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I had a nice easy ride with the missus out of V batch. Nearly had a run-in with the officials at the 80km water point when they suggested that the race was stopped. They allowed us to continue at our own risk citing the extreme heat. We were well hydrated and were riding well within my wife’s limits, so it was nice to be able to finish.
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Doing it with the missus. Both of us on E Bikes. I will use my 800w battery only, while the missus will use the 800w battery as well as the 250w range extender.
I comfortably get over 1000m of elevation and 70kms on the 800w battery, most of it on trails. A slightly slower pace at lower setting will definitely help with having decent reserves (both battery and legs) for Suikerbossie and beyond.
On 12/12/2022 at 8:45 AM, Yyyy said:Shoo, is this what stage racing has become.
is it frowned upon if i try to push myself
Q: So what was the race like?
A: My partner’s back wheel looked amazing from where I was riding
Q: And the views?
A: What views?
On 11/24/2022 at 4:59 PM, ChrisF said:
Ja, vryf dit in ....
Good deal for the locals.
Now if only Tygerberg and Bottelary could do a deal ....
I am not sure if this is still relevant, but I recall Adrian (former chairman of TBMTBC) and TBMTBC parted ways around 10 years ago and that the parting was not that amicable. He then headed up Botlary at the time.
I was a TBMTBC member until I moved to Somerset West. What I like about the Winelands setup is that day membership gives you access to ALL the trails on the network, not just one at a time and no access to the secret-special-members-only sections like the TBMTBC setup. Hence why I haven’t ridden TBMTBC since moving to SW.
9 hours ago, ChristiaanSt said:I did a quick spreadsheet to work out costs depending on membership and distance from trails. It was a rush job so I might have a wrong formula somewhere but it looks like its working. It also has a bike maintenance cost at R2.50 /km in it (this is E-bike rates).
Fill in the green values and it will spit out numbers
I think it works 😁
Nice work here. I guess for me Winelands is a no-brainer. Living in Somerset West, so most of these are riding distance from home, so the travel cost becomes moot. PS Winelands day fees going to R100 a day from 2023, so you’ll want to update that one.
3 types of e bike riders out there.
1. The e bike stage racer - he wants the biggest battery to get him through W2W stage 1 without a battery change
2. The Enduro / Gravity rider - Big battery with maningi travel for as many runs as there are hours in the day
3. The lightweight - 50nmt motor with a small battery. Usually for mommy to ride with daddy, and when mommy rides alone she can actually lift the bike onto the bike rack.
All 3 (and the combination of any of these) areas have seen tremendous growth in the last 3 years, and the bikes have all evolved at a staggering rate.
A colleague from Durban is currently in Somerset West at our head office. I’ve shown him around on our locals and he said that he now understands why I have an e bike. Being able to get from SW to G Spot, do 2 or 3 runs and back home in under 2 hours makes way more sense than doing a 2 hour ride on the road to Stellies and back before work.
And on weekends I easily ride from SW to Banhoek, over to Boshendal, have a light lunch and back to SW in 3 to 4 hours, with battery to spare.
Its still work, but you can really decide how much work it is.
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Thanks Chris, is the event E-Bike “friendly”, ie. Does the camping sites have electricity to charge batteries?
Looks tempting! What does the camping setup look like? Is the catered option worth it? Looking to do this one and rough it with the tent solo, so want to travel light
Reduce the number of road races and make them really premium with full road closures, well thought-out routes that offers a challenge and decent scenery, Consider 2-day events (or even over a longer span), incentivise competitive riders with decent prize money / sponsorship benefits.
TBH, road cycling is reflecting the poor state CSA and local governing bodies are in. On the MTB scene the “independent” and niche organisers seems to do very well. It is because there is perceived value.
If I have to deal with oncoming traffic while dodging potholes in a bunch of 50+ riders, I’d much rather do a small group ride / go solo.
7 hours ago, WhiteSpider said:When someone comes past doing 45km+ on a steepish climb in the cradle, then I would think yes, it makes a massive difference. Why they need to be so fast I will never know.
