Epic world continents challenge

Meet Durban North’s Garth Lezard, a man who is undertaking an epic global cycling challenge, having cycled the world’s continents, with just Oceania to go . . . and all for a good cause.

It’s a whopper of a tale and an epic undertaking, but beneath the somewhat glamorous veneer of adventure, travel, extreme sports and photography, there’s also a deep desire to help those in need.

Garth Lezard, who was born in then-Salisbury, Rhodesia, but grew up in Durban North (Sunningdale Primary, Northlands Senior Primary and Northlands Boys’ High School), has already cycled through countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, Central and North America. Now he’s eyeing his final goal, the huge challenge of Oceania, where he will cycle across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa … at least 5 000km in extremely tough conditions.

Garth Lezard, day 1: December 4, 2010, in Durban North

Why is he doing it? “Well, I have a background in photojournalism and I was looking to combine my passion for travel, photography and extreme sports, while contributing to a worthy cause. My charity of choice is Leonard Cheshire Homes, everywhere I go around the world I spread the word about the fantastic work they are doing, and try to persuade people to get involved.”

IF YOU WANT TO GET involved in Garth’s Oceania quest, which will take place towards the end of the year, here are Garth’s contact details:
Tel: 031 569 1371; 031 564 4072. Cell: 082 2609 305. E-mail: garthlezard@hotmail.com

Any assistance to help offset the logistical costs of the adventure or contributions to Cheshire Homes will be greatly appreciated.

But perhaps to better understand how this epic mission came about, a bit of background would be helpful.

Mother and child portrait in North America. Garth is an accomplished photojournalist

Having studied video technology and the arts at Natal Tech, Garth decided he wanted to study abroad and headed for the UK in 1995. Here he worked towards a European Media and Communications Studies Diploma at the University of Portsmouth in the famous British naval city.

Distant climes

Then he got the travel bug and, in between spells working, travelled to the distant climes of Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and many more, surfing and indulging in his passion for photography. He also competed in numerous marathons and half marathons in England, New Zealand and Hawaii, as his leaning towards ultra sports was entrenched.

In 2000 Garth settled for a while in Swansea, Wales, where he worked towards a BA honours degree in photojournalism, graduating in 2004. In 2005, he landed up back in his adopted home town of Durban and began assisting in the family business, a service provider to the construction industry. But ultra sports and his passion for photography remained front of mind.

“I was looking for a concerned subject to tackle with the lens. I investigated numerous women’s charities in Zambia and was taken to a Cheshire Home. I learned a bit about the man Leonard Cheshire and how the homes started. I continued to mull over the concept and decided to visit as many Cheshire Homes as possible on my travels, and a relationship slowly built up.”

Mother and child portrait, Europe

Along with this relationship came a beautiful collection of photographs, a body of work that will surely be curated and published one day.

Now see Garth Lezard interview during his cycling adventures in the Caribbean

“In 2010 I decided to cycle from Durbs to my town of birth, Harare, up the north coast of KZN, Swaziland, into Mozambique and Zim. I got the bug, I wanted to cycle to Dubai. Along the way I took many mother and child portraits and continued my relationship with Cheshire Homes.

“But I also knew that I wasn’t yet prepared for the logistics and dealing with the paperwork required for a huge undertaking like the Dubai trip, so I went home to do more research. Around this time I met some Dutch long-distance cyclists at a big triathlon event in Port Elizabeth (The South African Triathlon Championships), and they had some advice and thoughts on long-distance cycling undertakings.

Garth makes front page news in Surinam

So the plan was born, and activated, to cycle through four countries on each of the continents. Thus far Garth has done this on a shoestring budget (almost entirely self-funded), but as he aims to take on Oceania, the distances are far greater and the conditions (particularly extreme heat) daunting. His experiences along his path thus far will no doubt come in handy:

Africa: South Africa; Swaziland; Mozambique; Zimbabwe
Europe: Greece; Italy; France; Spain
Asia: China; Vietnam; Laos; Thailand
South America: Brazil; French Guyana, Surinam (where he made front page news as the “Zuid-Afrikaanse wereldfietser”); and British Guyana
Central America and the Caribbean (seen as part of North America): Grenada; Trinidad; Curacao; Bonaire

Says Garth: “I really want to push the charity side more. Personally, I have gained so much from this amazing body of work I have built up. I want to try to assist Cheshire Homes with real monetary value. There have been small sponsorships thus far for my own costs (chiefly air travel), but I’ve really done it mainly myself. My needs have not been so great, as I’ve relied on the amazing generosity of the people I’ve met on the way. You wouldn’t believe how often when I’ve been allowed to camp on a property, a plate of food has followed, and some fruit or a packed lunch for the next day. People’s generosity has been mindblowing.”

Garth in beautiful Bonaire, with a sponsor who cycled with him around the island

Garth expects the extreme heat of Oceania to be one of his main challenges, where often he will not be able to cycle between 10.30am and 2.30pm. He will cycle at night as much as possible to offset this. In Europe he had to go over some rather large “hills”, such as the Pyrenees, in Asia the monsoon proved quite a challenge.

“Hey, it’s an adventurer’s life, you don’t always get what you expect. In Asia I was whacked by the monsoon season … I pulled over for a day or two to see if it would blow over. Not on your life, pal … you pick yourself up, make whatever plan you need to make and off you go.” – Ridge Correspondent

Info on Cheshire Homes:

Cheshire Homes in South Africa

In 1948, Group Captain Lord Leonard Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO, DFC, an acknowledged British World War 2 pilot, was driven by compassion and took into his home a dying, destitute 75-year-old man. His gesture was selfless, as he felt that ordinary men and women were duty bound to assist those less fortunate.

From this generous act, a movement spread throughout the UK and beyond, and today there are more than 300 Cheshire Homes in 57 countries. The first home in South Africa, the Queensburgh Cheshire Home, was opened in 1965. Today there are six branches in KZN and 16 Homes in South Africa – further spreading Group Captain Cheshire’s vision of people caring beyond themselves.

The Queensburgh Cheshire Home strives to assist adult live-in residents who require significant aid with their daily living. The staff aim to enhance quality of life through their friendly and compassionate nature and by assisting residents to become as independent as their disabilities will allow. These disabilities are as a result of injury, illness and/or degenerative disorders. Supporting residents with the basic needs of bathing, dressing, eating and, where possible, rehabilitation, is a daily focus for staff.