Speed Racer

Yesterday at 4am nine of us set off on 300km Audax ride out to Villiers. One of our number dropped off the bunch just outside Heidelburg. He was not seen again for the rest of the day, but did finish at 1900, after spending 15 hours in the saddle. Well done, Nico! Riding 240km on your own is no easy task. We flew to Villiers (154km) in about 5 hours. I was feeling good and wrongly thought that this might be an easy Audax. How wrong I was when my stomach starting playing up as we left Villers. The wind was howling, and seemed intent on keeping us in the Free State. Godfrey saved my bacon by dragging me back into the bunch a few times. We eventually got to Three Rivers (230km) just before 1400. I got dropped just outside of Three Rivers, and rode the last 70km on my own. Great to finally meet you Crasher. You guys were superstrong! The focus now turns to the 600 in November. After riding the 300 without training, and last having been on a bike a month ago, I'm definitely going to have to add some training to the mix.

Awesome that you're keen on PBP. There should be quite a healthy contingent. PM me your email and I'll send you the qualification schedule.

Nice. Looks like we should have a grupetto of 8 to 10 riders, minimum.

Nice. There's at least another four people riding. Be great if we could keep a decent-sized bunch together.

I think you can make it. It's basically a 12 hour ride at pretty moderate heart rate. The big difference between this and the Jock (besides the distance :/)), is that your heart rate will be much lower.

G Force for me :-)

+1

Details for the remainder of the year are as follows; There is still the potential to do all qualifiers this year 300 kms 27th October Lido Hotel 04h00 600 kms 23/24th November Lido Hotel 03h00 200 kms 1st December. Ian Kernick 05h30 400 kms 8th December Lido Hotel 03h00 You should all have received an email with details. PM if you didn't get the mail.

Waiting for confirmation from the Boss. 300 will more than likely be in October. Watch this space for the 600 and hopefully a 400 before the end of the year.

Well done, sir. Those extra miles will come in handy next month :-)

PM your email, and I'll send you the route. We started at Cafe du Cirque and did a loop up the Steps, Klpirivier, Swartkoppiies, the Lido, Eikenhof, before heading out to H'burg on the R550.

We were on our way to Heidelburg, then onto Dasville (30km from Villiers), then back to the South via Henley-on-Klip. 200 odd km in all. About 20 riders today.

PM sent.

Me too. A number of others have already entered. Should be another decent-sized field.

Yip. 100 or 200 only :-)

The next thrilling installment of the series without end takes place on Sunday 29/9 at Cafe du Cirque in the Deep South. Kicks off at 630. The route is flat and fast (yay), heading out to Three Rivers, Heidelburg, and home. After last Sunday's Southern Massacre, let's hope the wind stays away. For those of you contemplating the Super Randonneur Series (200-300-400-600), look at it like this: if you can do a 200, you can stretch it to 300km a month later without too much difficultly. If you can do a 300, you can probably scrape a 400. Finally, if you can do a 400, you can definitely do a 600 (two 300km rides, with a nice chow and a bit of a sleep sandwiched between.

Thanks. Will let Eddie know.

Yeah, remember seeing somewhere within our constantly changing bunch. How'd you find it?

Might have missed you as a result of the tears in my eyes ;-) What bike/kit were you on?

That wind was something else! Feel like I just went 12 rounds with Money. Blew at 90km. Limped home. Bit of a crash at the second last (?) water point. Medscheme rider from the front of G decided he should get some water, altered his line sharply and took another rider down. Fantastic organisation. Will be back next year :-)

Any of you keen on going for Super Randonneur (riding a 200, 300, 400, and 600km series of events in a calendar year) status in 2013? We're looking at the following schedule: September 200 October 300 November 400 December 600/200 Let me know if you're keen. The 1000km event will be timed so that it can serve as a qualifier for PBP 2015, and will take place sometime between November 2014 and June 2015.

Reseeded to CL. The seeding really was an omnishambles. Mixing riders of such varying abilities is a recipe for crashes in the early stages. Look sharp.

Me too :-( Join us in the F express group.

Awesome riding at SBR yesterday. Wind was a factor on the Heidelburg side. Lots of riders out. No water at the carpark, and toilets not working. Hope they get repaired soon.

I think there's a good chance of two 600s next year to facilitate qualifying. As keen as I am on a 1000km event, the major issue in growing it will be lack of interest. I think the 600 in Cape Town before PBP 2011 only attracted four riders. Our 600km event in November is unlikely to attract more than 5-10 riders. The other issue is quality of roads. We recently rode from Jozi to Ballito, and had to put the bikes onto the trailer on two section which were too dangerous to ride owing to roadworks. Even in and around Jo'burg itself its hard to find a safe 200km route, never mind further distances. Great idea to not schedule rides from the North and South at the same time to facilitate qualification. Hoping to get clarity on next years programme on Eddie's return.