A Milnerton resident living with cerebral palsy will tackle the Cape Town Cycle Tour this year — not from the sidelines, but on the route itself.
Jeff Kao, who lives at Eric Miles Cheshire Home, will complete the full 109km race on Sunday, 8 March, in a specially adapted buggy pulled by a team of nine cyclists from Cheshire Homes South Africa (CHSA).
For Kao, the ride is more than participation — it is visibility.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m excited to be part of an initiative that shows people with physical disabilities are just as capable and have just as much of a voice,” he said.
Positioned at the front of the ride, Kao says the moment he is most looking forward to is simple: the wind on his face and seeing the city from a perspective he has never had before — an experience he says he will remember forever.
Inclusion in Motion
Cheshire Homes South Africa operates 16 residential facilities nationwide, supporting physically disabled adults and children. Beyond care, the organisation focuses on participation — ensuring residents are not spectators in society, but active members of it.
CHSA CEO Etienne Schlechter will be among the cyclists pulling Kao.
“Too often people with disabilities are kept on the sidelines. Disability does not remove someone’s right to adventure, joy or participation,” he said.
“People follow action, not words. Pulling Jeff is about showing up.”
The ride reflects the organisation’s broader philosophy: dignity is created through inclusion, not sympathy.
Community Behind the Wheels
The adapted buggy, rider apparel and campaign visibility have been sponsored by William Simpson Omoda Jaecoo in Tokai. Funds raised during the tour will support the ongoing work of Cheshire Homes South Africa.
For one day, the race becomes something bigger than competition — a moving statement that access, participation and belonging should travel the same road.
This year, the Cycle Tour won’t just be about speed.
It will be about who gets to be part of the journey.
