Jhb JUMA ends cycling for me ...my rant

[NixM]

I don't think it can be said that there were so many injuries because the course was too technical, rather there were so many injuries because there were so many participants? Half the number of riders would have resulted in half the number of injuries, is another way to think of it?

 

That said the organisers needed to ensure there were enough EMTs for the numbers.

 

Initially I thought: "really, you fell in a mtb race and now you want to blame the organiser?"

 

But thinking about it most races do have signage / marshals, waving red flags and hollering on megaphones, at dangerous areas. Even trails these days also have "Danger" signs up before technical sections. So I must concede there seems to be neglect on the part of the organiser.

 

Don't stress you will most certainly ride again, many mountain bikers out there with titanium hips.

[Headshot]

From the pics I have seen this kind of race was a recipe for disaster. A fun ride that attracts your usual spectrum of rider skill levels, in a dangerous and tricky, partly non MTB environment. We had an enduro down here yesterday. Tiny by comparison and we were riding rock gardens and jumps. I only heard of one medical emergency. Its hardly ever the terrain, its the other riders you have to worry about in mass events. The CT Cycle tour and other big fun rides are the same...

[Paul Ruinaard]

Hmm - a mate posted his Go pro footage on FB of the ride and i saw the storm water drains and thought that those must be as slippery as glass and what happens if you go off line. It will be a guaranteed hard fall on to concrete - one that will hurt and injure.

 

Then i saw this post.

 

Worst nightmares made real.

 

So it is pretty foreseeable with this type of route that you will get those issues and as a mid level technical guy with lots of years under the belt in MTB i kind of liked the adventure idea but i knew what was likely to be the problems. I didn't enter cause i was overseas. 

 

Sorry to the OP - that is a high price to pay for your fall. Additionally i am somewhat on his side that this was predictable and foreseeable from the organizers.

 

Lets put it this way. On this last weekend how many of us included, intentionally as part of route and for additional excitement, riding down slippery concrete storm water drains? I put it to you (Mr Roux) that this is unlikely to be your run of the mill route.

 

my 2 cents worth...

 

 

[DieVlieg]

With 19 injured I am surprised so many people actually defend this race as just one incident involving a car and most of them go on and on about how authorities should protect cyclists and how offenders should be prosecuted or even elaborating how they should die.

 

Can anyone say what the biggest MTB event was in SA in 2014? I am pretty sure it was Juma. As it sounds to me it had more entrants than any of the Nissan Trail seeker or MTN events. These events have grown over years and or their venues have seen many races and is used by mountain bikers regularly.

 

This was a first time ride on untested terrain as far as racing is concerned. It was the biggest event in SA. It was a new concept and largely untested in SA and on the terrain. Therefore the organizers should actually have anticipated all problems and safety issues. I mentioned it before. We are not going to put 4000 golfers on a 18 hole course and shoot a gun and say start. MTB has logical limitations. When crowds gather in most public places there are rules to abbey.  Except for a COSATU rally.

 

Taking in consideration the number of bottleneck obstacles more batches should have been created or less entrants accepted. This could have ended worse.

[word]

To the OP - damn sorry about your fall and I sincerely hope that you get well soon. Don't give up on biking just yet - heal up and get back on, you'll regret it if you don't.

 

Not that this is in anyway the same but I saw dudes with prosthetic limbs (not Oscar) doing the Epic - never give up.

 

Didn't do the ride myself so can't comment on that.

 

I saw that guy on the JUMA. I passed him only to have him FLY PAST ME like I was sitting on the ground eating ice creams. That dude can ride

[Eldron]

The US has no-fault liability for corporates, i.e. the corporation does not have to be negligent to be held liable...

 

I know I just think it's flippin dumb.

 

If I was the judge I would have said "coffee is made using boiling water - it's hot - please wear this I'M STUPID sign from now on so people can see that you need protection from yourself".

 

One of my pet hates is nanny state/people expecting other people or the state to protect them from themselves.

 

The world needs two things:

1) A heapload of common sense

2) People who know what HTFU means

 

/rant over.

[Eldron]

What really boggles my mind is that Mankele had far fewer injuries than Juma and it was 2 days and 250km longer!

 

AND it's billed as a marathon/enduro style event.

 

Were there just more beginners at JUMA or did peer pressure make people crash?

[NukeproofPeanut]

Even if there were 50 bad injuries, thats 1% of the group! So in my eyes it's not that bad considering all factors.

• New race
• Obstacles that would be considered black (looking at PWC's ratings)
• Amount of cleated riders that were walking things
• General amount of riders that need a basic skills clinic

I remember talking to one poor lady who fell like countless times in the drains because of the drops but she was soldiering on to the finish! Her arms, knees and ankles were grazed for days! In the end it's really unlucky that you broke your hip and like other have said, it comes down to your own choices.

