how was your karkloof

[Caerus]

I would describe it as the best single track that I could not ride and will not race again. Got punished for being a JHB rider and not having done a ROAG event before. Starting in F batch is not fun for me, Just hurry up and wait. This despite doing the National series that are also UCI events. Ended up finishing in the top 50 but with a lot more enemies then when I started. It is just very frustrating, and the guys that are holding up the Field did not ask to be seeded above guys that are faster so it is not as fun for them either having guys pushing past them. Parking and the start area seemed to be chaotic and that is a little thing they can work on.

 

The 60km course was unreal, just flipping fantastic. You cannot ask for more then that in a race. I will rather drive down for a weekend and ride it when it is not a race though. I felt the course was really well marked and marshalled.

The small things make the difference on how you vote with your feet though.

 

So well marked & marshelled that A batch were sent the wrong way?

[rob7x]

The 60km by far has the best single track / route I have ever ridden! Shorter distance was still as tough as last year; my time was the same as last years longer route.

Also did the XC on the sat, and some of those rock gardens and drop offs were madness. The supertubes section had my heart pounding more than bunjee jumping did!

The only negative I have that we got held up by back markers of the batch in front of us in the first single track 2km into the race, all the way till the exit by the 40km route split. Last year I started in the same batch and had nobody in front of me. They need to either make the batches smaller, have better seeding system, or have 10min interval batch starts.

The route and single track far outweight any negatives. I'll wait in traffic, park far away, get a shirt too small, get no medal etc etc, just to ride the route again and again!

[rob7x]

The 60km course was unreal, just flipping fantastic. You cannot ask for more then that in a race. I will rather drive down for a weekend and ride it when it is not a race though. I felt the course was really well marked and marshalled.

 

Totally awesome. I dont think I would ride half the single track in a non race enviroment. Having medical backup around eases your mind a lot when riding some of the insane drop offs. Route marking was good, never once doubted the marking!

[Taps]

The 60K route is fantastic. Not sure where the front guys went wrong as I found the route very well marked. I dropped down a batch at the start to ride with a friend. We finished together but my time is 5min slower than his. WTF?

 

 

An event I haven't done for a while but will def do again.

[Berg Man]

Sheesh some of you okes can moan . So what if you had to walk a few hundred metres to the start, surely you should be fit enough for that. And the seeding story, how is Mr Price and ROAG supposed to know who you are if from somewhere else? Must they screen 3500 riders and make a guess from there? I come from a motorbike background and can really run the singletrack faster than most, but couldn't because of strating at the back. I will just have to do more events and get better seeding for the next time.

 

Personally (for my first ever event) I thought it was well run and marked. Registration was a breeze and questions quickly answered.Having nothing to compare it to though, I loved the event and will definately be back next year. I need to train though. I think it may be helful for the hillclimbs.

[Skott5]

The 60K route is fantastic. Not sure where the front guys went wrong as I found the route very well marked. I dropped down a batch at the start to ride with a friend. We finished together but my time is 5min slower than his. WTF?

 

 

An event I haven't done for a while but will def do again.

 

The time starts with your batch, that's why you can't move up.

 

I didn't find parking a nightmare, but got there earylish.

[Monark]

Just downloaded my HR monitor.

 

Average HR 150 with a max of 184. Maybe the altitude meant that I had to work harder?

[Edgar]

Caerus. I can't for the life of me work out how small group of riders got lost and the 795 other riders did not. Yes it was very well marked.

 

Berg Man. When you register with ROAG you give your location so they don't have to go through all the entries. Some basic Excel skills and you have your list of out of towners. Send them a mail asking for previous results on other races. Boom and there you have it, Race results are online so can be verified. the organizers do a fantastic job to make it a great weekend and put in a lot of effort so just a little bit of thought and effort being directed this way will make a difference to us.

 

As mentioned, it is the best 1 day ride you can do and that is appreciated and it is understood what it takes to put on an event of this size and nature. If they don't need the out of towners to do the race then continue that way. The us vs them gap will remain and we will just isolate ourselves more and that is to the detriment of the sport. If sports like running and canoeing can get a single seeding system in place why cannot cycling? Every excuse i hear is about different course, different field strengths, different numbers and different timing systems. Running has all these problems and can get it right and canoeing has some of these problems and can get it right. CSA needs to make decisions that will take cycling forward not keep it in the dark ages. The Mr Price Karkloof organizers cannot be held responsible but as members of CSA they should be pushing for change that will make there event better and easier.

[Caerus]

Caerus. I can't for the life of me work out how small group of riders got lost and the 795 other riders did not. Yes it was very well marked.

