Lack of water at Die Burger

[ashupton]

I was very disappointed in the fact that two of the watering points on Die Burger this year had run out of water. The second last watering point on the 92km route had nothing at all to drink. On a hot day like Sunday the organisers should have had extra water in anticipation of riders needing more.

[FanieFiets]

I dont think the problem was the organisors but the people manning the stand and the cyclists. People were filling their water bottles. I dont think that is the idea of the stop does make it difficult to plan. That said, it is horrible looking forward to that water after feeling like you might die of thirst and then arrive at an dry station.

[Bram_on_Madone]

I dont think the problem was the organisors but the people manning the stand and the cyclists. People were filling their water bottles. I dont think that is the idea of the stop does make it difficult to plan. That said, it is horrible looking forward to that water after feeling like you might die of thirst and then arrive at an dry station.

 

 

Of course its the fault of the organisors - people have always been filling up their bottles at watering points and they should have catered for this. It is outright dangerous that they didn't and a number of people had to be taken up in hospitable for dehydration.

 

While I'm at it, I found the organisation particularly poor at this year's event from start to finish - some highlights:

 

- Not even a mention of a goody bag;

- I only got half a cup of warm coke at the end and when I asked for more I got scolded and forcefully asked to "keep moving";

- There was glass on many place along the course and I suffered a blow out on a beer bottle (not much fun at 50km in the % bunch) - for a race this size the least one can expect is a bit of a sweep of the route to remove the worst of the glass;

- The "mat" they had over the railway tracks on the R45 was a floppy fragment that looked like it came from the second world war and was much too narrow for the big bunches - as we passed there were 5 elites lying on the ground around it with one guy clearly having a serious shoulder injury - this was also completely preventable.

- Some of the antics they made us do through Paarl were hazardous and poorly marked - the sand in the middle of the R45 / Old Paarl junction must have caused a number of crashes.

- Traffic control was very poor, especially coming back in on the R44

- No music or any other atmosphere at the finish line.

 

Overall this was an extremely dissapointing event and the only reason so many people ride is because of the "Argus seeding" tag. We really deserve better.

[MariusL]

Ever since I did my first "Die Burger" ride way back in 1995 - it always came across as a wannabe Cape Argus... Die Burger vs The Argus...

[GLuvsMtb]

Of course its the fault of the organisors - people have always been filling up their bottles at watering points and they should have catered for this. It is outright dangerous that they didn't and a number of people had to be taken up in hospitable for dehydration.

 

While I'm at it, I found the organisation particularly poor at this year's event from start to finish - some highlights:

 

Overall this was an extremely dissapointing event and the only reason so many people ride is because of the "Argus seeding" tag. We really deserve better.

And every year we come back for more... I did an OFM classic a few years ago. What a vibe! I'd much rather make a weekend of it and go to Bloemfontein for the weekend if it is an Argus seeding I am chasing.

 

Its also a relatively flat race that will boost your Argus seeding.

[raptor]

Undoubtedly not well organised and I fully agree with the comments. The treatment received at the finishing point was just plain commen rude - I was in desperate need of something to drink after not stopping at any water table just to be shouted at to move on. The cherry on the cake was Coke themselves charging R10 a tin of coke. This is not on and should be taken up with the organisers. Most of the weather sites predicted a hot day

[katz201]

I also had a sense of humour failure about this. I've seen funrides that were better organised than this.

[Rydogg]

Overall this was an extremely dissapointing event and the only reason so many people ride is because of the "Argus seeding" tag. We really deserve better.

 

I wonder if it will become like the other "Argus seeding" race they have in Oudtshoorn. They only had about 150 people there this year because they are so lazy with the organization...

[Skubarra]

I dont think the problem was the organisors but the people manning the stand and the cyclists. People were filling their water bottles. I dont think that is the idea of the stop does make it difficult to plan. That said, it is horrible looking forward to that water after feeling like you might die of thirst and then arrive at an dry station.

