grant10

Superb route on the 55km, challenging, but so much fun! Well organised and well marked with perfect conditions. Great day out!

I also just want to give credit where credit's due and say well done to the organisers and thanks to all the marshals for a well managed race! It's a tough race with a route through some very touristy areas, so it's always going to be a difficult one to manage, but as someone else said, it makes a very nice change from all those Stellies/Durbanville routes. I would also just like to say thanks to all the league riders who stayed away today and gave me a chance to stay with my bunch and not have to pull over on the side of the road to have a little cry after 40km.

Wow, that's completely ridiculous and one of the biggest ripoffs I've heard of. I thought it was expensive before I knew that. I'm in B for PPA and entered on the 1st Feb. Now I've just paid almost R300 to start at the back?

Keep an eye on www.alltheevents.co.za

I heard it was starting at 6.30pm tonight, is that correct?

How long is Ou Hels again?

How is everyone planning to warm up for Hels? We can warm up but then we just sit in our chute for 30min and cool down? Is it worth trying to warm up?

How is everyone planning to warm up for Hels? We can warm up but then we just sit in our chute for 30min and cool down? Is it worth trying to warm up?

Nice report Really enjoyed +1's last night and also want to say thanks to the group of 4 and in particular Uwe who pulled us around! I'm still trying to work out how we stayed away from the scratch? Was it a particularly fast pace? I also always see guys taking heaps of photos and would love to see them if they are up somewhere?

So if I arrive tomorrow morning, is it still possible to enter?

It is sad because we need the events. I love guys who put on events and always have respect because I know it's incredibly hard work and you can't please everyone. So I'm always happy to forgive a few issues along the way and 'go with the flow'. But yesterday was ridiculous and a shambles. If you decide to go ahead with a race even though you know you've been dropped by the traffic department and/or are struggling with marshals and logistical issues, then you deserve to take the flack. There were no marshals at key junctions (everyone I spoke to afterwards took a wrong turn at some point), no water points, no finish line?! and nothing to even drink at the end. I did 120km instead of the advertised 115km and I would have gone even more wrong if I had not been in a bunch. And stopping and starting at robots - that's not a race. Then the route back to Stellenbosch took us all the way around and through the city centre on a public holiday with no closed roads?! Chaos. My wife did the 75km which is a big distance for her and she ended up doing 89km!! That's not cool when she was at her limit to get through 75. We also met a very upset woman in the parking lot about 2 hours after we had finished who was still looking for her husband. He was in the 75km and hadn't finished yet! It was only his 5th event ever and they weren't from the area so didn't know Stellenbosch at all. So I really hope they found each other and he got back OK. Makes you appreciate the organisation of other races where a missing marshal is an exception rather than the rule. You won't see me anywhere near this race again.

Is the longest event starting last?

Ya thanks for nothing pbp2007. For the record, I've called Garmin, they told me that Cyclelab or Sportsmans would likely have spare parts. Both of them have told me that they would need to send the watch back to Garmin as they don't stock spares.

My watch strap on my Garmin Forerunner 310XT has broken. What's the best way to go about getting it replaced? Is there a dealer in Cape Town I can chat to?

That was a nice well organised season opener. That profile made those climbs seem way worse! They were over before I even realised it. Rode with C/D and really enjoyed the "Paris Roubaix type" gravel section which is also where our bunch broke apart! Didn't realise that the gravel section would go uphill! Will know for next time and position myself accordingly. Nice fast finish though, well apart from that headwind in the last 10...