As iXchange, we partnered with Inhloso Heritage Foundation by taking up a challenge; cycling 421km with 8182m of elevation over 5 days from Witbank to Hoedspruit. This was in support of their projects and the everlasting change that they’re making in our community.
But this all started because it was on Ps John’s heart for us to have an epic adventure together, where we all would go to a higher level and have an opportunity to encounter God personally and collectively. It was released about 7 or 8 months prior to the event, and even though it was very exciting, I knew it would require commitment and consistency.
Looking back on a week of back-to-back riding, I really experienced God putting His super on our natural. It’s mind-blowing for me how 30 cyclists, all on different levels of fitness, riding on different kinds of terrains with different challenges, finished all 5 stages together. It was extraordinary.
It was probably one of the most smooth-running trips for me, not only was the planning excellent but I experienced such a peace and an anointing on everything that we did. The supporting crew was amazing. Everyone always did their part, every time we got to the next destination; lunch or dinner would be ready, our tents would be set up, bedding and bags would already be in our rooms, etc. They were amazing! They even built us a toilet in the bush! The beautiful thing about it is that they did it with such willingness and smiles every time. We also had two mechanics who traveled with us; it helped greatly to know that every morning my bike was ready to ride. Apart from that, they were amazing people, so willing to serve, who just added such joy to our adventure.
Something that was really special to me on this trip was our Marshmallow Moments that we had every evening. Every night after dinner we would all sit together and anyone could show their appreciation for someone else by sharing what they appreciate and nominating that person to go get a marshmallow. It was such a cool way to integrate both the supporting crew and the riders, plus it cultivated a whole atmosphere of appreciation and gratitude for one another.
It was also very special to me to do this trip with both my brother and my sister; cause even though we could be at completely different places, doing completely different things, God had it in mind for us to be on assignment, having epic adventures together.
A highlight of my trip was definitely riding Stage 04 – short and steep. Apart from the climbing from start to finish, it was our most scenic route with some of the best views of South Africa! We climbed a total of 1172m over 47.23km.
In preparing for Bank2Bush I learned how the discipline and the consistency of climbing on your bike everyday directly flows into your spiritual life too. And especially when you want to reach for a higher level, it requires you to give your more and your extra even when you don’t feel like it. I’ve also experienced again how there is momentum and strength when you do it together.
On a personal level, the preparation took me to a different level mentally and also spiritually. A lot of times in the past, being on the bike, I would do everything in my ability to stay in a space where I can manage everything to not get in a zone where it feels like I won’t make it AKA staying in my comfort zone. I had a moment in December where I realised that if I’m doing this on the bike, it means I’m doing this in my walk with God too. Since then I’ve been more intentional to change my thinking and attitude towards training to actually push myself out of my comfort zone and beyond current boundaries – especially mentally.
Something that I’ve learned from Ps John during this trip is that it’s not as much about getting to your destination but that it’s about enjoying the journey you’re on to get there. Yes, there will be challenges along the way but it shouldn’t keep you from pressing forward.
I give God all the glory for Bank2Bush. It’s so cool for me that He has epic adventures in mind for us, and that it’s with people of the same mind and heart to journey through the highs and lows – literally – with you. With a week of riding like we did, I also thank Him for His protection over our lives. We had so little incidents and as the week progressed it got less and less. Lastly I want to give God glory for a miracle that we witnessed, on the last day we had quite a serious incident, someone came off their bike at speed, falling face first on the tar. After going to the hospital, nothing was broken, and in days after we literally saw how quickly and supernaturally his body recovered.