 

I personally don't feel the course was hard, but the above mentioned factors made it challenging. You can see my vid of my choice to blast past some riders in the drains. If I fell, I wouldn't blame the organisers, it was my choice to ride, my choice to past in the water down the steps.

 

Some one mentioned grading the course. I agree.

The organisers should look at grading the obstacles/sections and have alternate routes. Basically split it into black and green/blue sections (again referring to PWC ratings) to keep the pack split allowing people to ride things more on their level and not be a danger to other riders.

 

In the end we all make choices, I hope you heal and get back on the bike to enjoy riding again!

[Escapee..]

I had a nice early start at Juma and I saw plenty of guys fall.

 

Not because of technical descents or dodgy drop offs or too many people riding.

 

All the people fell because of the slippery green #$%% in the drains.

 

In one section a guy in front of me fell and two guys behind me fell, all doing the same pace, on the same line. I was just lucky enough not to fall but it was definitely not because of being a better/more technical rider.

[BenGraham]

Sad to hear about this injury. I was stuck behind major bottle necks and I fell twice in the storm water drains due to the slippery conditions. I also lost my front wheel going round a corner on some soft sand and body slammed a tree. That said I had a lot of fun and all my injuries have already healed. It sucks that someone had to go through this ordeal.

 

I will say that this course would have really been hard for me when I started riding. Had I not had the last two years and some furiously technical challenges under my belt (and a lot of falls) I would probably have considered this a difficult route. To me it felt exactly as challenging as I wanted. In fact I was disappointed that there wasn't more fun to be had on melville Koppies.

 

I'm of the don't dumb it down camp. I like the challenge. If a bridge collapses then I'll be upset but if I crash because I was going too fast or I lost my balance I really can't blame anyone except myself.

[Andrew_ew]

Organising a mtb or other sporting event is regulated - there are a lot of regulations:

 

see the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act 2 of 2010 - sponsors should look at the definition of "event organiser";

 

and also look at: http://www.cyclingsa.com/rules-and-regulations.aspx#41

 

I didn't do the event and can't comment if it complied with the above Act and Cycling SA regulations. Perhaps those who did could look at the above and let us know if, in their view, it did or didn't.

 

It does seem from media reports and comments here that there were a disproportionate amount of injuries combined with inadequate provision for medical care.

 

I have done a lot of races where the organisers simply disregard all of the applicable regulations and seem to do so with impunity.

 

We pay a lot of money for these races and its a fair question to ask as to whether laws are being broken and / or ignored simply to increase profit.

[BenGraham]

What really boggles my mind is that Mankele had far fewer injuries than Juma and it was 2 days and 250km longer!

 

AND it's billed as a marathon/enduro style event.

 

Were there just more beginners at JUMA or did peer pressure make people crash?

And look at the Mankele Avalanche Enduro. Hectic speed over furiously technical terrain. And not a single major injury in 6 stages (2X3). Okay I saw some hectic roasties but no broken bones far as I heard.

[Wyatt Earp]

And look at the Mankele Avalanche Enduro. Hectic speed over furiously technical terrain. And not a single major injury in 6 stages (2X3). Okay I saw some hectic roasties but no broken bones far as I heard.

More skilled riders but then again ,even the most skilled riders can have a really freakish crash.

Juma was aimed at the experienced as well as the weekend warriors, the organisers should actually have kept that in mind.

Escapee actually put it quite nice in his post.

In that particular spot the organisers should have added a bit of security for the less skilled riders.

[Escapee..]

More skilled riders but then again ,even the most skilled riders can have a really freakish crash.

Juma was aimed at the experienced as well as the weekend warriors, the organisers should actually have kept that in mind.

Escapee actually put it quite nice in his post.

In that particular spot the organisers should have added a bit of security for the less skilled riders.

 

I dont know if they could have though.

 

It was completely random where and how the guys fell. I saw guys ride through the water from one side to the other and not fall.

 

Some guys riding exactly the same line, one would fall and the next would cruise by.

 

Riding fast, riding slow, it didn't make a difference

[Wyatt Earp]

I dont know if they could have though.

 

It was completely random where and how the guys fell. I saw guys ride through the water from one side to the other and not fall.

 

Some guys riding exactly the same line, one would fall and the next would cruise by.

 

Riding fast, riding slow, it didn't make a difference

As I said earlier, some sand on the day.

[Karooryder]

I've been in Hospital since last week Sunday ...

Its been a pain filled morphine and other drug whirlwind ..

I've been reading all the rants re JUMA..

I had been in training to do a good 94.7... Sadly I won't.. Ever race again..

 

I take full responsibility for my choices I ride at least one race every 30 days with my wife. We chose MTB for the safety and ability to do different tracks ..rides etc.. She loves cycling almost as much as I did...

