The 554km Nelson Mandela Legacy Ride4Hope was launched with smiles, joyous laughter and cheering at the Nelson Mandela Foundation headquarters in Johannesburg this week.

The second annual Ride4Hope event is mandated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to mark the centenary commemoration of South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

Mandela, who died in 2013 at the age 95, had championed numerous charitable initiatives since his release from Robben Island in 1990 and Ride4Hope will again put charitable causes at the forefront of the event.

Luthando Kaka, the event director at Legacy Ride4Hope, is resolute that this year’s event could raise over R1m that will be donated to various communities.

“Last year, through the event, it was of course our first time and we managed to raise over R250,000 for the Nelson Mandela Foundation through our partners,” Kaka said.

“We’ve managed to build a classroom in Ladysmith [in KwaZulu-Natal] and donated it to the school through our partners.

“And also we did renovations and donated computers at the Methodist Church Primary School in Vilakazi Street [Soweto].

“After that we donated school uniforms to all the learners at Lion River in Howick [KZN].”

During the four-day ride, cyclists will make scheduled overnight stops in Standerton, Newcastle and Ladysmith before reaching the final destination in Howick.

Among guests present at the launch were Letshego Zulu, Siv Ngesi, OG Molofe, and various business leaders.

The route will take riders from Soweto, through Golden Gate in the Free State and into KwaZulu-Natal, making various donations to schools, communities , cities, towns and promoting active citizenship.