THE FREEDOM CHALLENGE Race Across South Africa 2023 - Why we are Doing it Again - Nigel & Adrian Payne.
Reflections as we are about to start our 3rd Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa in the last 13 months. Roughly 55 days of RASA in 55 weeks.
To confirm how great Life is,
and the value of HEALTH and TIME.
Life is so short. Tempus fugit. Carpe diem!
We know how important our Family and Friends are,
We each have the privilege of another year riding with his Brother.
To remind ourselves how incredibly PRIVILEGED we are,
Doing what we love, the journey eclipsing the destination.
To again experience the hospitality of our HOSTS, OUR FREEDOM CHALLENGE FAMILY, every one of whom has a big heart and a generous spirit - THANK YOU.
To go places few people will ever go and see things few will ever see - sunrises, sunsets, snow, mountains, forests, wildlife and a wide variety of people getting on with their lives under vastly different circumstances.
Every day is an Adventure riding the Freedom Challenge.
Unfolding vistas, challenging conditions, fatigue and excitement;
The achievement of a finisher's blanket is less important than the MEMORIES,
less important than THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OTHERS.
To experience Freedom, outside our comfort zones,
with only the bare essentials we can carry,
no clutter preventing us from discovering more about ourselves.
Always wondering what tomorrow will bring; our HOPES & FEARS.
For the challenge of the Race itself, the longest and toughest in South Africa.
The short days and long cold nights of winter
promising the thrill of riding head-on into the inevitable snowstorms.
To focus on This Moment, such joyous work and play;
Sometimes touring, sometimes racing the darkness with the hammer down.
THE CLOCK OF LIFE is wound but once …..
On Freedom Challenge, Time doesn’t just stand still, the clock starts Ticking Backwards. Memories for a Lifetime.
+10 More Good Years.
We don’t care how many days we take.
For us, the Freedom Challenge is about Life, Fit, Healthy, Happy, Brothers Team, Stronger Together, Active, Engaged, Out There, Having an Adventure, Making a Difference in the lives of Other People, Loved and Supported by our Families at Home and our Freedom Challenge Families, our Hosts on the Trail.
+ 10 More Good Years. Counting from Today, and from every new day.
60 is the new 40, and 70 is 50.
The only journey that’s impossible is the one you never begin.
TICK TOCK TIME.
So we will return to our normal lives with more perspective, passion, energy and empathy.
Having raised money to MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.
We are riding in support of the REACH FOR A DREAM FOUNDATION - South Africa’s TOP NGO, dedicated to realizing the DREAMS of CHILDREN in hospital, helping them and their FAMILIES to get through TODAY, increasing their HOPE for TOMORROW - each one living their own FREEDOM CHALLENGE, day by day.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE REACH FOR A DREAM FOUNDATION,
FOR THOSE CHILDREN IN HOSPITAL FIGHTING TO GET THROUGH ANOTHER DAY - THEIR OWN FREEDOM CHALLENGE - PLEASE HELP TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE.
YOU CAN ALSO CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES BY DONATING TO THE FREEDOM CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND. WE DO, EVERY YEAR. EDUCATION CHANGES EVERYTHING. https://www.freedomchallenge.org.za/scholarship-fund
We love the Freedom Challenge; we want More!
Make ready your bike, for tomorrow we ride The Freedom Challenge.
The Race Across South Africa.
Reach for a Dream.
THANK YOU.
NIGEL & ADRIAN PAYNE
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