Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Hi Guys Just wanting to do a bit of research and see if there is any interest in a 24h MTB event being held in the KZN Midlands. Format would be either endurance lite (8am to 8pm) or endurance full (8am to 8am). Easy singletrack and safe district/forest roads in a lap format. Team or individual entry. Might include potjie lunch, braai supper and champagne breakfast. Possible camping at the event venue too. Looking at later in the year (Nov or Dec) so that its in the holidays and outside of the race calendar. Please post your comments Edited September 5, 2016 by Griffin Cejay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cejay Posted September 5, 2016 Share Will def do it,believe there might be some interest on the South Coast Griffin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Will def do it,believe there might be some interest on the South Coast Thanks CJ. Cant think of any other event like this having been held in KZN before One of those few opportunities where the tortoise can beat the hare Weekend warriors can beat the race snakes... Cejay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave303e Posted September 5, 2016 Share my 2c- Keep it short like Sabie's noon to moon anything longer than 10-12 hours you get bored going around in circles, unless the circle is big enough like a 20-30km lap. Don't do it on regular trails, did a 24hour solo at Rosemary hill a few years back, to this day I barely ride there because was bored with the first 10km of the trails after the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantc Posted September 5, 2016 Share I would definitely do the 24hr. Means I don't have to drive out of the province to do it.I could also rope in a few mates as team entries A 20-30km loop would be awesome - would certainly cut down on the boredom of short loops. Griffin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Thanks dave303e and Grantc for those inputs. From a safety perspective a longer 20k/30k route would bring some challenges.. especially when out on that kind of a loop at 2am in the morning . Not that we have had any incidents out this way but its something to consider. Maybe a compromise of sorts... have 2 loops... 1 that is approx 25km long and is used during the day (up till sunset) and another that is about 5km or 10km long and is used after sunset till sunrise again. The added advantage.. the shorter loop can be used during the day for a jnr catagory endurance (the lite version..8am to 8pm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velouria Posted September 5, 2016 Share I'm not quite sure I understand the whole "I get bored going around in circles" argument. And whether you do 20 laps or 35 laps, you're still going to be "going around in circles". The key for a good 24hr course is to have a little bit of everything - a bit of climbing, some "technical" bits, and some open sections for passing. And from the sounds of things, you want people to have fun, so factor that in too. Seeing broken 24hr riders might give some event organisers a rush, but it isn't always good for the event, or the riders. (Remember, a hill that you can climb in your big blade on the first lap will become a hill that you'll crawl up 23 hours later in your small blade (yes, I still have multiple blades on my bike)). The two lap idea is a good one - I've seen courses where you alternate between the laps. I'm not quite sure how you'd figure out who was where if you switched from one course to another at a certain time. Do 2 short loops = 1 long loop? My rule of thumb would be to aim for laps that take the solo guys around 60 minutes (when they are broken), and the race snakes in teams around 30 minutes. Sixty minutes is enough to survive on one bottle, and you're never that far away should you have a problem, medical or mechanical. dirtypot, NotSoBigBen and Griffin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Agree... although sometimes i go around in squares.. or rectangles..even hexagons sometimes... but then my nav skills leave a lot to be desired A bit of everything is definitely the way to go. Bearing in mind that the climbs get harder the longer you are riding.. and that the tech sections during the day that are green circle become double black diamond in the dark No need to make the guys broken.. fun is first priority. The shorter loop in the dark also helps the vibe keep going.. music, braai and support from the sidelines As for the 2 lap idea.. maybe something like everyone starts the shorter loop but along the way there is a split where the riders who have entered for the longer/24h distance would break off and do their section (that section would rejoin the shorter loop later on). The split will gets closed at a certain time, forcing everyone to do the shorter loop from then onwards. A marshall follows the last rider through that split and closes the junction where the longer/shorter loops meet again once the rider has passed through. No alternating laps... that might be more maths for me to handle Edited September 5, 2016 by Griffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted September 5, 2016 Share I'm not quite sure I understand the whole "I get bored going around in circles" argument. And whether you do 20 laps or 35 laps, you're still going to be "going around in circles". The key for a good 24hr course is to have a little bit of everything - a bit of climbing, some "technical" bits, and some open sections for passing. And from the sounds of things, you want people to have fun, so factor that in too. Seeing broken 24hr riders might give some event organisers a rush, but it isn't always good for the event, or the riders. (Remember, a hill that you can climb in your big blade on the first lap will become a hill that you'll crawl up 23 hours later in your small blade (yes, I still have multiple blades on my bike)). The two lap idea is a good one - I've seen courses where you alternate between the laps. I'm not quite sure how you'd figure out who was where if you switched from one course to another at a certain time. Do 2 short loops = 1 long loop? My rule of thumb would be to aim for laps that take the solo guys around 60 minutes (when they are broken), and the race snakes in teams around 30 minutes. Sixty minutes is enough to survive on one bottle, and you're never that far away should you have a problem, medical or mechanical. Having done a few 24hr races in my time I must say you pretty much summed it up damn well! Velouria and Griffin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypot Posted September 5, 2016 Share I'd advise running from noon to noon. I've done Oak Valley 24hr for the last four years, and love the format. Starting at 12 gives everyone enough time to comfortably get to the venue and set up their camp before the race starts. Starting at 8am doesn't do that. Then everybody rides for a few laps in the light before it invariably quietens down at night. Then in the morning there's a fresh surge of people who all come out well rested, and can still ride for six hours. Oak Valley is a brilliant venue for this type of race though - there's enough climbing (roughly 250-300m IIRC per lap) enough enjoyment on the down hills and some recovery sections too all thrown into 10km. I don't get bored riding it - you just learn how to ride it more effectively each lap. Its a mental game, not a "keep entertained for 24hrs" one. As for your varying laps idea - it could work, but as mentioned keeping score could be difficult. As an idea, a long lap could be worth one point and a short lap worth 0.5. Or something like that so that someone who is out on a long lap doesn't get penalized when the short lap opens. Velouria and Griffin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Great suggestions dirtypot.. thanks The suggestions about a start time especially helpful. The biggest catch there may be the start time for the jnr category though... having the youngsters up till 12 would be difficult. By starting early I was hoping to give them an opportunity to give an endurance event a try too. Maybe... Endurance lite 8am to 8pm, endurance full 12pm to 12 pm? or.... youngsters do a "Amazing Race" kind of event but on bikes (with puzzles, clues, challenges etc) and the adults the endurance event. I would like the whole event to be family friendly more than catered to the hardcore riders only Edited September 5, 2016 by Griffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 5, 2016 Share Whats the norm for endurance events now days ? is it a total km ridden in the time period principle or a points based system ? Both have advantages and dis-advantages and have different measurement tools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velouria Posted September 5, 2016 Share And let's be honest, no one really does a 24hr to be entertained. I'd stay home for that. 24hr riding is about rhythm, a looooong game plan, managing your body, mind over matter, and dealing with the demons in your head. If you get bored, then perhaps this isn't the event for you. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velouria Posted September 5, 2016 Share Whats the norm for endurance events now days ? is it a total km ridden in the time period principle or a points based system ? Both have advantages and dis-advantages and have different measurement toolsTotal kilometres feels better. "I did 23 points" just doesn't have the same ring to it. No one wants to know your Strava suffer score. The question is "How far was your ride?" Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelAndre Posted September 19, 2016 Share Great idea Griffin, Midlands can do with such an event. I am supportive of different laps, longer in the day and shorter at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monark Posted September 19, 2016 Share sign me up now and take my money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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