Tiny K

I rode Epic this year, so feedback below. My prep was 2x Zwift races mid-week, 1hr Z2 x2 on Zwift for the other week days (Friday rest / prep), and then at least a long ride the weekend, preferably both days. I'm a roadie, so not many MTB miles, but I'm comfortable on technical dirt, so it wasn't really necessary. Last year I did 6 days of W2W (2x back to back) which I might add had not nearly prepared me enough for Epic. I rode Atta and Imbuko Big5 (where I realised that my partner wasn't nearly as prepared as I was). I did a couple road races too, Tour du Cap and Argus. I prepared as much as I could for what lay ahead... and it felt like it wasn't enough, especially the volume of climbing (more the gradients they sent us up). Last Tuesday was the hottest that the Boland has been this past year, and I won't go into the happenings of the day. We started in E/F batch, lost a lot of time to standing in the shade, but finished the stage. Fairview was k@k because of the thorns, and REALLY dusty. Lourensford was a mess because of the rains, but not crazy amounts. A few riders complained that their tents leaked. The food was not bad, and it was enough. A good variety of everything... except for their overripe bananas. I do agree to an extent regarding qualifying races, but maybe not so much a stage race (like W2W) but rather evidence of consistency and mileage. The ability to deal with the terrain and temperatures. I would definitely love to do it again - it's a real test of physical and mental fortitude. I've ended the week with the best fitness I've ever had, starting with fitness/fatigue of 90/90, and ending with 116/195 (which has also changed to 112/153 after a 45min Zwift ride this morning).

Biggest challenge there in Open Seeded is that you never know who is going to enter. One of the Jankielsohn (from Piketberg) won the Open Cat 4 years ago. Warick Minkley took it 3 years ago (he was recovering from Covid and decided not to ride Age Cat), I won it two years ago, and not sure on last year (I did a different Tour). This year I rode Age Cat, but believe a guy, who probably should have ridden Age Cat, won the Open Cat.

Andy, it made for some lekker racing. The German ladies team did make it difficult to get away (they closed them down) but it was fun. It was the 40+ riders that animated the racing on most days, but some 50+ riders definitely helped pull through the paceline efforts.

Same about development riders. The okes can pedal, but fork all bunch riding skills. And this coming from a part-time Zwifter (during the week).

Nah, NP 323W. Really chilled in @, especially taking Coach Johan's advice and chilling in the bunch. Took a stab at the front between Red Hill and Scarborough, but nobody interested. The fireworks only started up Chappies and Suikerbossie.

I built this bike up a couple years ago (Dec 2020) after I wrote my Basso off the day after DC (into an underground parking lot in Robertson. Now it lives, minus the back wheel and brake calipers, on my KickR V6 trainer. Steel frame with Campy EPS

HAHA! Snarky comment taken on the chin. A bunch was being kept between 20 and 25km/h through Durbanville. Chatting to a B bunch rider afterwards, he said it was crazy speed through Durbanville. Image attached shows how much faster - for comparison, the front of A just turned into Wellington Road and the B bunch were taking the previous corner.

I hope not! I'm seeded in & (for now) but hope my seeding for 99'er bums me into $ again. Had a similar sithation last year - initially seeded in & and the next week seeded in $.

Wind was there for the A bunch front runners, but if it was anything like the 99'er, it potentially picked up significantly as the day progressed.

My 'rant' about a few things: 1. Why were the A bunch neutralised until Wellington road, but B group (from what I'm told) went bat **** crazy through Durbanville from the start - that already creates an unfair advantage when looking at finishing times. 2. When looking at seeding, with regards to the above, naturally the B bunch also containing the racing ladies (and bunches further down) has an advantage on time - why isn't that factored in? Granted, today was a mess in A - narrowly missed the first crash (it happened a bike length ahead and just to the left of me) and was far ahead enough to miss the 2nd one [heal up soon injured riders]. Then spent most of the day safely in the break, only to be caught with less than 1km to go. 3. Why are the staet groups so big?! I estimate 150 riders, similar to 99'er (where the Elite group was stopped for 90sec more or less [white line rule]), where the riders are mostly equally strong (but some still ride like tjops) and the group doesn't thin out. Almost the whole Elite group came up the climb together for 99er - there just isn't enough space on the road for such a big group. 4. If the start groups need to be that big, then full rolling road closure needs to be investigated ie the full width of the road is used for the peloton, closing / clearing the road further up, and reopened when passed. Any breakaway can stick to the left of the white line. Please @Pedal Power Association, too many riders got seriously hurt today, and it was unnecessary. Very few (if any) are paid to ride our bikes, but the safety of riders (or what felt like the lack therof today) is going to reduce the interest in participating in cycling events.

Sorry to hear of your experience and close call. It's not cool. It's also the reason I ride with a rear facing camera - I have been hit from behind before. Driver said I swerved in front of them but had no evidence to prove otherwise.

I've been using Bat Seal (Rush Sports are the distributors) purely because that is what my LBS has at the front desk. TBH, I think all sealants are the same to a degree, so you can't really go wrong. Only way to go wrong is to not top it up every two to three months (at minimum).

My opinion, Thule roof rack (there should be a foot pack to fit your car) and wheel on bike racks. I've got option for all 3 - boot lid (Thule), Towbar (Holdfast [bikes hanging] and self made [resting on wheels]) and recently, the Thule roof mount bike racks. Easy enough to remove the bike racks and leave the roof rack on the roof. No hassles about taking wheels off. Bikes are locked on roof so no stress of them being stolen. A lot less stress and it works. Go check out Thule's website and see what they have to offer.

Also just post the time it occurred. Makes narrowing the timeframe a little easier. Idiot rider, Covid or not.

Believe you me, It'll be worth the visit! ????