[Event] MTN NATIONAL MTB SERIES #1 Dullstroom

[Thug]

So how many times do we as "customers" have to put up with sub-standard water tables from the Advendurance team?

 

No water from batch B onwards and resorting to using dirty river water to fill bottles?

 

Standard excuses that will given... we had more people than anticipated.... it was muddy and we couldn't get vehicles through....people washed their glasses in the drinking water..... I call bullshite on every single one. Advendurance know exactly how many people are expected! The standard of water tables was atrocious to say the least and this is a national series!! Fortunately, the weather was mild. I hate to see what might have happened if the temperature was in the 30's with no water.

 

Smacks to me of purely trying to save money and maximise profit!

 

Fritz, Tim Fair and everyone associated with Advendurance need to visit the smaller races and see how to put water tables together. They definitely can learn a thing or two.

 

Surely it is a duty of the race commissar appointed by CSA to oversee ALL ASPECTS of the race and not just sit in the finish tent. If they got into their cars and actually looked at the route and had pre-defined standards, they could quickly see whether the route (including water tables) met these criteria! This includes having 3 races converge onto tight singletrack in the last4/5 k's.

 

CSA are a joke! But that's another topic entirely!

 

A mate this weekend had a great analogy of CSA, they're just the same as an e-toll road. You have no choice to pay (eventually) and get absolutely sweet Fanny Adams in return!!

Edited February 9, 2014 by Thug

[Li Mu Bai]

Unfortunately I have to agree with Thug.

I have been participating in the National series for the last 7 years, and the standards are definitely on the drop.

Although the enthusiasm and growth seen in MTB racing is climbing all the time, what I experienced yesterday was just crap.

 

Dullstroom route, great, no problems there for me. The views and terrain was sublime, thank you.

A little bit of technical rocky stuff to keep it interesting, lots of mud and soft earth to steal my energy, and not enough oxygen.

the rolling climbs were relentless, it was a fair marathon test.

 

Gripes:

Parking 2km from the start - lousy. No toilets etc at the car park, you had to get yourself set to go and ride down to the start with your turtlehead.

Batching was fine, start good too.

I got to the top of the main climb to the water table to find only bananas? Were you only expecting monkeys?

The cups were laid out neatly, but empty. no powerade no coke no water. For B BATCH? wtf?

It was starting to get hot, what were C, D, E, F marathon batches supposed to do getting there. POOR POOR planning.

No chain lube either - it was a wet muddy event, surely some chain lube could have been forseen? or was this reserved solely for the tech spot much earlier?

I managed to get some water up at a farmhouse further along the path. Lucky me.

Then the finish. 6km of what might have been interesting single track, completely spoiled by an endless que of 20km funriders, and 40km riders who were struggling with the tree roots and climbing single track. I resigned myself to potter along in my granny gear behind these participants and enjoy the shade.

How on earth do you combine all the riders for the last single track? INSANE! the 20km riders could have had that as part of the start to their route, not try finish with the rest of the field who were fed up, dehydrated, and just trying to get it over with.

Then finally across the finish line. Lo and behold, NO WATER! just that nasty orange flavoured USN SPIKE.

COME ON ADVENDURANCE? Same happened at Van Gaalens Trailseeker last year, in the heat, no water just USN Spike.

Distance, only 72km, not 77. Umm did someone misread thier GPS. Honestly how hard can this be to get right.

Jeezuz guys, do you expect us to continue to support the series when the first one sets such a precedent?

I would much rather compliment you on a fun route, than whine over the basics.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Li Mu Bai

[Carcarias1974]

Unfortunately I have to agree with Thug.

I have been participating in the National series for the last 7 years, and the standards are definitely on the drop.

Although the enthusiasm and growth seen in MTB racing is climbing all the time, what I experienced yesterday was just crap.

 

Dullstroom route, great, no problems there for me. The views and terrain was sublime, thank you.

A little bit of technical rocky stuff to keep it interesting, lots of mud and soft earth to steal my energy, and not enough oxygen.

the rolling climbs were relentless, it was a fair marathon test.

 

Gripes:

Parking 2km from the start - lousy. No toilets etc at the car park, you had to get yourself set to go and ride down to the start with your turtlehead.

Batching was fine, start good too.

I got to the top of the main climb to the water table to find only bananas? Were you only expecting monkeys?

The cups were laid out neatly, but empty. no powerade no coke no water. For B BATCH? wtf?

It was starting to get hot, what were C, D, E, F marathon batches supposed to do getting there. POOR POOR planning.

No chain lube either - it was a wet muddy event, surely some chain lube could have been forseen? or was this reserved solely for the tech spot much earlier?

I managed to get some water up at a farmhouse further along the path. Lucky me.

Then the finish. 6km of what might have been interesting single track, completely spoiled by an endless que of 20km funriders, and 40km riders who were struggling with the tree roots and climbing single track. I resigned myself to potter along in my granny gear behind these participants and enjoy the shade.

