pedal Posted April 6, 2008 Share At the last minute, My friend, Jan and I decided to apply as volunteers on the Epic...... not giving it much hope, continued on with life, and got the long awaited mail... we were accepted. Our role was in the 'bike park'. We left for Knysna and our 'work-shop' a little concerned of what this role would warrant...... well that is now history.What a wonderful experience. Were the first two females to be on bike park squad.... and what a blast. Day went thus. Arrive at venue, unpack 8 ton truck, (5 other guys to help), assemble racks for 1200 bikes to park, park bikes for riders/assistants who would like them parked.... this grew and grew each day, the more buggered they were !!!!!!.... Shifts were sorted amongst ourselves, so we had a gas, riding our Mtb's in the area, going into each town, and having a 'working holiday'. Next morning, Up at 4.30 for breakfast...( 5am to bike park) assist where necessary with each riders bike, (only the rider may leave with his bike, due to security reasons) but system was brillant, and in numerical order. Stage begins and we dismantle all the racks, load the truck, load the abandoned bikes, tidy bike park, and leave for next venue, where same procedure takes place.... Not a moments trouble between the team... GREAT TEAM BIKE PARK.... Met a few Hubbers.... but met so many wonderful people. To those Hubbers that were riding, and we did not know each other, well done on a great ride.There is one conclusion that I have come to... and PLEASE I do not want to start a thread of abuse......Mountain bike events rock.... riders are so much more friendly than road cyclists, There are no Officials strutting their stuff, and quite honestly, I am still not sure who the officials were, as they are never identified. You guys and gals were so friendly, shared jokes, and were most polite and never once failed to say a genuine thank you. So, to end this long thread.... My thanks to each and every Epic rider, who made my 10 day holiday such a success, and worth all the HARD work us ladies had to put in. Give it some thought and volunteer next year, if you want a lifetime memory. Buff, thanks so much for your assistance when my car broke down.... and sorry you never made it for the pizza in Hermanus (Maybe I will be the one bringing MY bike to the park in 2009 ................ xxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fandacious Posted April 6, 2008 Share Wow... sounds like you had a blast... I have to ask though... "abandoned bikes"?? Do guys wake up in the morning and decid: "thats it - no more cycling" and then leave everything there?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal Posted April 6, 2008 Share Ha Ha... yes, I think some felt like that.... Bike Park had to load around 5 or so and counting from day two.... crashes, mechanical and human body failures..... some mean crashes.......(32 went on to the last stage) One thing I did not mention, was the awesome 'shopping' experience each evening..... man there were some awesome bikes. Recon the value of the bike park was around 35 mill. and remember some of the top okes, dont park their bikes!!!!!!! We had a Brasilian and Dutch guy working with us, very knowledgeable, and learnt so much re specs and people of fame. You know, on the way home from Lourensford, said to Jan... I feel like I have been out the Country on holiday... Had a blast....pedal2008-04-06 08:38:29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest colonel Posted April 6, 2008 Share Here is Pedal on left with her partner. Also there is the "BoereBoere" boy who unlike others never nearly fell in the hole(had to be there joke) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowpoke Posted April 6, 2008 Share wow, that sounds amazing! gotta admit i'm very jealous i'll definitely agree that helping out at events is lots of fun - that's why i do it so happily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velouria Posted April 6, 2008 Share Didn't realise it was you Pedal - thanks. It always looked like the bike park volunteers were having such a good time (second only maybe to the baggage people). And there were some very nice bikes parked there. I spent one whole evening just walking up and down each row looking at the different bikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackem Posted April 6, 2008 Share "Jasons Dad" says thanks for the crew cap (Jason hasn't taken it off since yesterday!!!)Great standing with you guys and shouting words of encouragement to the starters at the start of stage 7 (Bredasdorp)!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted April 6, 2008 Share No worries Pedal, glad we could help. Yea, about that Pizza... we had all good intentions to go on an absolute bender in Hermanus but the stress of the week caught up with us and we were all asleep by 11pm... sad but true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmed Posted April 6, 2008 Share We're finally back in Jo'burg after the Epic. What a fantastic experience. I really enjoyed the race after day 1 (We had a huge technical problem that cost us around an hour). I thought the course was tough, but do-able (we probably only walked around 3km in 950km). The weather couldn't have been kinder, although the wind made things difficult at times. The lessons I learned. 1. You need to have guys to wash and fix your bikes, especially my partner who tends to "buy land" on downhills. TitusTi's mechanics rock and I would highly recommend them to anyone doing Epic in 2009. This also saves valuable sleeping time in the afternoon.2. You need two different types of shorts. I had 4 pairs of Adidias and one pair of Assos and the days when I could swop from one type to the other were a pleasure, but after wearing the same style of shorts for three days in a row, my bum started to hurt and rub.3. If you want to do well you need to practise bunch riding on your mountain bike, and you need to be able to "pull" and acclerate hard. Do "roadie" rides on your MTB at 30km/hr+ av. Many days we had strong guys pulling us at 50km/hr and we couldn't hold on. What you gain on the steep climbs you loose on the dirt roads in buckets! Overall, I'm really pleased with our performance and hope I can get an entry for 2010 and give top 100 a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Colonel Posted April 7, 2008 Share Hey Pedal. Nice seeing a familar friendly face along the way! Glad to hear you guys got home safely. Hope all those foreigners are doing ok after all the "strange" SA food you guys kept feeding them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal Posted April 7, 2008 Share Mrs C... it ws lovely having you around as well, and yeah, those foreigners were sad to see us go.... and thoroughly enjoyed all the SA food we fed them, especially Boerie !!!!!!!!. Glad you are home safely, and hope Mr C recovers quickly.Start training for next year . . . . . . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal Posted April 7, 2008 Share Mackem... no problem, am working on a few more caps for Jason..... will contact you when have them.Bredasdorp start was awesome, and great to be able to get up close to all.... (hope I was not to loud!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francois Posted April 7, 2008 Share Pedal, was great seeing you and Jan there. Didn't see too much off you towards the end as I got even more busy, especially in Hermanus when Mike Mike was ill and I had to fill in for him with the presentations as well as my normal talking rubbish. I had such a great time and it looks like I will probably be back there next year again. Will be seeing Mike next week to look at it. Now we all need to do some riding and a little less working hey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dog Posted April 7, 2008 Share Now that you know what its all about, wouldn't you and Jan make a good team for next years race!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal Posted April 7, 2008 Share Old Dog... that is the plan, so need to get my mind right and then the training right.Thanks for your comment that it might work!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal Posted April 7, 2008 Share Francois... You did a spendid job, well done. Aren't MTBer's awesome!!!!! See you on the gravel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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