Squier

I had the time of my life! What a race! What a vibe! and unbelievable organisation! My partner couldn't finish after he blew his cartilage in his knee on day 2, but other than that, 3 days of perfection! I'll be back year after year after year after year...

We're in F in the Trail. Sounds good! What time is the race briefing on Monday?

Slysi, I've had bad experiences with Racing Ralphs. Two massive sidewall cuts saw the end of those tyres and two races for me. The sidewalls are paper thin. I'm now on Maxxis Crossmarks. Heavy as hell but a sidewall as thick as my skull!

Another campsite available: https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/27698-mabalingwe-lion-man-camping-site-available

So Breedtsnek or not?

Glad you came right! We'll see you at the Trail!

I ride Silverback and love my bike. Good quality, value, etc. However, I do agree with the "turned their back on SA" comment to a certain extent, not because they moved to Europe but just because of the way the distribution of the bikes is managed locally. I bought my Moda last year April. That was just in time because by May/June there was no stock left anywhere in the country and Silverback just didn't intend to bring anymore in. If last year is anything to go by, their Storm and Mercury 29er range will be sold out all over the country quite soon with Silverback just not being bothered to bring any more bikes into the country.

How does the monster compare to Breedts or is it one and the same climb? Will be my first one this year, a week after my first sani2c!

Nice updated route write up! http://www.sani2c.co.za/DisplayLink.aspx?group=Race%20Details&name=The%20Route Man, I'm excited!! It'll definitely be no walk in the park, but we wouldn't want it any other way, now would we! Does anyone have more info on the spectator points? There's not much detail on the website.

No profiles yet. Saw this though; from the joberg2c page - sani2c day 1 and 2 in pictures. (Their day 7 and 8) http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.385613284817460.89249.217527471626043&type=1 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386679998044122.89389.217527471626043&type=1 Looks awesome! In a weeks time we're off!

Missed it yesterday but just had a look on youtube; Ouch! Probably not intentional but idiotic none the less. Let's hope the BMC team doctors know their stuff. Poor old Phinney looks pretty banged up.

And another +1

So, from what I gather the 86km and 1200m ascent that was published as the preliminary profile of day 2 was incorrect. Kevin Evans still tweeted about 2200m of climbing and from what I've read in this thread it's seems as if it is still a very tough day. I guess that's what we signed up for, right!

RIP Juan. Terrible news. Condolences to friends and family. What a massive loss to the cycling fraternity.

What do you take in terms of food on the bike? Is the food at the waterpoints enough? I usually ride with 2 energy bars and 2 peanut butter sandwiches on long rides but I'm obviously not going to make sandwiches on the Monday to eat the Thursday. Can I rely on the waterpoints for eating on the bike or do you still pack your own stuff.

Is there any way that the folks at home can follow your progress? For example, with the Epic you could register to follow a rider and receive an e-mail when they finished a stage with their stage results. I've had a look at the sani2c website but couldn't see anything.

I bought a Silverback Moda 29er early last year. Really enjoyed the bike. I then cracked the frame in December last year. Silverback replaced the frame with the new 2012 Mercury 29er frame, no questions asked. Great bike!

I rode an AKA at the back. The tyre lasted about 5 months. I wasn't impressed. Now riding Maxxis.

So, on the advice of Rouxtjie we went to Breedtsnek from Van Gaalens on Saturday. Only went to the top and not up and over and still did over 100kms. Going back on Saturday to go up and over and back- from the BP. 27 days to lift off! Can not wait!

Rouxtjie, 105kms to the top of Breedts and back or up and over and back? Another question, do you have to wash your own bike after every day or is bike wash included? I'm lazy...

Rouxtjie, how far from VG to Breedts? Do you have a kml/enmondo/gpx file for it?

I'm getting all excited (and a little worried) just reading all the replies. In terms of time in the saddle I think we're on par but we don't really have big hills in this part of the world so climbing is a bit of a concern... What are the Gauteng based people doing for climbing training? I haven't been able to get to Breedts, so it's mostly been klapperkop+groenkloof and van gaalens.

Had some good fun on Friday. Went over the concrete to daggapad and came back with the railroad to Oom Piet and then Greek Church. Was a fun, yet moderately tough trip, though only 700m of climbing. The daggapad singletrack is still some of the best I've ridden.

I wasn't even thinking of a sleeping bag! Would've had a couple of cold nights if it wasn't for this thread! On that note, I see the temperature in Underberg has already dropped quite a bit. Preparing for a chilly start...

Well done Daryl! That's a big win!