Skubarra

I see now - yes that 60km one is exactly what I suggested. And again, just before you turn back there is a decent halfway cyclist friendly coffee stop.

My opinion - the most scenic/smooth gravel in the area is north of Wellington to Hermon/Riebeeck Kasteel. Park at a mall in Wellington, take the Old Hermon road north. Have coffee/breakfast at the Hermon farm stall or in Riebeek Kasteel if you want to go out slightly further. Then take the Porseleinberg gravel road back to Wellington. If you want to extend the ride loads of options north of Riebeek Kasteel or even to the Malmesbury side. Paarl/Durbanville have options but it would include lots of tar, more corrugations and roads are generally more busy.

Slightly off-topic but weird that they say no road handlebars, but gravel bikes are allowed? Certainly last year they didn't have any issues with road handlebars at the event.

I slightly disagree... I think some stress is in order, despite the loads of tar its still a very tough route overall. Close to 3K of climbing not trivial. But I agree with the advice, 1st 90km's are easy going, easy to get sucked into racing mode and burn too many matches staying with riders you have no business riding with. Then after De Rust the rolling hills and climbing starts and if you don't have enough in the tank your race can go sour before you even hit the Swartberg climb. ie very important to know the limits of your fitness and pace yourself correctly

Not quite following your reasoning here. But the issue is usually people trespassing before & after the race to ride the same route they have access to on raceday. Not much an organisor can do about that other than asking participants nicely, and then not giving gpx files help avoid people doing route recces before the race. A small gesture but it got us over the line with some difficult owners at the local Durbanville race. You might think people have enough access to trails not to have the need to trespass, but it is quite common to have entitled cyclists trespassing on farms with no trails or access and then verbally abusing farmers when confronted.

I know sometimes landowners are sensitive about people plotting GPX files across their property (yes I know once the race has gone over it, the routes would be publicly available anyway from Strava), but thats the type of hoops organisers sometimes have to jump through to get access...

Was a lekker ride, not a tough route pace was brutal if you tried to hang on with the sharp end of the field. 🥵 Haven't suffered this much in a long time Think there is another one nearby in August (and of cause Ronde van Riebeek in May!)

Just a random comment - noticed quite a few people missed turn-offs and some got completely lost on-route Saturday. Must admit I was never a fan of people requesting gpx files of the route from race organisers, thought it was overkill. But rode with the route on my garmin and it takes a lot of stress off you if you don't have to worry about missing a sign & turn-off and landing on the wrong road.

Still - it gives a good representation of how the route looked 👍

Love the video, and well done!

I assume your unit was still under warranty, while under warranty the process is quite painless. Once you are out of the warranty period though.... Then the pain starts

Yes - someone from the club needs to verify that you are a member of the club when you apply. And yes, I am sure there are virtual clubs out there that helps you to bypass the requirement to join an actual club.

Interesting, I know someone with a vets racing license who wanted to race in $ who was specifically told by the organisers that because he has got a race licence for his age cat and not for elites he is not allowed to start in $ (basically was told next year get an elite license if you want to race in $ because you are also not allowed to change mid-season) As usual not very consistent when it comes to applying the rules

Sure - what I maybe should have said is even with a very low index you would not (normally) be allowed to ride Elites at the CTCT unless you have a racing license as well. For most other races a low index is all you need to start in the front group.

For normal CSA membership you also need to be a club member? Agree with the rest, I think racing license only really relevant if you want to compete for national colours or want to ride elites in a big event like CTCT.

Saw on FB they are close to being sold out, should be a lekker turnout then. Looking forward to the ride!

I am entering this year - honestly happy to take the gamble, the weather is what it is, you just prepare for any eventuality. There are no other proper gravel races around that time of the year, September/October the calender is flooded with other events so I'm fine with taking a bit of a risk to do an event early August. This weekend I was at an event in the middle of the Karoo and the night before the race half the route flooded away in a big storm, you never have guarantees on the weather.

Definitely gravel bike route. Route would generally be easier than K2C, especially with regards to climbing. There aren't really very big climbs but the climbs on the rollers & drags do add up over 160km, especially if you are pushing for a fast time. Last year they had a different route because the pont was closed, so cannot really compare times but maybe a Sub-7 a good goal for a first attempt. I would just that add, event is in the middle of the Cape winter. So be prepared for rain, mud, storms, route changes or cancellations, whatever the winter weather can throw at an event have already happened (except snow I think)

I get why you are using teams - but of that 20% of teams I think at least half of them have individual finishers that still finish the race so I don't think team finishes tells the full story.

Looking forward to your event, has been on my bucket list for a while

Just a random thought but my takeaway from this guys history is that it appears you can get away for a very long time scamming people ie taking money for services/events but not delivering. But physically stealing something ie the Specialized e-bike is crossing a line that will actually get you arrested.

Any updates from your trusted dr source? Or do we still need our hub journo to do investigations into covered up Epic rider fatalities?

Historically close to 90% of riders finish the Epic? - I think our perception of loads of riders falling out every year does not quite add up to the reality. Add to the fact the 10% who fall out would include riders that were prepared well enough but had genuine mishaps - falls/health issues/mechanicals. Also the extreme heat we had yesterday is an outlier, not the standard, I wouldn't be too judgmental based on this one day

Other than the disclaimer "I am not accusing or suggesting anything" your post reads exactly like you are accusing her or suggesting something. Why put it out there if you don't have the slightest of proofs?