kandui

I look at the race calendar for the season and choose the races I know have good trails. Oak Valley, Grabouw, Wolseley ...for instance. A number of Mtb races are nothing more than dirt road rides, so not worth getting up early for in my opinion. The P&P Mtb race at Boschendal has become completely oversubscribed and is a waste of time. What's the point when you have to wait at sections any monkey could do on a bike, but some some guy decides today he can't handle it chooses to carry, blocking the trail for hundreds of riders. Or, how about getting verbal abuse thrown at you because you step out of the queue and choose to run a section with your bike on your back?

My wife sound a pair of sunglasses on the Reddam field. If you have lost them , please send me a PM or email me at zulurob@iafrica.com to identify them and get them back. We will leave our details with the PPA office in the morning as well.

Found a pair of sunglasses on the sports field at Reddam after the race. If anybody might know the owner, let them know. Expensive pair, so prefer the owner to identify what he or she lost . We will leave a message at the PPA office in the morning as well.

The circle thing was an issue for me before the 2011 Epic, but I can't say it really bothered me. Riding in a straight line or a circle in the Epic- both are tough. Perhaps call it a Semi-circle. Start in Robertson and end in Somerset West with some circles in between. Cape Pioneer follows one large circle - you end where you started.

Plenty of appeal. Too expensive at the original price, but well worth it at half. FYI: A friend of mine put offers out to guys selling entries and got 2 positive responses to his offer of R 20000 for a team entry. The dumping has begun!

Full TV coverage is going to be hard ask. I can't see how an ATV with a cameraman bouncing around on the back is going to be able to follow the leaders around the current type of route. If that's the end goal, then you will see the route change to a WC-Style loop over smoother terrain where camera's can follow the pack. In my opinion, unlikey. As far as I have heard, KV wants to franchise the Epic out to other countries and create a marathon tour which would prolong the life and justify the increased cost of the Epic and pay him royalties from the other events. Clever man and good ideas. But , if the same modus operandi re fee increases is applied at a franchise event in Switzerland or Germany, they will see their arse quickly. Those guys won't just bitch and moan, they will walk away.

2013: I think there will be a lot more guys taking the wait and see approach. We will be in the middle of 2012 when entries have to be paid for and another recession is forecast. I don't care waht anybody says: Epic Bevok or not, I can't see an online scrum developing at close on 40k an entry. Reason why there are so many entries available: Undertraining, and now the entry fee looks even bigger and the wife is giving you Hell because you coughed up the cash and told her how you would train hard and make up for all time on the bike away from the family.

The Solo option is gathering traction as well. It would not surprise me if the Epic offers a solo section soon. Nothing more frustrating than having to pay and commit to a training shedule many months before an event, only to have your partner bail out on you with a month left to go. Now you're scambling for a partner and may end up with your 4th or 5th choice partner. If the race costs R 100 you might not care , but at 350 times the cost, it's devastating. How about this model: Pay for your Stage race entry the day after the current event and get a 30% discount. Increase the fee on a sliding scale, a couple of % for every month and then, 3 months before the event, full price kicks in. Similar to airline tickets- early bird gets the deal, last-minute guy pays the full price. At around 5-6% interest, money in the bank should offset the discount for the organiser. Something like that would work for me.

Damn. Am heading out to Hout Bay in an hour!

Can the SA Mtb fraternity carry another Stage Race? Where is the demand? Epic, Pioneer and Joburg2c are the only stage races beyond 4 days (correct?). 3 day events suit most people and remain the most popular. Can we handle more of those? The Pioneer costs half of what the Epic does, but costs are creeping up. Both are super tough and would exclude many riders due to that fact. Is the demand here? A 6 Day stage race which is easier and has the social vibe of a Sani or W2W? "My suggestion - make another Epic event available either prior of just after the main event. Make that race affordable to "Joe Weekend Warrior" and the Epic will stay the Epic." If Grandstand Management put on another Epic for the Weekend Warrior, I doubt you would get it for less. Sani has 3 races using the same infrastructure, but the "Trail" isn't cheaper.

PayPal only requires an email address to send money, so you aren't divulging sensitive information. PayPal sends you a notification when funds arrive and sometimes you have to accept the funds. I would log into my PayPal account and double check to see the money is there. i can't see the scam involving the PayPal process, I think the scam bit comes once you take the next step. The extra R2k is the carrot.

Is the mistake R instead of N?

