Saffa in the UK

i prefer the Zwift app to the Tacx trainer app. Although i did train on the CTCT route in the uk. the reason i like zwift is because of the other riders and the racing. it also feels like youre riding as your avatar is visible as a cyclist rather than the dot you have on Tacx, although that might just have been the cape town routes

WHO is that?

i must surely be the last person to reflect on what was probably the best cycling experience i have ever had. the expo was ok although i suspect there could be a lot more done. \Check in was easy and made the excitement all the more. As you may or may not remember i was placed in the fancy dress and e bike section with a start time which would have seen me start at about 9.15 and after some "moaning" emails had the changed to 6.50. Was a little worried about finding parking but my master plan to park in the waterfront was in my eyes pure genius, yes i hear you all shout, we all park there, but after all i am a foreigner in my own homeland. Start time was 6.50, uncle Dave told me to be in the shute an hour before start time, work backwards and hey presto in the waterfront for 5.30. get bike together, gels and bottles and i thought i would be the only one pedalling in the dark to the start. So wrong. got to first traffic lights and had my first crash. Didn't realise wheel sucking started so early, and to my surprise even though i know the highway code, also didn't realise that the red light did not appear to to be for cyclists. guy who crashed swore at me and told me off for stopping, LOL OMG WTF - the red mist descends and the PPA guy i was talking to as we slowed, nealy clapped the guy for swearing in front of his wife who i didnt realise was sat in the back of the tandem. Safely negotiate the rest of the journey talking to some great guys. By the way, this is my first CTCT and i didnt realise it indicates on your number. imaging how chuffed i was when people seemed to know this was my first and seemed to say good luck. Remembering what Uncle Dave had said, i made my way to the gate and went in and out a number of times as i wasnt sure why no one else was in the pen, but finally i was right in the front. i did chicken out and starting a few rows back from the front. the Atmosphere was incredible. I even sung the national anthem and watched the fireworks. The hoopla was done with gusto and off we went. Nelson Mandela blvd made me think my only Zwift training (due to bad weather in the UK) meant my legs were not working or suffering from Jet lag, but i soon realised that when they did wake up they were good to go. Waved at spectators and then moved to the right to go down hospital bend. i rightly enjoyed going down hill and was fortunate to be in a group who could ride and new the meaning of not weaving all over the road. the rest of the ride to Edinburgh drive was good. Edinburgh drive is where the gees took a new level of great. It made me feel great to have people shouting and cheering. I arrived quicker and my speed i wanted to achieve was well on target, although my heart rate seemed rather high, but i needed have worried as the Blue route would allow me to sit in and simply tag along. Fight number two, when some dim wit thought he was in the tour de france and quite simply kept shouting hold you line. A young lady whom i was following happened to swirf to avoid a cats eye and really could have brought a lot of people down with her, was clearly nervous and to be honest, she was a little out of her depth, but was keeping up so one of the other riders took it upon himself to squirt water at the moaning oke. Fight number two, when a guy snotted in the middle of the group spraying all to the left of him which caused one hell of a moan. we soon progressed through muizenberg onto simonstown and then onto the first climb of the day SMitswinkel. What scenery, what beauty, and what a great climb. Enojyed myself and also found that the old Zwift trained legs were now in full swing and i even afforded my self the luxury of pushing on a bit. DOwn the tree lined road when all of a sudden the need to use the toilet was greater than the need to sit on the back wheel of the tandem which had both sucked uphill and been sucked downhill. WIshed them a fond farewell along with a large group and stopped. not a problem i thought as i woudl soon catch another group and all would be well. MIsty cliffs was lonely, up the climb to where i thought the Mad Captonian had mustered his army and then around the corner at Noordhoek and to the base of CHappies. Another siting of Mrs and now feeling smug i started to climb little chappies. Passing a lot of people the old Zwift legs were still on top of the world and the little downhill before the climb of Chappies proper. The views are stunning and the riding environment even better. The talk of wind and rain and brimstone, not materialising as this was quite simply the best weather ever. The descend into hout bay went with out incident and now i was ready for suikerbossie. The zwift legs still feeling good. Did a tour de france, and pulled my zip of my jersey down a little, to expose my mid life gut, which was not very good as i couldnt pull it up for the photos on sugarbush. The climb was going well and when i decided to stand up and climb, the zwift legs went pap and into spasm so i suddenly sat back down and nurtured the legs up and over and to my absolute delight, found the original tandem and wheel sucked all the way down to the finish (repayed with a beer or two) Got across the line in 3.29 but had my official timing in at 3.30/. This being the variant of when the time actually starts but as times go, i wanted a 4 - 4.30 so really chuffed. Couple of questions or topics for conversation: 1. Why do cyclists in South Africa have to be 5mm from the guy in front? 2. If i leave a 60cm gap and am sitting comfortably why does the next cyclist need to fill that gap? 3. WTF is hold your line and why is it shouted all the time by funnily enough the guys who fill in the gap? 4. Are red lights really not for cyclists? 5. Whats the point of having a number on your helmet, when apparently you only have 6 photos. 6. WTF is snotting all about? (the need to put your finger to your nose and pushing large amounts of snot over everyone?) it was genuinley a great experience. one that i am hoping to experience again and truly hope none of the SA guys take this gorgeous race for granted. The scenery was incredible and i really enjoyed being able to look over when the old zwift legs wanted a break. finally to the people of cape town, thank you for putting up with all the lycra clad army and for allowing us to be able to take part. if it wasnt for your generosity, the race would not be as good as it was

