Underachiever Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Was in AL, negative racing from the word go, only a few wanting to race. And then stupid fall just after Carnial, when all the wheelsuckers started to wind things up. Missed it by a split second. AND THEN The merge with the 62 km crowd on their Pick n Pay bikes, that was a really great idea. Oh ja, and the cones!! Unless they change something, this will be my last R4S. Highlight of the day, to meet RastaMan!! RastaMan 1
Patchelicious Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) The merge with the 62 km crowd on their Pick n Pay bikes, that was a really great idea. Oh ja, and the cones!! Unless they change something, this will be my last R4S. No need to have a go at them, everybody here started somewhere on some crappy bike too. And just like everybody here, they were just following their route given to them. Not their fault that the organisers made a dumb call. But those cones were stupid! Edit: I agree, even though the event was well organised, the route and road is crap. Many other races to rather do.... Edited February 16, 2014 by ArchedBackChinOut Jackson123 and fabs 2
TALUS Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 OK I need to stand up and admit the organisers did actually get the seeding mostly right. VA mostly came in before VB etc. AL came in quicker than BL etc. No one under 3h in AL - surely that is unexpected!
bradwentzel Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 3:03 from BL.Great race. Well marshalled, well organised, special route. Will be back
Cyclewizz Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 I rode BL and only saw 1 crash which was near the end and caused by those cones.Had plenty hair raising moments though.I was happy to finish safely. A speedy recovery to all those that were involved in crashes. Dubber88 and Agteros 2
Underachiever Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 No need to have a go at them, everybody here started somewhere on some crappy bike too. And just like everybody here, they were just following their route given to them. Not their fault that the organisers made a dumb call. But those cones were stupid! Edit: I agree, even though the event was well organised, the route and road is crap. Many other races to rather do.... No having a go at them at all!!! Tried to paint the stark contrast between them and the leading AL guys.
Frosty Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Looking at the results, most of the groups (Open seeded 116Km) are below 200 - only EL and one other above 200.AL was 125Km, so unless a large number crashed, or rode without chips, the group sizes were much smaller than before. Expect similar sized batches for next weekend.
Underachiever Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 OK I need to stand up and admit the organisers did actually get the seeding mostly right. VA mostly came in before VB etc. AL came in quicker than BL etc. No one under 3h in AL - surely that is unexpected! It was a replay of Serengeti 2 weeks ago. One a few guys making a race of it. The rest sucked wheel till 1 km to go. It would have been good if Pieter Avenant could stay away!! MooToo 1
AJP Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Yoh very scary race. . .just glad to have finished safely. The merge at the end is my scariest moments especially last 500. Thanks to the CL group we rode well in front trying to keep everyone safe. Finished first in the CL group much easier dodging people and those cones alone TTing to the end.Finished in 3.05.46 with a Chris Willemse kit.Which races offer full road closure? Would rather just stick to them, this only being my 2nd road race.
Agteros Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 I rode BL and only saw 1 crash which was near the end and caused by those cones.Had plenty hair raising moments though.I was happy to finish safely. A speedy recovery to all those that were involved in crashes.Agreed. I also stayed towards the front of BL and only saw the 2 cyclists falling on the coned section just before the intersection turning left. To the guys who were riding on the wrong side of the road and pushing in when traffic approaches... eish dudes, I am sorry you did not get your Darwin awards. However I can only imagine the chaos you caused further back in the bunch based on the amount of swearing I heard every time this happened... Reasonably happy with my 3:03 TALUS 1
Frosty Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Also, the numbers don't stack up... What's his name again (the announcer) - Johnny Koen said there were over 7000. From the results:116 - 264765 - 1383Total 4030 Given that there were crashes, and a few DNS, DNF, there can't be that many that don't have a chip.
Joe! Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 I was in DL and around the 40k mark at a intersection a guy to the right in front of me suddenly swerved left and took out the rider on his left side. Both came down very hard. Hope they are ok? Better than last year, more traffic police etc but the road condition & the trucks .... The first 50k is stressful!
Frosty Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Agreed. I also stayed towards the front of BL and only saw the 2 cyclists falling on the coned section just before the intersection turning left. To the guys who were riding on the wrong side of the road and pushing in when traffic approaches... eish dudes, I am sorry you did not get your Darwin awards. However I can only imagine the chaos you caused further back in the bunch based on the amount of swearing I heard every time this happened... Reasonably happy with my 3:03 I rode right at the back of the group until the section passing the reserve entrance, when I though it would be better close to the front. The left side of the road was almost completely open, making it easy to get to the front. That chaos you imagined was horrible (hard braking, switching and of course the swearing). Was much better off riding on my own from 60Km, no-one to worry about except the odd bunch passing me.
Li Mu Bai Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Also, the numbers don't stack up... What's his name again (the announcer) - Johnny Koen said there were over 7000. From the results:116 - 264765 - 1383Total 4030 Given that there were crashes, and a few DNS, DNF, there can't be that many that don't have a chip.Johnny included last years number too... must say though the finishing bunch of AL was huge 78 riders or so within 1 minute - no wonder the last few kms were so stressful - cones, cars, and other riders. Edited February 16, 2014 by Li Mu Bai
Lone Rider Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Yoh very scary race. . .just glad to have finished safely. The merge at the end is my scariest moments especially last 500. Thanks to the CL group we rode well in front trying to keep everyone safe. Finished first in the CL group much easier dodging people and those cones alone TTing to the end.Finished in 3.05.46 with a Chris Willemse kit.Which races offer full road closure? Would rather just stick to them, this only being my 2nd road race.Not bad for someone who doesn't race often...well done! Unfortunately not a lot of road races offer full road closure. The only ones I'm aware of are 94.7, Amashova, Tour Durban, and the Argus...
Patchelicious Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Yoh very scary race. . .just glad to have finished safely. The merge at the end is my scariest moments especially last 500. Thanks to the CL group we rode well in front trying to keep everyone safe. Finished first in the CL group much easier dodging people and those cones alone TTing to the end.Finished in 3.05.46 with a Chris Willemse kit.Which races offer full road closure? Would rather just stick to them, this only being my 2nd road race. Very well ridden. Burnt matches keeping up with you till that last turn.
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