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My first Cycle Tour in 96 I saw a lady flash her noombies at me just before Noordehoek Cafe.... She's the reason I ride every year
Pretty sure it won't be the same noombies when she comes back to do it 
Well done to all the finishers at the TOGH2020.
In my opinion one of the best we had! Trafiic and routes were awesome. Weather played along nicely, except for some of the heat on the last stage.
See you guys next year!
It just doesn’t get the kind of coverage that the MTB events have. Even my mates riding are slow to upload their efforts. I suspect mobile network coverage and speed is an issue
Probably all too tired, haha. Been tough and hot as hell!
2
335 finishers in 2018 vs 425 in 2019
Those are only the people that had timing chips. Alot of riders in the open category did not want to spend money on a day license or chip.
I spoke with one of the race organisers on the day. They said they had 650 paid entries, which is up 16% from last year.
It is one of the few races that increased their numbers from last year.
All in all I found the venue better than the previous year and a lot more vibey.
The routes were well marked, roads were in pristine condition, great marshaling and great food at the schools.
About the ebikes that everyone complaining about (I am not an ebiker, so don't tune me), but they are allowed to enter in the open category, where it is not racing. I don't mind that).
It does look way too easy when they pass you, but you know you actually getting exercise, while they just broom broom.
Amazing race, will be back next year!
While we are at it with the gravel sections in Road races, do you guys rate there is a market for Gravel Bike Events? It might be a bit too niche, but rate a few guys will be keen.
Thanks again for all the feedback bois!
Be prepared for some legit events coming your way.
Hi guys,
I would love to know what your thoughts are on a 5km gravel section in a road race.
You rate only for the pro's with support vehicles?
Also, if you fall out of the bunch and get stuck behind a queue of Team Vehicles, it will get mega dusty.
I do not have experience with this, but seriously considering adding it to one of the events.
Will people bring different bikes for the specific
Let a brother know.
Looking at the last two events I did, last one Saturday past ....
Both events had good signage. Still I managed to miss one marker at event 1, got back on track a 100m further. At both events people were asked for "clearer signs" ... if you could not follow these signs you are going to get lost doing Hermanus trails .... But we have also seen parents go off the deep end when the 8km ride turned VERY long because of very poor signage at another event .... Nice clear black arrow on a yellow board really works well.
#1 Parking well marked and managed (just a section of gras, but a bit of planning and some danger tape works well), #2 a free for all in the parking area 40 minutes before the race starts .... Lots of people got parked in, and the MC had to ask people to move their vehicles.
#1 the MC had a GOOD vibe going !! Even had his music pre planned. Each song would finish, give him a bit of time to count down to the start, do a few race announcements, then the next song. Last song finished some 20 odd seconds before the start. He managed to involve the riders and the spectators. #2 ... MC was never in control of the event, need to say any more.
Toilets obviously important ... when you leave home at 4:30 to get to the venue for the race you are bound to use the facilities .... Really creates a weird vibe when the venue hosts a big day long vestival, then locks their restaurant toilets, and points you to the plastic cubicles under the trees ... early morning these were still super clean and good to use, have to wonder about later in the day ....
At some of these festivals you finish riding early and spend many more hours at the venue ... YES, then showers are handy. For normal day rides I will rather shower at home.
A live band can be nice, but also a pain if it is so loud that you cant talk with your buddies .... guess it depends on the event .... but please allow enough space for those that dont want to sit next to the speakers ....
Shade and seating .... YES, pretty please !!!
FOOD .... #1 had a NICE spread of options !! #2 was 20m from the farm restaurant, yet they used local labour to make and sell the food .... total chaos .... And having been on the road since 4:30 I want something to eat after my ride .... The BEST I have seen was at the Autumn Splendour event, even some healthy options all the way to the typical fast food options.
Immediate results .... never been an issue for me. But I must admit that it IS "nice" to be able to log into TimingMobi and see the event results minutes after the race. I sent photos to a coach buddy of some of his students, and could immediately add their timing as well. BUT, as we were out on a farm the cell signal was weak and upload time was bad .... and I would expect this to be par of the course for most rugged events. Frankly time out in nature trumps the electronic wizardry ,,, as nice as it may be to have the timing available
What do I want out of race ? We take part in races for TWO reasons :
1) FAMILY ride - when the timing works our 7 year old godson joins us for an event. Then we look for 10km rides, now beginning to look at slightly longer rides though I dont want to spoil the fun factor ..... These short rides should be kid friendly, with no high hazard sections, and it helps if there are ample wider sections for passing (or being passed).
