of those who took part also made the journey back to Carnival City.
The QuadPara Association in South Africa (QASA) will benefit from the funds raised by the event, which takes place each year. The former rugby player was paralysed in 2007 after a car accident. He described the event as being similar to playing in two rugby matches, one after the other. He went on to say that, while he ached, he had enjoyed the out-of-this-world levels of team spirit.
Mkhize was not among the riders who made the return journey, although he did say that he would be taking part in the event again next year as part of his training, since he plans to take part in the Paralympic Games in 2016. He is planning on changing his race ATV for a cycle when he enters the hand-cycling race.
Quads 4 Quads has been established for nine years and the head of QASA, Ari Serlis, had taken part for the seventh time in a row. He and said that he hoped the number of disabled people taking part in the event would increase from 10 to 20 in 2013.