Jock Cycle Classic

[2 X 2]

Did you guys see that veld fire - Scary, we decided to go through it and in the middle I thougt, what did you do? The smoke very nearly overwhelmed us

[Prince]

This was my 5th Jock but a totally bad day at the office. Was getting seriously dehydrated in the heat on the last stage, gippos never helps, so DNF

Great support though. You see the supporters with all the yellow goodies? Hectic supporting there!

Edited July 23, 2012 by Prince

[ajwinters17]

When I finished this race last year I said what an amazing race and i'll be back next year...and true to my word I was there with some friends in tow. All three of us finished and had a great time...My only complaint.... No tomato sauce with breakfast!! Will be back next year!

[fubarza]

What an amazing race, we missed the bush fire by only minutes before it jumped.

 

Stage 1 and hilltop was a breeze, Stage 2 was more challenging with boulders but we managed fine and then the last 20km of the 3rd stage just drained us completely.....manage to ride the time we aimed for though with 5 minutes to spare . Organisation, food, vibe and route was great! Will be back next year....

[Goodbadugly]

It would be nice to see an event like this with more entries. Were there more than 900?

For all of those who made this event a success. Thanks.

Sheez. I did not know you roadies liked walking so much. Not only Boulders, but also some of the flattish climbs on the 3rd stage.

[Agteros]

It would be nice to see an event like this with more entries. Were there more than 900?

For all of those who made this event a success. Thanks.

Sheez. I did not know you roadies liked walking so much. Not only Boulders, but also some of the flattish climbs on the 3rd stage.

You most probably saw me walking my bike up Boulders. I'll go tackle it again next year, but with suitable gearing, as well as decent training in the legs!

[Goodbadugly]

 

You most probably saw me walking my bike up Boulders. I'll go tackle it again next year, but with suitable gearing, as well as decent training in the legs!

You the guy walking in his socks with his white Sidi's in his hand?

Just pulling your legs. We did it on 26" hardtails. Lots of gears.

[Agteros]

You the guy walking in his socks with his white Sidi's in his hand?

Just pulling your legs. We did it on 26" hardtails. Lots of gears.

Walked in my shoes. stuffed one cleat, had to cable tie my shoe to the pedal because it kept on flying off at the top of the pedal stroke

 

[Agteros]

Veld fire when I eventually got there. We were told that the smoke extends for about a kilometer, although I estimate it to bit quite a bit less!

 

From my Garmin tracks I estimate the really smokey section to be between 200 - 300m. One spot had to turn my head away from the smoke to breath, but was generally fine. A few coughs and the lungs were clear again

Edited July 23, 2012 by RoboCyclist

[Goodbadugly]

 

Walked in my shoes. stuffed one cleat, had to cable tie my shoe to the pedal because it kept on flying off at the top of the pedal stroke

 

I saw a few guys riding their road bikes with their mtb shoes. And mtb pedals. Not a bad idea.

When we got to the fire, there were about 30 guys waiting for the fire to die.

[Agteros]

I saw a few guys riding their road bikes with their mtb shoes. And mtb pedals. Not a bad idea.

When we got to the fire, there were about 30 guys waiting for the fire to die.

First time in many moons that I had to walk my bike...

 

I DO miss the benefits of my running. Need to take it up again!

[RudoJ]

Reading all of these stories brings back a lot of memories from way way back....

Did the my first Jock in 1997 on a Nishiki Hardrock and my second and last in 1998 on a Trek 3000 mtb

 

Can remember each time going up Boulders some roadies pushing their bikes. Most memorable quote by

one was "ek donner sommer hierdie bleddie fiets van die berg af!"

 

But its good to heat that the race still has that awesome vibe and well organised. Will do it again some time hopefully. Afterwards we always went back to Badplaas, chilled in the heated pools for a while and then off for a nice bite at the Spur (I was a student then so yeah, it was good)

[_AndreB]

I rode my third successive Jock with a few mates, and enjoyed every minute of it - even the difficult ones. We have to date made this a team ride and try and get everyone to the finish together in one piece.

Hilltop was steep but was a breeze as it is early in the race. Boulders was a little tougher as it is warm by that stage but we managed to get over it without having to push.

The 3rd stage is always a challenge, it is harder than you'd expect even though it has no named climbs and it was as hot as hell - but it epitomizes why I love to ride. What a sense of achievement upon reaching the end - even if it was a few hours after the pros. I doubt I was the only one at the end that had to wash down the lump in my throat with a well deserved beer.

 

Thanks to the organizers for a great race - bring on Jock 2013.

Edited July 25, 2012 by AMBEL

[Speed Racer]

 

Walked in my shoes. stuffed one cleat, had to cable tie my shoe to the pedal because it kept on flying off at the top of the pedal stroke

 

 

Got to admire your style! Jock not hard enough for you, so you decide to do it using only one leg ;-)

[Agteros]

Got to admire your style! Jock not hard enough for you, so you decide to do it using only one leg ;-)

 

Haha Yeah right! All that happened is that I got punished for being ill-prepared!

[Underachiever]

Got to admire your style! Jock not hard enough for you, so you decide to do it using only one leg ;-)

 

Speedracer, did you ride?