walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 Just recording this here for completeness - so I have a record Spoke to a very helpful guy at Ton's cycles in Oudsthoorn and his view was similar. The R62/N12 stretch out to the N9 is not a good/safe route for road cycling, but the R328 down to Hartenbos whilst still narrow is much better.
Underachiever Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 Just recording this here for completeness - so I have a record Spoke to a very helpful guy at Ton's cycles in Oudsthoorn and his view was similar. The R62/N12 stretch out to the N9 is not a good/safe route for road cycling, but the R328 down to Hartenbos whilst still narrow is much better.Another option was to De Rust (narrow road), thru the Poort, and then to Uniondale (beautiful quiet, wider road)
walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 Another option was to De Rust (narrow road), thru the Poort, and then to Uniondale (beautiful quiet, wider road) We looked at that - will discuss when we meet Saturday, but it takes us too far over distance to still be a valid BRM 1,000km.
Underachiever Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 We looked at that - will discuss when we meet Saturday, but it takes us too far over distance to still be a valid BRM 1,000km.Instead of Uniondale, perhaps towards Prince Albert- which is 50 km from the N9 turn-off. Beautiful road, but windy as hell in the afternoon.
walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 Instead of Uniondale, perhaps towards Prince Albert- which is 50 km from the N9 turn-off. Beautiful road, but windy as hell in the afternoon. OK, hadn't thought of that one - thanks, will see how distance comes out. That's through one of the lovely poorts IIRC (Meeringspoort maybe?) Edit - darn, nope, too long at 1,082km. In theory you have 5% leeway on a BRM (so max is 1,050km). TBH though using that is very cruel for the slower end of the field on a 1,000. It adds 2 more hours or so of riding for them, and there is no extra time allowance for being over distance on BRMs (unlike LRMs which usually work out time for the actual distance). I don't think in fairness to the majority of the field we can go much over 1,020km.
Underachiever Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 OK, hadn't thought of that one - thanks, will see how distance comes out. That's through one of the lovely poorts IIRC (Meeringspoort maybe?) Edit - darn, nope, too long at 1,082km. In theory you have 5% leeway on a BRM (so max is 1,050km). TBH though using that is very cruel for the slower end of the field on a 1,000. It adds 2 more hours or so of riding for them, and there is no extra time allowance for being over distance on BRMs (unlike LRMs which usually work out time for the actual distance). I don't think in fairness to the majority of the field we can go much over 1,020km.Yep, Meiringspoort. Stunning piece of road!!!! Eish, so being an out and back route you are 31 km too long. Eish. What is your complete route again? Can't you fiddle the starting point. I think you are starting in Somerset. If you move it to Stellies, then you should be very close to 1020km.
walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 Yep, Meiringspoort. Stunning piece of road!!!! Eish, so being an out and back route you are 31 km too long. Eish. What is your complete route again? Can't you fiddle the starting point. I think you are starting in Somerset. If you move it to Stellies, then you should be very close to 1020km. Plans are a bit too far advanced really to alter start location or time - we've already got guys travelling here. Not impossible, but considerably complicates any changes. Will definitely mention that as an option thanks though when we meet Saturday. My guess is we may keep it simple and opt for R328 down to Mossel Baai instead - it's a straight swap out and the route comes out very close in distance. Plus we get a coastal turn around at a historic location, and Robinson Pass looks pretty stunning too. We have a few options now to ponder on the weekend.
Underachiever Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 I'm very jealous!! Is Wimpie vd M riding?
walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 I'm very jealous!! Is Wimpie vd M riding? Yep. Actually it was Wimpie who did the route reccie for us and in the process spotted this possible nasty section.
clivem Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 Quick question, if i may, to the learned contributors above. What are your thoughts on road riding from Mossel Bay on the R102 which becomes the R328 (after it crosses the N2) towards Oudtshoorn? I'm looking for a round trip of about 150km from Mossel Bay. So a ride up to just after where the R328 crosses the Kandelaars River is about 70km one way. Keen to get some input from those in the know. Thanks.
