Dis-Chem Ride For Sight 2017

[Ttocs]

Glad to see this happening!! It's about time that a stance gets taken about this.

 

 

Unless of course you were in the bunch and saw how they decided to stop the riders.

 

We were touching 60kmph on a downhill going into a left turn at the +-62km mark.

The two CSA officals driving separate cars, decided to pull in front of the bunch and jam on brakes, because this is how and when you stop the bunch on a downhill.

 

How no one crashed is beyond me.

 

I have no objection to them stopping the race because of the ill-discipline by the riders, but the HOW needs to be looked at by the CSA. They put us in more danger than the riders drifting to the right because of the cross winds.

 

Other than this incedent it was a fantastic race and well done to all the marshalls, as they must have had their hands full.

[Jurgens Smit]

DQ for sure... especially in the licenced groups.

 

So many riders that are in these groups for the start times and nice open roads but cannot stay with the group. But in ELITE I would think the motorbike marshalls should have taken note of their numbers and have their finish times evaluated and flagged at least.

 

On another note... Whats up with the guys not wearing their racing numbers? have they not entered but ride the race without having paid?

 

We were dropped already so there were no marshals with us. 

[geomark]

Did the race from CL and for once didn't witness any crashes although even near the front there was some pretty twitchy riding and surge then brake, surge then brake.  Lost the front bunch at the back of Suikerbossies then fought back on only to get spat out again leaving Heidelberg.  When I finally accepted my fate and sat up was in no mans land with km's of deserted road behind and long haul until I was found by 4 or 5 other stragglers.  So lost out on 7-8min I guess, similar story to s14phoenix, if I could have held on past Heidelberg probably would have made it all the way in the bunch.  

 

Ahh well, good training ride.

[s14phoenix]

We were dropped already so there were no marshals with us. 

 

If there are riders slipping behind a truck and getting towed back onto a group. the marshall riding with the group should be aware of the approaching vehicle and notify the group - as they did yesterday.

 

BTW I have to note the excellent job the bike marshall was doing with the AL group!!!

 

I am sure the bike marshal from the elite group as well as some official vehicles (which I am sure went with the elite group) would have spotted the guys rejoining the group?

 

but ja it is hard to manage I suppose. It is however not cool if these guys then featured at the finishline due to relaxing behind a truck...

[RFC311]

So........I am trying to see value in this race these days.............

 

Technically it is a "crappy" race.  The last 20km is like something out of a Stallone movie where you just try not to die. Cones, traffic, poor speed cops not knowing what to do, people standing in the middle of the road, slow riders joining the route, potholes, standing traffic on the race course, etc etc.  CSA gives us hell about the white line and so they should.  They have our best interest at heart and don't want to see us get hurt.  For that I thank them.  As an organiser I would anticipate this as a "given" and organiser rolling road closure for the racing bunches. 

If you really had my safety at heart, you would have made the race safe.  And you did not.  The white line crossing was probably the safest part of the course. 

The amount of crashes and incidents yesterday out on the course was SCARY!!

 

I digress.

 

It has become stupid to do this race for "seeding".

Because by the time the seeding run for World Champs gets done, this race is older than 6 months and your seeding gets watered down.  Same goes for 94.7

Your aim should be Lost City, Amashova, D2D, Satellite etc.  Those will give you good seeding should this be your aim to do races.

 

What other reason is there to pay R300 and risk life and limb?

 

The pure beauty of cycling is that you can be ANYWHERE out in the sun on your bike and enjoy it. 

 

Me.......after 11+ of R4S I have decided to give this one a skip next year. 

 

 

 

couldn't agree more

[Frosty]

So........I am trying to see value in this race these days.............

 

Technically it is a "crappy" race.  The last 20km is like something out of a Stallone movie where you just try not to die. Cones, traffic, poor speed cops not knowing what to do, people standing in the middle of the road, slow riders joining the route, potholes, standing traffic on the race course, etc etc.  CSA gives us hell about the white line and so they should.  They have our best interest at heart and don't want to see us get hurt.  For that I thank them.  As an organiser I would anticipate this as a "given" and organiser rolling road closure for the racing bunches. 

If you really had my safety at heart, you would have made the race safe.  And you did not.  The white line crossing was probably the safest part of the course. 

The amount of crashes and incidents yesterday out on the course was SCARY!!

 

I digress.

 

It has become stupid to do this race for "seeding".

Because by the time the seeding run for World Champs gets done, this race is older than 6 months and your seeding gets watered down.  Same goes for 94.7

Your aim should be Lost City, Amashova, D2D, Satellite, CCMNC, etc.  Those will give you good seeding should this be your aim to do races.

 

What other reason is there to pay R300 and risk life and limb?

 

The pure beauty of cycling is that you can be ANYWHERE out in the sun on your bike and enjoy it. 

 

Me.......after 11+ of R4S I have decided to give this one a skip next year. 

I had to add one more, as it will also be a "premier seeding" event, and only 4.5 months before the Fun Ride World Champs.

 

 

As far as the racing in VB was concerned, I have to agree that although considered dangerous, it's part of racing and only the guys capable of holding the wheel would survive in that situation.

 

However, I know that Heidelberg traffic refuse to allow races to take place if riders are found crossing the centre/white line - so the organiser has to let the officials know, and they need to do what is right. Karee and Joan road (where the gutter was in effect) falls under Midvaal, and they are less sticky about it.

[Jurgens Smit]

If there are riders slipping behind a truck and getting towed back onto a group. the marshall riding with the group should be aware of the approaching vehicle and notify the group - as they did yesterday.

 

BTW I have to note the excellent job the bike marshall was doing with the AL group!!!

 

I am sure the bike marshal from the elite group as well as some official vehicles (which I am sure went with the elite group) would have spotted the guys rejoining the group?

