Paul Ruinaard Posted October 20, 2014 Share I know that slime in drains, its like ice or an oil slick on roads, one minute you up next you down and down has hard and fast as gravity can pull you, no time to try protect yourself. I've had smashed wrists and a very sore ass from that slime, I have enormous respect for it. From that perspective I'd say the organizers were negligent, they planned and tested the route, why leave in a dangerous stretch of riding like that? Would putting a roadway that is contaminated with spilled oil in a rally car race be a technical obstacle?That slime, in its brown form in Sabie, basically ended my Epic many years ago. I reckon the green form in drains is way more slippery than the brown form in Sabie, and i am petrified of it. As a guy who had been on the bike for months i fell in the forest far away from support whilst riding on my own. It was one moment upright the next down in the ditch. Super quick, big hard fall on a hip. i didn't break anything, thankfully as i was far away, but it was like glass. I would hate to think how slippery those drains are.... It seems like common sense to me - and as an organizer you need to err on the cautious side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted October 20, 2014 Share That slime, in its brown form in Sabie, basically ended my Epic many years ago. What were you doing in Sabie during the Epic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChUkKy Posted October 20, 2014 Share 1. I say it is. Please at least drag me into a dirt road when you shoot me. 2. I like wuss mountain biking, because I feel safe. People are switching from road to MTB for safety reasons, so it makes no sense (to me anyway) to do madly technical stuff, above my ability, which dangerous. I cycle for fun and fitness, not to go to hospital or for bragging rights. 3. Even when I think you are speaking utter shite (as I do in this instance), I enjoy your passion, and the inimitable way in which you express yourself. For that reason I have liked your post, even I disagree with your sentiments.1. If I do this the dirt roadies are gonna be upset I'm putting obstacles in their 5m wide district trail [emoji12] 2. No problem with that at all... Maybe I should say that races be rated with a technical rating such as some trails are, for instance... the bike park. It's not gonna be a fix but will help people choose better, the same as I wouldn't do a crater cruise or a Nissan Irene race. 3. I like your honesty Oom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin-it Posted October 20, 2014 Share What were you doing in Sabie during the Epic?Route marking wasn't so great this year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGraham Posted October 20, 2014 Share 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.Very true but not everyone. After all I was there and I didn't have a clue what I was in for. I think I had the right attitude though and I've come to realise my years of climbing have given me above average fall instincts. The slippery green stuff was trecherous and I don't think riding slow would help. Infact riding slow probably means you'll turn your bars at some point to balance and that's exactly the wrong thing to do on the slippery patches. Sand may have helped but it wouldn't have lasted very long. I suspect by the time the riders that need it get there it would be largely washed and ridden away. Still better than nothing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg29 Posted October 20, 2014 Share To the OP. Speedy recovery, you will ride again. My Sani partner for the past two yrs had a hip replacement done about 8-9 years ago and he's doing fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edition 507 Posted October 20, 2014 Share That was per leg...No dude, that was one of her tits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
word Posted October 23, 2014 Share I wonder if tyre choice / pressure could have had anything to do with it? Good point. I purposefully dropped my tyre pressure by half a bar to add extra traction in the drains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTB0007 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Got home ( with my new Hip,) on Wed....Walking slowly , 3 months of recovery ahead...Be taking a break from cycling until I can apply full forceWith the new Hip anyways, but I know I won't race again..I have lost interest in doing races,I will cycle but to enjoy it for what it is,The ability to be free...... Thanks for all the posts....even the judgmental ones ... I was one of too many who got caught out in the slimeAnd merky sludge (Hidden holes) ,thats life ....& I accept I chose to ride the Juma,... Even a more professional S.A champion cyclists broke a hip in the drain... Is proof enough the course was not safe for the volumes ...... Lines could not be seen and safe options were harder to choose .. A good many people fell..... I say cheers ....my rant is overIts now rest, and recover... