[Event] 947 Cycle Challenge 2016

[Patchelicious]

"CONGRATULATIONS!

You are one of the first to enter the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge 2017."

Nr 11

Too soon

[Patchelicious]

No. One of my team mates, FlyingScot. But I stopped and stayed with him till they put him in the ambulance. 2 broken ribs, plenty roasties and a lot of pain but otherwise he is ok.

****, sorry to hear!!

[Dexter-morgan]

yeah I did. And all the other events are open for entries also.

 

Fast one

Ride4Sight

Emperors

Tour Durban

R380 for the Emperor's if you don't take the "early bird" discount. and no road closures!!

[GemmerKat]

2017 Entry Done 

['Kaze Pete]

He also had a hangover and one arm in a cast . . .

doesn't he also have a peg leg?

[Pall Catt]

Didn't race elite yesterday as I'm still recovering from a bad crash.

It is normal and racing through the streets doesn't help matters. There is normally at least one crash in the elite bunch every race. just look at the TDF and how many guys normally hit the deck in the first few days. 

 

Ya I've ridden other bunches (VA's and alphabet soup) and have seen crashes but just not this many. There were at least 5 that I saw and many close calls. I thought maybe its just more aggressive in elites because guys are trying to get noticed or whatever. The first few km were the worst and I got bumped a few times but luckily never went down. The guys go for some really small gaps too and there were a number of times where I felt like if I didn't back away there would have been a collision. Don't know if I'll be doing that again.

[Long Wheel Base]

Sorry to hear,

From what I could see it did look serious

Did he loose the front?

I hope he recovers soon

Yeah it was quite a fast section so he went down hard. I am not sure exactly what happened, We haven't discussed it yet on our team chat. I was just off the back of the group so as I went passed I saw someone in our kit lying in the road.

[Frosty]

Nice report, seams you suffered out there.

 

Interesting looking at your IF and TSS, either you rode on the absolute limit or you slacking on your FTP tests.

could be a combination of both, but more on the limit.

[Frosty]

You're not welcome I guess

Probably not - but then they'll probably find my details filed under... "Send reminder just before closing date".

[Frosty]

Yeah it was quite a fast section so he went down hard. I am not sure exactly what happened, We haven't discussed it yet on our team chat. I was just off the back of the group so as I went passed I saw someone in our kit lying in the road.

Eina! Wish your team mate a speedy recovery.

[Spoke101]

Ya I've ridden other bunches (VA's and alphabet soup) and have seen crashes but just not this many. There were at least 5 that I saw and many close calls. I thought maybe its just more aggressive in elites because guys are trying to get noticed or whatever. The first few km were the worst and I got bumped a few times but luckily never went down. The guys go for some really small gaps too and there were a number of times where I felt like if I didn't back away there would have been a collision. Don't know if I'll be doing that again.

That sounds normal. Racing Elite's is not for the faint at heart.

 

It's a combination of things: Inexperience, speed, stupidity, testosterone, team managers orders, 100 riders and a limited amount of road, etc...  You learn very quickly bumping bars and rubbing elbows is constant and very normal, you have to hold your ground and if you touch the brakes you loose 20 positions. You learn very quickly that if someone in the middle of the bunch points, flicks there head or even looks to move out you make a gap or else you will end up on the floor.

You should try a race where there is a big bunch sprint. Yesterday will be tame in comparison.

Have a look at this for some incite:

[Connection]

Now I know why I don't ride elites!

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[Underachiever]

My race report from yesterday’s pedal around Joburg......

 

 

07:34 – Time and events seemed to fade away for the next part of the course, until we got to the first hot spot (before Douglasdale). The first rider from VD (Mark Spencer) was going it alone, and I was waiting for my team mates to give me a much needed push. It wasn’t until the Kya-Sands turnoff (on Malibongwe) that the rest of VD passed us, including one team mate only (perhaps the others were feeling like I did). No push from UnderAchiever, but at least some encouraging words from a few other riders.

 

 

Underachiever was fast going into survival mode at that point.  Only had the breath to say hi!!!

[Cycotic]

Now I know why I don't ride elites!

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

Yup. Me too. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm too old and too slow.

[Frosty]

That sounds normal. Racing Elite's is not for the faint at heart.

 

It's a combination of things: Inexperience, speed, stupidity, testosterone, team managers orders, 100 riders and a limited amount of road, etc...  You learn very quickly bumping bars and rubbing elbows is constant and very normal, you have to hold your ground and if you touch the brakes you loose 20 positions. You learn very quickly that if someone in the middle of the bunch points, flicks there head or even looks to move out you make a gap or else you will end up on the floor.

You should try a race where there is a big bunch sprint. Yesterday will be tame in comparison.

Have a look at this for some incite:

I've done one race where Elite and VA were combined into one group. Probably the best performance I've had i.t.o. workload, but that day I ended up in a mass pileup 500m from the finish. Lucky for me, I landed on top of people and bikes and not the road. Took 2 minutes to get up, untangle bikes and roll over the line.

 

From that day on, I vowed to sit up if I wasn't in the top 10 places and capable of contesting the sprint - no point sprinting for 20th, 30th, 40th or 50th place. Rather come back and ride another day.

[Matuka]

What a fun day, first 947, first cycle race and first time riding outside suikerbos.  Really impressed with the organising and the camaraderie amongst the riders, I'm hooked! I managed a 4:20 riding in the DD charity batch. Hoping that next year I can start earlier and break 4 hours. 

 

Forgot to add that Kyalami was a highlight, also enjoyed everyone making race car noises around the bends!

Edited November 21, 2016 by Matuka