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SwissVan

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Posts posted by SwissVan

  1. 4 hours ago, Shebeen said:

    Epic = ~R60k per person and rock up on the startline with a mtb and your buddy in the same outfit.

    Comrades = R1200 (R4.5k for internationals!!)  and finish a qualifying race in a certain time before collecting your race pack.

     

    For the CE the costs end up being so much more, and if you are traveling from overseas it gets really silly expensive....hell i even went on holiday to the Maldives just to get an entry by entering from an exotic IP location like the Maldives 😁.... factor in air travel with a bike, hotels, renting a car in ZA 😢 

  2. 4 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

    One significant thing is the economic commitment to do comrades and Epic. People are very underprepared for both, but it's far easier to be underprepared for Comrades financially.

    If you fork out 120k for an entry, chances are you will at least try to get there in some sort of form. When it's a few hundred bucks it's a lot easier to write off.

    I stand by my statement that it's easier to finish Comrades, one effort, vs finishing Epic.

    I'd bank on finishing Comrades 9.5 times out of 10 if you asked me to run it tomorrow, but would be WAY less sure on my odds over 8 days at Epic. There are far more variables 

    With that in mind, statistics say that last year 92.6% of the field (almost 14900 of 16000 starters) finished, 2022 was 88.7%, 2021 was 89%........ I went pretty far back and despite the huge numbers, the finish rate is incredibly high. 

    Like 85% or more

     

     

    Increasing the cut off time for comrades from 11 to 12 hours in +/- year 2000 helps those stats, the majority of runners finish in that last hour, now they can do it a bit more "comfortably"

    Ultimately like Shebeen suggested, trying to compare the 2 is silly unless you've done both and even then it will be a personal opinion, me I'm far more comfortably cycling for 10 hrs a day for a week than running for 11 to 12 hrs in one day... my legs feel sore just thinking about.  

  3. 21 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

     

    Running Comrades is easy. Way easier than finishing the Epic. 

     

    Jinna I dunno bud… 

    Those runners sitting in the Avis busses and those trying to make the various cut offs might disagree, whilst never actually been there myself I have followed friends and my SOH on the route for many many years and have seen first hand the stress and 1000 yard stares when you try cheer them on…..

    I’ve done a CE at the back squeaking in on some stages just before the cut off, (and once even after the cut off (it was luckily extended) most of the time the other riders around you are still in good spirits, and bar technical issues know you can make it.

    Basically any cut off in any race is a B***H for someone.

    just wait until you have a broom-bus travelling at a fixed speed of 34kmh following you…. That’s a tad unpleasant 

     

  4. 3 hours ago, Jbr said:

    yeaaah... I'm running those on the gravel bike, must say they don't last very long, I'd probably avoid them if I was at that level in such kind of race. But if they paid my salary then... I'd just make sure to put a fresh one every day and bring spare quicklinks with 😜

    IMHO

    If it aint broken don’t F*** with it. Replace it a week before CE and during the epic give it a clean and lube… without removing it. Bicycle chains don’t just break, and when they do it’s usually down to human behaviour, excessive cross chaining or chain removal.

    Removing and installing a chain everyday is a recipe for failure, even when the work is performed by a professional mechanic.

    Rant over 

  5. 5 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

    It honestly blows my mind that someone signs up for this when they must know they won't finish.

     

    Sure lots of people have 135k to just throw away casually twice a week but even when you're ready and fit you know there's going to be some suffering involved 

     

    Starting so late is definitely a crappy spanner to be thrown by the organizer but surely if you can't make it halfway by 13:00 on stage 2 then you should never have even been allowed to start on Sunday

    A year ago when lots of people entered not even sure if they would get a ticket...it seemed like a great idea.

    Unfortunately once you have entered and paid, its hard to take it back 

     

    Money.JPG

  6. 17 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

    OKes are upset when there is no coverage, then upset when there is. 

    Even when the sunshines, the temp is a nice 25 degrees, blue skies, a nice refreshing breeze blowing…. You know those perfect days…. There’s will always be someone who will whinge that the weather is crap ( I’m comparing the weather to the CE tv coverage).

    I'm sitting here at home in  🇨🇭 ( it’s a public holiday where I work) watching supersports live coverage listening to Gerald, Sabine and the doper ( 😇) Owen, geez what is there to complain about???

    Maybe Sabine could sound less German 🤙

     

  7. On 2/22/2024 at 10:40 AM, Jewbacca said:

    I took up golf 18 months ago when I was recovering from Viral meningitis. 

    I couldn't run, ride or do anything strenuous but I could walk. I have to admit to absolutely loving it!

    There is a beautiful thing in a skill based sport as opposed to an effort based sport.

    When people ask the wife how she can let me disappear for 5 hours, her answer is 'it's a helluva lot shorter than a lot of the runs he used to do, so there is nothing to whine about.'

