BaldBatman

Stolen: Specialized Stumpjumper 2008 When: 20 April 2019 Where: Bike was stolen from my bike shed on my premises over easter weekend. Get further details about the incident in the Stolen Bikes section

http://www.entrytime.com/index.asp?GoTo=EventInfo&EventID=4143

Event Name: ClemenGold Wildevy MTB Race When: 26 July 2014 Where: Waterval CVO School,15km from Burgersfort,R37, MP, Mpumulanga Category: MTB Entrytime: http://www.entrytime...fo&EventID=4143 Although the ClemenGold Wildevy MTB Race was only established in 2012, we take our Mountain biking very seriously. When our organisers decided to host this event, it was our primary goal to host an event that would be par with any other professional race in South Africa. That meant: exiting and challenging MTB courses, decent prizes, proper time-keeping, toilet and shower facilities. But at the same time our event had to be family orientated and involve local community. In 2013 we had a phenomenal 280 competitors including some well known riders like Ben-melt Swanepoel and Samantha Oosthuizen. The best features of the ClemeGold Wildevy MTB are that it is hosted in one of the most spectacular areas of Mpumalanga with stunning single-track and the area has fantastic weather in the middle of winter! Please visit our Website and Facebook page for more info, maps and videos. Go to Event Page

Sorry to hear about the bad luck...I suppose it happens. See you guys next year.

