bored girl

2yrs now we come from Germany and do it I'd admit it's not just for the race, but we make sure that it includes that Sunday. I think that after all these years, the people of JHB have embraced the race and I feel the atmosphere around the course is awesome. It is a hard race. Might not have an ocean or real mountains but trust me there is proper hills in JHB. Will have to ride a bit more next year...

After almost 2 years in Germany all I can say is: I miss SA's racing. Yes, I now earn Euros so the 32 of those that I paid for 947 does not seem too outrageous. But SA has an incredibly well developed racing scene. I think one can find hen's teeth more often than a race in my region of Germany. And when you do, it's upwards of 40eu for a +/- 40km of MTB. They do include a small goodie. I got a nice mini thermos at one of the races. However, water tables - often do not include still or even tap water, only sparkling. Or a sparkling sports drink. The terrain is incredibly hard (understandable when you can see the Alps in the distance on a clear day). I often have to get off my bike and push it. It could be because I am also quite unfit but I am trying to paint a picture. And then on the other hand there is hardly any technical sections. Riding through a forest is lovely but race organisers in SA make an effort. The ups are really hard and the downs are really boring. I used to complain about prices and routes and so on as well. Until you no longer can do a race or 2 on any given weekend you might also not know what you have had. All I want to say is: if the 947 entry fee won't leave you hungry, if you love cycling, if you love racing, if you live in JHB, you just have to do it! Because one day it might no longer be there and then you will know what you have missed out on. I skipped a year, after 9 in a row I decided that it was too expensive for someone with hardly any income and missed out on 2017s race. I am sorry I did. But we are so crazy that we go back to SA and make sure to include races in our stay. 2nd year in a row we will be doing 947 on our SA holiday.

How it used to be in the past was, that you'd enter normally without a cat, then the people that do the seeding will decide if you made the cut or not. The elite/vet/ladies categories are not very big so you need to be allocated to them. A batch was like a very big overflow group. You could also find people that normally ride elites in the A batch in the past. And sometimes when you want to ride open, you get allocated to a vets bunch.

That would be Jules. Been a single speed race for him for many years. He is a previous winner of the VA 947 just not on a ss

Looked for you Scotty. Longest ride since 947 2016 for me. I liked the new route, stopped at waterpoints and slowed down for water buckets. Expired after the race track. Lack of endurance kicked in. According to racetec results (after just being loaded) 3:45:54. Quite happy with that since I didn't put much effort in training

After a break from 947 I'm back in L. Last 100km ride was probably 947 in 2016....may the Force be with me

This is an unscheduled sign in and a very sad one. I keep thinking back to 2007 when I met Barry. At a 6hr event in Parys. He parked next to us in a Beetle. There was chain lube involved but I cannot remember who needed it. As I was deeply submurged into the Hub back then, it was my 1st year cycling and everything was so exciting, I must have advertised the Hub a lot. As the next time I saw him, he told me he joined. And I am sure that very few of you know his first ever name on the Hub - Elefantino. He told me some story about Pantani and how he didn't like the nick name. Shortly after that I think he "rejoined" as Holly Roller. The rest is history. I haven't seen him for a few years but I will remember him fondly. RIP

it costs R26 at Dischem

That guy happens to be Jules. He also rides there and back home. I did my 2nd MTB ride for the year last night at the race. Was great. A good way to make me like by MTB again

Hello, I trained quite hard in July and as a result I got a similar pain as you described. I would have to stay off the bike for it to go away and it hurt like hell just while I walked. Nearly collapsed in the middle of some isle in PnP.....kinda. I went to a physio, picked on off the internet and although he seemed quite nice he seemed to have missed a basic test. He told me I had weak glute muscles hence all the other muscles were overcompensating and putting strain on the knee. I had to do some exercises to strenghten them but that just didn't happen - those muscles are the most unpleasant to exercise. So I went for a set up. My muscles and my whole body had been compensating indeed but for a slightly different reason. My left leg seems to be a tad shorter (boo hoo). I know have a shim under my cleat. I've ridden a couple of times since then and all seems to be OK. No pain. So I'd suggest go get a set up. I would recommend you go to a Specialized fitment centre/someone qualified to do their fitments.

So is the price up to the stores that are selling them? Or is there a set price? We saw the advert in the Cyclingnews magazine but the fact that there was no price was a bit confusing.

Tinkerbell, that bike is really nice. Specialized has dropped their prices on the FSRs significantly so one of the lower specced bikes could be under R20000...I'm just speculating here but looking at all the bike reviews in various magazines that's the impression I got. Also I am not sure whether the fact that it's a Safire might influence the price. I just know that one day when I am over the race thing and would ride just for the pleasure of it, I will be on one of these. It was also the only women's bike that I enjoyed riding (even if it was for like 3km). I am now on my second MTB (which I was extremely fortunate to get over Christmas) and the first one was definately a "male" bike. I never had any complaints about it. I upgraded it after 6 months with the help of a very generous friend. I changed the wheels, went up to 9 gears and upgraded my brakes. Rode like that for quite a while until the wheels basicaly had no braking surface. One upgrade that I absolutely loved was going to disk brakes - just keep in mind you'll need disk compatible wheels. Shame on me for saying this but I could never see difference in the fork I am riding with. I now have a top of the range Sid and can barely feel a difference. It could be for different reasons - like I ride at sissy places or something. I rode my cheapie fork until the stancheons wore away. The new bike is a 15" and is absolutely tiny. I feel very very comfortable on it. And to top it off I absolutely love the way it looks [] I would recommend going SRAM. I think sloppy gears was my most serious complaint before this bike. I know I am going to have gazillion people telling me how Shimano is great and they haven't had a problem but.....just try it. You won't go back. So being a girl that rides a MTB occasionally....my necesseties are: disk brakes, decent gear changing. You can start by upgrading things bit by bit on the old frame - that's what I did and have not been sorry. I am still riding a pair of wheels that I got second hand and they are nothing fancy. One day in the near future I will be looking into replacing them.

Did you brag?