billygoat0523

whoa, this thread really took off while i was snoozing. i'm very happy with the feedback that i received via e-mail and i'm very excited about the new trail that's coming along. thank you to the committee members who have replied to the thread and for engaging with us.

why is it when people ask what the reason for the larger-than-normal price hike it is called "moaning"? yes the there's inflation and water restrictions etc, it would just be nice to get an explanation of why the price increase was larger, when compared to previous years. (thank you Rock Guy for your analysis) if there's some (let's say 5) people battling to cope with this years increase, i'll cover the extra R120 for you if you want to ride and can't afford the extra R10 a month. there's no question that i'll renew.

i would pay these fees to ride hoogekraal/welvergenoegd/FC alone... but i wouldn't want to give them ideas.

my 2 cents... there's a better chance of going rubber side up on the welvergenoegd descent than on the cobra. the cobra is also in a very good condition at the moment. when you're well into the summer it becomes gnarlier.

with the weather predictions saying (wrongly) that it was going to be a windy road race, i gave it a skip in favour of the mtb race which i hadn't done before. my road seeding got me into the MA-MB group (i'm probably an MC rider, at best) and i was not prepared for what happened when the race fired off. damn those guys set a furious pace, so much so that my goal for the day was to not be last in the group. i managed that, even if it was just with a few places to spare. it was a really fast and furious ride. the morning mist kept me cool during the first hour or so while i watched the really fast okes disappear down the road. a well organised event that seemed to attract very few participants. i guess it was down to the Yzerfontein race being too closely scheduled and teams going through their final DC preps, so maybe this is something to look at? with the Stellies Cycle Tour being moved to January, maybe this race should be in December next year? PS - top tip - make sure your sealant is topped up, the thorns were huge and plentiful!

i'm wondering this too, i can't decide whether to drop back or not.

seeding is out on racetec. i got a nice early start in %, but in all likelihood i will get dropped in the first 5km, so i will drop back a group or two.

i had the same problem with my scalpel's rims. it seems there was a rubbish batch that they provided cannondale with. the ones with the normal red and white decals have no issue. i did get a bit gatvol while waiting for the warranty replacement, so i bought a spare set of wheels and put some south industries rims on them. after about a month and a half i got the warranty replacement - there was a long wait for stock, so now i have a spare wheelset (which i'll probably never use)

ALL races are used in the seeding index. The 46km will get a 15 point penalty (at least) due to the distance being shorter than 60km. Other races (greater than 60km) that are not premier seeding events get a 5 point penalty.

hah, you saw that i just felt like the group was getting a little relaxed since we grew in size. the guys in the front were almost free-wheeling and then they suddenly woke up when there was a little gap. i'll decide on CS #5 after my ride tomorrow

love your race reports. sorry for almost getting you dropped, was just lekker having a chat at the back of the bunch while the "washing machine" took a bit of a break before heading off the N7 to the fast finish. i'm still contemplating CS #5 as the cold weather of Sunday left me reeling today.

i'm pretty sure a guy i used to follow on strava dopes. he went from an above average to a A/B group rider after his wife had a baby. (not much activities for six months to a year) he then blocked me on strava as i accidentally kudo'd one of his old activities when trying to figure out what he did to make this massive leap.

I see on the flyer it says that there is pre-registration on 6 Sept at Sportsman's Warehouse, but on the confirmation email I received it says that number collection is on race morning. Is the pre-registration still taking place? I would like to get my stuff beforehand as it could be a bit busy on race day. Edit: Got a reply from the organisers that the pre-registration is still taking place as stated.

i had to uncleat because some idiots couldn't ride over a two metre stretch of (flat) rocks. by this time we were in a long line going up a ST climb, so i couldn't help but spew out some expletives at them. at wolwefontein i had to resort to riding over the grass as another poephol kept hanging on his brakes on this barely technical ST. it didn't spoil the day entirely, but it did grind me a bit. thank goodness for the water/beer tables which meant that a lot of people pulled out of my way and i could go at my own pace.

I see that there will be two days of racing next year. hopefully the 50km and 70km won't get caught in a jam again

in for the 50km

i think they really need to sort their server issues out for the big races/rides. what i also noticed is that for stage 1, less than 200 people rsvp'd, but there were 800+ people riding.

are you using mtb gear when cycling indoors? i find it more comfortable using road bibs/shorts. a bike fitter could also point you in the right direction wrt saddle width.

going to do this at 17:00 hopefully. at least you didn't have to go up the radio tower climb yet. also... tour of fire and ice will be freaking hard. (it was for me any ways, i averaged 174 bpm for the climb)

yes, you'll need an ant+ dongle

the day permit at bloemendal is for upper/lower and hillcrest. they usually write the code on the back of the day permit.

that is a spectacular crash. the universe is trying to tell him something... hope the TdF judiciary are watching.

did you start your garmin when they said "go" or did you start it when you went over the first timing mat? the clock starts when they say "go". the timing mat is just to confirm what group you're in.

so when do we see the racetec results?

well that sucks. i enjoyed the roll down the N7, it let me catch my breath before taking on Vissershok. those chops who crossed the line should have been disqualified/named and shamed/sanctioned.