It started last year when Bigguy gave me a tinkle and told me that he entered us in this new race. O the joy! This was my first stage race so I didn't now what to expect. I'll summarize by saying that everything else after 3 Towers 2009 was like kissing my sister. Ok 2010 and we're back. This time the boys at Mankele cooked up a "Race" (75, 80 & 50km) and "Challenge" (50, 50 and 50km). O the joy! I think Enema and Root Canal would be more apt descriptions but that's just me. Me and Bigguy are scared of nothing, except maybe Caster Samenya and entered the Race again...O the joy! Thursday afternoon arrived and once again tents were already pitched and the vibe is already there. Since me and Bigguy is on the tall side, we decided to bring out own tents etc. but there is ample room for camping and Mankele don't charge competitors who use this alternative accommodation. Nice. That evening, the guys get the show on the road. Monstrous amounts of food prepared by tannies of the local church. After that some short introductions and videos on big screens to wet our appetites. Race rules are explained, etc. Friday-Day 1: ============= Misty and chilly but not too bad. We're off at 07:00, me and Bigguy start right at the back followed only by Team Tortoise. As we hit the first climbs and the infamous Sting, our fellow entrants especially the newbies meet Mankele first hand and find out why this race is not for sissies. But all is not lost and soon we hit the main attraction at this race - "Single tracks" - the first of many. Look no respectable race should be without climbs, but the reward here is superdeeduper. As our ascent took us higher and high...Twilight zone stuff, the weather started turning for the worst. Well, worse than when we started. Roads got wetter, we got dirtier and it got significantly colder. After a hell of a climb we got to Water point 1 - Jeff met us there all smiles - well he IS riding a motorcycle, but then again I'm sure he's done this course more times than all of us combined. Food, drink, merriment. Apparently only one casualty so far. The road splits here for us and the Challengers and we were off - stuffed like Christmas Turkeys. Although we didn't like the idea of getting wet, by the time we got to Ryan's Waterfall, we were very relieved to get all the muck from our bikes. Short portage but with an excellent view and voila! Water point 2 where we were greeted with coffee! Coffee people, 50k's into a race! That is without having to mention the potatoes, bananas, bar-ones, marshmallows, ample water, coke and powerade. We were relatively at the back-end of the race but still nothing had run out, staff is friendly. It's is truly a joy to see a water point. More uphill from there and then some but then again the downhills are superb Forestry roads. Everything that goes up must come down and with a combined weight of the entire group of finalist of America's next top Model, me and Bigguy screamed down the declines. The guys at Water point 3 was a miserable lot but with the temperature dropping like Tiger's pants I could blame them. More food, cleaning bikes again, chatting with locals and other racers. Then the stretch back up to the backside of Sting. O the joy! But...then 60km/h down Sting is scary and fun like nothing on earth, topped with loads of unbelievable single track, fast and furious. Short sprint to the finish and glad to be done. Lots of self-service washing bays, an on-site Bike shop and mechanic - I'm sure he's ordered the new Prado this afternoon. The church tannies was ready with lunch: Chicken, pasta, potatoes, salads, more fruit - too much to mention. Hot showers - o the joy! Even though we finished with a smashing time of 5:20 (riding time) there was still hot water. Toilets are cleaned hourly if not sooner - ok I didn't time the cleaners but it's clean. Saturday-Day 2: ============= Early morning and it looked to be a slightly overcast day. With a heavy shower the previous afternoon we expected the roads and single tracks to be wet and muddy like day one. But the locals were saying it will be dry and I for one was not convinced. Breakfast was once again a wholesome affair. And lo and behold Bigguy was actually fast enough that we got to the start 5 minutes before the time. It would have been sooner if he didn't have a valve malfunction just before we left the tent. The route was loosely based on last year's day one route but more single track and a dip into the Schoemans Kloof valley. Some serious climbs and serious downhill. I know of at least one guy who had to choose between a shear drop and a nasty roasty and had to settle for the latter to stay among the living. The water points where again well manned (and womaned?) with reps from Westvaal and locals. I would like to mention that the organisers were almost always at hand at any given time, chatting to us, urging us on, etc. (even when we were swearing at them). And bearing in mind that me and Bigguy was some of the tail-enders of the long distance race it is nice to see that they don’t only care for the pros. The weather played tricks on us: from slightly cloudy, to overcast and chilly and back to warm and sunny. The result though was that the tracks and roads where perfect - not too slippery and not dusty. Third water point had coffee again! After a punishing climb back over the mountain to the Mankele valley it was more single track ad a quick sprint to the finish. A special thanks to the four guys in front of us - if you didn't frustrate us so much in the single tracks we would have never smoked you on that last little climb and "klapped" it to the finish. Tired but happy with our time we went for a quick shower and headed to the tent for lunch. Chicken, Potato salad, pasta, etc. Our bikes where relatively clean because of the weather but I had trouble with my derailleur and was worried about my brakes for Day 3. Fortunately the on-site bike shop sorted out the serious stuff for a R100 service fee and it worked fine the next day. Trent's shop was a life-saver and I'm sure he will be eating white bread for the rest of October at least. Trent incidentally didn't do to bad in the stages. Another honourable mention should go to Team Tortoise that once again didn't make the cut-off time, to the irritation of organisers and safety & rescue personnel. Ok so that evening more food - Barcelos Chicken enough for seconds for everyone, prize giving and videos and pics of the day. Ghost bike give away. The crowd loved the big spills and the team from the Video Production Company are champs. That blond on the back of the quad is beautiful and fearless and I’m sure she has a crush on me - every now and again when I come around a corner or drop into a ditch, there she is stalking me… Sunday-Day 3: ============= Sunday bloody Sunday! Perfect weather. Three wicked climbs: Sting and her two ugly sisters were not going to make it easy. On the plus side, superb single tracks and WICKED downhills. I’m not going to rant on about the water points, people or trails of Mankele again for day3 suffice to say it was more of the same. Day 3 was faster in a sense and the Racers and Challengers did the same route 30 minutes apart. Me and Bigguy upped our easy pace from the previous days and made good time for a change. Lunch was Barcelos Chicken burgers and enough so that most racers could pick up second helpings. By 13:00 it was all over with most teams in and prize-giving started. Congrats to all the teams that won and from our side congrats to anyone who entered and finished. It is guys like us that make the podium chasers look good…ahem! Side notes: ======== Mark & Jeff are from the plaas and as such have limited understanding of basic English vocabulary. If they tell you that a hill has a “slight” incline and can be a “little” tough, it will translate to a 21% incline, prostate check-up. Roads that are a “tad” snotty will end you up in intensive care, if you don’t heed the warning signs. Down hill single track that you can “klap” means that Burry Stander and people that had their fear glands removed will chase it down. Mere mortals however will have to use there brakes. But aside from their language impairity, these guys and their family are absolute champs and are tremendous boon to Mountain-biking. If you have not been to Mankele, do yourself a favour and go and stay there for the weekend. Loads of trails to ride, nice facilities, great scenery. There is a Padstal across the road and a filling station about 2 km’s away at Sudwala caves. Take the family to the caves and the dinopark. Not much of an attraction but you kids will be chuffed. Coffee shop and Restaurant. For the wife, the nearest Mall is about 30 Minutes away (Nelspruit) if she starts to suffer from anxiety separation. From what I have picked up between other racers that have also done other stage races (Epic, Sani2Sea, Experience, etc) the Three Towers race is considered as the best value for money. It is a fact that these stage races are expensive, not only the entry fee but also the prep work and travel/accommodation, so only a lucky few of us can afford to do them all. So if you have to choose one, I can definitely recommend the Three Towers. Like the saying saying goes “if you have to choose between two evils, try the one you haven’t tried before!” Checkout: http://www.mankele.c...zu_3_towers.php

