Cycling grandmothers tackle 20th fundraising ride for peers in Africa<\/p>\n
Published 11:30 am Monday, August 24, 2026<\/p>\n
Small swarms of cycling women bedecked in bright green, orange and yellow jerseys are among the 73 cyclists in the five-week Victoria Grandmothers 20th annual cycle tour. <\/p>\n
Most days one group or another can be seen across Greater Victoria \u2013 riding the trails to the Roost, \u2019round the coast, or out to Sooke Potholes. Among them is first-time participant Christine Gotzman, who has always loved riding, an activity that makes her feel ageless. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m simply enjoying the moment, the movement and the feeling of being alive,\u201d Gotzman said. \u201cWhen I retired, I realized I was looking for something else, too \u2013 a community to be part of. That\u2019s what led me to the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cycling tour filled her desire to connect with others, form new friendships and expand the feeling of purpose beyond self. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe cycle tour gives my love of cycling an extra-special purpose. Instead of simply riding for the enjoyment of it, I can ride knowing that my efforts are helping raise funds for programs in Africa that support children who have been orphaned by AIDS and are being raised by their grandmothers,\u201d Gotzaman said. <\/p>\n
In 14 African countries, the Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) supports community-led organizations that work holistically with grandmothers to combat the effects of HIV and AIDS on families. <\/p>\n
Victoria Grandmothers for Africa is currently a group of more than 160 women who are part of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The campaign\u2019s purpose is to increase awareness, build solidarity, and raise funds for 98 community-led organizations in 14 African countries \u2013 to support grandmothers in Africa and their communities as they work to build a healthy future for children who lost their parents to AIDS-related illnesses.<\/p>\n
The Victoria Grandmothers for Africa cycling campaign includes riders from a three-day event to the 275 km ride from Campbell River, all culminating in a grand finale Sept. 13. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something very powerful about grandmothers helping grandmothers. I may be thousands of kilometres away, but through the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa, I feel connected to women and children whose lives are very different from mine,\u201d Gotzaman said. \u201cMy bicycle becomes more than just a way to get from one place to another. It becomes a small way of contributing, connecting and making a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n
Women aged 55 and older can still join the cycle tour and be part of the fun. There\u2019s even a group of grandkids and parents joining in for the last stretch along Dallas Road to the grand finale at Mile Zero on Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. Learn more online at vg4a.ca<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cycling grandmothers tackle 20th fundraising ride for peers in Africa Published 11:30 am Monday, August 24, 2026 Small…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-870010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}