lurkerza

Also glad to get this one off my back at last! This event seems to have been cursed since the start! Look I know covid has done a number on everyone and Ironman were hit especially hard as it was pulled well into their setup for the 2020 event, but I have to say that I really think Ironman made a real sh!tshow of the event this! I mean they had 2 years to get things sorted out and still managed to c0ck it up royally! The athlete guide was a complete waste of time as 90% of what they mentioned in there they never followed anyway. No age group starting groups, we were told we would not be allowed to push forward once in the start pens - it was the usual free for all in the swim chute with tons of okes pushing their way through to start earlier! I get that conditions were terrible and they sure as heck made the correct call on the shortened swim so I'll give them credit for that. The athlete guide said the run was 4 and a half laps, then they send out an update the day before that it's actually just short of 4 laps. There were 2 pics of the transition area in the athlete guide, one for bike check in and one for the swim, so you had to try figure out how the flow worked when you racked your bike, if you didn't happen to see a banner as you exited registration. They reckoned transition would be spaced out due to covid risk, but they still racked 6 bikes on a rack, so I guess the okes in the other rows were the covid risk! The distance markers for the bike leg from 130km were 10km out of sync, not just the one but from there to the end! No spectators allowed on race day to support us in the outdoors, but no sweat, you can bring them all to the expo and merchandise area indoor to spend their money on your gear! I am super grateful the supporters all ignored this as the legends that were there on race day were much appreciated! No names on race numbers. The named t-shirts in the merchandise section were for the athletes that registered in 2020, sorry for you guys who helped ironman out by filling up the spots slightly! Finisher shirt is an ill fitting cheap top, not a slightly more premium golf shirt like they used to give out - ok the design is pretty cool. Oh yea and if you want to swop for a different size, you'll have to send it back to them and they will send you a another one, I guess that is the process they want us to follow. The post race nutrition was dismal, a rubber roll with cheese/cheese and marmite that they hand you in a brown bag with a tiny coke, that you need to try carry along with a pump water bottle, your street wear bag and your foil blanket which is now a spinnaker in the wind! The volunteers were at least very helpful and helped carry some of the stuff to a point a bit further away where you could gather your wits and start finding something warm to put on. Ok I know this sounds like a real spoilt brat having a nancy whine, but compared to my races in 2017 and 2018 it was very disappointing and 3 of my mates were doing their first full and we had hyped the race up so much to them that we felt that they had really been let down by the organisers. I truly hope that they get things sorted out for the April event next year as the athletes and PE deserve better! Ok so if you have got this far I owe it to you to give a report... When Paul Kaye tells you all before the swim start that by standing in the swim chute we acknowledge that we are able to complete the swim on our own and that the organisers are not responsible for anyone not fully prepared and that they are willing to allow you to skip the swim if you wish - you know the swim is going to be tough! We watched the first few batches get into the water and quickly get swept left by the wind and waves and under Paul's advice to rather start off aiming about 100m to the right of the buoy things got under way. The waves were pretty rough and it took a bit care to watch the breakers but luckily there wasn't the big wash behind the waves that Durban can pummel you with so you made fair progress, it also helped spread the field a bit so I didn't find too many people in the way. The waves seemed to come from different directions so finding a rhythm was difficult. I started heading for the lifesaver hut as instructed on the beach and swam into a lifeguard who directed me pretty much straight back to the beach, so the swim couldn't have been much more than 300m, with a longer run along the beach to the swim exit. A gingerly jog up the pretty rough road to the feet troughs and shower and into T1 where I am met by the sight of some old buggers hairy crack! Guy is totally kaalgat getting into his cycling gear (having been explicitly told no such conduct would be allowed) the poor female ref who tried to get him DQ'ed or whatever seemed totally overwhelmed by the situation that I don't think he was actually stopped from continuing his race. Getting out on marine drive we were quickly reminded of what lay in store later on in the day as the headwind out of PE was already laying down the hurt. Once out past the university with the wind from behind, it was happy days and were at schoenmakers in no time. Was very glad that they had moved the aid station to the top of the hill this year as things flowed much better on the climb. When heading out to seaview and seeing the pros head back the other way you kinda guessed it