One needs to assume that the bike would be de-limited then. E Bikes are limited to 32km/h. I have done quite a few events with my e bike. A 700wh battery gave me about 1600m of ascent and 87km in just under 5 hours. It took very careful battery management to complete that stage and was marginally easier than what I would have done on a normal bike (I gained about 30 minutes). On shorter events / stages the benefit is greater. I have done a 45km event with 700m climbing on more or less full power and had battery to spare afterwards.
What becomes more important on an e bike, particularly on longer stages is accurate route information. Knowing how much climbing remains and what distance remains helps you to optimise your battery usage. You try to build a margin in, but in some cases you cut it fine or get it wrong. On that big day with 1600m climbing I finished with 1% left. The last 8kms took an hour to do, where if I had been a bit more conservative, I probably could have done that section in 30 minutes on about 50% power.
When I ride with friends that rides “normal” bikes I try to keep my HR at around 135bpm. It is in my training zone and I get a decent workout. Did Jonkershoek today with a non-e bike friend. We rode 2 hours on 20kms, I used 15% of the battery and had my HR in my zone.
The nice thing for me is I can ride with my weekend warrior friends as well as my alpha-male-who-has-done-5-Epic friends too.
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3 hours ago, Barry said:
Now don’t ruin a good rant with logic and facts… totally unacceptable!
The issues on this thread boils down to cognative dissonance.
1. The club wants the maximum revenue. This means making sure that trails have scary and catchy names, everything is a section on Strava and the trails are manicured to encourage fast riding and cater for the masses.
2. What then happens is trails wear down faster and requires more maintenance, and prompts threats of PK’s from a frustrated trail builder.
3. Do you now limit access to the trails, go with a more natural and sustainable trailbuilding approach, remove everything from Strava, put up caution signs on every turn and rename the trails to Chicken runner, Meadow meander, Pushing daisies and Grandma’s Sunday drive thereby limiting revenue and slowing down funding for trail maintenance.
Its a tough one with the answer probably somewhere in the middle. The issue is that when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no-one and that may mean that you may have to grin and bare it when paying club members does not quite fit into the box we want to put them in.
On 10/17/2022 at 11:24 AM, Headshot said:So, I heard this weekend that the U 2022 never happened and that only a few people entered. At R9500 pp for 2.5 days it was as elitist as they come, but I still find it surprising because I think there are still enough punters out there with deep pockets.
I think the real reason it was under subscribed is because the trails are too proper and require bike handling skills that other events like the W2W simply do not require. Thoughts?
I suppose there are many factors. I never really thought to do Joberg2C, but now that it’s done and replaced with go2berg I am actually considering it. So basically joberg2c without Sani2C. ?From what I gather Joberg2C never really got traction, so I am at least not the only one who never really considered it. 6 days opposed to 9 days makes way more sense in my diary and I’ve done 3 Sani2C’s, so not really fussed about doing that again.
I don’t think pricing was the main driver for the limited uptake in joberg2c as it seemingly offered very good value for money. It was also not overly technical or tough by all accounts, and had amazing trails on the route. Maybe it was as simple as 9 days are too many days for mass uptake in a mtb race that is not the Epic (8 days if you count the prologue).
Give these guys a shout. Have not used them myself, but a friend shipped batteries back from Europe through them.
4 minutes ago, Foxy said:Mmm but what can fit into the small
A tube, tyre levers, large CO2 canister and inflator, plugs, plug tool, small multitool, chain link, rd hanger. My understanding is that your limiter is the very small space the bike design allows for an actual bottle.
1 minute ago, Trashy said:As far as I know, Winelands (Paarl network) is not a club. We pay for yearly trail access. I've never received a newsletter (including the correct administration of PK's or otherwise).
https://www.winelandscyclingclub.co.za
My current local club of which I’m a member.
