YOU CAN DO THIS . . . Motorbike Enduro Riding

This year, Kirsten Landman was the highest-placed African female finisher at the Dakar Rally, coming in 55th overall in the motorbike category and third in the women’s motorbike category. She tells ONDELA MLANDU why this is a sport worth jumping on

- ONDELA MLANDU

Meet Kirsten Landman

Kirsten admits she was a tomboy growing up, so climbing trees and roughing it came naturally to her. She started riding at an early age and turned pro when she was 22. Earlier this year, she was the first African woman to participate in and finish the Dakar Rally, a dangerous and gruelling off-road race that covers several thousand kilometres.

THE BIKE BUG

As a small child, Kirsten remembers sticking an image of a motorbike on her wall. But she had a hurdle to get over before she would ever sit on one. “My dad rode motorbikes, so he knew the dangers involved. I would nag him to let me go on one,” she says. She finally got her first motorbike at the age of eight. The bug had bitten. “For me, riding is easier than walking. It’s my escape,” she says.

LESSONS LEARNT