Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

Yes. I'd say so. You still need to be technically proficient, but for me the fitness is more important. The most brutal part of it (for me) was the ascent to stage 4. Not a *lot* of climbing, but it was the terrain. Rocky, and energy sapping. No smooth path through the rocks in the trail. Getting into and keeping a rhythm was almost impossible, and there were sections you just *couldn't* ride out. If it'd been a manicured single-track climb all the way... Different story entirely. Probably. Edit: actually, I'd say what's most important is the ability to ride tech while being completely and utterly buggered. It's one thing riding something like that when fresh. It's a completely different proposition doing the same when you've been out for 6/7 hours and then pinning it as hard as you can, trying to concentrate as much as possible. Imo it's the Enduro that comes closest to what EWS and Euro enduros offer. A "normal" Enduro event here is over in 3 hours or so.

Hahahahahahahahahaha! No.... Definitely not. And cool.

I like that.... Mind if I plagiarise?

I didn't finish, but it doesn't mean I can't write about my experience. Maybe It'll help someone else prepare for it or something similar a bit better than I did. Oh. I also think that the very fact I DIDN'T complete, means there's something to be said. It's brutal. It's uncompromising. It's also a sign that it is achievable for the average Joe. Maybe not to finish, but to at least try.

In terms of IMBA st4&5 certainly would be. I don't like the imba ratings (think they assign the ratings too easily) but that's how it is. None of the features were avoidable. Terrain is exceptionally varied. loose rock all over the place - literally carpeting stage 4. Stage 5 wasn't as loose but it was bigger, apparently. Stages 1-3..... Green imo.

Gonna be writing an Ezel for Noobs review this pm.

26 DNF's in a field of 80. Some through injury, some through mechanical, some just from missing out on the last stage or some of the other stages.

This. St4 for me is my favourite trail of all to date. There are drops, but they're not huge. What makes it difficult is the sheer time that you spend going down this loose, rock strewn moonscape, after having to get up there in the first place. It was MURDER on the arms and legs. It took me 16 min to get down stage 4. I had to stop twice to just breathe and release some tension from my arms and to prevent cramp. A 16 min down after 6 3/4 hours at avg 158bpm is not easy. Having said that, the technicality was pretty high compared to the normal trail in CT. There are patches on TM and in jonkers that rival it (talking stages 4&5) but the vast majority fall way short. If it were an imba trail it'd be a solid double black. Not from a drops or jumps perspective (there were only 3 jumps and all of them were in st1) but just from having to keep control of your bike over sections of loose rock while still doing those drops. The pics, as always, don't do it justice. There is loose rock just littered all over the trail. Stages 1/2/3 were completely different. Loose and off camber, but dry and dusty. Hardly any rock.

LOL. On stage 4 & 5 that's pretty much how it was marked. Pink spraypaint splotches, cairns and random arrangements of rocks in a sort of arc designating a corner. Oh, and the go-pro effect is in FULL force.

Ezel Enduro 2017. Fecking AWESOME event, with even awesomer people. 10/10 would do again. And next year I'm gonna make stage 5. Missed out on cutoff by 15 minutes. The walk up to the top was the same route being used to come down...

not so much increase, as change. I still need to dig into it properly as the marketing material was VERY thin on that aspect (Gen may know a bit more) but it seems as if it's changing from an up front discount system to a cash-back system, much like Vitality's partner store discounts are at the moment. Seems that way, at least.

nah, it's actually pretty easy to get to 500 points. Online assessments, fitness assessments, broker appointments and revisions together with active days and the "security checks" etc. The thing that takes time is getting to Private Club, purely for the reason that you get more points the longer you have their products.

Thanks!!!

That's why I still want more info than is available on the current marketing docs. It is crap for those at the lower levels, but we've been doing this for Vitality for years... Just becomes less of a benefit / advantage of the momentum (health) offering. Sorta changes to the current vitality model. If you want the benefits, work for them. Not getting anything for gratis anymore. But yes. I Understand the reasons behind the change (it makes sense to tie it to contributions) but I don't like it.

Yep. Still 12k a year on the max level. But I you're amber, the max you can ever get is R7,200 pa if you use the above example. And that's on private club. If you're on "green" and pvt club it's a win all the way. Still sucks.

Yeah. And I need that info to be able to help my clients. Can't get it. Not yet at least. And yeah. Not nice.

Yeah. The complementary brochure is the one I'm referring to. It's a bit thin on details. There is info there, just not enough.

It remains a VERY good benefit, and tbh brings it in line with how it should have been from the start. Also a few more benefits that are changing (like the ways you can spend your health returns, and voucher Cashback etc) but will explore those when there is better info. Marketing material from the launch was..... A little thin.

So for assoc/state PRINCIPAL = 1366 pm / 500 = 2 full amounts of R500 (fractions are ignored) SPOUSE = 1066 pm / 500 = 2 full amounts of 500 = Max 1000 P/m for a family, subject to the formula above. Children are ignored. As they should be. Lol.

Going to post the pic of the marketing material. Makes it easier.

Oh goodness..... That's pretty. Also pretty easy, given time and the right tools and budget. Search for Nathan Heyns Cabinet Maker on FB. Bloody good work. He did the var and shop installation/manufacture for Rosetta roastery in Obz

I did. It was quite atrocious. But nothing out of the ordinary. Seriously though. Was that not an attempt at taking the piss? If not, then apologies. In a pretty dark spot atm so I'm liable to misread things even if it's as blatant as that. But if so, comment stands regardless. It stands regardless anyway. In this industry blanket statements are dangerous and form the majority of my income stream (as a result of having to fix things that have been applied via a cookie cutter approach) Therefore, your "can't imagine" is just ignorance. Maybe okay for you, but not for everyone else, where your circumstances are unique to YOU.

Absolutely. I have DL/Vit and MH/Multiply and get the best of both worlds. Would I move my life cover over to Momentum if I could better the cover : premium there? Absolutely. But the 40% discount I'd get now (and 60% in 2 years) simply doesn't overcome the extra benefits and payback I get through disco. For some, it does. And in those cases I'll always recommend a move. But only if it's in their best interest