36 riders, 1,057 kilometres, and 1 massive heart. The Grandads’ Army has officially crossed the finish line of a journey dedicated to bringing hope and healing to the children of the Eastern Cape.
Cape Town, South Africa (09 March 2026) – Thirty-six riders packed their gear for a 1,057km journey with a singular mission: supporting the Eyabantwa Trust, which helps fund life-changing surgery for children in the Eastern Cape.
Less than a week ago, the group split into three teams for the 11th Grandads Army Memorial Ride. Using a relay format, each team tackled two 50km sections daily – totalling 100km per team, per day. After four days on the road, they arrived in Cape Town just in time to participate in the Cape Town Cycle Tour!
The riders and support teams overnighted at several accommodations in Cradock, Willowmore and Montagu during their journey. From Montagu, the teams rode to Hermanus, racked their bikes and drove to the Arabella Country Estate, where they offloaded the bikes and rode, as a unified team, to Bikini Beach in Gordons Bay.
“On the route, the riders were joined by three traffic officials from the Western Cape Provincial Traffic Department, on motorcycles, and members of the Western Cape Provincial Fire Department driving a fire engine, fire truck and a fire support vehicle, and were escorted all along Clarence Drive to their destination,” shares Eyabantwana’s PR Officer, Bronwyn Claridge.
As with every meaningful quest, the riders faced their fair share of challenges.
“We experienced tyre issues with one of the buses, turbo boost pipe problems on another of the buses, and a tyre blowout on our food trailer. Fortunately, all of these issues were resolved timeously and didn’t cause too much of a delay,” Bronwyn says.
The route took riders and support crews up steep but stunning mountain passes, through lush valleys and beautiful little towns, and allowed the army to experience Karoo hospitality at its finest.
“The people we encountered at every town we drove through, and at every accommodation establishment we stayed at, were incredibly friendly, kind, hospitable and willing to help at a moment’s notice, always going above and beyond the call of duty to assist.”
The memorial ride came with a shared appreciation for the magnificent region. However, the ultimate reward for our heroes was knowing that their efforts were rewarded with a total of R800,000 raised for the Eyabantwana For The Children Trust in East London! These funds will help pay off the paediatric gastroscope purchased by the Trust last year.
They hit the road with a singular goal: cycling to fund life-changing surgeries for children – and they saw it through to the finish line!
“A feat which we definitely look forward to repeating again next year,” Brownwyn concludes.
Sources: Eyabantwana For The Children Trust
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Nothando Mthembu
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