On the road again

Ritchie Auto are proud to sponsor a support vehicle for the entire duration of the Rotary Connection Ride from Empangeni to Cape Town. This is the fifth time Ritchie Auto have been involved in the fund-raising event. Mike Bunting (Rotary Empangeni) thanks Paul Mannix (Sales Manager, Ritchie Auto) for the support the company has offered

Poised to pedal. That is 21 riders who will leave from the Empangeni Civic Centre at 2pm today (Thursday) on the annual Empangeni-Cape Town Rotary Connection Ride. The cyclists and four support vehicles are scheduled to steam in to the Cape Town Waterfront on Thursday, 11 March - 14 gruelling days and 1 700km later - all in the name of charity. The objective is to raise R1-million for distribution to local charities in and around the Empangeni area.‘Rotary would like to thank all the sponsors and the Zululand Observer for the coverage that we have enjoyed over the years. ‘We also would like to invite the public to attend the start of this endurance event, which will see sponsored cyclists ride through town accompanied by an uMhlathuze traffic police escort,’ said President, Philip Walsh. The cyclists will ‘climb out’ of KwaZulu-Natal via Vryheid, before passing through Ladysmith, Clarens, Middelburg, Aliwal-North, Graaff-Reinet, Oudtshoorn, Worcester and Paarl before finishing in Cape Town.

Beneficiaries
• Thuthukani Special Needs School;
• Zululand Hospice Association (ZHA);
• Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA);
• MusweNkosi Foster Home;
• SPCA;
• National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI); •DICE - Do I Care Enough?;
• Empangeni Senior Citizens’ Association;
• The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
(SANCA);
• Siyaphambili Crèche;
• Crossroads Teen Centre (AWOL).