My biggest problem with JUMA..is not that it was technical or different but ... It was a good mountain bikers challenge... And herein lies the problem

Why on this green earth would any event allow a person who just purchased a bike to ride the same route seasoned cyclists struggle with but enjoy as it challenges their skills..

Its exactly this simple little detail that caused bottle necks and the chaos

Here in this Hospital 19 serious casualties 3 like me broke hips 2 broken elbows ..the list is scary.. Patients were sent to other hospitals Sunday as casualties here was put under presssue from a bike ride???????

My ride ended as I passed a lady who decided to stop dead while doing the storm water drain section ... She was obviously nervous and I had 2 choices hit her or Vere into the green stream

My choice ended cycling for good for me... I hit a hidden hole went skywards

Downwards and crack...end of left hip... I was unable to move as the ball had snapped off and lodged between the hip socket and now seperated femur..

I cooked there for 4 hours under the sun while other cyclists were guided past me, to avoid them hitting the same hole ..by my wife and a marshal...before getting to hospital, the medical team were brilliant but overloaded, far too few for the carnage they were managing...

OK ..

I can't ride again as one to many fall is just that....

I believe MTB race organizing has become a money spinner with little care for safety... There should have been 3 courses at least and qualification would be required and seeding to get starting blocks .. Our seeding was questionabike this would be a single track of flowwing pathways at best no technical stuff....

One for people who think mountain biking means owning a sort of off road bike

Two for mountain bikers who have done at least 5 25km races the course would offer single track etc.. Basically the 25km of Sundays without the heavier technical stuff.....

Third the proper one ..as it was...

 

In my humble opinion too many people were on a course at once causing the congestion as fear stopped those less technical riders passing an obstacle

Forcing people of track into bad lines and danger and stopping the flow ..

It was a numbers game in my opinion ..more people meant more entries .

No time was spent pondering how Joe Soap on his Hypermarket MTB would be able to ride... The proof is in the number of accidents we saw from this one fun event

I end my last ever cycling rant as a ex cyclist lying in hospital pissd that I'm not out in the tracks now …....

 

First of all, to the OP, I'm really sorry to hear about your situation and your injury. I can fully see where the emotion is coming from. Hang in there!

 

I have not had time to read through all the replies and apologies if I repeat anything already said. I want to share 2 stories. 

 

Last year, I did my first MTN Series Marathon, and as luck would have it, it was the notorious Rooiberg race. Up to that time, I had done many Trialseekers and smaller races, and hundreds of technical rides at Groenkloof, Van Gaalens etc etc. I was convinced my technical skills were not too shoddy. However, it took me about 15km into the race to realise that I did not possess the required skill to klap it hard and I immediately adjusted my entire approach to the event - decided not to race but rather ride as hard as possible but as safe as possible. I went slower, sharpened concentration, tried to anticipate what other riders would do, tried to anticipipate the track and planned every move as I progressed. Most importantly, I decided not to take chances and be windgat. I finished safely with a relatively intact bike but many many other riders were not as fortunate...

 

The other story...one of my training buddies were not so fortunate during that race. Let me add, he is a super seasoned MTB'er, has participated competitively in tens of MTN series races, Sani2C and Cape Pioneer...this dude has been riding forever. On a relatively easy decent he lost a moment's concentration, hit a rock and went down, broke his humerus and literally shattered his shoulder bone. At the time he was training for a number of large events, and has invested literally hundreds of thousands of rands in prep for Karoo2Coast, Trans-Baviaans and Cape Pioneer. In a single moment that was all gone and he was put off riding indefinitely. The Dr's told him that he would most likely never ride again without large amounts of pain in the shoulder. I remember the night after the accident  in Thabazimbi's hospital when I told him how sorry I was that this had happened, and his response:

 

"Elke sport het sy beserings. Dis die lewe".

 

Two months later, he was on the IDT, arm in a sling and high on meds. But he was riding. Giving up was not an option and never riding again certainly was not even a thought...It took six months of operations, hospital sessions and rehab for him to recover but he never quit. I remember that day in November last year when we went to ride Breedsnek - he was almost crying of happiness. This year he went back to complete Rooiberg (amongst many other races) in a super time...he always said the race will not beat him. 

 

I suppose what I want to say is this. We need to realise that these kinds of injuries come with the territory. The moment you climb on a bike, whether you just bought the thing from Makro or your'e Philip Buys, you put yourself at risk of serious injury. Yes, it is sad that it had to happen to my bud and also to the OP. But we also need to know the limits of our technical skill and fitness limits. We cannot put the onus on the organisers of an event to only select riders of "adequate skill" for participation. That bit comes with you and me willingly entering and participating.

 

Last words to the OP, don't let the race beat you. You will ride again.