Mountain biking in Namibia - have you ever done it?
One of the toughest and most exhausting mountain bike races is the Desert Dash in Namibia! Riding it is a dream of many passionate mountain bikers. Some try their hand at less demanding races and ride smaller local races first. Barbara Staps, for example, who rode a small race during her time in Gobabis. But from the beginning...
Volunteer in Gobabis 2015
In 2015, Barbara Staps spent 6 months in Namibia to complete a voluntary service with steps for children and to help the children and young people in Gobabis helped with school and homework, organised games and parties and implemented other ideas.
Together with her fellow volunteers, she also brightened up the holiday time in Namibia for the steps children - with a Holiday Club.
In her free time
In her free time at the weekend, she was active in sports and asked around in the community: yes, there were also smaller mountain bike trails that she could ride with the locals and not just the Desert Dash. She doesn't need to be told twice - because like Ronny, Barbara also likes to ride cross-country. And then through the Namibian desert!
Barbara explains how she came to mountain biking in Namibia by chance:
„There was a poster in the supermarket in Gobabis: 'Gobabis MTB Race' - I immediately thought I could take part. I'd ridden MTB a few times before, but never seriously and never in a race. So it was a bit of a crazy idea. But it all took on a life of its own when I was able to borrow an MTB - just like that! I was blown away by the trust and friendliness. And then they took me straight to training! From then on, I rode with three like-minded people at least once a week through the red sand around Gobabis - sometimes even racing against wildebeests and gazelles.
#Funfact:
By the way, camel thorns also break tubeless tyres...
The race itself was a very exciting experience; my goal was to finish somehow, I have achieved - with only one wet foot, keyword „floating bridge“.
II cycled a lot in Gobabis, almost every day to school, to the shops, to the library, etc., all on a trusty, half-rusty bike that had foam under the tyres instead of air. A bike that the project always made available to the volunteers. And just for fun with a „real“, borrowed MTB.
It was always a strange feeling: almost nobody in Epako owned a bike, let alone a modern MTB. So it was an absolute privilege, which is what I would have liked the children and young people of Epako to have.
I then did some research and found out that steps had already brought a container of bicycles to Namibia in cooperation with the local initiative BEN (Bicycle Enpowerment Namibia). There was also a workshop in Gobabis, but it was no longer in operation during my stay. So a lot had happened long before my short time in Namibia to make bicycles available locally.
From left: Janna and Lisa, our steps volunteers from 2015, on their bikes - in the centre of Gobabis.
During my 6 months in Gobabis, I was unfortunately unable to work on this project close to my heart. I'm all the more pleased that Markus and Ronny not only want to emphasise the fun and beauty of cycling with „their“ race, but also draw attention to the foundation and its facilities in Namibia.“
Still committed
Barbara is still committed to our steps children - she organised workshops for other former volunteers in Germany, gave her own children a guardian angel sponsorship at birth (making them probably the youngest guardian angels in our guardian angel community) and started for steps for children together with other volunteers as a steps team at the Airport Race in Hamburg to raise awareness for our foundation.
During her time in Namibia, Barbara was visited by her current husband Ronny. He is also a keen mountain biker. He stayed in our guest house in Gobabis for a few short days. Of course, he also visited our steps centre and had a look around.
This year, he is bringing steps to the Alps together with another keen mountain biker. The red steps jersey will shine brightly on the seven-day tour. We wish Ronny and his fellow biker friend Markus lots of fun, stamina and success.