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky DQ Posted October 24, 2014 Share Reading all this I ask myself, so what is MTB? and the answer is ....... the new golf. So now people get on their super expensive steed and expect a walk in the park (fairways and greens come to mind). Ho well....... back in the day there were small wheels, no suspension forks, let alone shocks, and people rode over humungus rocks, dropoff's and scary sections. Now we have all the aids and and, but now we want manicured bike paths. The power of marketing to attract people the the "rough" side now they want no rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted October 24, 2014 Share Reading all this I ask myself, so what is MTB? and the answer is ....... the new golf. So now people get on their super expensive steed and expect a walk in the park (fairways and greens come to mind). Ho well....... back in the day there were small wheels, no suspension forks, let alone shocks, and people rode over humungus rocks, dropoff's and scary sections. Now we have all the aids and and, but now we want manicured bike paths. The power of marketing to attract people the the "rough" side now they want no rough. that's the beauty of cycling my friend... the fact that one guy can ride rock gardens and drop offs,another can eat his heart out on a bmx track, the next guy can ride vast distances on nicely scraped district roads, some guys race downhill courses, others opt for XC races, week long suffer fests of stage races and a bunch of us in-betweeners can do a little of anything we feel like. That why MTB is not "the new golf", its much more awesome and versatile than that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawbone Posted October 24, 2014 Share Too technical? It was billed as a technical challenge. " This route is suitable for all levels of riders (Titans, Legends, Warriors & Spartan Queens)" http://www.juma.co.za/race-info/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted October 24, 2014 Share that's the beauty of cycling my friend... the fact that one guy can ride rock gardens and drop offs,another can eat his heart out on a bmx track, the next guy can ride vast distances on nicely scraped district roads, some guys race downhill courses, others opt for XC races, week long suffer fests of stage races and a bunch of us in-betweeners can do a little of anything we feel like. That why MTB is not "the new golf", its much more awesome and versatile than that!!! Marry me rudi! People are weird - they love to play WAR (we are right). Every oke and his dog love to call other people dirt roadies so we automatically think he's a DH demon. So what if people are dirt roadies? If that's where they want to begin and end their skill set so be it. The more people the merrier I say - the bigger the pool of riders the better - it means more choice in bikes as more importers see merit in bringing in more bike - cycle shops gets bigger - races get started - races get bigger. Cycling being the new golf is awesome. ABSA/Nedbank/Bridge/Heavyweights would not be sponsoring huge events that we can all ride if it weren't for the yuppification of cycling. If you don't want to ride with dirt roadies the solution is simple - ride more - improve your seeding and voila - you'll never see a dirt roadie again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted October 24, 2014 Share "This route is suitable for all levels of riders (Titans, Legends, Warriors & Spartan Queens)" http://www.juma.co.za/race-info/ The adventure starts at Marks Park and will take you under highway bridges and flying over main roads with custom built scaffolding bridges. The journey continues on into one of Joburg’s most beautiful golf courses, through miniature rapids, rolling into storm water drains and venturing into the heart of darkness through a network of tunnels. This course will really show you what Johannesburg has to offer!This is the JUMA – will you accept the challenge? So everyone know they were riding scaffolding, storm water drains and tunnels... If you don't want to or can't ride an obstacle walk it - the only penalty is time. Organisers billing a race as "for all skills of rider" doesn't mean you can disengage brain and ride 5m drop offs. Everyone is responsible for their own safety... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erroli8a8 Posted October 24, 2014 Share OP, glad that you are home again. heal up fast. I got off lightly then this past weekend at B&B, I took a flying lesson over the bars. it was a slow part of the course and I decided to ride over a rock and landed my front wheel between it and another rock with nowhere to go. so over I went and landed on my left shoulder and head. two visits the physio and I am ok just bruises to show for it. 1 deg different and I think I would have broken bones. Not sure if I would ride again if I broke some bones. Good on you for deciding to ride again. hope that you get back soon. Act like a child and ride for the fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawbone Posted October 24, 2014 Share If you don't want to or can't ride an obstacle walk it - the only penalty is time. Organisers billing a race as "for all skills of rider" doesn't mean you can disengage brain and ride 5m drop offs. Everyone is responsible for their own safety... I don't disagree but that's not what I'm saying. All I'm saying is that it was not "billed as a technical challenge" as you said. It was very clearly, in very large font, billed as a route for "all levels of riders". I don't know about you but "all levels of riders" to me includes someone who buys their first mountain bike from makro the day before to do the 22km. These riders did not "disengage brain" they had brain fully "engaged" stopping dead for small obstacles out of fear etc - contributing to bottlenecks and crashes like the OP described. The organisers knew the route beforehand and still billed it as a course for "all levels of riders". I'm not sure that's OK. Also the bit you quoted from the course description doesn't give any indication of difficulty to someone who's never ridden over "custom built scaffolding bridges". I think it's reasonable for someone to rather interpret that as awesome than dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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