How on earth do you combine all the riders for the last single track? INSANE! the 20km riders could have had that as part of the start to their route, not try finish with the rest of the field who were fed up, dehydrated, and just trying to get it over with.

Then finally across the finish line. Lo and behold, NO WATER! just that nasty orange flavoured USN SPIKE.

COME ON ADVENDURANCE? Same happened at Van Gaalens Trailseeker last year, in the heat, no water just USN Spike.

Distance, only 72km, not 77. Umm did someone misread thier GPS. Honestly how hard can this be to get right.

Jeezuz guys, do you expect us to continue to support the series when the first one sets such a precedent?

I would much rather compliment you on a fun route, than whine over the basics.

 

How about we pay AFTER the event... That would get their arses into a different gear all together.....

[jcza]

At least bike wash was spot on for me. Dropped bike, had some beers & collected http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/09/jejyha3u.jpg

Edited February 9, 2014 by jcza

[Mike Bike]

At least bike wash was spot on for me. Dropped bike, had some beers & collected http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/09/jejyha3u.jpg

but according to the results you didn't do the race....

[jcza]

but according to the results you didn't do the race....

 

Its on Strava so it's gospel. Results appear to be random number draw. Funny Mike!!

[Mike Bike]

 

 

Its on Strava so it's gospel. Results appear to be random number draw. Funny Mike!!

lets hope the results abomination gets sorted quickly...they dropped the ball big time

[nathrix]

Route was great with plenty mud to keep you honest. Parking area had no toilets or rubish bins and too far from the start. The wp's sucked big time but the pearler of all was merging the different distances at the end through that single track. Could not believe they did that, again, with all their experience from previous races.

[Rudi Pollard]

I have to agree with everyones sentiments.

 

The route was really great, no problems there. Although I had 7 punctures I still finished with a decent time.

 

The waterpoints was shocking for such a big race. Even the girls at the waterpoints admitted that there were only roped in on Wednesday and it was the first time ever which they had to do a waterpoint at a cycle race. That is ridiculous if you look at all the races Fritz and Co has organised over the years!!!

 

The merging of the routes at the end was a disaster. You would think that they have learnt their lesson at the Trailseeker series but NO, they still think its a good idea.

 

Anyway the riding was great, so for that I will be back. But I have learnt not to expect to much from Advendurance...

[jcza]

I have to agree with everyones sentiments.

 

The route was really great, no problems there. Although I had 7 punctures I still finished with a decent time.

 

The waterpoints was shocking for such a big race. Even the girls at the waterpoints admitted that there were only roped in on Wednesday and it was the first time ever which they had to do a waterpoint at a cycle race. That is ridiculous if you look at all the races Fritz and Co has organised over the years!!!

 

The merging of the routes at the end was a disaster. You would think that they have learnt their lesson at the Trailseeker series but NO, they still think its a good idea.

 

Anyway the riding was great, so for that I will be back. But I have learnt not to expect to much from Advendurance...

 

Jeez lapa 7 punctures? Bad luck or bad tyres? What are you running?

[arendoog]

At least bike wash was spot on for me. Dropped bike, had some beers & collected http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/09/jejyha3u.jpg

Sorry to hear about your day .Berge Dale was great .Scenery as good as dullstroom .The pina,s wheels were singing

[Rudi Pollard]

 

Jeez lapa 7 punctures? Bad luck or bad tyres? What are you running?

 

Maxxis Ikons. It was more bad luck than anything else. Refilled my sealant earlier in the week as well. Lost about 20mins due to the tyres

[Thug]

Maxxis Ikons. It was more bad luck than anything else. Refilled my sealant earlier in the week as well. Lost about 20mins due to the tyres

 

Hardluck, I also lost around 20 minutes due to punctures.

[leona]

i cant open the results. the mtb drop down menu doesn't do anything.. who won the womens race?

[Lexx]

Where is Fritz and the people from Advendurance? They must come and explain what went wrong here on this thread!

[BarHugger]

INFORMATION SNIPPET: (use it, dont use it)

As per previous post at https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/135151-serengeti-classic-mtb-race-2014/page__st__96

 

Yesterday was a bit muddy and played havoc on equipment and kit. Bikes are clean but kit is still dirty, especially shoes, socks and shirts. Normal washing and washing machine does not seem to do the job satisfactorily?

 

Try using diluted combination of Clean Green and Sunlight liquid. Soak kit in it. Then make use of high pressure cleaner.....just make sure nozzle is set to spray (not jet stream). Wash kit easy-easy......

 

Cycle shirts have been through washing machine twice using Skip first, then Omo.....but those mud blotches on white is a bugger. SO likes white......shirt and shoes are hers.

 

Before and after pics (hope it helps someone who struggles with the cleaning)

 

That's all.....end of information snippet.

Edited February 9, 2014 by BarHugger