was hard work, even though I didn't really notice much of the foliage waving around (think it has adapted to standing up against the beast from the east over the years), but when you turned at 45km it was like hitting a brick wall! I geared right down and spun my way back to town trying to conserve a bit for the second loop. Got to special needs and the volunteers were brilliant and helped as much as they could (dunno where they recruit these guys from cos they are flippen awesome!) had a quick loo break, topped up my bottles at the aid station and headed out. Just after I got going again I spotted a friend's wife, who he had asked me to let her know that he had punctured, so I turned to shout this at her and when I turned back found a guy stopped on the side of the road sorting his hydration out and had to swerve to avoid hitting him, but ended just clipping his bike/handlebars with my handlebars, he was still standing and I was still rolling, (although my backside did just about swallow my saddle) and I carried on (really sorry if that was someone from here!! I owe you a beer!). Bit shaken up I cracked on got to the turn for the dreaded last stretch. The wind was predicted to pick up throughout the day and PE didn't relent, it was really pumping now!! More spinning and some grinding on the long slogs and then I see the 130km marker board, but my comp says I'm on 140km, so I wonder if maybe my loo break messed up the gps signal and I gained an extra 10km somehow that I would now need to make up in this headwind and would I even have that left in my legs!! Then again 10k later when I saw the 140km board and I was still 10km out I thought, no man, that can't be right, by the time I saw the 150km board I was getting annoyed (surely the guy laying them out must have twigged by now!!!) but when I got the bottom of Schoenies I knew there was just over 20km back so the figured that it as just another event bugger up. From there the legs started having minor cramp twitches so I really backed off the power and was spinning the legs and getting out the saddle a lot to try keep the legs going and was very happy to get the help from the wind along the beachfront to get back to transition. Had a pleasant crack free T2 and was out on the run, got to the bottom of driftsands and had decided on Thursday when I drove in and saw the climb that there was no way in hell I was going to manage to run that hill so just past the water point took a steady stroll to top and jogged it back down. I found a very friendly jeppe chap, Jonty, who was running a good steady pace and convinced him to take turns blocking the wind to get us through to the bottom turn, which worked really well and I got through 10km in 56 min, got to driftsands again and left Jonty to power up and away while I took a stroll to the top. As I started the run back down my quads decided that as much as they had enjoyed smashing the bike, they had had enough for the day, running downhill was very sore and had to walk down, so I knew things were done (running is not my thing and had only run a 21km in preparation for this and knew I was in for a long day). Found another guy for the second lap to work with into the wind we ran/walked our way to the other end of the course and headed back. I then caught up with our team captain Fees, and one of the PE legends (doing his 16th PE Ironman), walking with another team member Will, he was not in a good space. Knowing I couldn't really go much harder to the end anyway I did what little I could to try and help out and had the huge honour of spending the rest of my run in his company and seeing the accolades that were shown to him by a few of the other remaining legends. One of whom we caught up to and was in an even worse space and told us he was done and the legends were down to 6! Very sad moment to see and could see that Kris really felt for him, given that he was almost getting to that point himself. So it was nearly two laps of walk, jog, wretch for our suffering captain before I had the bittersweet moment of leaving them for their last lap while I took the turn to head towards the red carpet, would have really liked to have stuck it out with them but I genuinely doubt my legs would have made it. Got my stuff and got warm and then headed to the team supporters to watch the the rest of the race and hold thumbs for Kris to get through, which he bravely did. Ironman races are incredible events, and even with all the moaning it was still amazing and I will do more. I get that Ironman is a business and they need to cover costs, but it just left me feeling somewhat sad that they don't really seem to care about the athletes any more and are just chasing the money. I mean surely they could make a lot more fuss of those 7 legends, after all they have been supporting ironman in PE for 16 straight events since it started there, could they not at least get a different colour race number so their fellow athletes can appreciate their commitment and give them the kudos they deserve - Comrades even gives you a green number when you do 10 and you admire them for it! Sorry for the rant and long read but I needed to share. My times were: SWIM - 00:12:14 BIKE - 5:51:38 RUN - 5:31:44 OVERALL - 11:45:29 TRANSITION DETAILS T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE - 00:04:16 T2: BIKE-TO-RUN - 00:05:37

