Rickus Grobler. (Photo: Provided)
Rickus Grobler, a South African who has been living in Payson, Arizona for the past 10 years, now has his own piece of “Ubuntu” in the countryside thanks to a mountain bike trail.
The Ubuntu trail took over 4,000 man hours with the entire Payson community lending a hand to make it happen.
Now there is a roughly 4.8 km one-way route winding up the mountain where before there were only rocks and vegetation.
Rickus, himself a cyclist, describes it as his “favorite thing in life” and expressed his hope that the course will positively affect people’s lives.
“It is a technical course and I hope that it will teach cyclists and the younger generation perseverance and will be good for their physical and emotional health,” says Rickus.
The idea for the cycling route arose when the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (Nica) was looking for a cycling track for Arizona’s State Championship.
Payson was identified as a good location as it is located in the mountains and is much more suitable than the desert in the lower lying parts.
Nica approached Parks and Recreation, and building the course landed on Rickus’ desk.
“I was optimistic and said that we would be able to complete the course within four months. In the end, the course was completed within three and a half months,” says Rickus.
“Cycling expert Mac Vorce (a local traveling bike shop owner in Payson) and I initially worked on the track alone, until businesses in the town got involved. Later, members of the community started volunteering to help. I am very grateful that we were able to achieve this feat; the track will be here for years and be a great asset to our town.”
(Photo: Provided)
The Ubuntu route was officially opened on April 17 with a proper ribbon-cutting ceremony where Rickus received a certificate of recognition from the congress for his work on the cycling track. Steve Otto, mayor of Payson, council members, as well as Eli Crane, a representative from Arizona in the US House of Representatives, attended the ceremony.
Rickus gave a speech at the event during which he thanked and praised a long list of colleagues and volunteers.
“Payson is going to expand a lot and mountain biking will be a big driver of that,” Rickus noted in his speech.
Rickus’ mother, Ina, summed up the construction of the route as proof that mountains can literally be moved in a small town that wants to achieve big milestones, and “does justice to the old African quote: It takes a village…”