A new video from Specialized highlights how the mountain bike community can give back.
It’s all too easy to view the lands we adventure on as simply our playgrounds. But the communities and landscapes that play host to adventure athletes are filled with real people living real lives. That’s why “Soil Searching Tanzania: Keepers of the Land” is such an engaging watch.
The video, above, features the Grumeti Fund K2N (Kilimanjaro 2 Natron) mountain bike stage race — a grueling 4-day event held in northern Tanzania. With around 14,000 feet of elevation gain spread out over 170 miles of rugged African trails, this race is not for the faint of heart.
The course features hike-a-bike aplenty, thorns (mentioned several times on the website), and singletrack designed by donkeys instead of professional trail builders.
The race functions as a fundraiser for Red Knot Development, a community development nonprofit started by K2N race director Brett Harrison in 2019. Half of K2N profits go toward wildlife conservation and community development in Tanzania.
Who Can Race?
There are no qualifications required to race the K2N. It’s an all-inclusive experience that includes 7 days and 6 nights of accommodation, food, drink, race transport, park fees, and insurance. Racers are expected to be in good health and provide for their own Tanzanian visas and air travel in and out of Kilimanjaro Airport.
If responsible mountain bike adventure is your jam, we dare you to check out the video and then not start looking at flights to Tanzania. The solo entry fee is $2,395. There are different registration options available for teams, spectators, or those who’d like 100% of their race fee to go toward community work in Tanzania.
Runtime: 6 minutes
