If you say Rwanda to anyone older than forty-something, the mental images they will probably come up with are of distressing daily news bulletins announcing atrocities during the Rwanda Genocide in the 1990s. This year marks 28 years since the genocide happened and according to Simon De Schutter from Gorilla Gravel “since then, the Rwanda people have taken huge leaps forward in creating an incredible nation. One that is perfect to experience from the saddle of a gravel bike.”

We chatted with Simon recently about the Gorilla Gravel event (of which he is co-founder), but also about the bigger picture of life as a gravel rider in Rwanda and his Rwanda Beyond project. We started by asking Simon to describe Rwanda “It’s known as the land of a thousand hills (Le Pays des Mille Collines) thanks to the endless ‘ups and downs’. Rwanda’s breathtaking scenery and warm, friendly people offer unique experiences. It is blessed with extraordinary biodiversity, with incredible wildlife living throughout its volcanoes, mountain rainforests and sweeping plains.”

Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is a land-locked country which is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is ranked as the 8th safest country in the world by the World Economic Forum and 11th safest by a Gallup poll in 2017. The ‘About Rwanda’ text on the Gorilla Gravel website says “This safety and stability has dramatically increased investment, tourism and economic growth over the last 10 years. The relaxed and welcoming feel will be apparent from the moment you land and get your ‘visa on entry’ and continue right through your cycle adventure.”

We asked Simon what it is that attracts him about Rwanda. “I moved out here in 2017 and bought a gravel bike soon after I moved here, as I realised the terrain was perfect” he replied “Rwanda has thousands of kms of gravel roads, many of which are super-smooth [quite different to other parts of central Africa]” he continued. “There is a big cycling culture here, arguably bigger than anywhere else in Africa apart from South Africa and Eritrea. Transporting goods by bike is a huge industry” he told us.

"Rwanda has thousands of kms of gravel roads, many of which are super-smooth"

We asked him next about the events he puts on. “I’ve co-founded three cycling events – Gorilla Gravel, a multi-day gravel event with a mix of competitive elements and a festival feel; Race Around Rwanda, a 1000km self-supported bikepacking event and Rwanda Epic, a multi-day MTB stage race. They’re each quite different, but have a common goal of showcasing the landscape and people of this amazing place”.

“But there’s a bigger picture as well as running events and inspiring international visitors to come and take part” he continued “Our main goal is to create opportunities for local riders. And that’s where our Rwanda Beyond project comes in”. The Rwanda Beyond project is a big-picture project with the aim of not only growing cycling in Rwanda, but of helping create sustainable careers in cycling for local riders. The project has three main parts:

• Events – the organisers put on three different events annually and by attracting international riders to come to Rwanda to take part, the events bring in much needed income and help generate exposure and media coverage for the country and its riders
• Team – the profit from the events goes into supporting local riders. This support comes in many forms – a basic salary; provision of clothing, kit & equipment; and paid entry into local and international events.
• Education – in a country where a lack of financial resources mean many children leave school in their early teens in order to find a job, helping riders to complete their education (and to take on supplementary training such bike mechanics and coaching) is seen as vital. As well as traiditional education, the project will run a mentorship scheme for riders and will offer them media training and classes to help improve their language skills.

We asked Simon what challenges local riders faced if they were trying to make the leap from cycling as a way to get to school or work, to cycling as a career. “Unfortunately, there are multiple challenges here.” He replied “We are trying to create opportunities for local riders, but there is a big lack of money and even getting equipment can be a challenge. In a country where a high school teacher or a policeman typically earns €100 a month, buying a power meter to help with their training simply isn’t possible.” He continued. “The other issue we have is a lack of qualified coaches and instructors. With so many kids not finishing school due to the need to earn an income, only a tiny percentage are able to go onto college to study and gain professional qualifications.”

“We realised that if we made becoming a professional rider look too appealing, local kids would drop out of school and wouldn’t finish their education, so we made it mandatory for any riders taking part in the project to have finished their secondary school education” Simon told us. “We are also trying to work on some of the practical problems” he continued “because of Rwanda’s location near the equator, we don’t get much light in the evenings, which meant our riders were having to train the dark. With a lack of decent lights and less-than-ideal nighttime driving standards, this was a big issue. So, to get around this, we’ve arranged for riders to have time off to train during normal school hours, and then they finish off their daily schooling in the evening instead”.

"Gravel events held at altitude and with serious amounts of climbing involved would hold a definitive advantage for our riders”.

Simon was keen to mention the effects of altitude and how this will benefit the local riders in the competition “Rwanda’s average altitude is 1700m, with the highest point [Mt Karisimbi] of 4507m above sea level. For local riders, who are used to riding and training at this altitude, it shouldn’t prove to be an issue, but for international riders it will add to the challenge that the event offers” He went on “Our aim in the future is to be able to send Rwanda Beyond sponsored riders to international events, but we will have to select the events carefully. Courses at altitude and with serious amounts of climbing involved will hold a definitive advantage for our riders”.

 What we hope is that in a few years’ time, when we’re taking part in a hilly gravel event somewhere and grovelling our way up a steep incline, desperately hoping we have one more gear still to be used, that a squadron of well trained and über-enthusiastic Rwanda Beyond supported riders will cruise part, chatting, thinking nothing of the gradient or the altitude.

We are super passionate about helping to grow the worldwide gravel community, so we have agreed to fund the cost of five local gravel riders to take part in this year’s Gorilla Gravel event. With Simon’s help we will publish updates about how their preparation is going and will also run a piece on how the event goes too.​​​​​​​

If you would also like to help support Simon’s plan to make this dream into a reality for Rwandan gravel riders, he has a crowd funding scheme set up here. 

Images courtesy of the Rwanda Beyond project and Ryan Le Garrec