 

Sorry if it is a dumb newbie comment but I thought filling up your water bottle is one of the reasons that water points are there for? Didn't realise I was doing anything wrong/selfish? I would have thought it is up to the organisers to ensure there is enough water and not up to the cyclists to use water sparingly. (There was still more than enough at the Nelson's Creek point when I filled up there)

Edited December 6, 2011 by Skubarra

[Ratty]

I can understand them rationing the coke, times are tough as we all know. But to ration the water???

 

With the last water point running out of water, people were forced to drink coke, so it actually cost them more not to have water.

 

 

Saying that, I was stoked that 2 of the water points had water / powerade with little bits of ice still in it, thats a first for me. I'm used to drinking luke warm drinks.

 

 

I think its only fair to be able to fill up a water bottle. Its said you should be drinking 1 bottle per hour which means the people who do 4 hours plus would need at least 4 bottles which is not very easy to carry on a bike.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Ratty

[Jekyll]

Couldn't agree more. A pathetic attempt of organizing a race, from safety of the riders to no water at the last two waterpionts and we finished early. I felt sorry for the funriders and late finishers. The burger cycle tour and ppa have us by our balls. You have to belong to the PPA for seading and the very badly organized burger is the easiest way to get a seeding for the Argus. That is why a lot of my friends stop doing the Argus anymore.

[GLuvsMtb]

I can understand them rationing the coke, times are tough as we all know. But to ration the water???

 

With the last water point running out of water, people were forced to drink coke, so it actually cost them more not to have water.

 

 

Saying that, I was stoked that 2 of the water points had water / powerade with little bits of ice still in it, thats a first for me. I'm used to drinking luke warm drinks.

 

 

I think its only fair to be able to fill up a water bottle. Its said you should be drinking 1 bottle per hour which means the people who do 4 hours plus would need at least 4 bottles which is not very easy to carry on a bike.

+1

 

I don't like drinking coke during a race. The sugar spike and subsequent mini-bonk is never ideal. Furthermore the sugar in coke makes me even more thirsty 15 minutes later.

[bclark]

Didnt like it.

But i had no other choice. I just dipped my bottles in the red containers to top up.

 

This was at the last coke / water point.

[reteid]

I did a few Burgers previously.To me it was not a race that was well organized therefore I stopped doing it 4 years ago.I do not support a race that runs out of water.On my last race my cycling partner had a few mechanical issues that took us time to fix.3 punctures because of glass,broken chain(his fault) RD that broke after another cyclist rode into him from behind etc.I fixed his punctures,fixed the chain and converted his bike to a SS for the rest just to limp to the finishline.At that stage no more water on the course and the finish area a bit of a shambles.(we were still within the cut off time).ended up driving to town to get a cold coke.that was my last Burger.If an organizer can get enough water on top of a mountain during a mtb event there is no reason why you should run out of water on a race/ride like Burger.

[Bram_on_Madone]

So we all seem to agree on the poor organisation - anybody know who I can write a formal letter to? I don't like the idea of just not doing it next year, as we deserve to have proper races on our calender - if nobody else wants to do it, my ass could organise a better race!

[Tankman]

- Not even a mention of a goody bag;

 

No harm no foul - did they advertise anywhere that you will be getting a goodie bag? Then you will only complain about the old magazines, deep heat bath oil and all the other crap I just chuck in the bin anyway.

 

my ass could organise a better race!

 

Great, since you are in volunteer mode, lets start with your idea below:

 

- There was glass on many place along the course and I suffered a blow out on a beer bottle (not much fun at 50km in the % bunch) - for a race this size the least one can expect is a bit of a sweep of the route to remove the worst of the glass;

 

I have an old broom standing in the garage you can use for sweeping 92km of tar road. Youll probably go through a couple of brooms but if you start 3 months prior to the next Burger and sweep 1km a day, youll be done just in time for the race. Remember your sunblock and a hat! At least the route would have been clean at some point during your sweeping expedition. Why dont you fix the potholes while you are at it?