Storms River Traverse and the Tsitsikamma Village Inn go that extra mile

The Glacier by Sanlam Storms River Traverse, a 3-day mountain bike stage race takes place in the beautiful Storms River Village (10-12 August) and promises to provide picture perfect views, some challenging routes and a weekend of fun for cyclists and their families. The Glacier by Sanlam Storms River Traverse and its sponsors will bring some new community outreach programs to the area and will ensure an even more successful impact on the locals than yesteryear.

The race starts and finishes at the quaint Tsitsikamma Village Inn hotel, which was established in 1946 and is perched on the edge of the indigenous forests. The Inn is steeped in a rich history and offers the traditional village hospitality of the Tsitsikamma area. The owners who took over the Village Inn in 2010 realized that the community and surrounding areas was in desperate need of an annual event that would bring people to the town and create opportunities for the locals and their families. They approached Dryland Event Management and the idea of the 3-day stage race, the Storms River Traverse was born.

In addition to last year’s spin off for the community this year has a few extra benefits as all the accommodation in the town has been used and the owners of the Inn have also outsourced the children’s care program to the Montessori School and crew meals to the local Coffee Pot, all of which help bring business to the local community.

This year with Glacier lending its support, the event is set to benefit the area even more than last year with some long-term goals being put in place. With Glacier by Sanlam’s assistance Wilma Pienaar and her team at the Inn have been able to arrange some paint for the school in Coldstream to enable the school to begin with an long overdue upgrade.

Secondly, also with Glacier’s input, The Tsitsikamma Village Inn and Dryland Event Management, through a recently established community trust, will fund a hospitality-training program for 10 unemployed local youngsters. This accredited course will be based at the hotel and will last one month providing valuable tools to those chosen to enroll and will give them the help they need to find sustainable work.

With all these new community programs in place and invaluable sponsors, the Glacier by Sanlam Storms River Traverse 2012 is set to be as successful as ever for the riders, their families and the community