It took him 19 days and 8 hours, but Dr Casper Venter managed to finish the gruelling Freedom Challenge. A visibly thinner and bearded Casper arrived in Diemersfontein near Wellington on Saturday morning to claim his Basotho blanket. This completed a cycling journey that started in Pietermaritzburg almost three weeks earlier and included 2 300 kilometres of mountain passes, river crossings and weather that ranged from hot sun to snow and ice cold rain in the Karoo.

“It is almost surreal, not cycling. For 19 days that’s what you did for 10 hours plus every day, come rain, sun, wind or snow,” Casper wrote on his blog this week. “ It was such an incredible experience. I saw and experienced things and places in my country that I didn’t even know existed,” he said.

The doctor from Makhado tackled this toughest of tough races to collect money for a local cancer charity, the Makhado Care Group. Through his efforts, he hoped to raise more than R100 000 for the organisation that cares for local cancer patients.

Casper was very grateful for the overwhelming support he received during the race. “Thank you to everyone who was  interested, SMSed and blogged me. You kept me going. To all who donated and sponsored - thank you. Your money will be well spent via the care group to help those with cancer in our community. The truth is that my race is truly insignificant compared to the race they still have to run.”

Out of the 47 riders who entered for this endurance event, 19 withdrew before finishing. Casper’s time put him in an overall 12th place, which is an exceptional achievement for someone who has never done the race before. The race was won by Martin Dreyer in a time of 10 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes. Casper could only express admiration for the skill and tenacity of the winners. “Very few people will truly understand what you have achieved,” he said.

Casper will be spending a few days with friends and family in the Western Cape before returning home next week.

“Sometimes you do something and it turns out to be so much more than you expect it to be. This race was like that. It truly embraced what I stand for and what I feel mountainbiking is about. For 19 days I could play and revel in just being on the bike and being a part of this incredible adventure,” he said.