Stricker Posted December 1, 2014 Share Reading all this helping,drafting working together makes me super jealous etc etc . I was man alone and had guys+++ on my wheel 80% of the time, The only time I had no one on my wheel was on the rolling hills, Drop one and two jump on ...Etc Etc Really looking forward to next year.....2:30 Hier kom ons BTW if I offended anyone while passing them I do apologise , had to do some serious manoeuvring to get through all the traffic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaStig Posted December 1, 2014 Share Nicely done, man. Got caught behind several dead wheels and averting a crash as someone touched traffic cones on Helz. I was in a chasing 6-8 riders until and it was eina stuff as we got so close to catching up.Then got swallowed up by the guys with big thighs on the Victor Verster Rd. I cried myself to sleep last night. But feeling much better now. that would've been me , some tjop riding on the wrong side of the cones kicked one..under my front wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted December 1, 2014 Share that would've been me , some tjop riding on the wrong side of the cones kicked one..under my front wheel Eish!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideondv Posted December 1, 2014 Share My first road race. Started 2G.. Passed what felt like a 1000 people on Helshoogte. From Pniel to val de vie I was pulling a bunch the whole time.. Jeez roadies like to suck a wheel & do nothing!? Eventually 2 chaps with Curo kit came and helped me. Everything went well until I got a rear flat at 70km, bombed it only to somehow pull the valve out when I took the bomb connection off... Was stranded for 15min until a very nice old gentleman stopped and helped me. Julian Dobson, thanks a million! The final 25km was a nice TT (again the wheel suckers jumped on.. But only one lasted) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted December 1, 2014 Share My first road race. Started 2G.. Passed what felt like a 1000 people on Helshoogte. From Pniel to val de vie I was pulling a bunch the whole time.. Jeez roadies like to suck a wheel & do nothing!? Eventually 2 chaps with Curo kit came and helped me. Everything went well until I got a rear flat at 70km, bombed it only to somehow pull the valve out when I took the bomb connection off... Was stranded for 15min until a very nice old gentleman stopped and helped me. Julian Dobson, thanks a million! The final 25km was a nice TT (again the wheel suckers jumped on.. But only one lasted)Wheel sucking is an essential strategy, yeah... Most amateurs overuse it and never take that obligatory turn, albeit 12 secs, in front to earn their place in the bunch :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonian1984 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Wheel sucking is an essential strategy, yeah...Most amateurs overuse it and never take that obligatory turn, albeit 12 secs, in front to earn their place in the bunch :-/the further back they start, the worse the wheel suckers get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted December 1, 2014 Share I just wish more people would stop sucking wheel and actually help out. no idea how many people me and my friend pulled along and then they will just hook up to next guy passing by.. but we were laughing passing most of them at about the 3 hr mark. (just to get wheel sucked again). Hope for better seeding next time and to find some riders willing to work together. My first road race. Started 2G.. Passed what felt like a 1000 people on Helshoogte. From Pniel to val de vie I was pulling a bunch the whole time.. Jeez roadies like to suck a wheel & do nothing!? The final 25km was a nice TT (again the wheel suckers jumped on.. But only one lasted) Congrats on kicking ass in your first road race Regarding the wheelsuckers, the way I see it you were clearly stronger than the riders around you and for the most part they were just hanging on for dear life, so there was no benefit for them trying to help you out, it is not as if you were going to slow down and wait for them once they tire out after taking turns upfront? Just enjoy being the biggest dog in the bunch for now Your seeding will keep on improving and soon you will be the one doing the wheelsucking hanging on for dear life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted December 1, 2014 Share I rode in the 2F group and did a 2:44. I enjoyed the ride and had no issues with traffic control or accidents, just few guys who were willing to do the time upfront. I was the guy in the orange Strava shirt who stuck with the two hard working older guys. One from 2A and his mate 2F 1154..oh and a guy in Italia colours also did his bit. These two were troopers and although I took my turn up front I didnt tow as much as them. I also managed to time trial (English for being dropped it seems) at +-15km to go. I'll be back next year, for sure Thanks for pulling our bunch, would have loved to help upfront but it's hard to work your way through a bunch of 400 people on those narrow roads (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it) I finally managed to make my way to the front near Klapmuts, climbed a bit faster than the group along with the Italia guy in blue, when we got to the top I sat up to wait for the rest of the group but he shouted "lets go!" and promptly wheelsucked me to the finish . Guess that's my punishment for hiding in the bunch earlier (and his reward for doing the hard work upfront ) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dev null Posted December 1, 2014 Share the further back they start, the worse the wheel suckers get. I don't think I can agree. I have done enough starts from the back of the field, and there just never forms a big enough group of riders at the same speed that others can suck to. In fact, this race was my very first race where I was part of a big enough group (about 40 riders) to make it worth while, and that only lasted 10km (from 25km to 35km into the race), and it was a very nervous ride since it comprised of a lot of riders that clearly never rode in a group as there were lots of nervous braking each time we caught slower riders. In fact, the group just about broke up on a slight climb when there was a crash a few riders behind us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonian1984 Posted December 1, 2014 Share I don't think I can agree. I have done enough starts from the back of the field, and there just never forms a big enough group of riders at the same speed that others can suck to. In fact, this race was my very first race where I was part of a big enough group (about 40 riders) to make it worth while, and that only lasted 10km (from 25km to 35km into the race), and it was a very nervous ride since it comprised of a lot of riders that clearly never rode in a group as there were lots of nervous braking each time we caught slower riders. In fact, the group just about broke up on a slight climb when there was a crash a few riders behind us.Two PPA rides this year, I started further back.....the moment we headed into the wind everyone was looking to sit in and the pace slowed to a pace that I could have probably ran at....Maybe right at the back there is not enough structure as you state, which I can agree with.....but its the ones who "hear" how nice it is to sit on someones wheel who dont do much but want to get pulled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dev null Posted December 1, 2014 Share Two PPA rides this year, I started further back.....the moment we headed into the wind everyone was looking to sit in and the pace slowed to a pace that I could have probably ran at....Maybe right at the back there is not enough structure as you state, which I can agree with.....but its the ones who "hear" how nice it is to sit on someones wheel who dont do much but want to get pulled. Some okes thinks maybe it will make a difference when they wheelsuck in a group of 2 or 3. I have seen some of those yesterday. They wheelsuck until a faster small group comes past then they hook onto that group. But they don't usually last long. On the other hand I can understand that younger cyclists don't learn the etiquette of bunch riding since this sport has become so dangerous on our roads, so they never do training rides on the road with groups until race day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Lizard Posted December 2, 2014 Share Soos ons in Afrikaans se...as jy stadig is, moet jy maar slim wees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannabe Posted December 2, 2014 Share I had a good chuckle, just after being caught by the bunch at Windmeul, at the very next little climb I heard an oke behind me telling his buddy "be ready, I'm gonna attack at the next climb"Well, at the next "climb" (all just rollers, really) this guy come screaming past, with his buddy duly in tow. I hooked up to them to witness this promised attack (and benefit if the "attack" succeeds).Well, before they even cleared the front guys in the bunch, the okes spectacular attack fizzled out just as spectacularly and he slinked back into the bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanCT Posted December 2, 2014 Share Everything went well until I got a rear flat at 70km, bombed it only to somehow pull the valve out when I took the bomb connection off... Sometime the cold temp of the bomb can fuse the core of the valve to the bomb connector. When you unscrew it, you end up unscrewing the valve core and let all the air out the tube. To prevent this, when you start to unscrew the connector from the valve, (do it slowly) if you starts hear hissing tighten again and give the connector a squirt with your water bottle. This should break the bond. Once the connector is off make sure the core is tightly screwed in. Very difficult by hand but you can get a small tool for it. Or much easier is buy tubes without removable cores. Same principal of licking cold medal, your tongue will freeze to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pure Savage Posted December 2, 2014 Share Here is our race report for the elite race, was tons of fun and plenty suffering! http://teampuresavage.blogspot.com/ Lekker ride, now to plan for 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypot Posted December 2, 2014 Share On the other hand I can understand that younger cyclists don't learn the etiquette of bunch riding since this sport has become so dangerous on our roads, so they never do training rides on the road with groups until race day. I disagree with this. I had a young guy in my group (he had a winery kit of some kind on - all I remember is that he was a 2E) at a guess I'd say that he was about 13ish - he was super stable, held his space and pace well and was very courteous when he wanted to pull into a gap. If everyone rode like this kid there would be no accidents! And a few other guys have mentions the good youngsters in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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