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So it seems Dane Walsh is riding again, he'll always stick up his hand for Solo honors.
Will we see Herman Hattingh dominating again?
Lance Stephenson has been hinting about it on his Instagram, another masochistic person who can take the Solo win.
Or is there someone new waiting behind the curtains to surprise us?
Oh, and don't forget William Keith - a former winner from way back 90mm suspension up front was excessive, and 26ers ruled the roost!
So it seems Dane Walsh is riding again, he'll always stick up his hand for Solo honors.
Will we see Herman Hattingh dominating again?
Lance Stephenson has been hinting about it on his Instagram, another masochistic person who can take the Solo win.
Or is there someone new waiting behind the curtains to surprise us?
Thanks PhilipV - this is my retirement race. (I know I always say this, but I'm serious this time - I'm getting to old for this self abuse!)
Another name to watch is Grant Lottering. He can certainly do the distance.
Was just about to throw is name in the hat! Since Darling TTU 24hr race didn't take place in October he must be hungry for a 24hour race by now. The last one he clocked around 340km with just under 6000m of climbing.
To win Oak Valley you need to do around 32 laps, which works out to be about 380kms and around 8000m of climbing. Enough to make me want to curl into a ball and cry!
i'm so blocking out the event, its not even funny
Welcome to my world. The final week is always the worst...
So for the people that done the proposed route in the past .... I don't have option, doing this on hard tail , but what tyres would you recommend.. Currently have 2.4 front/back to save my arse on long rides , pondering to go 2 on front to reduce resistance a bit and keep 2.4 on back for softness?
This route is definitely hardtail friendly. I'd leave the 2.4s on the front and back if you're going to be doing a lot of riding. Grip, comfort and control are far more important than speed.
I'm running 2.35s front and back, on my Yeti.
Gotta love the bit about the plane not suffering major damage. A sheared wing seems rather major to me...
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who saw this. I'm quite sure it's fixable with a bit of duct tape!
Only applicable if you camp at Camp Velouria. You want to cry yourself to sleep, while we are already asleep.
Your wife is smart, she rocks up with a gazebo and one chair. So that she can sit down.
Yup - no tent. No spare chair. No distractions.
I have heard rumours that she also brings gin and tonic, red wine, some really tasty steaks etc. But I have never seen evidence of these indulgences!
Last time I managed to fill my bottle on each lap at the water station, it takes only few seconds ... its the food and coffee part.... nothing like a nice hot mocha to boost your mood... and you never know what you going to crave after few hours, so pre making food always risky.
And the shoulder to cry on at 3 in the morning when you want to go home!
Im in such 2 minds about doing this again. ... I don't mind the suffering myself, but my poor wife need to sit around 20 hrs looking after me. Not sure I can do that to her again ...
anyone have tips on doing this unsupported ?
I always say that riding the bike is the easy part. Being the brains of the operation is the hard part.
I think doing it unsupported solo should be a separate category!
(My only advice would be a very big cooler box with 30 premixed bottles!)
We first rode DC with Nic in 2013 - this is what I had to say then:
You sound like a noob, ever done one of these before? the kids say "track asseblief" and "dankie oom" then disappear.
It's been such a long time that I think I am a noob all over again!
Watching a solo rider pass another rider (not a common occurance) is like watching a Formula 1 overtake move in super slo motion - the whole procedure takes about 3 minutes! So, I can afford to be polite and have a whole conversation - in fact, I often enjoy the company, the slower pace, and the distraction. My passing phrase is "Hi there - passing on your left/right when you get the chance", followed by a "Thank you", and it seems to work like a charm
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I didn't do the middle of the year one last year but did the previous year solo (I've done it quite a few times in teams as well). The year I was solo was when there were no school teams, and although the kids are always friendly when they're asking for space to pass I must say that it was nice to not have them there. It made it feel much more chilled which is nice when you're just dawdling along at a solo riders pace.
Now having school teams back as well as e-bikes is going to change that again which makes me hesitant to enter. But at the same time it is an awesome challenge... Hmmmm....
Maybe this is just the sort of event we need for us to learn how to be civil to each other again. I've never had an issue, both as someone passing people, or as someone being passed. As long as both parties are polite and patient, the course provides enough space to pass. "Please" and "Thank you" have an amazing effect in miraculously widening the trail.
As for the E-bikes - the purest in me isn't convinced, but if we want events like this to continue, we need numbers, and if the numbers are riding E-bikes, so be it. I think I would take the E-bikers over the trail runners - at least we have a few more things in common.
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Just did some Strava number crunching:
My commute is 17kms from home to work.
I commuted 130 times on the bike (a commute is one way, and excludes rides where I went training after work before riding home).
I did 2411kms of commuting.
I spent 90 hours getting to work and back.
And I climbed 31327 metres.
3
Here's SANParks' response to the brutal assault and attempted arrest of cycling star, #NicholasDlamini in Silvermine, Cape Town earlier today. His arm was broken.SANParks claims Dlamini didn't have the necessary permits, resisted arrest, and "injure(d) himself".
Just heard the interview on 702 radio with Donovan the witness that filmed it . He said Nic’s bars were pulled causing him to fall as he excited the park.The video then shows what transpired. He had to stop filming as he was threatened.
Here is the interview:
And SANParks though that this was their biggest crisis of the day...
The foreigners have latched on - a world of poo coming SANParks' way
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Well done Donovan for sharing!
How is SANparks going to spin this that it is his fault !
They broke his arm !
Clean break of the humerus. A snap - not a fracture...
The event is not complete until we have a ride report from Velouria ......
And boy do we have a few stories to tell 
Busy working on it
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[Event] 24Hours Of Oak Valley
in Events
Posted
We've successfully avoided the lure of 36One for a couple of years now - I think I can do the same here. Also, it doesn't help that the next 24hr will be in 2022 - I'll be old and jittery by then!