Larry King Posted November 1, 2015 Share Its raining its pouring...... Jorrie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSG Posted November 1, 2015 Share Two friends of mine rode this weekend, one had a otb yesterday and he had to withdraw, possibly torn shoulder ligaments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleatsnCleavage Posted November 1, 2015 Share Just saw on facebook a friend who came second in mixed said she was blown off bike twice,,rain so hard it hurt and they shortened the race after C batch. At the market at lourensford eating. And erm drinking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River Rat Posted November 1, 2015 Share Today we earned our MTBiking stripes rain and serious wind set in at 9:20 am we were at Bot Rivier at the time. All of my 95 kg of quivering passion got blown clean of the track just before Waterpoint 2. Red couldn't stop laughing and then the wind gave him a serious wobble and he shut up from there until the end. I've cycled in wind and I've cycled in rain but combine the two for 30kms and you're digging very deep. It's difficult to describe the day because the weather is uppermost in your mind but the day is very different to the first two but there is enough single track to keep the smiles going unfortunately the mud made it a journey of attrition. We did not get cut off so we managed to ride the Barrel Loop which is a fantastic piece of trail unfortunately chain suck and slippery mud meant we got less enjoyment out of it than we should of. Just a reminder this section hits at about 60kms and you have to climb about 100m before the fun really starts so save some legs for this, even in these conditions it was a blast. My final take on the race is that it is one of the most enjoyable stage races around more technical than most but nothing that's unrideable, very well organized and the food is a feature. For those of you collecting your bags today and next Thursday you're in for a blast. Enjoy! kvdp, Dee1, VicanZA and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted November 1, 2015 Share Just saw on facebook a friend who came second in mixed said she was blown off bike twice,,rain so hard it hurt and they shortened the race after C batch. At the market at lourensford eating. And erm drinkingThat would explain how the backmarkers caught up with me... Yeah the weather was hectic on the open farms past Botrivier, first time in my life the wind blew me off singletrack. Saw some people walking on the singletrack and then the wind would literally blow their bikes out of their hands. Things got better closer to Onrus. The new singletrack the last 14km was awesome! Excellent event, did it 2 years ago and the route really improved, the vibe was awesome and I certainly picked up weight with all the uhm food.. raptor-22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River Rat Posted November 1, 2015 Share A few pointers, you each get your own tent but there are thin mattresses and thick ones so you take pot luck or you take one out of one of the unoccupied tents. Some tents have holes in them but nothing that can't be fixed with duct tape so no 245a you can thank me later. The W2W bags aren't watertight and my kit got wet in transit from Oak Valley to Onrus so pack your stuff in a garbage bags if there is rain about. The finish line at day 1&2 is a bit disjointed so you might miss the Rehidrate station which is on your right just off the finish line other wise you'll think that the yoghurt is all there is. We missed the Food Lovers market lunch on day 1 because it appears like Spurs is your only option but there is quality food in the big white marquee just look for the entrance. At the finish there are two sets of showers the furtherest ones have the shortest queues just 50 m further on. Oh, and buy yourself a slice of chocolate cake you've earned it. sometime, JohanC, WaldoZ and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLuvsMtb Posted November 1, 2015 Share What an Adventure (excuse the pun)! Today had driving rain, temperatures just above freezing, gale force winds, mud, more mud, a broken rear shifter, single speeding in a 16/22 for 25km and above all, an amazing time on the bike. Thanks To my partner for riding the same gear as me, even though your shifters worked fine and for slowing down on the climbs just enough to make me bleed through my eyeballs. It was definitely one of the high lights of 2015.I'm curious what got taken out. Garmin say 73km with 1300m climbing, so its spot on. zabalad, DJR and Wannabe 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted November 1, 2015 Share I'm curious what got taken out. Garmin say 73km with 1300m climbing, so its spot on. Very possible you did the whole route then, if something was taken out it might have been the new singletrack climb & downhill close to the finish line (think we pretty much destroyed the downhill section there... