Hollard Juma 2015: bigger, better and more badass than ever!

[Trackside]

R400? I will ride my local trails and have a breckie for 1/4 of the price

[davem]

R299 for 22km!

 

A warm welcome to the sport of cycling.

[Guest notmyname]

I did the event last year to support the Upgrades to the Spruit. But R400 to ride trails that we can ride for free any time (Except September 6) is a bit much. And the Bottle necks weren't pleasant, we waited 45 mins to get into the golf course!

I disagree here. Just because you can ride the trails for free shouldn't put you off taking part in this event . I'm told the vibe was awesome even though there were bottlenecks and and and. You wont ever get that kinda vibe by pissing off the grannies and dog walkers. price of the event is for me and like most others here an issue. The comparison of two entry's is equivalent to the fuel cost of driving to Karkloof kinda seals it for me.

[Pieterlab1]

Expensive, but I'm in on the 22km!

I'll save up for the 54km next year...

[Li Mu Bai]

Costs for extra ambulances. honestly, I dont get how surf and turf around JHB can cost almost as much as Argus and more than 947...

[worriesnot]

most fun I've had in a race/ride! already entered

[BenGraham]

This is expensive but I'm pretty sure I'll be entering. If nothing else I feel it does the spruit good to have so much maintenance and development for the race. They'd better not dumb it down much (although I'm all for rubber mats and such). I had a great time last year despite standing around for about 2 hours (according to my gps) over the course of the day in various bottlenecks.

[Speeltyd]

No way that is a ridiculous price, esp for a race  that had such bad reviews last year. Anyway I don't get out of bed for 54kms (well, not in mid-winter)

So you're not doing the 947 MTB either?

[Speeltyd]

After my pathetic seeding last year , bottlenecks and lack of water even at the end point I will not enter this event never mind the cost.

Give them a break! Last year was the first try - and it's not your everyday route. Did it, enjoyed it (even though very frustrated at the holdups), and am definitely doing it again - already entered!

[Strand]

Hey........another chance to spend two night for free at the Sandton "Hilton".........why not!!

[Samurai Pizza Cat]

This is expensive but I'm pretty sure I'll be entering. If nothing else I feel it does the spruit good to have so much maintenance and development for the race. They'd better not dumb it down much (although I'm all for rubber mats and such). I had a great time last year despite standing around for about 2 hours (according to my gps) over the course of the day in various bottlenecks.

 

What upgrades? Are you talking about the 1 meter wide bridge that was widened to 2 meters? I would much rather see the 2000 (+) x R400 go into the Spruit Fairy's account. Imagine what the Spruit would look like if we give the builders R800K+!

If you really care about the Spruit you'll pitch for the build days and give NE the money you'll spend on this badly planned race. The guys who organized this race doesn't even ride...They just saw a bunch of soft targets to make money off. 

 

Juma does nothing for mountainbiking in Johannesburg. If you race at a place like VG, you know that some of your entry fee goes to the long term maintenance and development of the trails. You cannot say the same of Juma.

 

If you want to have fun, go to the Enduro races at Hakahanna...the beer is cheaper, and the Jagermeister is free!

[BenGraham]

Every build day that has come up has been during a very awkward time for me unfortunately. I'm leading a strangely hectic life at present. If the spruit fairies organise a race to raise funds I'll be there. Problem is organising a race is a lot of work. The course design for Juma was actually pretty damn awesome. The guy might not be a mountain biker but i can't fault him on the course. It was a darn sight more interesting than a lot of xc stuff I've seen. Perhaps not all the money goes back into the spruit but its the only event on the spruit at present so we can at least see some of the money going into it. I don't actually think R400 is that absurd since the logistics of this race are a lot worse than some race out in the countryside where its a little bit of single track linked up with long stretches of farm road. I agree that we should support the enduro scene and I'm trying to get out to those races too but realistically at present xc has the market share and can handle the numbers. I wouldn't want to do the enduro event at hakahana with 2500 people breathing down my back.

[Samurai Pizza Cat]

Every build day that has come up has been during a very awkward time for me unfortunately. I'm leading a strangely hectic life at present. If the spruit fairies organise a race to raise funds I'll be there. Problem is organising a race is a lot of work. The course design for Juma was actually pretty damn awesome. The guy might not be a mountain biker but i can't fault him on the course. It was a darn sight more interesting than a lot of xc stuff I've seen. Perhaps not all the money goes back into the spruit but its the only event on the spruit at present so we can at least see some of the money going into it. I don't actually think R400 is that absurd since the logistics of this race are a lot worse than some race out in the countryside where its a little bit of single track linked up with long stretches of farm road. I agree that we should support the enduro scene and I'm trying to get out to those races too but realistically at present xc has the market share and can handle the numbers. I wouldn't want to do the enduro event at hakahana with 2500 people breathing down my back.

Well said, but:

We did not get one extra meter of singletrack out of Juma. If the Juma race route was an "out and back" route, using most of the Spruit to the other side of Witkoppen you'll be looking at closer to 70 km. ( using extra sections like Melville Koppies, Albert's Farm ect.) This route will add at least 20km of singletrack with new sections being build on the opposite side of the Spruit, esspecially on the Bryanston stretch. It will eliminate all the bottlenecks, and give us something to ride on after the race. But unfortunately the organizers are not riders themselves, so they planned a route under the misconception that steel ramps and concrete tunnels are value adding obstacles. Value is what you leave behind after the race, not what you put in your pockets.

 

Go play on Bikeroutetoaster, you'll see what I mean

Edited May 8, 2015 by Dirt Merchant

[RocknRolla]

It's a free market, and thus I decide not to part with my money for this particular product.

 

They have thus far been doing everything to improve their product, they have listened to customer feedback, and I believe are addressing the issues.

 

@ Dirt Merchant, you are talking about legacy, not value.

 

I do agree to some extent with you, as part of their marketing blurb was how the spr8 is going to be made safe and blah blah blah.

[BenGraham]

Well said, but:

We did not get one extra meter of singletrack out of Juma. If the Juma race route was an "out and back" route, using most of the Spruit to the other side of Witkoppen you'll be looking at closer to 70 km. ( using extra sections like Melville Koppies, Albert's Farm ect.) This route will add at least 20km of singletrack with new sections being build on the opposite side of the Spruit, esspecially on the Bryanston stretch. It will eliminate all the bottlenecks, and give us something to ride on after the race. But unfortunately the organizers are not riders themselves, so they planned a route under the misconception that steel ramps and concrete tunnels are value adding obstacles. Value is what you leave behind after the race, not what you put in your pockets.

 

Go play on Bikeroutetoaster, you'll see what I mean

 

I had no heard of bikeroutetoaster. I'll definitely be having a look.

[Samurai Pizza Cat]

I had no heard of bikeroutetoaster. I'll definitely be having a look.

There goes the rest of your work day....the part not spent on the Hub.