HAHA, tough crowd this year for comments and support! Yea wind not looking like much fun, but overcast and cool at least from what I've seen forecast. I'll just be glad to finally get this monkey off my back, it been a long 2 years of training and refocusing, so I'm not too concerned about finish times, but just to get it done. Good luck everyone, enjoy the taper and travel safe!

Have a chat to @Carbon Ninja he is in Durban and does some incredible work on all sorts of repairs, even machining hard to find hangers, so I am sure e could make a plan

I hope they get this new rolling start format streamlined before the full ironman race in November (if it ever actually happens!!) Although I don't think it will be as significant as a half ironman as most athletes are still a long way from finished by the time the afternoon temps start dropping again. But will make for a fun time tracking athletes trying to beat cut offs with such big time gaps between the first and last swimmers!

@Fork-it - you can get the pump bracket from Two Wheel Trading: https://twowheelstrading.co.za/product/lezyne/pumps/spares-pumps/pump-lezyne-nylon-bracket-pressure-drive/ not sure who the importer of Topeak is but they do "service kits" for their items - your LBS should be able to order it for you if they stock Topeak stuff. Is this what you are looking for? https://www.topeak.com/global/en/products/bag-replacement-kit/529-F25

Check out the Granite Stash stuff, I found it a couple months ago - the stuff is really good quality and everything sits nice and tight. The steerer multitool took like 10 min to fit, no tapping needed (well you need to smack the star nut out the bottom of the steerer tube). https://www.granite-design.com/ I got mine through takealot.

Sorry only saw this now - sizing seems accurate and quality has been perfect on all 5 items I received 2 finishers jackets(medium and XL), 2 medium name shirts and 1 medium lighweight hoodie

for those guys that did the race - the name shirts and finisher jackets are on sale on the ironman SA store, going pretty cheaply. Nice finishers jackets only R350. When I ordered, the jackets were pretty much available in all sizes, the name shirts only in medium. Ordered yesterday morning and delivered today! https://ironmanstore.co.za/product-category/70-3-buffalo-city-2020/

Ive just treated myself to the granite stash range of concealed tools - they look really well made and the handle bar inserted tools arent rattling round on a ride, I just received the steerer tube multitool and have to still fit it. They are not overly pricey and the non CT guys can order them off taekalot to get free delivery - the CT stockists I found all had delivery charges when I looked, I see there is a PTA stockist now. here is a review: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/granite-design-stash-tools-review-hidden-fixes.html

That is really a kark one! I was about to pull the trigger on Weymouth as well, I had accommodation booked (luckily it seems I can get a refund on this) and was only considering it due to the fact that we were planning on being in the UK at the time and it seemed a great chance to do a different event, so I would be peeved to be given a straight deferral to next year with no opportunity to choose a different event that might suit my travel plans better, I mean a trip to the UK isn't exactly on the top of everyone's bucket list destinations.