walkerr Posted February 23, 2016 Author Posted February 23, 2016 Quick question, if i may, to the learned contributors above. What are your thoughts on road riding from Mossel Bay on the R102 which becomes the R328 (after it crosses the N2) towards Oudtshoorn? I'm looking for a round trip of about 150km from Mossel Bay. So a ride up to just after where the R328 crosses the Kandelaars River is about 70km one way. Keen to get some input from those in the know. Thanks. I can't speak from personal experience. But the chap at Ton's Cycles I spoke to earlier reckoned the R328 also has no shoulder in places and isn't that wide, but he felt it was a much safer and nicer route to ride on a road bike than the R62/N12 stretch we were considering. You'll see upthread others have ridden it too.
clivem Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 I can't speak from personal experience. But the chap at Ton's Cycles I spoke to earlier reckoned the R328 also has no shoulder in places and isn't that wide, but he felt it was a much safer and nicer route to ride on a road bike than the R62/N12 stretch we were considering. You'll see upthread others have ridden it too.Thanks I went to Google Street View and saw the condition of the road vis-à-vis the road width / shoulder. You are correct, it's narrow with no shoulder in most of the places I looked at. I can't see other roads from Mossel Bay that are any better for a slightly longer ride
Underachiever Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 Quick question, if i may, to the learned contributors above. What are your thoughts on road riding from Mossel Bay on the R102 which becomes the R328 (after it crosses the N2) towards Oudtshoorn? I'm looking for a round trip of about 150km from Mossel Bay. So a ride up to just after where the R328 crosses the Kandelaars River is about 70km one way. Keen to get some input from those in the know. Thanks.I've done that same road a number of years back, and the R102 to Hartenbos is fine, also the R328 up to around Eightbells. From there it became quite scary for me (now already on the pass) with the road being quite narrow. I've never gone over the crest of the pass due to the exact reason. Bear in mind that I used the road during the holiday season when it is was pretty busy. The N2 is not an option, so I would recommend getting a gravel grinder and the R327 towards Herbertsdale!
Slowbee Posted March 21, 2016 Posted March 21, 2016 just for interest *cough cough* how do you guys go about your training ? during you guys do intervals or gym work during the week and then longer rides on the weekend ? Just need some input on how you would go about training for a 500 or even a 1000 km audax ?
clivem Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Some feedback on the R102 from Mossel Bay to George. Rode it few times last week albeit in the rain and wind. Even in these conditions, it was real safe and I found the drivers were very respectful of a cyclist. Can get around 120km there and back. I think there are only two potholes on the entire road!
walkerr Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 just for interest *cough cough* how do you guys go about your training ? during you guys do intervals or gym work during the week and then longer rides on the weekend ? Just need some input on how you would go about training for a 500 or even a 1000 km audax ? About as varied as preferences for tyres or chain lube. If you asked 50 Randonneurs or long distance cyclists how they prepare you'll probably get 50 different answers. Also depends of course whether you're racing for a time, or just aiming for a finish. For myself, I do a lot of work at home on the indoor trainer - generally interval sessions, with a mix of higher cadence sets and lower cadence / high resistance strength sessions. It's not that I enjoy it especially, but it's time efficient - and for me, with limited time to train, I want to get the most out of every hour on the bike. In a typical maintenance week of say 250km I'll probably do half of the on-bike time on the trainer. And yes, that is not a lot of training, I'm not someone who puts in massive mileages every week. Note - the indoor trainer is my old road bike on a turbo trainer. I don't like the spinning machines or Wattbikes at the gym - not because they aren't good kit, but because they aren't set up for me and I don't want to risk damaging my knees working at high cadences on a bike which is not properly set up. All of that is very well - but long distance rides aren't really a test of physical fitness, anyone with a decent base level can finish them unless the cut-off time is super aggressive. The harder part is building up the mental stamina to keep going, especially when the weather or other conditions work against you. That's not really something you can prepare for apart from getting out there and building up to it - start with the 200s, move up to 300s which is not really much harder, and then the 400s and 600s which can sometimes be a real battle against fatigue, sleepiness, and sometimes bad luck.
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