Lack of water at Die Burger

[Chubba]

Lack of water was a major fail and then being pushed through the finish for one small cup of coke is not on. (would have preferred a cup of cold water)

 

One other point, i think as a newbie to road cycling, the announcer could have explained that this race takes place on open roads with normal traffic flow. I was hooted at a number of times during the course of the event and did not realize why until later. As some points i could physically feel the cars passing by. Not lekka. (only other road race is the argus with closed roads)

Edited December 6, 2011 by Chubba

[Juba2]

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.

 

+1 Totally agree worst event I have done this whole year.

[MoreTrails]

Vote with you feet and bank accounts people - if it was that bad, don't go back. I did that years ago and have been happily riding the Argus ever since...

 

Die Burger is simply a dangerous ride - open roads to traffic, wrong time of year & weather (either wind or heat or both) and apparently not enough liquid infrastructure. For an "endurance" event that is a major item to get wrong.

[T-Bob]

I totally agree that there should have been enough water for everyone at the water points and the race organisers should have use some of the pretty steep entry fee to ensure that there was enough for competitors who wanted it at what ever stage of the race.

 

That said, I never rely on the water stops to make sure I'm hydrated because if they're buggered then so are you. You need to look at the weather prediction and back yourself. I took 2 bottles, a back up water, endurance chews and power bar. You need to hydrate more often than where there is a water table and stay away from coke.

 

I know that sounds pretty harsh but you need to have a plan if you're doing a 92km race no matter what the organisers are doing.

 

All things aside the organisers do need to offer some explanation to a lot of the complaints of the riders, as an event it's only as successful as the amount of happy riders who are willing to do it.

[Let's Ride]

Wasn't cool when I was on thee leading A bunch and a car cut's into the group and brakes for a red effectively ruining my race. Keep to one side of the road and allow me to pass or simply don't cut in.

 

Organization was not good. No clearly marked entrance to the field, finishing and then being told to only have one coke and take your cup. Roads need to be closed for such a big event or something done.

[ichops]

Don't understand how they can run out of water - they knew how many riders were expected and the weather conditions and as for the coke table at the end - it's the most pisspoor attempt at an end table I've seen un a long time - I couldn't find a cup with more than 25% full so when I took a second one I also got the smack on the back of the hand ritual. Personally I only rode with one bottle which was almost empty at the end so a cold cup of coke would have ended the day nicely - thank you.

 

Guys for the entry money we are paying we are not getting anything back - yes I know times are hard but for the back markers who really need water at ALL the water points the Burger sucks big time

 

That "rate you race" site ....why don't we try set up a similar site for the "worst race of the year" to warn all the newbies who may get chased away because of races like the Burger ???

[Tiny K]

I always do races prepared - 1 bottle lasts me 2hrs - so for the race I rode on one 750ml bottle of juice and 1 500mml bottle of water. Had a banana for the start, low Gi energy bar for the 1hr mark and a Gu for the last 10Km.

 

At the finish, I asked the one of the guys to fill my empty juice bottle. As he started, his buddy next to him said to him that he is not supposed to do that - I chirped the buddy that I didn't stop any any points along the route, so there is more than enough still on the road.

 

I only heard post race and leaving that they were giving 4 gopro cameras away as lucky draw items.

[Bram_on_Madone]

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.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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?

 

 

I agree that I shouldn't complain for complaining sake and admittedly I am slightly more peeved, as I actually blew out on a the sharp base of a broken beer bottle, but many of the problems (some of which I listed) are very easy to fix.

 

You imply that it would take 3 months to sweep the route, which is absurd - there were +- 10 spots with significant amounts of glass on road: lets say it takes you a full minute to stop the car, another minute to do three broom strokes into the brush in the side of the road and another 2 minutes to get back in the car and start it. I am not a mathematician, but it would then take one individual less 2 hours to clear the glass. For more the R1mil in entry fees (never mind sponsorship money) this really is the least we could have expected / should be demanding.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Bram_on_Madone

[Tiny K]

I agree that I shouldn't complain for complaining sake and admittedly I am slightly more peeved, as I actually blew out on a the sharp base of a broken beer bottle, but many of the problems (some of which I listed) are very easy to fix.

 

snip

 

The problem there is that the glass bottle could have been broken there the night before (50Km mark)... the types that live and commute along that stretch (dal josafat to Wellington Golf Course, well, even as far as Windmeul Cellar at the top of the hill past Nelson's Creek) don't give a **** to put it plainly. Empty bottle in the car that is worth nothing is just tossed out - that is the mentality.

 

I live in Wellington and know to rather stay on the road surface than in the yellow lane. I have wasted tyres already while out on training rides - slashed so bad I can't even patch them.

 

Unfortunately, that is life hey. Sucks that you blew out though

[FrankTank]

According to the PedalPower website:

http://www.pedalpower.org.za/blog/news/herman-fouche-wins-die-burger-cycle-tour/

 

Stellenbosch High School played host to the fifth Die Burger Cycle Tour. David Bellairs, CEO of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, said the event was a great success. "Due to the intense heat today, we decided on an additional water point with extra ice for riders. As a result everyone enjoyed the day, despite the heat, and by 12h00 there were only 100 riders out on the route."

[dev null]

This scarcity of the handouts is not just affecting cycling. With the surfski races this year in Cape Town the handouts has also shrinked. We used to get a full bottle of Powerade after each race when you walk through the finish, now you only get a small cup of it.

 

I wonder if this will be the same for the Argus?

[Tiny K]

According to the PedalPower website:

http://www.pedalpower.org.za/blog/news/herman-fouche-wins-die-burger-cycle-tour/

 

Stellenbosch High School played host to the fifth Die Burger Cycle Tour. David Bellairs, CEO of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, said the event was a great success. "Due to the intense heat today, we decided on an additional water point with extra ice for riders. As a result everyone enjoyed the day, despite the heat, and by 12h00 there were only 100 riders out on the route."

 

Well there is the contact person to lodge a complaint from the cyclists aspect.