10 June 2016

Cascades Centre to host ‘The Cows’ CHOC Fundraiser, 100 Miles of Nowhere

Submitted by: Viv Quann
Cascades Centre to host ‘The Cows’ CHOC Fundraiser, 100 Miles of Nowhere

KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG, 10 June 2016 The Cascades Lifestyle Centre is pulling out all the stops for well-known NPO ‘The COWS’ as its Pietermaritzburg’s venue to hold the 2016 ‘100 Miles of Nowhere’ annual cyclethon to raise funds for their CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, happening on 24th of June 2016.

Says Lynda Lees, Consultant to Cascades Lifestyle Centre, “Cascades Lifestyle Centre is very happy to support this important COWS initiative for the CHOC foundation. We encourage Martizburg residents and cyclists to come out in full force to the centre on the 24th June from 2pm to support this international challenge. Many of our retailers are supporting this initiative.”

Supported by Cadence Cycling Performance Centres around the country, the Pietermaritzburg Cadence Performance Centre, which recently moved into the Cascades Centre Business Park (Nedbank building), is supplying the Cascades Centre with 20 of their new stationary bikes and monitoring equipment.

This year, the cyclethon of 100 miles (160km) aims to raise R250 000 for CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, and is open to everyone. The distance can be completed as a team of one cyclist, two or four cyclists. However the team is made up, the distance must be completed on the Cadence Performance Centre stationary bikes.

Says Tessa Hesse, Manager of the Pietermaritzburg Cadence Performance Centre, “The 100 Miles of Nowhere Challenge is a great event that we’re proud to be supporting. We will be transporting 20 of our new stationary bikes and equipment to the Cascades Centre ready for set up and cycling. It’s a fun, family-orientated event that the whole community gets behind, and we want to thank the Cascades Centre for hosting the event.”

As part of the fundraiser, cyclists pay an entry fee donation of R1 000 for a solo rider, R600 per rider for teams of two, and R350 per rider for teams of four, and are also encouraged to get their friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them per km or to complete the distance, all of which goes directly to CHOC.

The 100 Miles of Nowhere concept is now an international fundraising initiative that was unintentionally started by Eldon Nelson, an American blogger who owns the www.fatcyclist.com blog.

The cyclethon will be hosted at eight Cadence Performance Centres based in Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town, and all centres will run the cyclethon simultaneously on 24 June from 2pm - 7 pm.

To enter the 2016 100 Miles of Nowhere, visit Cascades Cadence at the Cascades Centre Business Park or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To find out more about the event and how you can get involved in other ways, go to the 100 Miles of Nowhere website here or like them on Facebook here.

Editors Notes
For more information please contact Tessa Hesse at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About 100 Miles of Nowhere
In 2008, American blogger Eldon Nelson did the first 100 Miles of Nowhere in his garage as a personal challenge to support his ailing wife whilst she was being treated for cancer. The idea was to reach 100 miles in the most mind-numbing way to pay respect to the mind-numbing and painful repetition of unpleasant cancer treatments like chemotherapy. His blog followers loved the concept, and wanted to join him, and so it grew into a worldwide initiative to raise funds for cancer.

In 2011, The Cows, which is a NPO that continuously raises funds and awareness for CHOC by taking part in various sports events in their infamous black and white spotted cow suits, launched the first 100 Miles of Nowhere event in South Africa. Back then only 10 cyclists took part.

In 2015, over 300 cyclists across KwaZulu-Natal raised a total of R160 000 for CHOC. This was used to fund a ‘CHOC Block’ at the paediatric oncology unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban. The CHOC Block provides a private rooming-in facility for a child with cancer, and their care-giver, during their often lengthy treatments. Each room costs R150 a day to run, which includes two meals a day for the child and carer, and laundry facilities.