BANK2BUSH

35 riders – 420km – 6800m – 5 days – 1 story.

Bank2Bush was a multi-day mountain bike event from Witbank to Hoedspruit; aka the Bush. This was not a race but a journey together; it was not about who finished the event first but conquering together.

As iXchangers, we started preparing for a cycling challenge presented to us by Pastor John, not knowing we would have the privilege of riding the pioneering event of Bank2Bush. The routes took us through beautiful, hidden parts of our country that the general public does not often see. Alongside the spectacular scenery, this event had an amazing supporting team who served us selflessly the whole 420km, with delicious meals as well as setting up camp for all the cyclists.

This event carried such a weightiness in the spiritual realm that 2-3 weeks prior to the trip, the enemy attacked all the riders and support crew with flu symptoms; some people experienced severe symptoms and in the natural, it seemed impossible for them to even participate in this event. I found myself having to actively fight for my health and not allow the enemy to lie to me about my health and being sick. Yes, at points, I experienced real symptoms like coughing and even had a fever but through the Word of God, encouragement from Pastor Christi and ultimately God’s Great Grace, I kept my faith up and never had real intense symptoms that could influence my capability to ride Bank2Bush. Praise the Lord!

5 days of cycling will always present itself with confrontations and challenges and will definitely test your character and ability to walk actively in the Fruit of the Spirit. Even though I was determined not to quit or give up and complete all the riding, I had to draw my strength from the Lord, for I had multiple moments where I was on the verge of throwing my bike down the side of the mountains. It was a matter of tapping the Joy of the Lord as well as patience and self-control depending on the situation. I had to have patience with fellow cyclists having a natural moment or having patience with myself for not riding fast enough and being the slowest at the back. 

Each and every cyclist had to dig deep to conquer this challenge that presented itself to us in the form of hills and cycling back-to-back days. Some had to fight to keep riding, others had to fight to die to self and help and serve the rest; in this we all conquered, together, alongside one another.

Prior to and event during the event, I asked and kept on asking Holy Spirit what the purpose of the event was and how to get the most out it. Looking back, I had two clear points of focus; 1: The journey, appreciating the little things, enjoying the mundane thing and not getting so caught up in finishing but truly enjoying the process of the journey. 2: Relationships, putting others before myself, loving and serving them, encouraging them, not trying to prove myself and out-ride them but rather focusing on how great they were doing and how strong they were. 

I personally believe even though we rode a different route for stage 5, we all still conquered and completed Bank2Bush. Every journey looked different; all the cyclists were on different levels therefore everyone conquered their own confrontations, and the same goes for the support crew. I remember at the end of stage 4 as we got into camp and just all sat/laid next to our bikes the grass just recovering after a long day of riding, Holy Spirit told me that we had conquered and that we had finished. 

Completing this journey with all the cyclists as well as the support crew’s involvement will always be a treasured memory for me, and I don’t think anything will beat the joyous feeling of crossing the finish line TOGETHER alongside everyone, all my friends.