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karma Posted November 2, 2015 Share Glad to see most survived yesterday, possibly the worst conditions we could possibly face in SA... See you next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nox1111 Posted November 2, 2015 Share My opinion after the Adventure and most important advice for the Ride and the Race this year is this:Tyre choices.Get tyres with decent width and volume.The course is sandy in spots, and not "oh there's a little bit of sand my Polo may get stuck if I pull over here", but massive sand areas, where a land cruiser may struggle to get through.The course is also muddy in spots - and so muddy that you really do not want to jab one of your feet for grip or balance.Up front - minimum 2.25 with loads of grip, think Mountain King, Onza Ibex etc. If you can, go 2.3, 2.35 or 2.4 - you will be glad that you did. The wider a tyre is, the more it will run over sand and mud and not dig in.Rear - go for a 2.25 -2.4. I know they don't seem as fast as a 2.1, but you'll have grip on climbs and in corners where other guys are pushing and struggling, slipping and sliding all over the place. Get tyres that shed mud - decent gaps between the knobblies is a good indication that it will shed mud. For the love of man, please leave crossmarks, larsens etc at home or you will have a bad time. Edited November 2, 2015 by nox1111 zabalad, Captain Fastbastard Mayhem, EmptyB and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karma Posted November 2, 2015 Share My opinion after the Adventure and most important advice for the Ride and the Race this year is this:Tyre choices.Get tyres with decent width and volume.The course is sandy in spots, and not "oh there's a little bit of sand my Polo may get stuck if I pull over here", but massive sand areas, where a land cruiser may struggle to get through.The course is also muddy in spots - and so muddy that you really do not want to jab one of your feet for grip or balance.Up front - minimum 2.25 with loads of grip, think Mountain King, Onza Ibex etc. If you can, go 2.3, 2.35 or 2.4 - you will be glad that you did. The wider a tyre is, the more it will run over sand and mud and not dig in.Rear - go for a 2.25 -2.4. I know they don't seem as fast as a 2.1, but you'll have grip on climbs and in corners where other guys are pushing and struggling, slipping and sliding all over the place. Get tyres that shed mud - decent gaps between the knobblies is a good indication that it will shed mud. For the love of man, please leave crossmarks, larsens etc at home or you will have a bad time. Agree mostly, had 2.3 Spez GC on AC WL front, but with the amount of mud we had saturday, few tyres will actually grip.  Seriously hope the Ride and Race guys don;t have a repeat of the weather we had yesterday.  Good luck all, have a great time Wannabe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted November 2, 2015 Share Agree mostly, had 2.3 Spez GC on AC WL front, but with the amount of mud we had saturday, few tyres will actually grip.  I was actually wondering about this. With the tons of mud we had yesterday, would tyre choice actually have made a difference? I was on crossmarks and don't recall struggling more than those around me HDW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karma Posted November 2, 2015 Share I was actually wondering about this. With the tons of mud we had yesterday, would tyre choice actually have made a difference? I was on crossmarks and don't recall struggling more than those around me Had an Ikon on the rear, and was all over the place, but doubt with all the mud anything else would have been a different experience. HDW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDW Posted November 2, 2015 Share I was actually wondering about this. With the tons of mud we had yesterday, would tyre choice actually have made a difference? I was on crossmarks and don't recall struggling more than those around meAgree, also on crossmarks and I had a great time. Got off for sand once in 3 days if I remember, and only pushed my bike in the mud yesterday (everyone did), and on the one spot on day 2 (most people did). Edited November 2, 2015 by HDW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nox1111 Posted November 2, 2015 Share My partner and I both went Onza before the race, and riding behind guys struggling, I just did not. I rode everything, did not get off once to push my bike, including all the mud hazards and slippery climbs and the sand at Wildekrans, only place I almost came short was running onto the pallets on the beach, I was flying and the rain/wood combo was super slippery! I really think that the tyres made a load of difference on the course! Btw - I'm not saying this to boast, so please don't see it as such - I really think a lot of guys around me could have benefited from better tyre choices. I'm sure some guys will disagree, and that's fine, you don't have to follow my advice, but that was my experience. Edited November 2, 2015 by nox1111 Pusher, Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and HDW 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannabe Posted November 2, 2015 Share Can't wait for the weekend. Â btw, Tires I'm running, Geax Barzo upfront, Geax Saguano at the back, come rain or shine. Will take the Mezcal along as backup. nox1111 and HDW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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