dino

Fantastic event, beautiful riding, very well organized and had a blast (literally coming out my arse). Pity about the change in route, but I must congratulate the organizers for their efforts at the last minute. Solly's Folly would have been impossible to ride in the mud. I think that bolognaise on the first night made everyone sick. Day 2 was a terrible ride for me, was very weak and had to stop for a "pitstop". Every second person I spoke to had the gippos, not cool. Wish the race photographers were more active though, I rode past a whole lot of photographers who just stood there with their cameras facing the other way and didn't take any pics. Next year I might do the B&B route. I found the campsite quite noisy at night with all the guys chatting like kids at a sleepover. Overall very happy to have done it, fantastic event

I really hope the weather is good. Camping in the rain sucks. Looking forward to my first b&b!

Great event, having smaller batches was a great idea as there were no bottlenecks and it flowed smoothly. That downhill section was absolutely insane. Had my bike serviced this past week and brakes were super tight, accidentally locked my front brakes and went striaght over my handlebars into a thorn bush. Thought I was gonna break a few bones , luckily a few scratches was all. Still have a few thorns stuck in my skin can't get them out, look like I've been mauled by a (baby) tiger. I consider myself to have fairly good technical skills so I'm not sure how everyone else did on that section but it was narly. I always find it funny to see people in the "casual batches" (I started in F) who flat out sprint out the blocks like they're going for podium finishes, and then almost all of them have to push their bikes up the first uphil after the concrete section. Generally these same people who ride with one bottle and no spares to save weight. Pace yourselves people and know your limits!

Bib shorts are better as they don't slip down while you ride. But please, don't be one of those people that walks around after a race without your shirt on and the bib shorts on, you'll look like a nasty wrestler. Full finger gloves are the only way to go, when you fall your natural instinct is to put your hand out to stop the fall, and you don't want to put your fingers in a thorn bush or in my case a barb wire fence. The more protection, the better. If you can afford them, a pair of Assos bib shorts are well worth the investment. I've been using mine almost every weekend for the past 2 years and they're still going strong.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but what are the details on this XCT? What time does it start? Can you register there? Never done a cross country event but rode the fountains route 2 weeks ago and was mighty impressed.

I found the route very boring, too flat and not enough tecnhical stuff. There was one bit of technical riding before the steps and that was about it. Out of all the Trailseeker events I've done, the Van Gaalens race is much more fun. Very well organized though, and well marked route.

Rode at Thaba yesterday, absolutely awesome trails, very technical. Some of those rocky downhills are hair raising and when you get to the bottom you thank your guardian angel (and 150mm travel). Great stuff!

Obviously these things take time, and it's very cool to have a place nearby to ride, but for me the trails are a bit too easy. Compared to Thaba trails and Groenklooif/Fountains, Modderfontein is quite easy, more Northern Farms than Howick. I'd also recommend improving the route markings as you are coming down after the first climb, where you veer off to the right and go on the singletrack that runs alongside the jeep track uphill. We missed the turn the first time we rode and landed up doing less than 20kms. Other than that, looking forward to some new technical routes... best of luck.

Never heard of this race before, but it sounds pretty cool! Anyone know anything more about it, there isn't too much info other than the "5 star accomodation" and that it's in the Waterberg. http://touroflegends.co.za?lrRef=cPl6i

@tim_fair, I registered for the 75km on Saturday but can't make it. Is it possible to change to the 45km on Sunday?

This was a beast of a race last year, wonder if it's the same route. There was one ascent that went on for days!

Is there 2600m of climbing in the 75km also or is that just the 115km?

Sounds like it's going to be a tough one! Van Gaalens is the only course in Gauteng that seriously scares me. Flashbacks of last year still give me nightmares and have me reaching for my water bottle.

I've been riding my Stumpy FSR Comp Elite for the past 6 months and absolutely love it. Very confident on rocky, technical downhills because of the extra travel. I recommend it highly.

So, the event itself has changed since last year, their website is down, nobody is communicating with us here, there aren't many people entered thus far and there is no profile etc. Doesn't seem like a great race to enter.

I had 2Bliss before, decided to change to Spez Fastrak UST, just to be safe. Compromising a bit of weight for reliability seems the right way to go with my riding style, where I often bundu-bash to overtake people (and add to that a heap of bad luck)!

I'm riding a combo of Specialized The Captain Control, and Specialized The Maverick Control on my Stumpjumper. I've done the tubeless conversion, but have had two punctures in the past two weeks and it's really irritating. A few people i've spoken to have said that Specialized tyres are quite thin and prone to punctures. Do you guys recommend I change my tyres to the UST versions, or change tyre brands completely? I've heard good things about Continental Race King and Mountain King combos, as well as Crossmark tyres. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Any updates on the race? The website has been down for the past week. 130 entries thus far. I'm contemplating the 70km, but battled with the 40km last year due to the heat!

Anyone entering the Cradle Quest 2011? The Nissan race at Van Gaalens last year was really tough, mainly due to excessive heat. I see only 66 people entered thus far...

What's the latest regarding Teak? Is it open/closed? There was talk of it closing down end of July?

There was an option to pay for photos when you registered. I imagine if you paid when u registered u will receive the photos shortly.

Great event overall, super tough climb, seriously hair-raising downhills that were loads of fun. Water points well stocked. But I did lose my sense of humour on that first climb. Anyone know where we can get the race pics?

My new baby, upgraded from a GT Zaskar Expert to a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite.

Seems like the GT is favoured by quite a large margin...

Another bike in this category would be the Scott Scale 50? Thoughts? http://www.scottusa.com/us_en/product/8280/44735/scale_50 Weight 11.30 kg / 24.89 lbs Frame Scott Scale Alloy 6061 custom butted superlight tubing D-Forged CNC machined Dropouts Delta SST bridge / Integ. HT BOX chainstay bridge Fork Rock Shox Recon SL Solo Air alloy steerer / Air spring / Pop Loc remote lockout / reb. Adj. / 100 mm Headset Ritchey OE 1 1/8" semi integrated 44/50mm Derailleur (Rear) Shimano XT RD-M772 SGS Shadow Type 27 Speed Derailleur (Front) Shimano Deore FC-M590 34.9mm Shifters Shimano Deore SL-M590 Rapidfire plus 2 way release w/gear indicator Brake Levers Avid Elixir 5 Brakes Avid Elixir 5 185/F and 160/R mm Rotor Crankset Shimano FC-M542 Scott Custom 2-piece Design 44Ax32Ax22 T BB-Set Shimano Cartridge 68mm shell Handlebar Scott Pilot 18 Team 18mm rise OS / 640mm H'stem Scott Comp 4 Bolt / OS 31.8mm 1-1/8" / 6? angle Pedals Shimano PD-M505 Clipless pedal Seatpost Scott Comp 31.6mm Seat Scott Racing Hub (Front) Scott Comp Disc IT Hub (Rear) Shimano FH-M525 Disc IT Chain Shimano CN-HG53 Cassette Shimano CS HG-50 -9 11-32 T Spokes DT Swiss Champion black 1.8mm Rims DT Swiss 445d 32H / Black Tires Schwalbe Rocket Ron 26 x 2.1 / 50EPI Kevlar Bead Performance Series