A couple of us deferred our entries to March from the initial November deferral, we all got the same copy past reply from Sharon, telling us not to tell anyone but that they would "allow" it and then they inform you that in doing so you forfeit the possibility of deferring it again should we not be able to participate in March 2021. Which is all fair and well, BUT if you wait until the Nov race is cancelled due to covid you will automatically be deferred to March 2021 and will still have a deferral option available to you should you not be able to make the March 2021 race (albeit your deferral needs to be done like a long time before race day I think). So the whole schpeel about "allowing" the deferral even though it is not the norm, to me is a load of baloney, as the main reason they are allowing it, and they make the future deferral clause very clear in their reply, is that it means that by accepting that clause you are basically guaranteeing ironman your March 2021 race fees. It is not really a massive thing as I fully intend racing in March and I understand that they are trying to guarantee 2021 income, but just thought I would point out a drawback of doing the deferral. I do think it is better to defer and focus on more probable race date and start working towards that, rather than doing half baked training to keep thing ticking over in the hopes that November does take place and then trying to cram in some swim training with 6 weeks to go. 3.8km is a long way to swim with limited preparation - well for me anyway. This is totally my view on this deferral thing and in no way factually accurate in the way Ironman are operating their business planning so feel free to disregard my little rant. Still cant wait to race again as soon as things calm down and cant wait to hear how the Weymouth race is going to be handled in September.

@eddy I have an old rear mavic skewer - not sure if you can cut it shorted and rethread it maybe? Will drop a pm

Thanks very much ridr for the magnet, much appreciated!

Anyone got an old spoke magnet like this kicking around that they aren't using - i am looking for a magnet that can run long the spoke rater than sit on the outside of the spoke.

check out his work on instagram, some incredible artistry and brilliant engineering

I've been umming and aaahing about this and hoping the rand might stage a huge comeback, also the coronavirus impact has also weighed in on whether or not it might still happen! My son was meant to go on a euro tour with school next Sunday and that involved Italy, so obviously that isn't happening and most sporting events over that side of the world have been postponed so I'm holding off for a few more days. I have booked accommodation for the weekend so that is sorted, so I'll be there regardless, either racing or supporting. I have found a bike to borrow for race day, bit bigger than my bike and alu frame, but hey, it'll do. Aiming to have some new GP5000 tyres delivered so i can put some new puncture resistant rubber on it based on previous ride reports. I will take my saddle and pedals over with me so I know i'll at least be comfy and can clip in. Already ordered and had an ARO5 helmet delivered! So I am just about good to go! May have to bite the bullet and enter soon before the price goes up again!

hahaha - I did that yesterday and also noted the 20min swim times and thought "JEEZ those poms can swim!!!" then as I went down the list I guessed the swim was shortened as even the guys way down the list were smashing my swim times!

Shot for the insights - would def look at coming down on the Sat morning as early as possible to avoid making it a mad dash around. Been looking at rental pricing, I would need a 54/56cm/large frame, not really finding much on the web - you got any ideas on who best to use? Race fees are a bit heavy, but that is Ironman for you, they do put on a decent effort though and only about a R1500 more than Durban 70.3 at the moment which i have done 3 times already. Looked at accommodation on airbnb and caravan rentals are pretty cheap and about 5km away from transition! Should be fine for a couple nights! Hub beer would be great!

SO....we have booked a trip to the UK to visit the outlaws and it just so happens that Weymouth 70.3 takes place a few days after our arrival. I planted the seed with the boss lady and this morning I received the go ahead to do it!!! Now the planning needs to be sorted out before I fork out the tier 3 entry! We are going via Dubai on Emirates and based on the "flying with a bike on Emirates" thread I have concerns about my bike arriving in one piece. The other spanner in the works is that we are planning on stopping over in Dubai for a few days on the way home so it would mean schlepping the bike around Dubai to the hotel and back to the airport. So do I risk taking my bike or possibly look at renting a normal road bike and make life a bit easier? Not aiming for a PB or anything, just a finish will be plenty! I do have the box my canyon was delivered in but must double check dimensions to ensure it is allowed, i also have a soft bike travel bag, but I think that would be asking for trouble! Based on the race reviews I've seen, it is likely to be wet and miserable, so more preparation will be required to factor that in! Definitely not conditions we are used to here! Could you pitch up in Weymouth on Saturday and have registration and everything done on the day or do you suggest getting in earlier? We arrive in the UK on the morning of the 18th of September. Looking at about a 3 hour drive from the in-laws in Worcester to get down there according to them. @icecreamman any tips and advice would be highly appreciated! You too @shaper, aren't you also doing it?

