[Event] BASTILLE MTB CLASSIC

[sluiper]

Mostly agree with the above posts: it was a nice event and the track was awesome with some really challenging sections.

 

But: I was one of the 30-40 riders who was misdirected and spent 30 minutes asking at various farmhouses where the route was. This really put a damper on the event for me. Riding an extra 6km because of bad organisation didn't make too many people happy.

 

For the last 4km or so the 28km & 40km routes merged, meaning that on the single track sections I was often stuck behind some very occasional weekend warriors who were struggling a lot.

 

Lastly, apart from there being no showers there was no facility to give your bike a quick spray off at the end. Most people ended up trying to use their water bottles to spray off the worst of the mud.

 

I enjoyed the route, but probably won't be back next year.

[CJVDM]

I agree, lost at least 10 minutes trying to find the route with people cycling back and forth and obviously completely confused. Was directed by a "marshall" eventually to carry my bike over a fence and as such lost out on roughly 8km (the middle climb). could have been organised better imo.

 

And trying to clean your bike at the finish was futile.. Ill be back next yr, but only if its not raining. Not that the rain was bad, the mud sliding was a unique experience.

 

I just pity the guys who rode with no arm warmers / leg warmers. One guys was freezing a arse off at the finish while trying to pour sugar into his coffee. He almost missed the cup a couple of time

[GLuvsMtb]

I agree, lost at least 10 minutes trying to find the route with people cycling back and forth and obviously completely confused. Was directed by a "marshall" eventually to carry my bike over a fence and as such lost out on roughly 8km (the middle climb). could have been organised better imo.

 

And trying to clean your bike at the finish was futile.. Ill be back next yr, but only if its not raining. Not that the rain was bad, the mud sliding was a unique experience.

 

I just pity the guys who rode with no arm warmers / leg warmers. One guys was freezing a arse off at the finish while trying to pour sugar into his coffee. He almost missed the cup a couple of time

I'm not a huge fan of arm / legwarmers in the wet (the cold is a different story). When these get wet you are even colder than without them. Rather invest in a good rain jacket (first ascent make nice ones, but my fav one is the ASG kit I bought at last year's Trans Baviaans), good gloves and sealskinz socks for the hands and feet as well.

[CJVDM]

I'm not a huge fan of arm / legwarmers in the wet (the cold is a different story). When these get wet you are even colder than without them. Rather invest in a good rain jacket (first ascent make nice ones, but my fav one is the ASG kit I bought at last year's Trans Baviaans), good gloves and sealskinz socks for the hands and feet as well.

 

I had vest, cycle shirt, arm warmers + rain jacket on.... and that was perfect! Did not feel cold at all. Imo the leggies was a good choice, granted they did get wet + but i would have been worse off without them.

 

BTW, when will the race results come out????

Edited July 16, 2012 by CJVDM

[Carmichael]

They mailed the sheet to me..give me your email then i will mail it to you

[T-Bag68]

Hay guys,

 

 

 

Fully enjoyed the ride, and even happier to keep upright :-) I did the 40km, by the time I had finished I could have past for a differnt nationality..hahhhaaha

 

 

 

I would like to check what you guys had down for total ascent, my heart rate monitor tells me 800meters, but the map profile tells me 1252 meters, do I need to send my monitor in for a service, or was there that much mud that it blocked the hole and it couldnt give a true reading :-)

 

 

 

I will be back next year for another go, :-)

[CJVDM]

Hay guys, Fully enjoyed the ride, and even happier to keep upright :-) I did the 40km, by the time I had finished I could have past for a differnt nationality..hahhhaaha I would like to check what you guys had down for total ascent, my heart rate monitor tells me 800meters, but the map profile tells me 1252 meters, do I need to send my monitor in for a service, or was there that much mud that it blocked the hole and it couldnt give a true reading :-) I will be back next year for another go, :-)

 

What distance does your monitor show? My Garmin gave roughly the same access but only over 32km

[CJVDM]

They mailed the sheet to me..give me your email then i will mail it to you

 

Thanks, PMd you!!!

