reteid Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 thanks Swiss Van. so exited for my first.just about 2 hours left at office then start packing car and leaving 3 am trow.difficult to concentrate at office today.
Bodhi Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 thanks Swiss Van. so exited for my first.just about 2 hours left at office then start packing car and leaving 3 am trow.difficult to concentrate at office today. Ah, another poor soul with the 3am journey start tomorrow! Ditto. Drive safe.
JGR Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Ive got the 6am flight! Having grown up in EL and having done that trip so many times I pity you.
SwissVan Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 thanks Swiss Van. so exited for my first.just about 2 hours left at office then start packing car and leaving 3 am trow.difficult to concentrate at office today. Still remember my first Triathlon, was also a similar distance event back in 1989, man what a disaster… In those days we still did canoe tri’s, this one was a 15km canoe, 90 km cycle and 21 km runOh ja the transition run from the canoe to cycle was about 1.5 km long on a sand road. I was still single and dating my (now) wife, it was one of our first camping trips together, actually it was our first of a total 2 and after this trip that I found out she prefers not to camp.We slept in a tent in the veld next to the dam (Baberspan) there in the middle of Mielie land, just before nowhere.Mosquitos everywhere including in the pre event dinner spaghetti bol which we cooked over the camp fire, spiders (I don't like spiders and wont sleep until someone has removed it) in the tent and an ablution block with no lights are what I remember of the camping effort. The morning of the race was perfect, no wind = no waves which is important if you are still a beginner canoeist in a reasonably unstable boat.Survived the waves from the start but unfortunately about 20 minutes later the wind pitched up resulting in big waves and falling out, faced with a lengthy swim to the side. Ever tried swimming in rough water with a canoe half full of water? Luckily after a while a passing marshal in a speed boat arrived and helped me empty and get back in the boat. Only to make more waves as he sped off resulting in another swim. By the time I got going again and the marshal had moved on I was stone last and could not even see anyone or where the next buoy was. After paddling around aimlessly trying to find a buoy I saw the Start / Finish area in the distance and decided to head for that thinking that everyone must already be out of the water. On getting off the water I quickly realized that the applause was not because I was the last man out but rather because I was just behind the leading group of Henk Watermeyer and Rockley Montgomery (They were the Iron Men of SA triathlon in the 80’s and 90’s). Needless to say I informed everyone I came into contact with that I had got lost and did not complete the course but intended to continue on the bike and run anyway. The bike was pretty uneventful except for the occasional "who the heck are you" stares and whir whir of disk wheeled race snakes coming past flying past. As usual the run was where the wheels really came off, I would like to say it was the half a beer I had from a sympathetic spectator but TBH it was more likely from trying to keep up with the race snakes I “over took” on the canoe as they caught me again on the bike. I don’t recall my finishing time but it was a long day. To make matters worse I started feeling nauseas about half n hour after finishing and while I was busy checking what little contents were left in my stomach (it’s not pleasant being sick on a stomach with only a half a beer in it), I heard my name being called over the PA, I was to report to the race referee immediately. Yep, DQ’d from my first Tri….not a good start. After hearing my story they said I could keep the medal but my name would not appear in the results. At that stage I did not really care much.... Moral of the story…no matter what happens don’t give up, have fun even if it means you have to wait 25 years to laugh at yourself on the inter web. Apologies for the long story but its worth a laugh or two and hopefully it help some newbies to relax...
Bodhi Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 So just putting in new tubes in preparation.... Tube was twisted, had been pinched or just a dud. It exploded at about 8 bar. Good thing it's washday and I've got clean underwear...
JGR Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 So just putting in new tubes in preparation.... Tube was twisted, had been pinched or just a dud. It exploded at about 8 bar. Good thing it's washday and I've got clean underwear...Bwhahahaha on that note - remember to deflate your tubes when you put them on the plane else they will also pop
ratherberidin' Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Hey guys, Long story short I have space if someone still needs a ride down, Fri-Mon from JHB/PTA.. https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/76709-lift-opportunity-to-im703/
fanievb Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Bwhahahaha on that note - remember to deflate your tubes when you put them on the plane else they will also pop also deflate when you checked in your bike (transition is open on race day 05h00), they tend to explode when the sun bakes them
Sidekick Racer Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 also deflate when you checked in your bike (transition is open on race day 05h00), they tend to explode when the sun bakes them Unless it is raining...
Adrian Fogg Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 You guys are lucky Iron Man 70.3 was not today. Its like hurricane Ntando today
sluiper Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Time to speculate about the weather again.... Close your eyes and scroll past if you'd rather not know AccuWeather (http://www.accuweather.com/en/za/east-london/304830/daily-weather-forecast/304830?day=5) InfoSight (http://www.infosight.co.za/weather/SouthAfrica/EasternCape/EastLondon/) Weather24 (http://www.weather24.com/weekend/r/East_London-ZA1006984.html) WeatherSA Yr.no (http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Eastern_Cape/East_London_Airport/long.html) WindGuru (http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=51681&sty=m_spot) Some stuff the forecasts seem to agree on: Hot(ish)Humid (60% - 70% humidity)High UVWind from the East (between 16km/h and 40km/h)Slight chance of rain (0% - 20%)Partly cloudyChoppy sea with small waves
dracs Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 You guys are lucky Iron Man 70.3 was not today. Its like hurricane Ntando today So what do the locals say about Sunday...? Those surfer boys / fisherman there are usually more reliable than windguru! (according to them)
fanievb Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 So what do the locals say about Sunday...? Those surfer boys / fisherman there are usually more reliable than windguru! (according to them) No Comment I don't want to get slaughtered if I'm right wrong
kingalton Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 You guys are lucky Iron Man 70.3 was not today. Its like hurricane Ntando today The weather is going to be perfect on Sunday (power of positive thinking) See you Friday Adrian, make sure those beers are icy at the bar ;-)
Adrian Fogg Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 We find that the www.yr.no.com is the most reliable of the lot. But I agree the fisherman normally are spot on with there predictions.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.