Sani2c 2015

[NicoBoshoff]

Plus who's great idea was it to allow tandems on a race where you have tight switchbacks on a critical part of day 2?

[Andrew Steer]

I am so so excited at all these Sani entries that are finally going to be available!                   

[Skubarra]

So let's consider that:

 

We finished in the H batch on the Race where the riding was still pretty pisspoor when things pointed downwards.  OUr time was 14:14, which would have seeded us in B batch on the Trail and Adventures in 2014 so it's not as if we pushed up the hills.

 

Are you telling me that your argument still holds up when you ride in the top 1/3 of the field and there is still a clear lack of technical ability?

So what?  Can one only complain if you're in A batch?

 

It's a stupid argument.  Have respect for the sport and the event you're entering and sort out your skills.  If I could spend some time and effort to improve my overall fitness and climbing ability other riders can go and learn how to corner.  I'm not talking about gap jumps and rock gardens from hell.  It's a few tight switchbacks and rocks strewn every few meters.

 

I was in C on the Trail and never in the 3 days got stuck in long queues (or caused ones afaik), everybody around me was able to do the switchbacks and rocky descents (not always as fast as those behind them but not so slow as to cause frustration).

 

Again, in a mass participation event it's inevitable that some okes skill levels are below average and are going to cause congestion - no use bitching about it. At least in the front 1/3 your odds are better of not getting stuck behind them but seems you did the wrong version of Sani2C.

[rudi-h]

Plus who's great idea was it to allow tandems on a race where you have tight switchbacks on a critical part of day 2?

 

tandems aren't the problem, all comes back to trail etiquette and just plain decency.  If you are slow for whatever reason (tandem, poor skills, risk averse etc.) then give the other guys a chance to have a blast up or down the terrain that you suck at or your bike sucks at.

 

if we had to prohibit certain bikes or riders based on the speed and ease that they can ride certain terrain types, we would be down to 30 guys "qualifying" for any given race.

[NicoBoshoff]

tandems aren't the problem, all comes back to trail etiquette and just plain decency.  If you are slow for whatever reason (tandem, poor skills, risk averse etc.) then give the other guys a chance to have a blast up or down the terrain that you suck at or your bike sucks at.

 

if we had to prohibit certain bikes or riders based on the speed and ease that they can ride certain terrain types, we would be down to 30 guys "qualifying" for any given race.

I suppose you are right.

 

Big thing for me though is that me being worse at climbing than the guy behind me doesn't ruin the experience for him.  I can simply pull over and let him pass.  Somehow on the descents people turn into horses and get tunnelvision.

[HOEKVLAG]

ag nee man

 

I must say Supergroup have not done themselves any favours this Sani2C and I would say that despite the huge wad of cash they would have sponsored for the event the overall gain for them has been negative. I get the overall impression of a arrogant company after this whole exercise...and I wasn't even there this year...just an innocent bystander looking on

During the Sani I was thinking the exact same thing and wanted to mail them and tell them as much, but then I thought that I'm probably not their target market - rather the people within the group that they are trying to keep happy...

[NGUTF]

use the same showers. And she wasn't the only woman either. Hot water or water in the ladies showers ran out out they were sent down to use the mens showers.  Had a bunch of naked men walking around passing crude comments!

 

Massage ladies had to do the same, thought that this was pretty kuk for ALL the ladies looking for warm water. 

[Brandon P]

...the future of Sani2C tenting    

[Slowbee]

Plus who's great idea was it to allow tandems on a race where you have tight switchbacks on a critical part of day 2?

those tandem folk were awesome on the adventure. they had more skill than alot of other riders !

[Sparkles]

I suppose you are right.

 

Big thing for me though is that me being worse at climbing than the guy behind me doesn't ruin the experience for him. I can simply pull over and let him pass. Somehow on the descents people turn into horses and get tunnelvision.

It seems that depending on your strength your perspective would be very different.

 

I am lighter than most of the guys, so even leaving technical skills and fitness out of the equation I cannot reach the same top speed descending, but I get the benefit of being a stronger climber because I need to drag less weight up a hill. That means that I get caught behind slower climbers and it is not always possible to pass them. And I find that people are even less inclined to pull over when already suffering up a steep climb and focusing on staying on top of their bikes, which means I cannot ride my natural pace and hence have to suffer more and for longer.

 

So, in a way, it is a matter of comparing the lessening of the fast descender's enjoyment with the increasing of the fast ascender's suffering. This is of course a vast generalisation but I am trying to show that the challenge is a bit more complicated.

 

In addition, being slower is also not always a matter of technical skills, but also the rider's appetite for risk. Yes, the two can be linked, but not necessarily.

 

In the end we all have different combinations of strengths, weaknesses and riding styles and should try to accommodate each other.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Sparkles

[Traverse]

Good+

Glen Cairn is so cool! 100% better than the school.

Upgrade at Jolivet farm is 200% better.