on a serious note guys, and this from someone who does not know the ins and out of this oke Fadiel and his Gatvol Captonian dudes, does this pose a risk to the race itself? im going to be one serious Gatvol Cyclist if all my training and money to get to the race os going to be undone by some guy who thinks im a millionaire

yes a simple good luck will suffice as i wheelsuck past lol

Flying out of Gatwick tomorrow night arriving Friday morning. the prayer for a safe flight & CTCT Please BA look after my bike, lose my suitcase, but for the love of god, the big blue flight case with the fragile stickers plastered all over it is the one you need to not launch from the end of the run way. Mr Cape Town baggage handler, i am not one of the millionaires doing the CTCT, so if you are from Ocean View and a GATVOL Capetonian, this is not your chance to make a mark and to launch my bike box from CPT airport to the waterfront in one go. Please take your anger out on the business class flyers mr AVis car rental dude, please give me the car that i rented, failure to do so will lead to my bike box not fitting in and to be honest, the i told you so from the wife is going to be unbareable. Mr Gatvol Capetonian, can i just say we are all gatvol of the violence in all of our communities. In the UK and in SA and i truly do sympathise with the killing of innocent lives. HOWEVER, i will not be wearing a black armband to try and make peace with you, instead i will think of the loives lost in my own way, its my democratic right. I will also expect you not to disrupt my ride and drive of trying to do the CTCT in the best time i can and once completed i will talk about the quiet, respectful and peaceful protest the people of oceanview or any other community made. Finally to my fellow cyclists - i promise to say hoopla loudly, i promise to stay left if i am slower than the guys passing me, i promise to smile at the camera, and if you have a problem on the side of the road, i will always ask you are you ok (even though i have no intention of stopping, unless you are an attractive blonde) I also promise to point out objects on the road and shout loudly is i see something which may be of concern. In return all i ask is that we all respect each other and understand that nobody breaks the line for any other reason than a mistake. I am truly looking forward to doing my first CTCT, excitement to the point of checking that my skewers and pedals are in my box and my saddle is ready. Starting in group 2e so if you see a nervous looking, pale individual in a blue cycling kit with pink socks come and say hi and lets have a great day - PS if you are starting in my group let me know

lol maybe even contemplating a third due to nice weather

wow who knew there would be so many millionaires in one place?

omg yes just a week. in fact self quarantine me after i have ridden and also spent time in the winelands

SEE THIS IS WHY I AM GLAD I FOUND THIS THREAD ........ when discussing it over breakfast with my wife, her comment of well who really cares .............. when the actual answer has such great information.

oh well lucky for David then that hes cot Sunnies melk tert to console him LOL

well if it is cancelled, I'm in for a social ride too. That being that I'm flying in from the UK, corona free i might add, and will even cycle by myself having waiting this long for the event. On a lighter note, whilst stood around a braai on Saturday in the wind snow and rain, a friend and i were discussing the concept of the CTCT as a race, with me having informed me that there is a winner. The following daft question came up after a number of klippies and coke and also the old David Kramer advert for VW micro bus. If old David starts in group 2E due to a mess with his start time, and cycles the course in 2 hours 10 minutes thus faster than the so called pro's does he win the race? (now i know forums are the birth place for the insane, so without getting into discussion of rims frames and technicalities, he simply cycles faster)

as one of those travelling from the UK, i can certainly say that i am just hoping that international travel will still be allowed. from my point of view, it is currently 4 degrees C rainging and snowing at the same time, and if nothing else i am so looking forward to simply sitting on the start line wind or no wind and enjoying the warmer weather. so Mr Ebola, who clearly is stronger than Miss Carona, please stand guard and dont let the chinese in

as previously posted, International cyclist, based in the UK (south African) was handed a start time of 9.04 group 5k. i appealed this and they asked for some information regarding previous rides which was provided and now i am starting in group 2E. I note there was a spread sheet to show who was starting when, but not knowing who is who, is there anyone starting in 2E from this forum. You all seem pretty friendly so it would be nice to at least start with some of you, even though no doubt i will end up racing the people in group 5K LOL LOL LOL LOL couple of questions as a first timer: 1. parking early morning - where ? 2. how cold is it when waiting in the starting areas and what do people do to stay warm? Looking forward to starting now, its been a long winter in the UK and i am sick and tired of the rain, wind and cold. if you are starting in 2E and want to catch up at the start, i am not sure if you can private message on this forum but let me know and we can chat by the way, am i reading some of the posts wrong or do people take this cycling thing really seriously and am i just an imposter in 2E who wants to ride in a safe group as quick as i can but still enjoy the atmosphere and the scenery

omg you are right LOL LOL LOL i have used my SAF passport as i was so eager to enter, and as all good south africans the old ID number roles off the tongue. so its my own fault that i am starting with the fancy dress brigade oh well lads, please dont drink all the beer