leona

the answer is layers. I'm in stellenbosch and just now its cooler in the mornings so i go out with a gilet and arm warmers. i can take both of these off when it warms up. same premise in winter just with more layers.

don't take your phone and your garmin will be fine. the one thing no one ever told me when i was coming up to my first endurance mtb race is how much more energy you use than the equivalent time on the road. i did a 6 hour race as my first long one and ended up begging food from people.. not good. so yes, my advice would be take more food than if you were doing a road race!

I had to chuckle at this thread. I know the climate varies wildly across sa but i cant help but think most of you don't really know what a proper winter is like? i am happy to be corrected of course! winter is bloody long in england so i feel well placed to comment on this. we have cyclocross in winter so not only ride/train but also race at very high intensity. the only time I've suffered from the cold is when I've done an especially hard race when its been very very cold. winter 2010 was especially vicious and we regularly had to race in 0 to -5 temps. my lungs felt really sore after, you almost expect to be coughing up blood but it never happened thankfully! i think the problems come from not looking after yourself. if you get very cold you are using a lot of calories to keep warm and you need to take that into consideration post ride. the key to staying warm is layers. no sense in going out wearing a thick coat coz you will get hot and sweaty which is an absolute disaster if you have to stop (puncture etc) as you will freeze. merino wool is a big thing at home, not sure of availability of it here? Id start with a decent base layer. wool is great but so are synthetics if you don't mind getting a bit smelly so, baselayer - id normally go short sleeves and wear arm warmers as i can take them off if i get warm but if its properly cold then long sleeve with arm warmers too. over that id wear a long sleeve jersey and then a windproof gilet. i don't like wearing a hat under my helmet as i get too hot but a windproof ear cover does the trick. the hardest thing is keeping your hands and feet warm and i also go for layers in that case. wool thin glove with thick winter/windproof/water resistant outer glove and as many overshoes as i can fit on!

well.. i wasnt last at least.. seem to be going backwards at the moment.. post epic safari not helped my form

really interesting to see all these positive comments. id read about it and thought it sounded good. i cleaned my chain really thoroughly and applied it as directed the night before the epic prologue. within 40 minutes my chain was squeaking like it was bone dry which it was. I've tried it again since and same thing. I'm wondering if i should apply more than directed and see if that works coz so far I've found it crap.

ive ridden it a few times now. the only place id say you could go wrong is when you cross over the dam and have to ride up a steep concrete climb. i don't remember ever seeing signs at the the top. you come out eventually opposite the entrance to the main road but theres no signage. don't go on the road.. just turn right to keep going up. the single track at the beginning is really good, the new stuff is great.

my canyon is making its race debut...

may well go and ride after.. copperhead?

me too... want to do it but thats silly. i paid 1800 for origins of trails but id only just arrived in sa and thats my excuse.

if its as short as they say then surely you could do the race and ride in the area. id be keen for that if someone wanted to show me around after! never ridden round there

i see its on live but i wont be at home to watch it this weekend. cant find any mention of it being on again so wondered if anyone knows? I've always watched them online from home (england) but my internet here is too slow to stream it later on.

yr.no is saying **** monday, loads of rain monday night and into tues morn but dry from tues midday onwards. i think the strip of thing (or whatever its called) they've introduced will be put to good use if you are starting in cold wet conditions. honestly, the weather is the most intimidating bit to me just now.. sunday i can deal with but cold wet for 8 hours on mon? bleugh. the least we can hope is that it will be 20+ deg as predicted by yr.no on mon. thatl make it less ****.

someone in the supporters village will be selling these.. just so you know if it gets proper cold http://selkbag.co.za

absolutely. definite highlight of my time here (since nov!) it really was fantastic. would have loved to race but too close to epic plus id have been dead last!

I'm relying on the fact that the forecasts change from day to day so much here. yr.no saying dry mostly in robertson next week and thats all that matters at the moment. rain on sunday i can deal with.

crucially stellenbosch is only down the road..

and don't take peoples advise too much to heart. what suits one bum won't suit another. i never have used a womens saddle. i use a specialized phenom on all my bikes, suits me well. may suit you, may not..

id have thought hard climbing is just going to make you tired? i went to jonkershoek today to practice riding uphill switchbacks.. had to put some effort in but generally rode fairly easy. did a couple of 15-20 sec sprints. tomorrow will be the same then prob day or 2 off. sat il ride an hour or so with a couple of short hard efforts.

where are you all seeing these awful forecasts? the gospel according to yr.no says its going to be dry in robertson and greyton if a bit cooler than recent. 21 degrees sounds like pretty nice riding conditions. better than last years 40 odd but give me 40deg ANYDAY over rain

i honestly don't know what clothes will make riding for 6+ hours in cold rain bareable. i am actually really quite scared about this latest bit of information. rain on sunday i can deal with but I'm really scared about cold and wet for the rest of it. being from england doesn't help in the slightest let me tell you. no one goes riding for hours and hours if its pouring and cold..

wow... if only it were that easy..

whenever i see a topic like this, all i want to say is 'move to england, what its like not being able to do marathon anywhere because of land laws and then complain". you lot are so spoilt here, I'm sure its very frustrating going wrong, i would have been also but its one race.. move on to the next one and be thankful that you can because you have so much choice. I also rode the 75km route and it was fine, there was one sign near the end that had nothing on it but aside from that i thought the marking was very clear. it is your responsibility to look at the signage so really, you can all only blame yourselves. *sorry but I'm moving back home in may and I'm dreading it.

2012/13 sworks epic, xt pedals after too many xtr pedals coming off the axle. Same tyres I used last year on my 26in. Continental protection race king rear and xking front

i think there might be a specialized 'test the best' this weekend at jonkershoek? don't quote me tho

so its actually no gamins rather than no uploading? i don't think its that clear in the email. suggests to me no tracking the route/uploading rather than you cant use the garmin for other features