New bike stands at Jolivet also a plus.

Bad-

Why is it only once a year?

[Stretch]

One last thing from me; R500 to download 9 average photos is a bit much. Are there no more reasonable photographers?

 

tend to agree there...there are a number of local (KZN) photographers working their butts off trying to eek out a living... they are all mates and between the lot of them they would gladly occupy spots along the route each day and snap good quality photographs. Not only will the farmer be supporting local business, but the riders will also get good quality images at half the price...I have never bought a sani photograph because they have always been boring and of poor quality...and bliksem expensive

[Stretch]

tend to agree there...there are a number of local (KZN) photographers working their butts off trying to eek out a living... they are all mates and between the lot of them they would gladly occupy spots along the route each day and snap good quality photographs. Not only will the farmer be supporting local business, but the riders will also get good quality images at half the price...I have never bought a sani photograph because they have always been boring and of poor quality...and bliksem expensive

 

slowbee  - how can you move a reply from one thread to another thread - this is directly related to a feedback  - and thus should be in the feedback thread...by moving it you have caused confusion and broken continuity

[Katy]

Guys, if you want to complain about bottlenecks & queues on the trail, perhaps you must work on your seeding to start in a better batch. It doesn't mean if you can descent like a specialist that you can climb like one too, so perhaps its a sign that you have space for improvement??? The seeding is the seeding in ALL events across SA and that won't change, start riding better. The sani2c is for everyone and EVERYONE of you started MTB'ing by climbing off for a root, curb, drop, rock & whatever so give the new guys a chance to start the same as you did.

 

madbradd: GPS navigation. Just because I feel like I'm staring at my little screen too long instead of the scenery. - I loaded the maps on my Garmin and started it each morning(on silent mode) but didn't use it once as the route was quite obvious.

 

-Katy: Broken bridge on the trail day 2. Sani2C 2011 there were NO bridges over all the crossings. This is mountain biking, every bridge is a privilege.

 

For me, it was an awesome event & some great riding(with no bottlenecks what so ever), who cares about the clothes, we're there to ride our bikes!!! Jeez guys....really! 

 

To clarify, it wasn't a little wooden bridge that was broken. The floating bridge on the bottom of the descent into the valley snapped, causing a massive pile up. People eventually rode down the river and crossed it at the rapids (this was quite a mission). They did fix it eventually so I am not sure how many people it affected. If this wouldn't bother you, cool, but it did bother me. You say all the bridges are a privilege but it's a crazy expensive race and I think that if they put a bridge on it then said bridge should be functional. If you go to a five star hotel and it's only three star quality, you wouldn't just say, "oh well the extra two stars were a privilege anyway", you'd be annoyed.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Katy

[Gifappel]

The guys on the first few pages of the thread is not complaining about the Super Group guys(although some of them are but that's not what I'm referring to although I agree that SG must start last next year), they are complaining in general with the Sani2C trail and even the race about riders who can't ride technical stuff. Go read first but here are some extracts for you:

- NicoBoshoff: bottlenecks on Umko descent even in I/J batches on race (seedings don't sufficiently account for technical ability)

- Sniffie: The lack of basic mountain biking skills mid pack in the race. Stopping for rocks and turns in single track, and coming to a skidding halt before switchbacks. Some riders should spend 3K less on their fancy machines and invest it in some skills training.

-NixM: congestion on trails, so I bad I am unlikely to do S2C again

-lapa: Techincal skills of riders. I rode with my wife in a batch I would not normally ride in and was shocked at the lack of skills of the riders in those batches. I am not saying that you should ride the technical sections at a hundred miles an hour, but to stop for a small rock on a single track is shocking.

 

During 2011, there we're no bridges on day 2 except for the Umkomaas steel bridge(and perhaps a floating bridge) which have always been there and was not broken this year thus they are obviously not referring to the Umko bridge, you can't swim over the Umko even in 2004 sani2c. If you remember correctly, all those gazzilion river crossings on day 2 there were no bridges at all and if you go back to the thread you'll see that the rider is complaining about the small wooden bridges at the bottom of Umko

The fact that you struggle to believe that it was the bridge over the Umkomazi river that was broken just goes to show you what a bad slip-up it was. Four guys did swim it, a large number of us road down the bank and crossed it at the nearest rapid.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Gifappel

[candz1]

Ive done 3 Sani's , 2011, 2012 and 2015..each year the organisers' have made the event easier and added more riders...(cutting out difficult climbs on day 2, remember "lambs" and making little bridges for the stream crossings through the land claim farm), without improving facilities at McKenzie and Jolivet.  The ladies showers at both were ridiculous! We had 6 toilets, the men used the other half of the showers/toilets because theirs were to far away or whatever... The finish on day 3 is not safe, I did not enjoy being slapped on the back and butt and harrassed by the kids for chocolate and sweets.  I would like to try ride the adventure or trail and compare it to Race.