IrfaanC

Joburg Stadium as in Ellis Park 😳?

No truer words have been spoken 🤣. I've lost a group of about 9 riders to Padel

I seen the commotion as I was riding back to the car. Funny thing is they just pushed the oke out of the gates and then he took a small stroll and waited further up the road, probably to return a few minutes later i guess. Not enough police presence there to deal with anything. The security guards in the blue and Green yellow parking spaces were shady as hell. They were opportunistic and were irritating everyone, I seen a few people tell them k@k. They all had different reflective vests on trying to look the part and make a quick buck. I was fortunate to park at the red parking bay, closer to the sasol, the guards there were what I assume the official security guards, with matching reflective vests and were quite polite. They didn't even ask for a cent. However the ride from the stadium till the car had me on high alert as I felt like I was about go get jacked. I really hope they sort out the security there. It can make a good Day turn into a an absolute nightmare.

Well done to everyone who participated. I really enjoyed the event, as many have stated the support along the way was top notch. The climb from Jukskei up to main road really caught me off guard, I can't remember it being that steep last year 😅 A big thumbs up to the residents from Douglasdale, all the way up to Cumberland and Homestead ave. It got a bit risky around Braam Fischer, the pedestrians running across the road was quite scary. Hyde park was HOT, I passed there around 10am, and it felt like it was at least 30 degrees. And then there was that dreaded headwind from the double decker to the Nasrec off-ramp, last year there was a tail wind there and it helped carry me through. Fortunately though it helped on the way back to the stadium. I waited for a group to latch on to. It never came 😂 So I had to trap hard and burn myself out. On to things I felt needs improvement: The whole situation with parking and the non-official parking attendants. That was really irritating, we just pulled up and had someone ask for a tip. He walks away, then another guy comes and asks, he walks away then another. By the time I offloaded my bike and packed everything, there were at least 6 different guys. When leaving, it was the same story again. Maybe "Pit styled lanes" at the water points. I seen many people at the Monte Casino stop, and the stop after the Homestead climb that was parked off on the road, so some swerving action happened there. Once going over Empire road where the 35km riders meet the 97km riders, a few 97km riders forked left and got confused on the Braamfontein climb (No biggy, but red tape would've blocked it off better than the cones) I noticed that the atmosphere felt less vibey than it did last year at the end. Apart from that, I felt it was well organized. Hoping to get the opportunity to ride the 2023 installment.