MongooseMan

Jeepers you've sent me down a rabbit hole. Let's just say I may have some cool pics in a month or two....

Edit: sorry, wrong person

If you’re gonna go full Dylan Johnson, why not add “suspension corrected geometry“ (or “suspension fork compatible”) to the wish list 😉

Newly updated front page

The obvious answer would be to look at Cape Epic channels, but they're completely radio-silent. Most of us are relying on second hand info coming from riders on course, or back at race village. It's a very expensive clown-show.

I mean, this came through about 2 hours late. And still nothing on Cape Epic channels.

Pretty sure everyone who is timed at WP3 (66k) and not DNF there will be allowed to start tomorrow.

apparently no riders coming through in the last 30mins, as they were all stopped at 66k. Individual Finisher

Well, not quite (see my backstory, I was probably the least qualified entrant in that I only got on a mountain bike a month ago to help out a mate who had run out of partner options).

As we were saying to riders at WP2 today: If there isn't a South African (or other African) flag on your race number, you don't have enough ice on you right now.

Yeah, been playing support today. Got heatstroke yesterday (headache, dizzy, all the fun things when you're going downhill on singletrack and you're not a "real" mountain biker 😆) Collapsed under a gazebo on top of a hill and medics pulled me and took me to race village. Drew blood for kidney tests and told me I was 1 point below going to hospital. If it was cooler today, maybe, but given the forecast I was strongly advised to not start, which given the outcome, I'm ok with.

Yeah, my partner is now stuck at Krismas camp, apparently waiting for a bus to get people back to the Race Village.

Stage apparently "cancelled". Reports of people vomiting on the trails, heli's evacuating people off the mountain.

Hearing reports from on course that race has been stopped at Krismas camp aid due to heat

They have cutoffs at the water points They have increased them today, WP2 was increased by 25mins

Sitting at WP2, absolute carnage here as riders arrive. still 45mins to cutoff, and temps clearing 40

I was in the medic tent this afternoon, they had a conveyor belt of kidney function tests running (i failed mine 🙈) and they were shipping every second person off to hospital. and that was today, the “shorter, not as hot” day. Tomorrow, at full length, would likely have ended with some really bad stories.

Stage 3 apparently shortened 90km → 78km, 2600m → 2450m. Updates on Water Points, Cut-offs & Start Times will be in the Stage 3 Route Briefing.

Legs were largely fine today (I may not be an amabubesi, but I did start in & at CT August world champs 😉), and it actually wasn’t as hot as feared. Did Rhino climb alongside a guy with one leg (amputated just below the hip, so not even a prosthetic). No excuses when this guy is single-leg drilling it past you, and then when everyone is pushing he’s either hopping next to his bike, or literally crawling if his partner is pushing both bikes. Hard as… mountain bike conditioning isn’t there for me (obviously), and my lower back locked up at halfway. Limped to bloemendal and spent a while in the medic tent getting some magic spray. last 2 climbs were absolutely brutal (think 16% in 5cm soft sand with direct midday sun). Glad to have a later start tomorrow, though it’s gonna cook as we reach Paarl.

Hey, that’s me! 😂 Long story, but essentially a friend with a long backstory who needed a partner since he got dropped last minute. i won’t pretend to be prepared (today was hell), but I’m giving it a go

Backstory: https://youtu.be/Z-n6fLUaZ_w?si=aojLbLDE4ogzx_LT

Remake of & batch trying to go past newlands this morning https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG9C6oyMw8z/?igsh=ajZzb3N4aW1pYTlj Very twitchy in the big bunch this morning

I did laugh at the registration people trying to convince cyclists in $,&,@ to add the washing machine thing to their bikes 😂 #notAero

Will be plenty going down Liesbeek and Main road (we're leaving Pinelands around 5:15)