Beet_F

Had a blast. Great event as always. Now I need to loose a couple of fats before those climbs at Hakahana... Great job Fritz, Francois, Wessel and the rest of the staff!

Don't want to be the guy taking the fun out of the day but if you have the sniffles, take it very easy or skip it all together. Heard of so many people this week who had heart attacks while training with colds. The late gentleman at Clarens also had a slight cold. Not worth it. Seems like the strains of flu going arround these days are much more severe than usual. Good luck anyway as I take it you are already on your way. Enjoy it out there today. Doing the 40 with the wife! Cheers

Wife and I did a very similar route once and the only area we had an issue was after crossing the N14 and going over the road heading towards Northern Farm(R114) a "rabies infected" dog chased us until we crossed the river at the bottom. There is however another single track you can take that goes more to the left and not past the shacks that could help you avoid that... Don't feel all that comfortable with the area as you pass Lanseria and I've heard of guys picking up trouble where we got to know that dog. Very nice route but everything points towards riding in a group. You only have one life so why take a chance?

Wife and I are in Leisure Bay, between Glenmore and Port Edward. Did our first ride this morning. Humid, hot and not as flat as our trails in Jhb... Not training for the Iron Man but keen to go fit into Sabie(MTB) in the new year. Happy with any company on the routes. Going to set up a WhatsApp group for communication.. Send me your number if you want to be part of it. Only me and the wife on it at the moment 083 427 3311

What a lekka race to end the year! Advendurance sets the standard for hosting big events. Still wish riders would walk to technical bits off the track as walking in the track spoils it for guys that want to ride... Anyway, looking forward to doing some training over December and being a bit fitter for Sabie next year. Dust was pretty intense in the first couple of km's. Sinus all clogged up. Got my Nexomist and Fexo 180 this morning so all will be better in a day or 2. Check everybody next year!!!

First, Powerade is an energy drink.... Second, pack a freaking cooler if you don't like to walk to a drinks tent or stand in a queue. And lastly, please stop making stupid posts regarding the technical, race briefings, drinks, suggestions, advice, this, that, etc etc. The race is great as is and nothing is ever going to be good enough for you. All you do flippen moan...

Been going up and down the thread and can't help but get annoyed with the comments regarding the "technical"... I am by no means a Philip Buys when it comes to technical skills but seriously, if you did the 40km or less, there wasn't really something in the race to write about. And then comments about "briefing riders before the race", do you need a hearing aid? Riders need to be honest with themselves and go to skill clinics and ride a lot more before going to these major events if it was too tough for them. We finally have organizers in the form of Advendurance that host real MTB events in and around Gauteng and still we have complaints... Go and enter any other race and you will quickly see the difference. I 100% agree with SeanN. !!!! HTFU !!!! We have Cherise smiling away and showing her bruises and then a couple of 'Men' crying about a rock or 2.... Hakahana has descents that are going to kill you if you thought this was bad so stop training on a spin bike in the gym, join a club or group of riders and get out there and challenge your skills. The organizers are true mtb'ers themselves so luckily it is not going to get softened up... And for my final rant, if you are new, please don't think it is ok to stop on the route at any given time and do whatever you need to do. If you need to catch your breath, have a drink or you want to walk, lappaside china. Hope to see everyone who isn't bitching about the route at Hakahana...

Massive success once again. Thanks to all Advendurance, marshals and volunteers. Showers were a great touch, especially with the hot conditions. Everyone knows by this time how challenging these events are to host and somehow you guys nail it every time with little to no issues. By far the benchmark for races, taking into account the numbers your events attract. Fitness was not what it should have been as I hibernated the last couple of months. Add the fact that I snapped my chain 3 times, lets just say I had a longer day in the sun than planned. Check you all at Hakahana....

What a fantastic day! I think it is only when you have been to a bad event that you appreciate such good organizing. From the very best, fastest and experienced riders to the people doing their very first ride, this event catered for everybody. To accommodate so many people takes skill. I'm sure there is someone here and there that might differ but really enjoyed the well marked routes, well constructed crossings and the drop off section just before we went through the building was epic! Liked the fact that the guys from advendurance were so hands on. Even saw Fritz on the route marshaling and assisting. Guess thats why their events do so well. Well done on yet ANOTHER GREAT EVENT! Can't wait for Cullinan...

It is tough not to get angry. Every year government thinks a 2 week campaign is going to save lives on our road and then they let all the motorists drive like lunatics for the rest of the year... Road discipline needs to be enforced throughout the entire year, especially amongst taxi because they are the most reckless drivers!!!

Shocked to my core! Got the coldest chill down my spine. Unbelievable and very sad...

Sorry, only saw now after I posted. Not the Evil Eye Pro. It is Evil Eye S.... Maybe the deal isn't "too good to be true". The guy was however advertising for R 1000 and now he has dropped the price to R 600... Good luck with finding new glasses. It pisses me off when that happens. Only so many pairs of glasses fit and when you loose a pair the cost is insane to replace.

Here is a brand new(black) set for R600... http://www.junkmail....-black-22498777 Take a friend with because this deal looks rather dodgy,(Too good to be true) hence the reason I'm not trying to buy it but hopefully all goes well and you have yourself a new set.

Ok, should have packed up yesterday morning when we arrived(as my wife requested) but decided to push through and do the "35km" and I must say, NEVER AGAIN. I should have joined the alcoholics having beer at 06:45. A part of me really enjoyed the race as the conditions brought something that you don't get every day but another part of me was crying as I heard my bike eat itself while calculating how much "that" part it going to cost to replace... (check out the pic) To the organisers, Don't pat yourself on the back, Don't dismiss remarks on this tread as emotional outburst's from people who don't understand that you don't have control over the weather and PLEASE, DON'T organize another race ever again! A MTB event isn't a quick score to make some extra cash before Dec holidays. It requires careful planning, backup plans in case of extreme conditions and know how from people who understand what entrants want and expect. In case you are allowed to ever organize another event take the following and remember it: - You need to have a proper backup/sweep vehicle. Not a snot nose laaitie who thinks he is there to ride his scrambler for the fun of it. Always think worst case scenario and ask yourself what would have happened if the last rider had a bad fall, bite from a snake or a heart attack and there was no sweep vehicle??? - You need more people on the track, especially when it rained like it did and when you mark the route like your a$$. - You need to mark the route more regularly and more visible. - Your toilets were disgusting. And you do get rentals that are in better shape! - If you say a route is 35km's, make sure it is 35km's and not more... - You can use a little bit more imagination at the finish line. Doesn't really feel like a finish. - Goody bag, Medal, T-Shirt, anything except a little bottle of water. For a R150-00 there are quite a few cheaper races around that offer better routes, are better organised, safer, more enjoyable, goodie bag, a medal and a drink with sugar and electrolytes at the end. You might have had a lekker score in 2012 but I guarantee you this race will never see me again, and I bet I'm not the only one that feels this way.

It's easy to sit here today and say I enjoyed the 40km but to be honest it was brutal. I made a lot of jokes, telling people that rode past me while I was walking the climb after the second water point that they must stop doping but that was just so I wouldn't burst into tears from exhaustion and cramps. I haven't done much riding lately and weigh in at 99kg's while I should be weighing around 84kg's. Does it get better and easier to ride these races the longer you do it? Also, was this a standard 40km or was this one of the tougher races?