Velouria

The section I hated most on the hardtail was the long straight road before the railway crossing. It just felt like a very "hard" road. And then there is the field before the railway line - I'm convinced that farmer is actually farming rocks! After that, I don't recall getting too upset with the riding conditions - either my brain has blocked all that out, or I was having issues with other things. Oh yes - that section of dirt road from the last water point to the tar is rather unpleasant, but after 330kms, anything is going to be unpleasant!

By then my partner had lost interest in racing and was on a mission to eat as much as he could from the water points. And it was impossible to get him to leave Checkpoint 3 - they have pancakes!

I used to have a "no riding below 8 degrees" rule when I was younger. Being cold wasn't fun. Now, not riding my bike is worse than getting cold (well, driving in traffic is worse than getting cold). I do look back on my life with a bit of regret - all those days of bike riding that I missed out on

We played a little game at 36One last year. Since the solo guys start ahead of us, we had lots of targets to chase down (chasing red flashy lights can become quite addictive). But as we moved through the field, we ran the risk of collecting some passengers, so we'd always pull our overtaking moves on the flats, or on slight downhill sections where we could out pedal the victims. It was like a cheetah stalking a gazelle, and then pouncing! That kept us busy for about 6 hours. Then we had to amuse ourselves with each other's company, and that wasn't nearly as much fun. (I run a 2x11 38/28 on the front, 9-46 on the back, and my partner has a 3x10 44/34/22 11-36)

The deciding factor for me would be the bike's gearing. There are so many big flat wide roads that you want to be able to push a gear and not spin out. The hills are not that bad (yes, I know that they become awful horrible insurmountable mountains of suffering after 15 hours in the saddle), and you should be able to get over them with your granny. If the gearing is the same, then ride the bike you know best. The one you trust. The one that you can ride on instinct. There is nothing worse than wondering for 14 hours if the sounds coming from your BB are the death throes of your 36One adventure and that you're going to be stuck in the pitch dark for hours on end until help arrives. You need to be in a happy place for this race, and anything that causes doubt should be left at home (I hope my partner isn't reading this - he is my biggest cause of doubt, yet at the same time I wouldn't consider doing this without him).

Like a sucker to a get rich seminar... We have a stupid rule - if you win your category, you have to go back to defend your title. And we both know that despite everything we might say, we don't know how to not be competitive.

I don't mind getting wet - like you said - it can be quite enjoyable. Makes you feel hardcore and committed and tough. But starting in the rain? I'm not that hardcore, committed or tough! I'll have a car day and get on the Wattbike when I get home to show my hardcoredness, commitment and toughness

Yoh - almost got knocked off my bike this morning. Closest incident I have had in ages. Going straight through the first circle in Technopark - I usually own most of the lane when going through circles, but today I was a bit more laid back. Traffic was quiet, I was chilled. I wasn't having to fight for my life for my safety. Or so I thought. I'm halfway through the circle and I feel a knock on my elbow. Naturally, I sh!t myself before realising what is happening. A woman in a car has pretty much gone over the hump in the middle of the circle and is trying to pass me mid-circle. Her wing mirror clips my elbow and I swerve towards the right. Luckily, I catch it and am able to swerve the other way, away from her wheels and towards safety. She doesn't even bat an eyelid, and as she drives away, I see she has one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, and in her other hand she is holding her phone on her lap. Her head is down, looking at said phone. I naturally yell a few expletives (I did not flip her the bird) and shake my head (while hoping that I hadn't actually sh@t myself). Nothing from her as she drives away, oblivious. I eventually get to the office, park my bike, and there is a guy there waiting, shaking his head. He was in the car behind and couldn't believe what he'd just seen. He'd sh@t himself too because he thought he was going to ride over me. He apologised profusely, even after I told him that it wasn't his fault. If I had a bottle of whiskey in my desk drawer, I think it would be half finished by now.

Last year my winter gear consisted of a pair of arm warmers and some knee warmers. I think I only got wet a handful of times, thanks to the drought. In terms of commuting, a perfect winter. In terms of water supplies, the worst winter ever. That said, it was quite a lot colder last year than it usually is for a Cape winter. I'm good to ride without gloves down to about 6 or 7 degrees, but there were quite a few mornings where the temperature was 3 or 4, and riding without gloves in those temperatures is "character building". I have booties, but never wear them. I always find it's worse getting the trickle of cold water that oozes in from the top into the shoe than it is getting the water off the road gradually wetting your feet. I just wear my old shoes when it rains.

I am of the opinion that you shouldn't need to do more than a 6-hour training ride for anything like 36One, Baviaans, 24hr etc. If you can keep your body and mind together for 6 hours, you're pretty much good to go. Longer rides incur the recovery penalty - takes me a month to get over a 24hr, probably 3 weeks to get over 36One, and 2 weeks to get over the BigDayOut. Afterall - 36One is just 4 90km stages. And anyone can ride 90kms, especially if there are water points every 30kms. Date balls and coca-cola. Food of champions!

