ChrisF

Back then I was part of the support team. Did my first ride, or was that a swim, in 2022. Entered 2 weeks before the event on a dare ....

NOPE From @Me rida my bicycle towing a buggie, to Tant Ansie in her late 70's no longer capable of the 109km (having done 21 full routes), there is a market for this group. Also it creates an opportunity for @KB280DT to introduce his teenage daughter to the CTCT. Sure, there may need to be a rethink of maximum group sizes, maximum number of entries, etc. But let's see the benefits of the 42km race and work towards a better overall plan for the day.

Very true. Easy to forget there are MANY cyclists to whom the thought of a 100km ride is scary. Was speaking to a Hubber on Sunday. 2025 he wants to do the 42km with his then 13 year old. Nice way to rope the next generation into the 109km CTCT. Badge of honour .... my racetech chip stays laced into my shoe.

Participating Charities - Cape Town Cycle TourCape Town Cycle Tour Based on Facebook posts during the last week, start by contacting: Groote Schuur Hospital Trust Cape of Good Hope SPCA cant recall the name of the third one ....

The date has been discussed in previous years. LOTS of requests to move it to a school holiday. BUT .... will we be able to book out the SANS Park during a school holiday ? ..... Let's see how this plays out. I will update when I get any concrete feedback.

Various charities are urgently trying to off load the tickets they pre-bought ....

Brand new one at the Expo. Previous ones were TEMPORARY. Many of us have 3 of these temporary boards from recent races. Must get the new and "final" one at the Expo

ENTRY PACK .... (goodie bag) how can you forget this .....

A friend did a couple of sub-3s way back. He no longer rides .... race or nothing ....

Jip, waiting for our Potch friends. Two vehicles driving down. The costs quickly add up ..... 4 slapies, dan bederf ons hulle

Similarly, would like to see the numbers for those traveling from Gauteng and similar, also with all the travel and accommodation costs. What do these figures look like over the last 10 odd years ? Hiehie .. we love watching the numbers, part of our training. Pity we dont have access to enough data to see the larger picture.

The feedback we got from one of the local coaches were along the following lines: 1. All ages can be taught skills 2. All ages can "race" .... and jumping off the bike, just after a blind corner, to scratch in the bush looking for a snake is very much part of riding with boys .... 3. Now here comes the tricky bit ... apparently up until some age their bodies are still growing and "extreme race training" can impact their growth ..... some research have been done along these lines. Thus this coach does "race training" only with high school kids. And yet, some parents do hill repeats and hard training with their primary school kids. THESE are the kids that make it to Nationals. I take note of these approaches, but it is way too far out of my wheel house to comment on which is the correct approach.

I can confirm: 1. They have reached out, and are busy with refunds. Worth noting they made this call before people committed to costs for accommodation. 2. They are already looking towards 2025. Holding thumbs for this.

And yet a number of stage races cant attract enough numbers to keep events viable. The numbers at Winelands, 99er and now CTCT seems to go against the common perception. Maybe time for the organisers to have another look at which events draws the numbers. Certainly a fickle market .... GOOD to see the increase in numbers

Exactly what I was thinking ..... Maybe they got caught off guard with the increase in umbers. Cant start the 42km much later, as they also need to finish before the roads must be opened ....

That is a sad state of affairs .... I had my bikeft sessions with Irma. The willingness to listen, and figure out workable solutions have been KEY in our interactions. Its been a few years, and having worked on various issues with the bio I should really go back to Irma for a follow up.

There should be a serious minimum sentence for hit and run !!

@'Dale already missing your pics

OUCH !!! Glad you are "okay(ish)" .... Heal up quick and proper bud

Out of my budget. But, they DO have a very wide range of helmets. And even their very affordable helmets have MIPS.

+1

Surfing YouTube last night. Stumbled upon a video about the "best streaming service at the moment". The industry went from a few streaming providers to more than 200 !! The net effect .... each is fighting so hard for its market share that the general content is now the worst it has ever been. The current trend being people would go to Company A - binge watch a series. Disconnect, then subscribe to another provider to binge watch another series .... this apparently is now a significant trend in this market. Even though this looked at movies and series I could not help but see the similarities to sports broadcasting.

As @Me rida my bicycle what looks I got when I rocked up at Bloemendal in my jeans .... on the MTB, from Traverse .... 🤣 But the correct gear is just much more comfortable (for a softy like me)

Physio is fine .... and needed when in pain. For long term, consider seeing a biokinetisist. They work with YOU, tailoring exercises to where YOU need it. Do consider: 1. The incorrect exercise now can cause more harm than good 2. Doing the "correct" exercise incorrectly is of little to no use !! This is where sessions with s decent bio pays off. They focus on HOW to do the exercise. As an example, for some of my core exercises while on my side, my hips were supposed to be vertical ... I was tilting it back. As soon as they pointed it out I could FEEL that exercise starting to work.

Base in Prince Albert Depart pre dawn, few km level, then just a "fun" 5km climb up Swartberg pass to the turn. NICE section down to Die Hel. This is where the time dilema is .... you need to get going early to get back to Prince Albert, OR you may want to stay over. Our only regret is that we have not spent enough time down in Die Hel. I really need to do a Route 62 trip again, and have some coffee with Arno