Berg and Bush 2013

[nigelhicks]

I agree, there seem to be less and less rocks every year. I hope it doesn't become like Sani one day. I love this race specifically because it doesn't have smooth manicured singletrack. As they say, it is proper mountain biking, not a road race!

 

That is very worrying ... The natural trails are what make this event what it is ... by "dumbing" the trails down to accommodate more riders it will ruin the nature of the event IMO ....

 

Will see on Saturday i suppose.

[rouxtjie]

I agree, there seem to be less and less rocks every year. I hope it doesn't become like Sani one day. I love this race specifically because it doesn't have smooth manicured singletrack. As they say, it is proper mountain biking, not a road race!

Exactly why I love mankele and their events....jis its soo much fun

[beanz]

I agree, there seem to be less and less rocks every year. I hope it doesn't become like Sani one day. I love this race specifically because it doesn't have smooth manicured singletrack. As they say, it is proper mountain biking, not a road race!

 

I also noticed this. Some of the rocks on the climbs have disappeared since last year. Sections that were a challenge to clear were easy this time. And definitely coming down puffadder on day 3 there weren't as many as last year. Please Farmer Gary don't take any more rocks out!

[beanz]

Damn from what i have read sounds like this is the race/ ride for me most certainly will enter next year.

 

Just have one question to the singletrack dowhill junkies out there of which i am. I hate races of late as unfortunatly MTB has grown so much that the traffic on ST especially tech areas are so bad that most races everyone is walking and pushing the sections i love to ride. Im kuk on the climbs so i always get caught by fatser riders on climbs then they hold me up on the DH sections.

 

So at the Berg n Bush was their a lot of traffic on the tech downhill ST runs or did you guys have free track to blitz the trails?

 

It wasn't too bad. On day 1 I sat on a wheel most of the way down Sollies Folly but had a clear run on all the sections thereafter, including the final everest descent into the river valley. On day 2 down spioenkop a bit of both. On day 3 I had puffadder all to myself which was fantastic.

 

I've come to realise that on races of this size if you like to ride the singletrack downhills agressively, you're going to have to deal with some traffic. That's no fault of this race, but just has to do with the fact that there are 1000 odd people out on a track going at different speeds down different sections. If you look at the distribution of finishing times (i.e. traffic at the finishing line), you'll see that the A batch is quite spread out, but the traffic picks up very quickly in the B/C/D batches, and then tails off after that. One of these days I'm going to crunch the numbers and post it.

 

So if you want uninterrupted, unimpeded track to shred the descents, your options are:

1. Become a super fit fast competitive racing snake in the top 20-30 teams.

2. Hang at the back of the field with the stragglers, take all the time you want, wait for a gap at the top then smash it.

3. Forget about MTN/trailseeker marathons and the big stage races. Ride trails with your singletrack DH junkie mates. Do enduros.

Edited October 15, 2013 by beanz

[Beer4Recovery]

 

3. Forget about MTN/trailseeker marathons and the big stage races. Ride trails with your singletrack DH junkie mates. Do enduros.

 

[canfan]

Exactly why I love mankele and their events....jis its soo much fun

Have to agree. Unfortunately technical routes and loose rocks doesnt appeal to the masses.

[rouxtjie]

Have to agree. Unfortunately technical routes and loose rocks doesnt appeal to the masses.

And exactly the way I would like to keep it....unappealing that is

[canfan]

And exactly the way I would like to keep it....unappealing that is

Good point, but on the flip side, organisers are toning down event like Berg and Bush in order to cater for this.

[flat29]

Exactly why I love mankele and their events....jis its soo much fun

 

Best we keep these okes away from mankele. soon they will have to put tar on the 3 tower route and hand out sunscreen and cut the bush tunnel cause it is toooo technical

Edited October 15, 2013 by flat29

[rouxtjie]

Good point, but on the flip side, organisers are toning down event like Berg and Bush in order to cater for this.

Pity though...Mankele 3 towers hasn't changed in the last three years...big up Mark and Geoff.

 

Oh and to put the tjerrie on the top....SS champs will be there next year...whoooop

Edited October 15, 2013 by rouxtjie

[rouxtjie]

Best we keep these okes away from mankele. soon they will have to put tar on the 3 tower route and hand out sunscreen

they musnt change a thing about mankele...its perfect..even the ten rand beers stayed at ten rand this year.

[beanz]

 

Good point, but on the flip side, organisers are toning down event like Berg and Bush in order to cater for this.

 

It's just a theory but here goes: Sponsor pressure.

A good general rule of thumb is to pick your events based on the title sponsor.

Good: unsponsored, producers of off-road vehicles, high octane energy drinks, specialist mtb components.

Bad: providers of financial services tailored to extraordinarily high net worth individuals.

Farmer Gary, put the rocks back and get a new sponsor ;-)

[Ratty]

It was not even close to 39 anywhere in the Tugela valley on Friday. There would have been a lot of people treated with heat related symptoms if that was the case. A garmin with its heat sensor underneath a glass enclosure in the direct sunlight will always register a much higher temperature than the actual dry ball temperature taken inside a Stevenson screen. I am not in any way doubting you or the reading from your garmin, it is just that it was not that warm on Friday or even Saturday. Once ambient temperature rises above 37 C everything including things like plastic or even wooden furniture seems warm to the human touch. No way it was that warm on the weekend.

 

So you are saying the car temperature was wrong as well? The suburu registered 42 and that wasn't at the hottest point.

[madmarc]

Guys, Don't mis-interperate sharing war stories with moaning. I don't see any moaning (bar 1 or 2 small gripes) on this thread. It makes for interesting reading and discussions.

 

As far as the brewing argument on the actual temp. Well who knows what the deg actually was. There are so many ways to determine and measure temp. Published temp for a particular day are normally done with instruments sitting in ventilated boxes at airports measuring air tempreture, a device on your bike is measuring the radiant heat which you are experiencing and will read a couple of degrees higher because it's under a screen. But who cares we all know it was fekkin hot !!! lots of us were under prepared as far as hydration goes and got caught so now we learn for the next stage race.

 

So what if they took away some rocks and manicured the trail a bit. You pay 11K to enter plus other expenses, end up bending your wheel or breaking your arm on day 1 because of 1 rock you couldn't avoid and your race is over until next year, you don't get your money back. so if a few rocks were removed so a few more riders with less technical skills could enjoy and finish the event then so be it.

 

If you want to put rocks back, then i'd support that as well.

 

The organizers did a perfect job, it couldn't have been done any better.

[Dirtbreath]

Very fortunate that I let my entry go. It was a big ask to try ride in good conditions. In that heat I'd have literally died.

 

Unfortunately for first timers it is difficult to benchmark the effort required to ride a stage race. Same goes for logistics and race strategy ie pace, food, water, tools, spares, partner etc. Although having one or two under the belt makes it easier to judge. As long as the organiser has done his best to look after the race and you you'll be ok. I recall a Sabie Exp a few years back where they aborted the stage. That was a cock up but safety was a priority. We spoke to some farmers and made a call to bail before the start, fortunate.

 

That most of the posts are positive points toward a great even. Look forward to riding next year.

[VicanZA]

maybe just ask the guy with the broken collar bone day 3, looked plenty technical for me and him too. I see u could of dropped of the escarpment if u really wanted too! all u hard ppl coming out here and complaining that a couple of rocks had been move need to keep im mind that the race organizer is trying to get 1000+ ppl home safe aswell. if you want a clear run get into A or B batch.

 

by the way any one else have their tent blow away?