Local decides to go big and go biking around SA
MIDRAND – Marianna Valsecchi and his crew, who were strangers before the tour, took off in Bloemfontein making stops in the following places; Augrabies, Port Nolloth, Veldrif, Hermanus, Agulhas, Reebok, Port Alfred, Morgans Bay, San Lameer, St Lucia, Sabie, Magoebaskloof, Bela-bela and then Zeerust before parting ways with her crew and making her way back
In a bid to challenge herself mentally and physically, Marianna Valsecchi decided to celebrate her birthday by riding around South Africa on her motorbike.
Valsecchi, who recently turned 60, and her crew started off from Bloemfontein on 18 March making stops around the country. The tour finished in Zeerust on 2 April where Valsecchi parted ways with her crew and made her way back to Midrand, riding about 7 000km during the two-week trip.
She and her crew would spend a whole day riding and one night at each stop before packing every morning and looking forward to their next stop.
“I turned 60 years old in January and I wanted my 60th to be a big year. I did not want a birthday per se but I wanted to tick a lot of stuff off my bucket list for this birthday year.
“I have been wanting to travel around South Africa for many years, a dream I kept close to me. I then tried in November last year to go solo but my bike broke down and I could not get the parts for it so I had to abort the trip,” she said.
Valsecchi said while doing her research on social media she found a group of bikers and contacted them, a group of
men and women who would soon become like family.
“We then went around the whole perimeter of the country trying to do the edge points.”
Valsecchi said the journey was not without its challenges especially when they arrived in the Cape. She added that strong winds made it very difficult to stay on the bike but was comforted by the fact that she was not struggling alone.
She said she was thinking of doing a trip around Namibia, but would also love to do the South Africa trip again, this time spending time at places to explore the history of towns and engage with the communities.
But most importantly, Valsecchi said the recent journey taught her that society set so many boundaries for many people. “I know a lot of women my age and they all believe that they are done with their lives, there’s nothing left to do.”
She said many self-imposed boundaries existed, however, the message from this trip was it was all just stereotype and if you have your health and were able, nothing would stop you.
