taito Posted February 28, 2016 Posted February 28, 2016 well did this race ,day one was fine with the marking with arrow boards only.As a seasoned mountainbiker there should have been some more markers. For day 2 At race breefing they tried to explain all the differant colours to follow in the bike park.Now remember they are also running the lite event at the same time ,well chaos in the park with riders everywhere. Really to have put red dayglo markers for the red route and yellow markers for the yellow route would have solved all the chaos. So no day 2 results ,,,,,,it is wiped from history.
TSF Posted February 28, 2016 Posted February 28, 2016 Also did the GR300 this weekend. This was my 15th stage race and second GR300. I found the route markings for the entire event to be below par. Was continuely wondering together with other riders if we were on the correct routes with no markers for kilometers and many roads and single track intersections not being blocked off with tape or directional arrows indicating where to go. There were no decent pre-warnings before 90 degree high speed turns which made me overshoot these turns on a number of occassions. Day 2 bike park route markings were a real challenge....awesome trails and what has been done in the park is incredible but having to switch to three colour routes that crossed and changed was a mental workout which seemed to create a lot of confusion amongst all the riders...I entered what was supposed to be a race that was over 300kms...to then be told a few weeks after entering and paying that the race was shortened to 220kms...and then day 2 was nullified because of so many riders taking the incorrect routes...leaving us with a 160km race.Sorry GR300 organisers...seriously think you need to go back to that infamous drawing board and rethink how you mark your race routes and choose dates that don't make you shorten the race to accommodate Epic training so that you get more entries...Not sure I will be back for this event.
Jaco-fiets Posted February 28, 2016 Posted February 28, 2016 Coo! Erased from my to do list for next year....
Trail Ninja Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 Garden Route Events are generally very good I have done plenty of their rides including RECM200 Wonder what went wrong this time around?
V12man Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 Coo! Erased from my to do list for next year....Put it back on your list - best 20k of stage race singletrack ever - admittedly it could have been better marked - but we had no difficulty following it correctly - and even if we did an extra loop or 2 I would not have minded in the slightest because it was fun to ride.
V12man Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 Garden Route Events are generally very good I have done plenty of their rides including RECM200 Wonder what went wrong this time around?I think some of the route marking they planned was not done on day 2 - Rob fell off his motorbike just before the start and got sent off to the ER for closing the bike inflicted wounds on his shin (by me - with the help of his wife and one of my old varsity mates) To his credit, he was pretty determined to carry on regardless of the damage - but his wife (I think it was his wife) laid down the law after he was advised to go to the ER because the medics had not yet arrived with supplies for a local fix.
Wil6 Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 Did it in 2013 and loved it. Wanted to do it again in 2017 but hearing this I'm not so sure anymore. Seems like the event has deteriorated throughout the years
Meezo Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 as long as the don't shorten it I'd definitely be there next year, i skipped it this year because of the shorten distance, and mainly because of funds
MarcL Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 HiI did the event and have mixed feelings. Positives - Most of the riding was great. There were a few dull moments but you take the good with the bad.While I agree the route marking were not great, they were adequate and for me navigation is part of the challenge. Negatives - for me there was no "gees" or atmosphere. They did a good job in the race village with great food etc but no vibe.You would finish the stage and they wait around for lunch or prize giving, which happened when someone felt like it..... then nothing / wait around for dinner and race briefing which started when someone felt like it. Got the feeling I was just waiting around with no information or time keeping.Day 2 was better as we all decamped to the trail park and there was some after race atmosphere. I think if they could host the whole event there, it would be better. Overall, I enjoyed it but can't say I'll be rushing back - which is a shame as the sponsors / organisers should be supported. Too many good events now days...
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