It points to a weak editor of that news letter and possibly a good indicator of weak leadership at the club. It is such a pity. I was one of the first guys to sign up at TBMTBC when it was essentially just Hillcrest (with that see-saw) and a bit of community work we did on Majick at the time. Its such a pity as their model should be a good one, and with Winelands MTB going the same sort of route, I hope that Winelands will learn from TBMTBC’s perceived arrogance.
Its Monday. I’m driving back from the RideTheKaroo 3 Day stage race. Time to reflect on what was one of my most enjoyable mountain biking weekends away. My wife and I decided to bring the 2 boys with as well. Aged 8 and 4, they are a hand full at the best of times. We booked the luxury canvas tents (2 tents) for the weekend opposed to bringing our own camping rig. It was a good call as the tents were close to the facilities and amenities and the boys could roam freely while I focussed on riding and my wife could unwind.
It started on the Friday afternoon with race registration and settling in for the weekend. We unpacked and I got my bike and lights ready for the 20km night ride. I was glad to see other e bikes along with my own as there is always the voice inside that tells you that people frown upon my e bike. The running of the sheep was followed by the ride that was a blast. Fun little sections of skaapspoor, a beautiful sunset and the chill in the air reminding you that you are living life.
Skaap tjops for dinner and bed followed after the stage with a chilly, but good night’s sleep.
Saturday we awoke to the harrowing sound of Bagpipes in their full glory. Falling out of bed, and utter confusion was followed by order to get coffee, have breakfast and prep for the ride. Batteries charged, we set off on the 76km route with a modest 660m ascent. Another surprisingly fun day on the trails ensued. The riders were all friendly, the water points well stocked and the route was extremely well marked. This being my 3rd e bike stage race, I by now have worked out my strategy. Conserve battery and energy in the 1st half and allow yourself some more liberties in the second half. Just over 3 hours on the e bike saw me in the race village by 10:40am with ample time to relax and socialise with fellow riders and spend time with the family.
Prego rolls for lunch was followed by some live entertainment by the Georgetown Band. A Swingy-country-jazzy sound filled the afternoon air until the Rugby started up in full swing in the shed. It was too loud for me, so I relaxed in the tent listening to the commentary and dozing before dinner. Dinner was a Karan sirloin steak with pepper sauce. A bit on the well-done side, but tasty none the less. An early night after prepping everything for the final stage.
Day 3 and the bagpipes were back. This time I managed not to fall out of my bed. My son who was sharing my tent with me slept through it all (again).
Morning routine done and ready for the final day. 48km with 530m ascent meant it was more or less full gas the whole way. I alternated the e bike between trail (set at 50%) and boost (set at 70%) for the whole route. The wind was howling like it only can howl in the Karoo. Every turn felt like a headwind, but having assistance helped in getting home in 2 hours flat.
I managed to move my massage forward to 10:30 and we left just after 11am to sleep over in Oudtshoorn.
I have to compliment Urban Goat for the well organised event, the fantastic venue and the great Karoo hospitality. The boys had so much fun with the other ‘maatjies’ and the time at the kiddies corner set up for the kids while mom and dad are away. The venue was very well set up with a coffee bar, a Gin bar and craft beer available for our enjoyment and consumption. The food was next-level with my wife hounding the orginisers for their recipe for salad of all things (here I thought salad was rather generic…). Well done in catering for the cyclists and families while having to deal with stage 6 load-shedding over and above the usual logistical challenges that events like these pose.
I found myself looking at their other offerings and decided to enter myself and the missus for their Owl Route 3 day race next year.
It looks like you all had a great time. I opted for the RideTheKaroo 3 day race near Middelburg in the Karoo. Race report to follow
[Event] The Owl Route | 31 March -2 April 2023
in Events
Posted
A huge shout-out to the Urban Goat team for hosting such an awesome event. My wife and I had a splendid time. 3 days of perfect weather, the best glamping mtb village on the multi day circuit, all that Nieu Bethesta has to offer and great company made this a definite fixture for next year’s mtb calendar.