Oh no - Eroica has loads of regulations, but, as I figured out about most things Eroica South Africa, they are mostly guidelines... 1 - If you ride a pre-1987 racing bicycle… a) more recent bikes with gears and derailleurs - such as Simplex, Huret, Campagnolo, Zeus, Shimano, Suntour, etc. - must have shift levers on the down tube of the frame; exceptions include pre-1980 non-indexed bar-end gear shifters and rod/hand manual operated front derailleurs;b) pedals should be with toe clips and straps or, for older bikes, original vintage pedals - quick release clip-less pedals are not allowed;c) the brake cables must pass outside and over the handlebars (referred to as non-aero brake levers), and not under the bar tape (cables can pass inside the frame);d) older geared bicycles should have original shifters such as Cambio Corsa, Cambio Paris Roubaix, Cambio Vittoria Margherita, etc.;e) wheels must have at least 32 spokes laced to a low profile rim (20mm depth or less, except for the wooden rims), and the rims must be of either steel, aluminium or wood;f) both tubular tyres and clinchers with inner tubes are allowed;g) we invite participants to fit saddles from the same period of their bicycles, or a vintage model of modern production such as Brooks leather saddles, Cinelli replicas, San Marco, etc.;h) the changing of gear ratios are allowed due to the difficulty of the ride;i) there are no particular rules on the type of brakes used as long as they are from a similar period to the bicycle, and that they work efficiently for safety reasons. 2 - If you ride a pre-1999 racing bicycle (a special South African category)…a) bicycles must have shift levers on the down tube of the frame; or bar-end gear shifters;b) pedals should be with toe clips and straps - quick release clip-less pedals are not allowed;c) the brake cables can pass under the handlebar tape (referred to as ‘aero brake levers’), along the handlebars;d) older geared bicycles should have original shifters such as Cambio Corsa, Cambio Paris Roubaix, Cambio Vittoria Margherita, etc.;e) wheels must have at least 32 spokes laced to a low profile rim;f) both tubular tyres and clinchers with inner tubes are allowed;g) we invite participants to fit saddles from the same period of their bicycles, or a vintage model of modern production such as Brooks leather saddles, Cinelli replicas, San Marco, etc.;h) the changing of gear ratios are allowed due to the difficulty of the ride;i) there are no particular rules on the type of brakes used as long as they are from a similar period to the bicycle, and that they work efficiently for safety reasons.

The "vintage" roads outside Montagu. A rider everyone should do - put Eroica on your bucket list!

Bianchis and Le Jeunes we the two dominant brands there, kind of like modern day Specializeds, except the owners weren't like modern day Specialized owners. Stopping to chat, helping to fix punctures, and admiring old bikes are all part of it, along with a brandy stop at 20kms. I'll definitely be back.

Cool photos DJR. And what a cool event. I'll do a blog post a little later, but this has to be one of the hidden gems on our cycling calendar. Cycling the way it was supposed to be. Unlike other races where you worry about your legs lasting the distance, at Eroica, you worry about your bike making the distance!

You were at the same talk I was at Slowbee - I think you know some of the answers here... Except perhaps that it's still a predominantly white sport. Money is just one of the factors. There are so many other barriers to entry, from social to historic. I remember being petrified of joining my first club ride, and I didn't have half the issues to deal with that non-white people have to deal with on a day to day basis.

The first point is particularly valid - it's the once a year cyclists that make this event. The race snakes and sub three wannabees are probably more effort than they're worth. But... The only thing less safe than bunch of roadies in a road ride is a bunch of mountain bikers in the bunch thinking they can be roadies because they once saw Chris Froome caressing his top tube with his crotch (I kid you not - middle of the bunch down hospital bend and there's a guy getting all aero. He almost missed the bend and ended up on the N2 to Somerset West...)

Good thing I don't ride tubbies then, although those cateyes do have an uncanny ability to lure you in

Yup - that stretch, also the Agter Paarl stretch from Wellington to Klapmuts. Malmesbury to The Silos. SSW to Stellenbosch etc... Exactly. I reckon that because there is less tar in contact with the tyre, Chappies is actually faster

Those that it didn't take down got stuck behind the mess, watching Two Hands and his 6 buddies slipping away. I reckon about 6 guys went down hard, and then the swerving started and there were cyclists and bikes everywhere!

The Crash also helped with dropping the rest of D...

So when do we get to talk about the biggest non-event of the CTCT? The tar on Chappies. I was expecting nothing short of absolute carnage, but imagine my surprise when I discovered the tar was like the tar on practically EVERY OTHER road in the Western Cape. Such an anticlimax...

You can tell we've thought this through: We probably need to start at around 2 for a nice gentle lap of the Peninsula. Then we'd get back just in time for the race snake start, where we'd have to hang on for dear life (you should see my wheel sucking skills when my life depends on it) and hopefully we get to finish at around 9:30 - just in time for the last lap, which would include several beer stops (we've been practising that last lap for several years now and really know how to pace ourselves, both on the bike and in the pubs!).

Not an unreasonable question at all. Let's just say that we have tried to figure out a scheme to do it 3 times... [emoji6]

Ask the okes in 1D - they seemed quite adept at leaving me on the front while pretending to not be there. It's amazing how skinny and quiet some guys can be when trying to hide on your back wheel. It's much easier to just settle in and ride a tempo than hopelessly flap an arm and trust that someone will come through. After all - everyone is saving themselves for the "sprint" for 700th place!

Apart from that incident, 1D seemed like quite a good bunch. Okes were chilled, no shouting or swearing, and I felt rather safe. I was a little annoyed at having to go around the crash (it's amazing how the "not my problem" gene kicks in when riding bikes and chasing other riders), but it did look pretty bad. The guys were in pieces. The medics running towards the accident from the water point 2kms seemed a bit inappropriate. A car, and preferably an ambulance would have been better suited. On a side note - 1D was two minutes faster than 1A to the 51km mark. But we sucked on the climbs, so 1A made up 6 minutes on us over the second half of the race. (It's a sad day when I'm the one of the better climbers in the bunch). Me waiting for the bunch to catch me after Smits (just before the Oceanview turn)...