    Funny thing is, most golfers I play with aren't at all larny. In general, cyclists and trail runners are way more hoity toity and snobbish than golfers

    About 10 years ago I suggested to my wife that we take up golf together because of this and also it was a sport we could do together without having to worry about one having to wait for the other like when we run or cycle. It turned out great and she constantly beats me, unlike running or cycling where I would beat her 😁

    She’s always bragging about how she started and finished with the same ball, unlike moi who has to carry a bag of spare balls in his golf bag 

     

  8. 18 hours ago, Shebeen said:

    so doing this road running thing this year.

    like properly, actually joined a running club and even licenced nogal.

    turns out the saturday morning training club runs the members all take turns to drive the support vehicle and every 5km or so there's a table with cokes, water and sweeties. very nice surprise!!

    Somethings are weird. like results can take up to 10 days to be published, and that's totally acceptable.

    Tried to enter a race coming up. but didn't have my licence yet so was waiting on that. Now that i have it entries are sold out, so entries closed before cut-off.  Subs closed before then too, even though they were planning on still taking entries up to this point. totally normal it seems.

    oh well, there will be other races out there.

     

     

     

    Soooooo….. which club colours will you be striding out in…..ie which club did you join?

     

  9. 5 hours ago, stringbean said:

    I would look at this year 2024 if you can.With the Olympics been in Paris the finish has moved to Nice on final day.While this might sound boring a TT from Monaco to Nice on the final day is going to make for one hell of a finish.Thinking of going for last few days with wife and can move between Monaco and Nice.

    As mentioned before the atmosphere is absolutely amazing and when you see the speeds they ride you realise everyone here in SA are just coffee shop riders.

    We’ve been to a few  different TDF stages (Monaco, Paris, London) and I prefer the start of a stage as you can stroll around all the team busses while the mechanics get the bikes ready and where the riders warm up on their rollers. We went to Monaco when LAnce was riding for Astana…. By pure flook we booked into the same hotel as LA and a host of other riders were staying in.

    My tip for anyone going is not take too many pictures of the actual racing, usually the pics come out quite blah and you miss seeing the riders.

    July is my birthday month and wifey has just this week booked us into a Monaco hotel very close to where the team busses will be parked for the start for the 2024 tour. Hopefully Vroomie and a few Saffas manage to find their way into the tour.

     

     

  10. 37 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

    I won't lie, reading these replies makes me feel like such a pilchard.

    I've got helmets I've used multiple times a week for years and never washed the padding...... 😝

    I won’t admit to years of riding for years with unwashed helmets, but I I do know where you coming from 😆

    Occasionally I’ll take it into shower and give it a good shampooing

    Maybe the OP could try that with an anti itch (dandruff) shampoo? Even Mathieu vd Poel does if the Alpicin adverts are to be believed 

     

     

  11. On 1/15/2024 at 2:19 PM, BuffsVintageBikes said:


    Stay away from any food that's open and communal during the stages, especially boxes of jelly babies, baby potato's etc at the water points. Riders are wiping snot with their gloves and grabbing handfuls of food out of those boxes. Go for food wrapped in plastic rather or take your own nutrition.

     

              /\ THIS /\

    and stay away from the same at the finish each day…. I still get nauseous thinking about those Woolies sandwiches they used to hand out each day.

    Try prepack your own food and snacks for each day, put some real food in your gut not just gels….unless you’re used to living on gels

    When / if you get sick 🤢 REHIDRAT is your best friend, make sure you take enough sachets with for the whole week, if you don’t need them there will be someone who does and you’ll have a buddy for life.

  12. 17 minutes ago, MORNE said:

    Firstly, we don't know the demographics at CCS. There might be more than a few guys that have religious obligations during that time. 

    Secondly, i also dont answer my phone during BIKEHUB time for anyone or anything work related. Try it, it’s great!

    Thirdly, given the state of the rest of SA compared to the WC, call us what you like, you dont know what we do 😅

    Fixed

  13. 13 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

    HOLY SMOKES!!!

    I wake up and @SwissVan @mtbrider and @ZakV have been busy!

    I am currently wading through mountains of work, but I will be in touch with everyone personally very soon.

    I am meeting with Natasha from the SPCA tomorrow at 13:00 to set up the donation account and work out some plans for next year.

    Best I start getting ready!

    My pleasure

    I tried to donate enough to round it off to 20K, but fell a bit short with exchange rate conversion

  14. 23 minutes ago, Michael Dewing said:

    I mean it would be quite cool if they just put bots in there to motivate you..🤷🏼‍♂️🤣

     

    It’s possible in Rouvy, as I recall there is an option where you can choose to ride with companions (not other real life people) but a computer generated image of other riders who circulate around you just like in a bunch, and you can choose to benefit from drafting. I think there is also the option to time trial against a cgi “bot”

     

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