bradjackson

So all you dot watchers trying to decide which dots to support next week, check out these guys (and lady) who will all be riding the Munga in aid of the Smile Foundation. https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/groups/the-munga-smile-team Give them your support

I think this closely relates to vrooomm's comment about making peace with the wind. Those who tried to stick to their intended pace after the first hour last year would have been over-extending themselves. My original plan was to reach the first race village around midnight... well within 1 hour after the start it became clear that was a pipe dream. I had to force myself to slow down to a crawl just to make it to the first water point, and then only rolled in to RV1 around 4AM. That's one of the things that keeps you occupied while riding the Munga... continually calculating and recalculating your time to the next WP or the next RV, and then working out how much sleep you can afford.

Sounds like an opportunity for some excellent Munga conditioning...keep your kit ready next to your bed. Then when you wake up in the middle of the night just put it on and go out for a 6 hour ride. On bibs... You want a chamois that dries quickly rather than thick padding that's gonna trap moisture. You will find yourself jumping into every windpomp dam to cool off and you want your shorts to dry as quickly as possible to minimise chafing. I used 2xu tri shorts which worked great for me. Really had no issues with chaffing at all.

My Munga last year went something like that. I felt like a guinea pig in my own experiment. Entered 6 weeks before and got away with so little training its not even funny. All my training amounted to just a little more than the actual distance of the race. The whole year (Jan to Dec) I covered just over 4000km on the bike (including the Munga). I rode it on my Giant Anthem SX 27.5 without any special mods or fancy packing systems. It really is mostly in your head. The race is brutal but 5 days is a long time and if you can just motivate yourself to keep moving forward steadily anyone CAN do it. I made it to the finish with only a few hours to spare.

The Gemini Xera is R1950 for the 2-cell version, and R2150 for the 4-cell variant The Gemini Olympia is R2900 for the 4-cell and R3050 for the 6 cell Check out the list of stockists on our website: http://www.magiclight.co.za/

Magiclight was first to introduce the previous generation of high powered LED bike lights to SA three years ago. The market has certainly grown and there are now many lights available with varying degrees of quality and some seriously dodgy marketing claims about lumens and what-not. We have been doing our homework and are now proud to introduce the next generation of lights to the SA market. Gemini is a Canadian-based company producing high quality bike lights which are far more than just clone copies of what the other guys are making. They have upped the game by paying attention to the important aspects of a bike light - like energy efficiency, size & weight, beam pattern, programmability, and the list goes on. What makes Gemini lights better than the rest? Here are a few points to ponder: Well focussed beam, optimised for cycling, produced by high quality optical lenses as opposed to cheaper reflector lenses Extremely efficient drivers which convert more of the energy from your battery into usable light Highest quality Samsung batteries providing more capacity in the same size & weight package Sleek, small & lightweight design User-programmable modes (in increments of 10%) But don't just take our word for it, Gemini lights have been reviewed by some leading bicycle websites with excellent reports: http://road.cc/conte...ed-light-systemhttp://road.cc/conte...ed-light-system http://www.bikeradar...rst-look-33200/ Gemini lights are distributed and backed by Magiclight in SA and are available from all Magiclight retail stockists. http://www.magiclight.co.za/products/bike-lights/Gemini%20Xera.pnghttp://www.magiclight.co.za/_/rsrc/1334569514771/products/bike-lights/Gemini%20Olympia.png

Anyone still contemplating on whether to come to the PE leg of the National Series, I assure you its going to be worth your while... this course is something else!! I've uploaded some photos from our recent EC Provincial to the Mountain Events Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.461220100570143.124917.202390673119755&type=1

Check out this helicopter flyover of the new XCO course at Hayterdale, near Addo. http://youtu.be/SsIViaxyZzQ The course is insane. Technically and physically challenging, and most of all its really FUN to ride. Join us here for the 3rd leg of the CSA National Series on 26 & 27 May. More info: http://www.mountaine...eries-3---xc-dh

Check out this awesome helicopter flyover of the entire XCO course. Filmed on Friday 11 May. We held our EC provincial race there this weekend and the riders are loving the course. Its physically and technically challenging, and most of all its great fun. For anyone still trying to decide whether or not to come to PE for the Nationals at the end of May, let me assure you it WILL be worth your while. This is an amazing course.

Event Name: CSA National Cup #3 - XCO & DHI When: 26 May 2012 - 27 May 2012 Where: Hayterdale, Zuurberg, near Addo, Eastern Cape Category: MTB A brand new XCO & DHI course has been constructed for the 3rd leg of the Nationals Series. For more info including course descriptions & photos/videos visit: Mountain Events Website Go to Event Page

Check out the Wide Angle Lens which we supply. It makes a significant improvement over the standard circular beam. On the road it takes the edge off the beam for oncoming motorists. Off road it improves the distribution of your beam without scattering unnecessary light upwards where its not needed. http://www.magiclight.co.za/products/extra-accessories

Hi Waadie Can you give me some info (real name, race no, estimated finishing time, etc) Did you pre-enter (online or in a cycle shop), or fill in a late entry form (On Friday in PE, or Saturday in Addo)? Did you upgrade or downgrade your race distance at registration? Did you collect your race number together with someone else (and possibly got them mixed up)? We're confident that all riders crossing the finish line were captured, so I would like to investigate this for you.