 

Berg Man. When you register with ROAG you give your location so they don't have to go through all the entries. Some basic Excel skills and you have your list of out of towners. Send them a mail asking for previous results on other races. Boom and there you have it, Race results are online so can be verified. the organizers do a fantastic job to make it a great weekend and put in a lot of effort so just a little bit of thought and effort being directed this way will make a difference to us.

 

As mentioned, it is the best 1 day ride you can do and that is appreciated and it is understood what it takes to put on an event of this size and nature. If they don't need the out of towners to do the race then continue that way. The us vs them gap will remain and we will just isolate ourselves more and that is to the detriment of the sport. If sports like running and canoeing can get a single seeding system in place why cannot cycling? Every excuse i hear is about different course, different field strengths, different numbers and different timing systems. Running has all these problems and can get it right and canoeing has some of these problems and can get it right. CSA needs to make decisions that will take cycling forward not keep it in the dark ages. The Mr Price Karkloof organizers cannot be held responsible but as members of CSA they should be pushing for change that will make there event better and easier.

 

 

I can't either, same thing happened in the Epic. Is it down to bad marshalling or route markings. By the time my boss got back he was behind group B.

[Bums]

I got there early to register and move into my mates batch only to be told that we both had to start at the back... fail...

 

The single track was horribly conjested at the beginning but after 18km the field spread out... thank goodness.

 

I was riding with a first timer so we just had fun... lots of wooping/shouting/yelling in pleasure on the single track...

 

The *** part was not having anything to eat once the race ended. Spur and all of the other food stalls had closed.

 

wtf??

 

Oh well. Some single track was VERY slippery but it was a great test of one's skill or lack thereof.

 

Great course and what awesome climbs. Caroline's Climb MUST be the best climb in KZN mtb... thank goodness for the water point at the top!

 

Try Lebanon and then we can talk again. You climb 2/3 of all the climbing that you do in the 40km in just 7km, brutal.

[Monark]

Well I love climbing so climbing is not an issue

 

In the 40 you also ride up Lebanon.

[Balsie]

Lesson No 1: If the race is shorter doesn't mean it is easier....didn't give the race the respect it deserved.

 

Lesson No 2: Will never ever do that race on a hardtail again....anybody want to buy a 29er hardtail frame?

 

Organisation well there were a few glitches BUT I think we are extremely spoilt and therefore set very high standards. From the response of the first timers it is still a very well orgnised event. Think about how much work went in to all that single track,that is where the R200 went. Goodie bags are not a priority for me where awesome riding is.

[Caerus]

Lesson No 1: If the race is shorter doesn't mean it is easier....didn't give the race the respect it deserved.

 

Lesson No 2: Will never ever do that race on a hardtail again....anybody want to buy a 29er hardtail frame?

 

Organisation well there were a few glitches BUT I think we are extremely spoilt and therefore set very high standards. From the response of the first timers it is still a very well orgnised event. Think about how much work went in to all that single track,that is where the R200 went. Goodie bags are not a priority for me where awesome riding is.

 

The track is maintained all year round.

[Bat-ass]

Caerus. I can't for the life of me work out how small group of riders got lost and the 795 other riders did not. Yes it was very well marked.

 

Berg Man. When you register with ROAG you give your location so they don't have to go through all the entries. Some basic Excel skills and you have your list of out of towners. Send them a mail asking for previous results on other races. Boom and there you have it, Race results are online so can be verified. the organizers do a fantastic job to make it a great weekend and put in a lot of effort so just a little bit of thought and effort being directed this way will make a difference to us.

 

As mentioned, it is the best 1 day ride you can do and that is appreciated and it is understood what it takes to put on an event of this size and nature. If they don't need the out of towners to do the race then continue that way. The us vs them gap will remain and we will just isolate ourselves more and that is to the detriment of the sport. If sports like running and canoeing can get a single seeding system in place why cannot cycling? Every excuse i hear is about different course, different field strengths, different numbers and different timing systems. Running has all these problems and can get it right and canoeing has some of these problems and can get it right. CSA needs to make decisions that will take cycling forward not keep it in the dark ages. The Mr Price Karkloof organizers cannot be held responsible but as members of CSA they should be pushing for change that will make there event better and easier.

 

I was one of the front bunch sent wrong. The marshal was on his cell phone, and standing in a position that lead us right and up the hill. A quad bike eventually caught us and sent us back. by this time the front B batch guys were coming up aswell, we turned them back and it seems that from then on the marshal woke up!!!

[Edgar]

So you were trying to take a short cut? How did the other guys in A get it right?

[pauloc]

I was one of the front bunch sent wrong. The marshal was on his cell phone, and standing in a position that lead us right and up the hill. A quad bike eventually caught us and sent us back. by this time the front B batch guys were coming up aswell, we turned them back and it seems that from then on the marshal woke up!!!

What was the outcome of the dispute? I know there was a serious indaba after the race to try sort things out, but left before i heard the outcome.