Jean123

Well, regardless of what the weather does you'll have a great time. We had some serious rain at last year's Ride, but it didn't affect the enjoyment in the least (apart from leaving the race village somewhat muddy...). Most of the bridges have chicken mesh covering them, but if its wet you need to be careful of the wooden ones with no chicken mesh as they get a slippery as hell! My wheels went clean out from under me in the blink of an eye last year. I hit that bridge like a ton of s@*t before I could even figure out what was happening. Was weird... was still cycling along, next thing I was on the bridge on my side, with my bike nowhere (it slipped off the side & luckily got caught up in the bushes over the water). I only realized what happened when the pain from my hip (having broken two wooden slats of the bridge) came through. After feeling sorry for myself for a couple of moments, I eventually got back on my bike. My partner welcomed me back on my bike with: "Don't forget your lipstick you dropped, princess." Haha. Good memories... Can't wait to piss in his camelback this year...

Thanks! It's always good to see the pictures too... just to REALLY crank up the excitement.

First okes to register, please do the usual & send the rest of us a pic of the race pack contents. It really helps the guys that need to plan their packing. For the Adventure guys undecided about whether to pack that heavy weather rain top... Pack it! http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Western_Cape/Elgin/long.html

I wonder if the stuff-up with last year's rider top sizes got the organizers to go "one size up" for the rider tops this year...? I was lucky enough to swap out last year to get the right size, but from what I remember quite a few guys weren't so lucky. And they are really cool tops, so it would be a pity if it doesn't fit.

See the Adventure guys are in for some fun & games weather wise... Glad its not us Ride guys dealing with the muddy race village again. Can we request you guys tread softly on the field..? We don't want a mud bath when we get there on Monday;-) Thanks guys!!

Lol Can't wait! I look great in yellow! Not like a gooseberry at all! *Sarcasm = switched to over-drive* Haha

Hi guys, Is it just me, or is the hype around W2W somewhat subdued this year...? There doesn't seem to be the usual buzz & discussions & news letters ect flying around. Maybe I'm just not paying attention, though... Anyway, question for logistical reasons: Does anyone know what the registration pack will include? I've heard previously that one year is tops, the next its bags. Seeing as we got tops last year, are we getting a bag this year? (Just so I know how to plan for packing ect) Thanks in advance for the info and/or banter that is to follow. Looking forward to some good weather this year!

No worries. Enjoy!

Have a chill pill man. I was referring to said rocky section... No need to be condescending about someone else's technical skills. Clearly yours are vastly superior and well done to you on that! But just because I found it tougher than expected doesn't mean I don't spend time on my bike and/or worry about the stuff you mentioned. PLEASE don't bring the roadie/surfer aggressive vibe to MTBing! I enjoy trail riding & ride it as often as I can. Normally it's not a weak point for me, so maybe I just had an "off" day skills wise today. Still enjoyed the day & look forward to tomorrow.

Sheez, I didn't think it was easy... Some of the single track stuff was as or even more difficult than anything I experienced on W2W. In short, it felt longer than 65km and more climbing than the 1350m claimed. But I might be wrong as I don't use a GPS. I might also just be feeling a little sorry for myself after a bad tumble when riding on one of those section that run on a ridge. (I HATE those things! Why can I cycle in a straight line on level ground, but ride like a drunk bastard as soon as the trail is on a ridge?!) Anyway, I'll take a teaspoon of cement tonight & HTFU to be ready for tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward, but a bit nervous too I have to admit. By the looks of the comments on last year's event it was seriously tough...? (Saw a pic of a handlebar that had cntr-alt-delete pushed on it) Did they change the route or are we following more or less the same stuff?

What an event! First stage race, but I can't see how it can get much better than this. All the hype around this event is true. It's awesome! My partner held out well & improved every day. Yesterday's mud & slippery conditions saw me wiping out twice, but luckily nothing serious... Although I did manage to break a wooden slat on a slippery-as-a-bar-of-soap bride with my hip! Today was absolutely perfect conditions and the ride was magic! It's a must do event for anyone that loves mountainbiking!

Bring rain gear! Looking like Monday could get nasty.

That seems to be the million dollar question... After getting some wiseguy replies to my question yesterday, I see the 'peculiar' forecasts have made other okes take note too. What's so strange to me is that the two websites (YR & Windguru) can have such different forecasts, while both of them are renowned to be very accurate. BOTH can't be right, because they're forecasting completely different things. Anyway, guess I'll be rooting for YR to be correct & looking out for a news article reporting on the meteorologist for windguru having lost his job for smoking pot on duty.

The weather forecast for the Ride is really confusing... I believe in two things: Windguru and yr.no Earlier this week yr.no was showing massive amounts of rain for Elgin from Monday all the way through to Wednesday. Just to confirm I decided to check on Windguru too, but according to them there was only a slight chance of a very light drizzle on Monday afternoon. Roll on to today & I check it again. Now according to yr.no there is only 1mm of rain forecast for Monday. Super chuffed to see the improvement in the forecast I checked it to Windguru again... which shows torrential rain the whole of Monday! WTF?! Are they screwing with us? Who is lying, yr.no or Windguru?!