We drove the route - more or less keeping up with the leaders and I can tell you, even the teams that came 2nd and 3rd walked the section just after checkpoint #3 (didn't see the 1st team at this point but I reckon they would have walked it too). So don't feel bad for having to walk some of it - it was an extremely tough route.

Hats off to Wikus and the team for pulling off such a big change at the last minute in order to ensure that the event can still go ahead. Personally I think the route change is gonna add a whole new challenge to the race and level the playing fields - the course is brand new for everyone... Fortunately for me I'll be enjoying the route in the comfort of my Hilux, but for those who will be suffering through it and have no idea what to expect from the new route, maybe this video clip will help - its a Google Earth fly through of the new Groot Rivier course

The piece of plastic is not what you're paying for. Plastic is dirt cheap. Any idea how much time, money, thought and hard work goes into developing a simple thing like a bike mount bracket? Our upgraded mounts have been in short supply while we've been getting production ramped up. And not all the shops will have them in stock just yet. If you need one urgently PM / email me and I can arrange to get it sent down to your LBS for you.

Ja There's a mini marathon at the venue in the morning and we're gonna run a small low key DH race in the afternoon. Its on Sunday the 5th.

Bicycle Trackers have recently become available in SA through selected cycle shops. Battery life up to a year before requiring a recharge. This is achieved by the device spending most of its life asleep. It wakes up on a preset schedule to check for SMS messages (like whether or not its been stolen). Default schedule is every 6 hours. This setting can be changed but will obviously impact on battery life. Already had one success story in SA of a stolen bicycle having been recovered with the the police at the thieves shack in the township. PM / email me if you want more info.

Here's a short snippet of the Loerie course taken this past weekend. Loerie DH video clip

Unfortunately we've been so busy working on getting the course ready there's been hardly any time to play. The few downhillers who have ridden it have been impressed though - Chris Nixon, Wesley Augustyn & Johan Potgieter to name a few. We're hoping to capture some GoPro footage tomorrow and will post it as soon as I have it. I know its very close to the event already, but if you're deciding whether or not to make the trip for the weekend, I assure you, its gonna be worthwhile. Have you seen the few photos we have on the website? www.mountainevents.co.za

Yes it will be open. Just need to confirm the formalities and the procedure for getting access to the course in future. The owners are very keen for MTBers to come and use the venue and ride in the area. They have really bent over backwards to accommodate us so far - even built part of the access road to the start and did a whole lot of clearing of the course. They're great hosts. Downhillers staying at the venue this weekend can look forward to some 1st class Eastern Cape hospitality. In the meantime, anyone wanting to go ride there, get hold of me and I'll put you in touch with them or arrange access for you.

So how many Hubbers are coming to the DH this weekend in PE? We've built a really sweet brand new DH course near Loerie for the 2nd leg of the CSA Super Series. The venue is at a resort called Loerie Ruskamp, situated between J-Bay and PE and offers great, affordable self catering accommodation as well as camping sites. Better book your accom soon though as the chalets are going fast - still plenty of camp sites available for those brave enough to camp this time of year. The vibe over this weekend is gonna be electric. Braai fires will be provided and a cash bar is open at the venue. We've organized a mini marathon race on the Sunday morning as part of the festivities, so those not racing DH can take part and then move on over to watch the DH racing after their race. All the info you need can be found here: www.mountainevents.co.za/ Here's a pic of the Start "Tunnel" http://www.mountainevents.co.za/_/rsrc/1304400708091/news-articles/loeriedownhillcourseready/SAM_0907%20%28Medium%29.JPG?height=240&width=320 And one of the Finish: http://www.mountainevents.co.za/_/rsrc/1304400707988/news-articles/loeriedownhillcourseready/SAM_0903%20%28Medium%29.JPG?height=240&width=320

We have a brand new DH course and a seriously revamped XC course ready for the Nationals taking place in a week and a half. We've also planned a bunch of other MTB activities over the weekend, e.g. skills clinic, night ride, mini marathon. It promises to be a great weekend! Check out the Mountain Events website for all the latest details

Just an update for those following this thread... We had a meeting last night with interested parties about security in the Baakens Valley. We are determined to stamp this out before it becomes a trend. So far, the score in terms of the area around the XC course is mountain bikers - 1, Bike Jackers - 0 (and we intend to keep them off the scoreboard). Unfortunately they managed to get away with 2 bikes in the area near Sunridge Park, behind Pick n Pay Hyper recently. We urge mountain bikers to rather ride in the area on the sea side of William Moffett, where the XC course is. There are a lot of mountain bikers, trail runners and walkers already using this area and the more of us there are the safer it will be for everyone. And it stands to reason that you shouldn't ride alone. The outcome of yesterday's meeting is an action plan backed by the support of some local businesses (e.g. ADT & Lion Roars Safaris and Lodges - support them if you can!!), the MTB community, WESSA Baakens Valley Rangers and the SAPS (including mounted police).

Here's the article which appeared in the Herald this morning.

Results are up on the Fat Tracks website: www.fattracks.co.za