Mogalies train chase 2012

[jcza]

Yes it is. Start Krugersdorp, Stop Magalies

 

...and return by train? Otherwise I have a problem or will have to ride back.

 

PS: Also mailed them

Edited August 7, 2012 by jcza

[Carsten]

Can't be colder than Walkerville, I think (or rather hope) it will be somewhat warmer.

 

There is a possiblity that it will be with all this snow and then the wind blowing over it.

[jcza]

Anyone keen to drive to finish in Magalies and leave their car there? I will fetch you and your bike and you can take me back after the race. I'm doing the 60km MTB.

[jcza]

Anyone keen to drive to finish in Magalies and leave their car there? I will fetch you and your bike and you can take me back after the race. I'm doing the 60km MTB.

 

Anyone?

[jcza]

Done. Somewhat meh. Dunno where they got 60km from, wasn't even 50. Don't think I'll be back next year. Should have taken the road bike to the Carousel instead.

[supavan]

Ja, 90% of the route was like riding at Northern farms. Not the single track bits of NF either. The two big downhill sections before the finish was fun though. Not the part where I crashed near the top of the first rocky decent. Enthusiasm lost out to cornering ability in what turned out to be a 31kph shoulder first dive into the dirt. Managed to put two dents in the top tube. One minor, but the other big enough to cause the paint to crack. A bit miffed about that. I don't think it is bad enough to be terminal but the cracked paint will flake off eventually and it obvioulsy killed any chance of selling the bike for an upgrade.

[supavan]

Fair warning. I am about to whinge...

 

A note on the route marking. Not great. There were a couple of times where we had to stop and make sure we were on the right track. For what is supposed to be a UCI level event I would have expected a higher standard. Yes, the riders are supposed to familiarise themselves with the route beforehand but lets be fair here: The route map was not available on the entry website, only at the start of the event and most people a won't be capable of memorising said map before setting off into the unknown. It wasn't all bad though. I am talking of maybe 3 spots along the route.

 

Race distance. As jcza mentioned, the distance was well short of the advertised 60km. about 10km or so. I can't tell exactly as I'm still not sure where finish line was. There were no banners or lines in the road or anything marking the fact that you have crossed the end point.

 

Transport. The route is a point a to b meaning you do not finish anywhere near where you started. Considering that the race was against the train (I steam train I think it was. don't know. never laid eyes on it) you'd think that there would be some sort of arrangement for the cyclists to catch the train back to the start line. That would be convenient. sadly no. It has to be said that this had nothing to do with the Goldfields cycling club though. I don't know who was in charge of the train bit but clearly no thought went into it. The train may as well not have been there to be honest.

 

Safety. There were medics but the only time I saw them (on their quad bikes) was at the finish. When I had my fall I was at the back of the 60km MTB group. There was absolutely no one around. Now I know my falling was my own idiocy but I have done a number of MTB races now and 90% of the time the dangerous areas would, at the very least, have a marshal with a radio stationed there. Maybe something that can be taken into consideration next time.

 

Water points. Which water points? In races that are only 15km longer you would easily have 3 or 4 water points. Today? None. At the very least there could have been one at the 30km mark or somewhere near to it. Or did I miss them. Can't be. I was going rather slowly at that point.

 

Again with the route. A farmer drove up alongside me and wanted to know how had organised this MTB race because he wished to lay a complaint. Apparently no one had consulted with him at all and we were crossing his farm land. Now this is more than likely just some elderly farmer who could not bother reading the notices that were sent to him. It just wasn't being put on the spot for doing something that you were though was agreed to by all parties involved.

 

So now that I've whined like a wet princess how about what I liked? Plenty seating at the finish venue as well as more than enough well priced food. I gobbled up a number of pancakes while watching the lucky draw that seemed to have a prise for almost everyone! I'm still sorry I didn't buy one of those rotisserie chickens. The looked great!

[Nettie R]

 

 

Transport. The route is a point a to b meaning you do not finish anywhere near where you started. Considering that the race was against the train (I steam train I think it was. don't know. never laid eyes on it) you'd think that there would be some sort of arrangement for the cyclists to catch the train back to the start line.

Three weeks ago there was a link on the entry page to the staem railers to book the trip back to the start. When I had a look last week,the link was removed. It seems the rail guys didn't want to hook an extra carriage for the bikes and they didn't want the bikes in with the passengers. That's when we decided not to go.

As for the train, their schedule says it leaves jhb station at 9 am, and arriving in magalies at 11am. The Top guys must've seen the train because they got to the finish in just over 2 hrs.

[jcza]

Anyone know where results are posted?

[canfan]

Race Distance was said to be 52km. I ended up doing 49.5 as did most people doing the 60km MTB. The last turn was so badly marked that just about everyone missed it.

 

I spoke to one of the guys afterwards that was involved in the marking of the route (Also a MTB'er) and he couldn't understand how there was confusion. Amazing how different you see things when knowing where you are going compaired to riding it for the first time. Anyway, he said they would definately look at it next year.

 

As for the route, it is was ok, not amazing, but not terrible. Some good climbs and crazy downhills towards the end. I was convinced they said at the start that there are 3 water point. I didn't see one of them. Maybe they only had waterpoints for the road. I guess MTB'ers don't need water.

 

I have to agree on the point about the marshalls. No where near enough of them on the route. The dangerous sections were marked clearly, but from a safety point of view there should have been a marshall or atleast a water point relatively close to some of the more technical sections.