2) Day out in nature - I know I am not going to podium any time soon ... So I drive 300km and spend the day to cycle 20 to 40km in pristine nature. I ENJOY the views these rides offer us. Yes, I like the odd technical section. I dont mind a few hills, I even entered #1 purely because it is known as being the toughest 30km ride of the season, almost 750m climb in such a short route.
If I may add a few things we look for :
Route profile - it is VERY handy to plan your ride if you know where the hills are ... when to hold back a bit, and when it is safe to burn the matches .... Typically we look for this when looking at the event information prior to entering the event. For event #2 I could not get this information ... it was unnerving to ride "blind" ... (I dont want to download the route, just have and idea that there is a 8% climb at 7,5km and 10% climb at 17km ...)
Sweepers ... During Saturday's event #2 a lady had a flat tire, tire cut and it could not be repaired on the trail. Took more than 2 hours for race control to get her recovered - any 4x4 could have reached her in 10 minutes. Just plain bad planning .... Most other events I have seen some sort of recovery vehicle patrolling the route.
You dont mention safe parking for the bikes .... THIS is certainly turning into a key thing at these events. I DONT know the perfect answer to this, but look forward to the day organisers can help with this. For now we only stay if I can sit in line of sight of my bike - hardly ideal ....
EARLY advertising of the event .... February this year we stopped at Manic Cycles in Worcester. We KNOW that they co-sponsor many of the rides in the area .... imagine my total surprize when they could not give us dates of any 2019 rides. Most of these rides no longer make use of PPA, which also limits their advertising opportunities .... Event #2 we only heard about from a local that send me a message, and the VERY low turnout ( a THIRD of the number of 2017!) is testimony to the issues with getting the message out there about upcoming rides.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - A very big thank you to one and all that takes on the task of arranging these events !!! It is "easy" to type up the issues after the fact, but I know how much work goes into arranging these events and just how easily things can go wrong. Which I dont want to name the events where things went wrong, as the intention is not to focus on the wrongs, but to provide real examples of where things can be improved.
Thanks man!
This was really helpful and shot for your input!
It is quite the process to put an event together, and takes a lot of time to get the nitty gritty sorted.
These days it gets more difficult as events are suffering getting riders, and you pretty much planning a whole event without knowing the number of attendees.
Have a great day!
I would like to think we can in this age move past number collections. Especially the road races.
I hear what you are saying, and totally agree.
The reason races still have the number collection is to keep the entries open a bit longer, then having to pack and distribute 1000 - 2000+ numbers within a week or two can become a scary task.
I would like to think that maybe one can close the entries earlier, then all the people that do late entries, will have to collect their numbers either the previous day, or race day.
Another problem with sending numbers to the riders will be the postage fee. I mean it is not that expensive, but when you dealing with 2000+ riders, it will affect ticket prices.
Shot man!
i know it's not really that much of a problem, especially if your family are spectators...but with rising race fees and then having to fork out an extra 1-2k per for having your car/crap transported by a stranger between the start and finish sometimes just makes me a sad panda...
edit:
this kind of sad sometimes...
Hi there, shot for your input.
It is very difficult when the Start and Finish venue is separate from one another.
There is really not a lot of services that do car transfers.
Mainly companies make use of Rotary, who's profits go towards their charity. Their price I don't find too bad as it is between R400 - R500.
The other option is to get a shuttle service to take the riders back to their cars at the previous venue, but once again to transport so many bikes becomes a bit difficult.
Would you prefer a shuttle, or a service like Rotary?
Cheers
Goodie bags that have goodies and not 684788 pamphlets
Hi BaGearA,
Can you maybe elaborate what goodies you like to get in the goodie bags?
Sometimes having cool stuff pushes up the ticket price.
It is quite a juggle between having a decent ticket price, or a bad ass goodie bag.
Thanks for the help~~
Your second question only allows me to mark one option - is that right?
I have fixed it, Thanks! 
I have been involved with road and mountain bike cycling events for the past few years. I have done everything from organizing, marking and managing the water points.
I would love to know what people want and expect from events these days.
Hi! Anyone else doing this?
Heard it is great value for money and really laid back.
East Rand Classic Cancelled?
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Where does it mention Corona Virus? Please tell me?