[#RAH#]

Strava also showed 32km, route may have been shortened due to weather conditions.

[flymango]

My Polar says 44.9km and 755 m ascent, but that includes about 4 km of fairly flat extra distance due to a wrong turn-off. If you only did 32 km, you probably took the same wrong turn-off as quite a few of us did and didn't know about the mistake and therefore finished along the medium route.

[T-Bag68]

I have a crap computer that said 39.6 km and my polar said 41.3, so I think I went the right way :-) but yes, 755 m ascent.. bang on the same there... glad it wasnt 1252

I have to go get new jockey wheels after that ride..... one is well finished...

[Pears]

Also did the extra +/- 4km (44.54 km & 796 ascent). I was wondering too where they got the 1200. If i enable Elevation Corrections on the garmin website i get 1314 that is strange. But about 800 is correct and my legs would have known if it was over a 1000 for only 40km.

[Tankman]

For the last 4km or so the 28km & 40km routes merged, meaning that on the single track sections I was often stuck behind some very occasional weekend warriors who were struggling a lot.

 

Singletrack in the last 4km? I missed that then ... must have been mud in my eyes!

I did the 28km and was stuck behind the 40km weekend warriors occasionally until the 28km split from the 40km on that one climb at about 18km into the race.

 

Apparently this is where a lot of people also went straight, instead of turning left to carry on with the 40km. They either did not look or listen (there was a sign and it was announced at the start) or they wanted to cut the route short "due to no fault of their own". If I was doing the 40, I would have carried on straight at that exact point just to stop that gear grinding sound sooner.

 

I'm in my winter beer-drinking-tour-watching training program, well, that's my excuse!

 

Lastly, apart from there being no showers there was no facility to give your bike a quick spray off at the end. Most people ended up trying to use their water bottles to spray off the worst of the mud.

 

I enjoyed the route, but probably won't be back next year.

 

To be fair, I can't think of many 40/50km one day races that offers shower facilities, can you?

It was raining the whole day, if you sprayed your bike down there or at home, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

 

Ill support Geddan again, he puts a lot of effort into organizing events.

 

It was dirty, muddy and loads of fun.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Tankman

[flymango]

Looks like there were two main junctures where the wrong turns happened:

 

1. 18km into the race after the puddles and flat tar road and rocky climb where the 40km was supposed to hook left and up a steep rocky climb and then around the mountain on single track along the dam. Where the 40km went up and left, I think the 28km went down and right (and where the 40km later joined from the opposite direction).

2. After the circular single track along the dam and around the mountain, there was a fork after the downhill where the 40km went left and 28km went right and down a sandy bit towards a water table on a farm road and then turned right for the last stretch home. This is where many of us didn't see the signs showing 42km left and 28km right. Think it was a bit muddy and lose there and I seem to remember watching the terrain as it was a quick section after a downhill. I didn't even know where we'd joined the 28km route again.

 

Clear as mud. But I agree with Tankman. Great event and a lovely route. Must be a gem in drier conditions. We'll be back.

[#RAH#]

http://app.strava.com/rides/13426715

 

Route I rode.

 

http://www.maniccycles.co.za/pics/BastilleMTBLongProfile.jpg

 

40 km route

 

Cant even remember if we were directed, think I just followed the bunch. Ended up riding up the road to the farm house with all the pillars. Instead of going left towards the dam.

 

Lesson learnt dont just follow the bunch, they were all 40km riders, but the front riders obviously took a wrong turn.

 

I can actualy remeber thinking something was wrong once I had got to the top and started decending with out seing the dam. And the ascent also came when I was just starting to take it easy thinking I had a couple of kay's to recover before the big climb. And then boom it was in my face, bugger.

 

There was also a bit of confusion at the end of the track after the pillar house, that must have been when the front riders realised something was wrong.

 

No wonder I did so well.

 

Thought the three months of relaxing I did before the race had paid off

[flymango]

Every picture tells a thousand words ... wrong turns taken at the two yellow circles it seems.