All best for Friday Shaper! Yea Trautman is there, apparently been nursing a stomach bug after his win, so hopefully that is long gone and he can hit it hard! These Pro athletes are machines! I'm still trying to get back into training for full and he is about to smash his body to pieces again - not human!!

My report of Sunday's race: That wind was intense!! I think we were the last to leave transition when it closed after queuing for ages for a loo. The lack of any kind of time seeding markings for the swim was a bit of a mess and left me very far back in the start pen, so I got into water a lot later than I would have liked and had to swim through, past and over more people than preferred, but it was what it was. The chop was a bit rough more so after we turned at the far end to start heading back and managed a 37min swim (3 min slower than 2018). T1 was smooth enough and was at the mount line and on the bike - got my one foot into my shoe and then struggled with my hamstring cramping when trying to get my other shoe on, so I was coasting along trying to stretch my hammy and calm it down enough to get my shoe on (I had hardly kicked in the swim as I have a tendency to cramp, so thought this might help, but no!). Once I was sorted I got going, tried to limit my efforts on the way out and didn't think I was overdoing it too much - my heart rate had been sitting between 160 and 172 since I started the bike but it was coming down slowly, so was cruising along to the turn, I was slightly behind my previous best time and made the turn in 1h40 (previously 1h34 in 2018). The drizzle was refreshing and knowing the wind was more from behind now I let rip!! A few nervy sections in the cross winds at times but managed to hold on. Got off the bike in 2h47, similar time to 2018 - 3 seconds faster). Again smooth T2 and off on the run (my nemesis!) first 4km were ok, could feel it was going to be tough, my heart rate was high again well above 160bpm, but unlike the bike, I cant sustain that effort on the run so by the time I started bunkers and it hit 177bpm I knew it was going to be a long slog to the finish line. I had to run walk all the climbs and again coming back past buccaneers into that wall of wind, running with the wind coming back I could manage longer runs. Eventually finished the run in 2h08 (2min faster run than 2018) for an overall finish of 5h42m55s (only 57 secs faster than 2018). Finished 2018 in 64th and this year 26th - but scarily the number of participants this year were significantly less - just over 700 fewer athletes this year! Given the conditions I am very happy with my overall time, just disappointed slightly in my run, was hoping to sneak it in under 2 hours). But I got off the bike with the biggest grin ever, so it was worth it - even managed a Strava trophy on the Hemmingways descent tied with Rudolph Naude in 5th place!

#92 - looking forward to the taper!

Be VERY careful - make sure that you really want a wahoo trainer though! They do offer "hassle free 30 day return" (quoted from their home page!!) if you want to send it back! Only catch is that there is a nasty 20% handling fee to return anything! My fault for not making it absolutely 100% crystal clear to my wife that I really didn't want or need an indoor trainer! I didnt even open the box! Thank goodness it was only the Snap and not the kickr4! EDIT: Wahoo kindly waived the handling fee as the package was still unopened!

I bought my tandem from Frans a couple years back just after his illness and he was getting his shop back on track, so I was really shocked and saddened to hear of this terrible incident! I spent ages in his shop chatting about bikes, such an amazing gentleman. We rode Saturday morning out on the east rand and it was the worst ride I have ever had! The drivers on the roads were terrible, the volume of traffic insane and you were just tense the whole time! We rode back up Isando road and as we got to Electron Road there were 3 police cars and someone under an emergency blanket on the curb, looked like a runner fatality, his poor wife was sitting on the curb next to him. We went past the scene around 9am. I couldn't wait to get off the bike! Such a terrible time of year to lose a loved one when we all be looking forward to seeing family and friends! I believe this is one intersection up from where Frans and Janine were hit - I will be avoiding road cycling until mid December when hopefully the madness has subsided and Joburg roads are quieter. RIP to the fallen athletes and condolences to the loved ones!

No normal clincher GP5000 tyres? Even the GP4000s?