The duo of South African professional off-road and endurance rider, Kirsten Landman, and Kenyan off-road motorcycle tour guide, Grace Mwari, will be guests on African Voices, the magazine programme of Cable News Network (CNN) sponsored by telecommunications giant, Globacom.
Landman started riding at age eight on dirt bikes, largely influenced by her cousin and uncle. By age 22, she launched her professional career, and has since become a history maker who has made a name for herself worldwide in the hard enduro racing scene.
She has successfully competed in major international events, and she became the first female to finish races such as Redbull Romaniacs, Redbull Sea to Sky, Redbull Megawatt 111, Redbull Braveman and the Roof of Africa.
Her counterpart, Mwari, is an off-road motorcycle tour guide at Offroad Adventure East Africa. She takes riders for safaris in little known places to experience wildlife, culture and the most spectacular scenery. She is currently the only female enduro racer in Kenya who has been riding for five unbroken years. Her first ride was the Leh Ladakh region in the Himalayas. She has since ridden in South East Asia, Southern Africa, East Africa, Morocco and parts of Europe.
Mwari was encouraged to start riding by a friend who subsequently trained her. “Around that same time, I had housemates who were riders and they thought I was capable of doing it. I was living and working in India and when they invited me on a trip to the Himalayas, I did not think twice about it. I got hooked after that trip and have been riding ever since,” she said.
African Voices Change Makers airs on DSTV on Friday at 9.30 a.m. and on Saturday at 12.30 p.m., 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. Other repeat broadcasts come up on Sunday at 5.00 a.m., 9.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m., with more repeats on Monday and Tuesday at 5.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. respectively.