 

As for results, jcza I doubt you will see those anytime soon. They didn't put any up last year. They only really take downn the names of the winners in the various distances.

[jcza]

Oh well, we live and learn. I agree the route marking was rubbish and I had to look for fresh tracks at times. Race distance was 49.37 from the start line to the table at the church. There was a single waterpoint just before the road crossing and I never saw the deep river crossing they referred to at the start.

[canfan]

Oh yes, the train arrived at about 11:30. I only know this because I saw it come in while I was watching my kids play on the swings. They should probably change the name of the race because the train really doesnt feature in the whole event.

[Mojoman]

Fair warning. I am about to whinge...

 

A note on the route marking. Not great. There were a couple of times where we had to stop and make sure we were on the right track. For what is supposed to be a UCI level event I would have expected a higher standard. Yes, the riders are supposed to familiarise themselves with the route beforehand but lets be fair here: The route map was not available on the entry website, only at the start of the event and most people a won't be capable of memorising said map before setting off into the unknown. It wasn't all bad though. I am talking of maybe 3 spots along the route.

 

Race distance. As jcza mentioned, the distance was well short of the advertised 60km. about 10km or so. I can't tell exactly as I'm still not sure where finish line was. There were no banners or lines in the road or anything marking the fact that you have crossed the end point.

 

Transport. The route is a point a to b meaning you do not finish anywhere near where you started. Considering that the race was against the train (I steam train I think it was. don't know. never laid eyes on it) you'd think that there would be some sort of arrangement for the cyclists to catch the train back to the start line. That would be convenient. sadly no. It has to be said that this had nothing to do with the Goldfields cycling club though. I don't know who was in charge of the train bit but clearly no thought went into it. The train may as well not have been there to be honest.

 

Safety. There were medics but the only time I saw them (on their quad bikes) was at the finish. When I had my fall I was at the back of the 60km MTB group. There was absolutely no one around. Now I know my falling was my own idiocy but I have done a number of MTB races now and 90% of the time the dangerous areas would, at the very least, have a marshal with a radio stationed there. Maybe something that can be taken into consideration next time.

 

Water points. Which water points? In races that are only 15km longer you would easily have 3 or 4 water points. Today? None. At the very least there could have been one at the 30km mark or somewhere near to it. Or did I miss them. Can't be. I was going rather slowly at that point.

 

Again with the route. A farmer drove up alongside me and wanted to know how had organised this MTB race because he wished to lay a complaint. Apparently no one had consulted with him at all and we were crossing his farm land. Now this is more than likely just some elderly farmer who could not bother reading the notices that were sent to him. It just wasn't being put on the spot for doing something that you were though was agreed to by all parties involved.

 

So now that I've whined like a wet princess how about what I liked? Plenty seating at the finish venue as well as more than enough well priced food. I gobbled up a number of pancakes while watching the lucky draw that seemed to have a prise for almost everyone! I'm still sorry I didn't buy one of those rotisserie chickens. The looked great!

The farmer should have been verbally asked, not just sent a notice, elderly or not! It is his property. I do hope this is not the case as there are some people who are not happy as it is with mountain bikers on the dirt roads etc.

[Carsten]

Anyone know where results are posted?

 

There are no results except for the guys that came in first. This is a poor UCI sanctioned event.

[Llewellyn Haytread]

Well first race I been to and I enjoyed it. I did the 30km MTBand will do next years. Route marking was a little odd at the start as we climbed off the road into the farmlands. But after our first "road crossing" I found the markers and picked them up all the way to the end. On our route we had a few "Experienced" guys in front and everyone just followeded then. I know at the start I never even bothered looking for route marking as i was following the group. we had a goodcoupleof marshals on the route. All's well that ends well I enjoyed the race and will be doinging it next year. Far as i know it was a fun event to help raise funds for the churches in the area. I had a lekke day out, got some exercise, did my bit for the charities, and won a voucher.

 

Also to my knowledge this is a really old event that was revived last year and hadn't been organised for some time. So for the organisers 2nd year, bet its better than last year and will only get better.

Edited August 13, 2012 by Llewellyn Haytread

[canfan]

Well first race I been to and I enjoyed it. I did the 30km MTBand will do next years. Route marking was a little odd at the start as we climbed off the road into the farmlands. But after our first "road crossing" I found the markers and picked them up all the way to the end. On our route we had a few "Experienced" guys in front and everyone just followeded then. I know at the start I never even bothered looking for route marking as i was following the group. we had a goodcoupleof marshals on the route. All's well that ends well I enjoyed the race and will be doinging it next year. Far as i know it was a fun event to help raise funds for the churches in the area. I had a lekke day out, got some exercise, did my bit for the charities, and won a voucher.

 

Also to my knowledge this is a really old event that was revived last year and hadn't been organised for some time. So for the organisers 2nd year, bet its better than last year and will only get better.

 

The event was very similar to last years. No real improvement. Yes its an old event that was revived. Last year they only had a 30 km MTB and a 38 km Road race. This year they added the longer distances to obviously try and attrack more people. Idea was good but the execution wasnt great. The short routes were fine as it was basically straight from Krugersdorp to Magalies, not much room for going the wrong way there, but the longer route on MTB at least had issues at some spots.

 

I will probably be back next year, but if they dont fix the issues this event will just die a slow and painful death.