Wherever you went in Grahamstown you would have seen them scattered around town. Last weekend, the annual BMW Bike Fest was held in Grahamstown, with more than 500 BMW motorbikes and their owners making the trip to Grahamstown, from all parts of the country.
Wherever you went in Grahamstown you would have seen them scattered around town. Last weekend, the annual BMW Bike Fest was held in Grahamstown, with more than 500 BMW motorbikes and their owners making the trip to Grahamstown, from all parts of the country.
The bike fest, from Friday to Sunday, was based at he 1820 Settlers National Monument, with evening functions taking place in the Fountain Court. Vendor stalls were also on show. The festival was arranged by BMW Clubs Africa for BMW enthusiasts, with the full support of the BMW Motorrad SA and the dealer network.
BMW Motorcycle Club Eastern Cape were the club organisers, with Grahamstown BMW bike owner, Dominic Thorburn, on the organising committee. The main organised activities were the evening dinners, where bikers met up with fellow riders, enjoyed great local food, and were entertained by live bands.
Friday night saw a talk and cannon-fire show on gunfire hill by Basil Mills. Local band Sunship provided live music on Saturday and Sunday nights. The day activities were up to each individual, while the BMW MCC Eastern Cape planned out a number of routes in the area.
Thorburn said riders had a choice of tar and off-road routes, providing the opportunity to ride in unique areas on routes specially arranged for the festival. Some headed to Hogsback, or the Katberg, while other rides rode around the Alexandria forests.
Thorburn said about 80% of the bikes this year were the dual sport bikes, intended for both off-road and tar. Thorburn said the dual sport (also known as adventure riding) was becoming very popular among bike owners.
While there were about 500 bikes, Thorburn said there were 700 to 800 people involved in the festival, including pillions, representatives from the BMW head office, medical and technical back-up. Thorburn said the event was a boost to the local economy, because most stayed in local BBs and ate at local restaurants.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoon riders participated in a skills challenge. Drivers and pillions were put through various courses, adding to the fun aspect of the festival. Some of the events included an egg and spoon race, shooting balls into a hoop and slowest across a section of road.
In conjunction with the Bike Fest was a charitable drive. This year's focus was on education in the region. The partnership between BMW Clubs Africa and the Community Engagement Office at Rhodes University launched a pilot project this year to help five schools improve the quality of education offered in their classrooms.
A total of R50 000 was donated to the charity during the festival. According to Rhodes University's Diana Hornby, the pilot project will introduce an online curriculum at the Grade 8 level, targeting mathematics and English language classes. “The school principals are delighted with the initiative and very happy to work with the university to give local children a better chance of breaking out of the cycle of poverty through access to quality education.
The VC of Rhodes University, Dr Saleem Badat is very supportive of the project and has promised local pupils support to access funding should they acquire the necessary points to register at Rhodes University,” said Hornby. A portion of the profits from the weekend's festival will help fund this education project.