What the Argus is to the average road cyclist, the Epic is to the average mountain biker. We all want to do it at least once. The cost of the Argus is chump change compared to the Epic. With the Epic, the cost overrrides everything. Hardly anyone just enters to give it a go. Forget the time sacrifice for training. The impersonal treatment of the average rider at the Epic probably has a lot do with the current attitude towards the race. You are definitely a number and once they have your money, nobody really cares about you. We (I speak for myself) don't ride the Epic to win, we ride for the experience and the challenge. If only the organisers would come out from behind their VIP enclosures and come down to our level (like Henco, his wife and the rest of the Dryland team do at the Pioneer), I think we might be more inclined to make the financial sacrifice. At least we feel like our participation is appreciated and we are treated like a valued customer, because that's what we are- customers. What would the Epic look like if there were only 20 Pro Teams racing against each other? It wouldn't happen, the Epic would close down. We make the race and we , nor the organisers should forget that. Sani is always put forward as the race to do and forget all others. I will do my first Sani this year and I am looking forward to see whether all the hype is true. As a 3 day (2 night) race,the Sani is also not a cheap race. But, i would contend , the reason everyone holds this event in such high esteem is because of how the average rider is treated by the organisers. You feel valued and appreciated and is that not in essence what we all want? If event organisers don't wake up and realise this , I think a lot more riders will vote with their feet and not support the races where you are treated like a sheep and fleeced. The "fat" times are over and will not return for many years and the overseas riders (and rich locals) who everyone says are lining up to take the place of the guy who can't afford the Epic, are also turning into a bit of a myth. The customer is king. The Pro rider pushes the ratings and status of the Epic (and pays zero entry fee), but we , the guys who make up the middle and back of the field, are the ones who pay the bills for the organisers.

My Niner Air Carbon frame came with 2 titanium "patches" which are stuck to the frame just below the front derailleur to protect the frame where the chain rings sit. The slapsox made of neoprene are lighter than a tube.

I was told next year will be Knysna to Cape Town, which I would be interested in. But I can't swear by it, because the guy who told me also said it owuld cost 50K per team.10th Anniversary race.

All entries for sale have been paid for , either during the short Early Bird entry window or the lottery. So , if it's that money's tight, something must have happened in the household since the entry was bought. This having to pay so far in advance for Races is going to bite a lot more organisers. Money might be in the bank for a full house, but to have a bunch of teams not pitch for the start will show. What the sellers need to recognise is that the cheapest entry will sell. There is a glut of entries for sale (the Epic Rider Forum is full of them) , but everybody still believes they can get their money back. No chance and the window for selling is closing. If anybody still wants to ride , they have to train from NOW. From next month the pool of potential customers will decrease by 50% or more , in my opinion. Sell your entry for half price, take the knock, but you will sell it in a flash. Do it now, while everyone is still aiming too high. I got my entry in Novmber for half price, because that's what I offered and was prepared to pay. It's a buyers market now. The race office charges you R 2500 for selling your entry, by the way. After this year's Epic, the organisers will be worried, that I am sure of. They won't get away with a 10% increase again. I think you can still finish Epic if you train 10 hours a week from now, if you are currently able to ride for 3 hours without a problem.

[ Thanks for the offer. I think we have met at Revolution Cycles when I gave some of my vinyl patches. I am 1,90m tall.

That sounds promising. Problem is finding a road bike in decent condition nobody needs on the Sunday of the Argus. I understand what's being said, weather conditions also determine the time. With Windguru, or similar, I can get a pretty good idea of the weather a week earlier and decide what to do.

Only 7% faster if I switch to a road bike, then I might as well stick with my 29er and try to get closer to 3hrs. Much easier to stick with the roadies on a 29er.

Slightly off subject, but Argus time related. i did a 3:34 on my FS 26inch Mtb with slicks last year and am wondering how much quicker I could be on a road bike? I don't own a road bike ,so if the time saving is not going to be significant, I won't try and borrow one but ride on my 29er HT. Which start group would a 3:34 get me ?

Can I log km's even if I don't use Endomondo?

Go for 27.5

Owner found!

I found a Topeak Saddle pouch on my ride up Groenlandberg this morning. On the Grabouw side, just before the top of the climb, before it drops down to the Theewaterskloof side. Contents: Tube,bomb and adapter,plugs and plug tool,2 black tyre levers and a blue anodized multi tool (XON pro). I rode the same route on Thursday and would have seen it then, so the bag must have been lost on Friday or yesterday. If it's yours or If anyone knows the person who lost it, please let them know I have it.

Racing Ralph Snakeskin are great. I ride a Snake Skin on the back and an Evo on the front. You can see the sidewall getting scuffed on the RR Evo, but the Snakeskin shows nothing. Got 2 brand new RR Snakeskins waiting for the others to give up the ghost.