You might have imflamation of the tendons of your Patella (that knobby bone on your knee) You need to see a GP, don't train for at least a week or two (yes no training not even spinning or running) and wear some elastic support like a knee guard. {Deep booming voice} RooiWillie...go to the GP...trust me.

I agree with the imaginary elastic pulling you up, combined with saving you energy and pacing yourself. Basically everything said sofar is good advice (except that roadie comment)...moving your weight back on a tricky dirt hill is going to make the front wheel lift up, make you loose traction, you will overcompensate and oversteer, loose balance and fall or stall. One of my first tips I ever got was to drop my shoulders, tuck my elbows in and down (thus lowering your centre of gravity). This works great when you get to a b*#4ch of a hill with gravel and rocks - there is no other way to get over it, just put your head down and go for it. Using the full rotation while cycling makes a lot of sense too. Initially just try to step/push with one leg and pull with the other, keeping a good rythm. Later try to do this with the complete rotation of your feet - you actually get components out there to force you to cycle this way. (Powercranks, I think's the name.) Check your heart rate, if you're going at it at about 90-100% of your max, you need to slow down, gear down and spin it out. For training purposes, I recommend intervals on a hill. There are thousands of variations but one of my favorites are: Pick a decent hill of about 5-8%, 1-2km's. Start on your highest mid gear and chase it up full revs/top watts. Free down and recover your heart rate to about 90/110/130 (depending on you fitness level). Drop on gear (easier) and go again. Doing this once or twice a week, is not only going to make you stronger but fitter too. Gradually you'll be able to do it further and in higher gears. You won't believe your improvement and attitude towards that climb in 3-4 months time. Also don't be shy to do this off the shoulder of the road ie. (heaven forbid) on gravel. But as the previous writers said, there is NO better way to train for the hills than do those pesky hills. I know that in Gauteng my bud BigGuy always complains that there isn't any proper hills (well not close anyway). So try to hit places like Mankele and Induna on the weekends. They do have hills..lots of them. In summary: Focus, pace yourself, pick your gear before going into the incline, check your heart rate, move slightly forward, tuck you elbows in, take deep breaths, look where you are going, "see" yourself making it to the top. Final note: A little competitive spirit or attitude isn't a bad thing either. Oom Gert Stoltz (Conrad Stoltz - Xterra champ's dad) always says that when he's riding and he sees someone in front of him in the race, he compares size and build and decides that "This guy/girl/oom/tannie/pipsqueek/hippie/roadie is not going to beat me on this hill!" and then focuses on catching this person in front of him. Obviously logic dictates that you don't pick Burry or Kevin when you try this.

Ok guys, so it is clear that some ground rules/etiquette needs to be posted somewhere. I agree with MintSauce that most of the rules comes down to common sense or even common courteously. It is clear that some of the Bloggers in this post has neither but I suppose all that downhill speed has cut of oxygen to some special part of their brains. Is it possible to start a new tread under General that covers basic etiquette like calling forward, indicating that your taking a drink, notifying other riders in a group of a pedestrian and the disputed ascent/descent rule? The Moderator can update/edit these rules at one place every know and again. BaldBatman2009-02-25 02:18:18