Craig Slow

Mountain bike alone in the Irene / Pierre Van Reyneveld area almost daily.. Never ride in open veld, always next to road (except Rietvlei, Big Red Barn and Groenies) Only cars worry me....

If you are new to longer distance races the 60km event is perfect for you!. Lekker flat, with little technical. Race has a nice relaxed vibe. Great morning out.

Are Line entries allowed?

Did the trail at the Big Red Barn on Saturday. About 25km, almost all single track through bluegum forests. Food, drinks available afterwards. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the Irene / Olifantsfontein area.

Agree with comments on fast and flat. Looking at the route profile for this race on Cyclelab's website the total climb for the 45km is only 392 metres. Compare this to the Astina Spring classic, which was close to 800m climbing over a similar distance. I like, I'm there...

Did the "45km" race. Tough for Gauteng climbing never stopped. Felt like we were out in the bush in the second 20km, which was pretty cool. Trail marking and refreshment stops were supurb. Now what's up for next weekend?

Too Luigat yesterday to do this race. Probably right decision...

Sorry this weekend. Specifically interested in the Mountain Bike race 25 August. I think.

Hi, I see these races are happening next weekend 24 - 26 August. Any route profiles available?

I tried to up my training hours per week to 6-7 hours for a couple weeks. It was tough! Really found the extra hour or two a stuggle. Picked up an ongoing cold as well. Probably a mistake I made was keeping a similar intensity for all training rides. I now have a strategy of making the longer rides easier. Lets see how it goes. Only done one race since starting this thread, times still similar, have to say. Maybe a 29er will help improve things too....

This topic seems to be quite, my 5cents worth. I was given a rating on saseeding of 80 after my first (ever) 20km mountain bike race done last year in two hours! Now I do 40km races in 2h30 and my rating is 83. No idea how this works.....

Wow. Some really great advice. Thanks all for interesting views. Tough commuting, working, family, social and training 8+ hours a week. Sport is boring unless it is done at the top of one's potential. I guess stationary cycling the way to go.....

Hi, Just interested in how many hours per week people are training vs their results. I've been riding about two years, train 4-5 hours a week. My results are currently around mid-table in 30-50km events. (Age43)

Just got home from race. Did 40km. Really nice varied route, enjoyed the "mountain" sections. Thanks All.

Cool race, I did 30km, the newly cut single track went on an on.... Where can we find the results?

Hello Anine, I ride the Rietvlei Nature Reserve (Pretoria) trails about twice a week. They have two trails the "Sunset route" and "Sunrise route'. Both trails are accessed from the Fishing entrance in Nellmapius road, you pay R10 for the ride. Sunset starts to the right of the entrance, is basically a hill that you zig-zag on for about 6km, it is quite good for hill training. Sunrise to the left of the entrance is a flat but interesting single track on the Eastern side of the dam, it is about 7km. Trails are well maintained and fairly well marked. Well worth a visit particularily for beginners....

Second time at Babbas. Really enjoyed day. Race well organised. Nice and flat, well marked course. No serious bottlenecks at single track sections. Well priced food and drink on sale. Got free photos at the end. The waterpoints could be better organised, with the 35km race water point being too near the end (but who really uses these anyway?). Overall great day out....