dexterdent

Based on the heat and location, anyone that even makes it to halfway in today's stage has my respect. It's hot enough I'd be worried about my tyres melting. Even though I think outside of the racing part, the epic has become way too corporate and paying almost R100/km to ride trails you can do any other weekend seems crazy to me (maybe I'm just poor, do what you want with your money).

Classifieds here are awesome, I've bought and sold quite a few things on here and never had any issues. Low-balls don't bother me, but they clearly bother some people - so how about adding a field to your ad which may or may not be public, and says "Ignore offers under Rxx"? Allows the people bothered by low-balls to avoid the irritation, and allows the free market folks to continue as is.

I did a couple of rides in the area a while ago - details here Swartberg is an absolute once-in-a-lifetime-level ride, would even suggest doing it both ways. We only did Meiringspoort with the car and it doesn't have much of a shoulder, so you are a bit at the mercy of the drivers (like many other spots). You'll probably have a good ride, it's a beautiful road. Seweweekspoort is a bit out of your way, but another highlight if you can fit it in. Otherwise just ask Arno as above.

While we are moaning about ebikes, the people that race with their de-restricted bikes to 500m from the end and then wait around for 30 minutes to get an "official" time while still claiming the 3h20 strava time, are just as bad. Disclaimer: ebikes are awesome, it gives the opportunity to experience something legit amazing to many people who would not have been able to get it otherwise. But the concept of ebike "racing" is to be frank absurd when there are no limits to watts/batteries.

I did a 3h00 from 1C at a NP of 193W (~85kg), spending a reasonable portion of the last half of the race at the front of groups. Power/time for the climbs was also way down on what other people have posted here. I suspect I got lucky with good group pace to Smits (during which I was unashamedly sucking wheels and dodging idiots at the back). Previous years my NP was around 220W for a 3h05 and 3h08 respectively. Seems easier to wait for a good weather year than try and get fit enough to get a sub3 irrespective of weather

Yeah agreed that Gautengers should pay the international rate They didn't ask for my ID but I spoke Afrikaans so maybe that helped?

Yeah, unless something had changed I did this about a year ago. Was around R100 I think, but a lovely ride inside in one direction (the one the wind is blowing).

Anyone else find it really difficult to get to the front later on in the race? Not due to lack of power (D was creeping along by then) - just not enough space and not willing to cross the white line. Probably just a skill issue on my side.

Yeah - I wouldn't say it is a silver bullet, but I certainly no longer need double-wrapped bars and gel gloves for long rides. I'm keeping the stiffer elastomers for now, but might play around when I have more gravel coming up. I'd say the biggest difference is when hitting corrugations at a reasonable speed, it takes much longer to get that "out of control" feeling - so the damping is working. Also, there is no disconnected feeling between the bars and the bike, which I was worried about. Might change with some less stiff elastomers though.

There's the crux. If I only wheelsuck I'm probably an A seeding, if I spend time pulling I'm likely a D.

I hung on for about 5 km before my chain dropped at the hill. I was really looking forward to try and stay with you and maybe try some turns to prove I should get a better seeding, but the mechanical took that away. It was a good opportunity for people to prove their worth, and if you were able to use it, then you deserve the upgraded seeding.

Started in C, thought we were holding good speed until some D-pros came past at which point the group got less fun. Just at the start of the climb I dropped my chain, which then got caught between the crankset and frame and was seriously stuck. Eventually got it loose, but now the one link was bent 90 degrees - which I then managed to bend mostly back with my multitool. At that point I'd lost 10-15 minutes (and more importantly half my water that dripped out) so decided to give up on my time and rather try and pace a few groups in to work on my own fitness while jumping between gears every second revolution. Please note, if you are not intending to go to the front, then don't join the paceline. Makes it much harder to get back to the front when every time you have the only other person doing some work go to the front, there are 4 people behind him not letting you back. Wheelsucking is fine, just don't make it harder for the person doing the pulling. Anyway, managed to meet some cool people and have a few good chats. The heat was horrible even by 9am, I can't imagine how bad it would have felt later in the day.

I managed to do this over the weekend from Vermont - incredible route, and not even that many cars (the few I saw were very aware and considerate).

Useful to read DCRainmaker's response to the update to show why this remains an issue (Use the "Jump to" menu on the left to get to it): https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2024/11/stravas-changes-to-kill-off-apps.html I get the feeling this is another one of those "executives make decisions to get themselves bonuses but then backfire because they don't really understand the product" events (e.g., Boeing).

This is a pretty good price for a Varia: https://www.takealot.com/garmin-varia-rearview-radar-rtl515/PLID71785159