DIPSLICK Posted May 26, 2014 Share Just did a quick check, time lost due to a few bottleneck at the start....all of 2 minutes and thirty second...really nothing in the greater scheme of things. They won't do batch starts I suspect and there are plenty of short little hills where passing is possible to sort the men from the boys in the beginning.talking from a MAN or BOYS perspective :whistling: rouxtjie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynehans Posted May 26, 2014 Share http://www.jetlineactionphoto.com/racecalendar.php these guys do the Pics every year, probably be up in a day or 2. just pop your number in, and all your photos come up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watsonr Posted May 26, 2014 Share After only 8 months of mountain biking and no form of fitness training before; I did the 45km in 3:30, and had an absolute blast. It is all rideable apart from the bottlenecks and when riders walk side by side up the hill; forcing you to break and walk. The last 20 odd km's was unbelievable. Can't wait to do the full monster next year. RuanJvR89 and DIPSLICK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vangar Posted May 26, 2014 Share So the 45km....I was not as fit as I would have liked that's for sure.....in the end I finished in 5hrs 28 min, with only 3:25 of that spent moving. My riding partner for the day struggled with a tight chest and breathing problems(damn smokers!), he had 2 falls one OTB, one smacking ribs into the rocks, smacked a rear derailleur against a rock at 15km and ended up with only 3 usable rear gears and terrible shifting, 2 punctures, one complete valve failure, one SR Suntour shock behaving shockingly( ), basically one mechanically unhappy bike. Not wanting to abandon him I soldiered along, repaired, replaced and pushed him to the finish. As for me, the downhills were amazing, I hated and loved the rocks at the same time, kept me on my toes and killed my wrists. Bike never missed a beat, a shift nothing, even decending at stupid speeds over those rocks. Only thing I found out that as good a general tyre Racing Ralphs are, they do not like sand. My only fall for the day was completely stationary, one foot clipped in, adjusting helmet, one of the younger kids in the 45Km clipped my bars and down I went hard before I could act. All in all this was one of the hardest and worst days of my life on a bike.....and I loved every second of it. Next year I'll be back for more, hopefully fit enough to go for the full monster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikey Posted May 26, 2014 Share To be honest they are very different...thaba has short sharp bultjies where the monster has longer less sharp drags. Also you need very good skills to ride everything at thaba ito maneuvering around sharp bends...there are plenty of rocks at the monster but that is about it. Upgrade...you will be fine. You havent done the monster if its not the big oneIt definitely was the big one...it was harder than I imagined that's for sure . Having never ridden further than 62 Km's on my mnt bike it was kind of a rude awakening. I echo Alex's sentiments on the monster climb ( it's all a haze) . The 2 biggest mistakes I made was firstly convincing a mate who didn't want to do the big one to actually do it (as I felt compelled to stay with him, most of the way anyway 60km) The 2nd mistake was going right to the back of the field and basically going of last.Albeit it got congested sometimes,the hardest part was that the field split up and it seemed as if we were riding the race by ourselves and a few others. So never really had the feeling of being in a big race. I am glad I did it and finished in 7.22 min,but as I rode the last 20 km at my own pace I realized that in a race you need to be able to ride at your own pace and not keep stopping,as trying to find a rhythm and a comfortable pace is important. Having said all that thanks for the advice rouxtjie, had it not been for your advice I would of done the 45 km and been left wondering if I could of finished the monster.Now I know and am wiser for it. Even though my mate hated me whilst doing it,he is glad he finished and got his well deserved medal (7h47). And said he has a huge sense of achievement ,as well as being completely and utterly exhausted. I will do it again next year ( strava gave me some comfort in that my moving time was 6hrs18) and with a lot more training and a lot more wisdom I am hoping to do a sub 6hr next year. If ever asked is it a race for a complete noob with no race's under there beltI would probably say no ,but if you want to test your mental strength as well as your physical strength then this race will do just that. To alex big up as I also only started cycling in November and know how I felt at the end of the race, overwhelmed . To those hubbers that did some seriously awesome times around the 5hr mark I can only aspire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieVlieg Posted May 26, 2014 Share Just another thing about this race. I see this thread has attracted fairly more posts than most other races on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp Posted May 26, 2014 Share Just another thing about this race. I see this thread has attracted fairly more posts than most other races on this forum. Coz it's so easy, I read it here somewhere. rouxtjie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted May 26, 2014 Share Nice one Thfc....how good did that beer taste afterwards?...my first two didn't touch sides. I will tell you one thing though, much nicer if you had done the 45...I am not trying to take anything away from those that completed the shorter distance, just that if you are capable of finishing the big one, and did the small one you will have a sense of regret afterwards, and that is worse than trying and failing. And make no mistake, everyone was poked after it, I am sure if you asked Nico if it was tough he would have said yes. Wear that medal proud....I have mine on at work today... Edited May 26, 2014 by rouxtjie jatho, Mike Bike and Fire Engine 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChUkKy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Nice one Thfc....how good did that beer taste afterwards?...my first two didn't touch sides. I will tell you one thing though, much nicer if you had done the 45...I am not trying to take anything away from those that completed the shorter distance, just that if you are capable of finishing the big one, and did the small one you will have a sense of regret afterwards, and that is worse than trying and failing. And make no mistake, everyone was poked after it, I am sure if you asked Nico if it was tough he would have said yes. Wear that medal proud....I have mine on at work today... Absolutely no regrets, I heard about the mowed grass and sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted May 26, 2014 Share talking from a MAN or BOYS perspective :whistling: BOY without a doubt....I looked at Edgar's time(dayjobbing, beer drinking privateer) and went....I am a sissie girl DIPSLICK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted May 26, 2014 Share Absolutely no regrets, I heard about the mowed grass and sand.What is that thing about prawns and sand again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtrider Posted May 26, 2014 Share Absolutely no regrets, I heard about the mowed grass and sand. That mowed grass did hurt , but sand ? Very little sand compared to a few years ago , or did I take the wrong route ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted May 26, 2014 Share That mowed grass did hurt , but sand ? Very little sand compared to a few years ago , or did I take the wrong route ?Say whaaaaaaaat. Nee koot....there was enough sand to redo ballito beach twice over. I must say, the variety of terrain was exceptional....there were Rocky downsRocky upsSingletrackConcreteMowed grassMowed sandMowed rocksBloodied rocksDistrict upsDistrict downsDistrict flats RuanJvR89 and andregrobler 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChUkKy Posted May 26, 2014 Share What is that thing about prawns and sand again? They are not tjoms rouxtjie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikey Posted May 26, 2014 Share Nice one Thfc....how good did that beer taste afterwards?...my first two didn't touch sides. I will tell you one thing though, much nicer if you had done the 45...I am not trying to take anything away from those that completed the shorter distance, just that if you are capable of finishing the big one, and did the small one you will have a sense of regret afterwards, and that is worse than trying and failing. And make no mistake, everyone was poked after it, I am sure if you asked Nico if it was tough he would have said yes. Wear that medal proud....I have mine on at work today... 100% no regrets at all ,which feels pretty damn good. rouxtjie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Bru Posted May 26, 2014 Share Say whaaaaaaaat. Nee koot....there was enough sand to redo ballito beach twice over. I must say, the variety of terrain was exceptional....there were Rocky downsRocky upsSingletrackConcreteMowed grassMowed sandMowed rocksBloodied rocksDistrict upsDistrict downsDistrict flats??? I don't remember those IdeJongh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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