 

but ja it is hard to manage I suppose. It is however not cool if these guys then featured at the finishline due to relaxing behind a truck...

 

No they didn't get too far, by the time we hit the climbs by Heidelberg those 3 were far behind us.

Just sneaky of them to try and cheat

[scotty]

Amazing how different riders can have different experiences,  I enjoyed mine and will be back next year. 

[Blue Monster]

If there are riders slipping behind a truck and getting towed back onto a group. the marshall riding with the group should be aware of the approaching vehicle and notify the group - as they did yesterday.

 

BTW I have to note the excellent job the bike marshall was doing with the AL group!!!

 

I am sure the bike marshal from the elite group as well as some official vehicles (which I am sure went with the elite group) would have spotted the guys rejoining the group?

 

but ja it is hard to manage I suppose. It is however not cool if these guys then featured at the finishline due to relaxing behind a truck...

The bike marshalling in AL was excellent.  We had two bikes most/in not all the way.

The one marshal, I think on the blue bike, kept on with the beep beep on his hooter, he sounded like "the roadrunner".  I did have a "wile e coyote" moment where the thought of an anvil did cross my mind (tongue in cheek)   

But they did a fantastic job keeping us on the RH side of the road and getting vehicles past us safely.

[Grey Hubs]

I got my butt dropped around 60km from AL only for the AL bunch to sit up 500m later and I just could never reach them and sat 400m behind AL for quite some time. Disappointed about that but only lost 10min in the end to AL front. (one of those "if I only hung on for 1 more km" situations)

 

I finished with VC bunch who where all good riders other than being forced off the road completely when a rider swong left after passing 2 short course riders bumping me off the road on his inside... luckily my mtb skills kept me upright and I could hop back onto the road without losing much speed. (my appologies to the guys behind if I gave them a bit of a fright - was about survival)

 

the section past Carnival was chaos! 

 

 

I am not too sure about this... BL started coming past the VC group at the Carnival chaos and it was utter mayhem. The lot that came through there was mental and the fact that there where no crashes was just plain luck. I think that through that section which was clearly the most dangerous section in the entire race the lack of common courtesy and lack of self preservation was abundantly clear this was from most groups.

 

Luckily MOST of the shorter distance riders stayed where they where and did not change lines etc. (although staying further left would be nice) I think they need a hand for how they conducted themselves between all the AL VB VC BL mayhem and I think a lot of longer distance riders need to go learn some manners and group riding skills - especially about holding your line and looking before you make a move.

Also road AL...the boys that pull this group - hats off to you. Super strong...RESPECT!

I through everything at trying to stay with the group and just managed to hold on. I actually hit 101% of my max HR. Never seen that before...

 

Sad about the slow down of pace in the last 8km due to congestion so just missed a sub 3hr. Can't see the reason why people insist on sprinting the last 100m when you've been hiding in the bunch for the whole race. I guess too much TV and pretending you a Sagan over the finish line.

Everyone has mentioned all the negatives...Just chuffed I held with the group and finished safely. Thanks AL!

[bmw1za]

There are guys that take chances. Hell I'm barely hanging on to the elites now. But sooner or later (if you're serious about racing) you have to leave seeded and move to licensed. AL does not teach you proper bunch riding skills, it's not particularly hard racing and it's frustrating to see the guys in the back try to take the win if you've been on the front the whole day.

 

Besides there's nothing like racing your way to get stronger. Riding at FTP or higher until you pop and then suffering home makes you *** strong.

 

Also AFAIK if you've been dropped from a licensed group we're not allowed to latch on or form groups with other riders except your own group. We have to keep left and limp home

Riding at ftp or higher till you pop... spot on ... that's my race report [emoji23] in a nutshell...

Then get off every 30 meters to rub out cramps ...limp limp limp... took over 4 hours eventually

 

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

[hilton_]

First race where I managed to sit with the front of my group [C] all the way, which I'm pretty stoked about. Normally end up getting dropped and find myself isolated around the 70km mark until I can latch on somewhere.

 

Well, technically, I was with the group was till the Carnival City turn where things got a bit messy.

Quite how that blue hatchback ended up stopped in the turn at that yield sign is scary. Thanks to some quick decision making by everyone in that batch and good bike marshaling, a very serious accident was avoided.

 

And I concur: that stretch past Carnival was a suicide run.

Edited February 20, 2017 by hilton_

[Hennie VR]

Riding at ftp or higher till you pop... spot on ... that's my race report [emoji23] in a nutshell...

Then get off every 30 meters to rub out cramps ...limp limp limp... took over 4 hours eventually

 

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

 

I actually saw a guy sitting next to the road busy massaging his quads......Northcliff Cycles kit as far as I can remember. I think he was part of our main VA bunch. 

[s14phoenix]

Riding at ftp or higher till you pop... spot on ... that's my race report [emoji23] in a nutshell...

Then get off every 30 meters to rub out cramps ...limp limp limp... took over 4 hours eventually

 

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

 

EINA! Maybe it was lucky then that I did not force it to hold onto AL - riding to within 10 min of the group is a lot better than popping and finishing over an hour behind.

 

Everyone asks why even enter and risk it... honestly because you learn through experience. There are a lot of guys that need a LOT more experience in the groups and under race conditions. Also the intensity of the actual ride is a lot higher so it is fantastic training to race as hard as you can. The trade off is the possibility of crashes and incidents or learning the hard and painful way.

 

that's why I ride the events. To gauge myself, learn stuff and upping the intensity. Next race I will train harder or look for different ways to improve as to not get dropped. Lets face it... we really can't resist entering - perhaps some sort of FOMO also.

Edited February 20, 2017 by s14phoenix

[nonky]

Dang, it's lonely wayyyy down South when you get dropped from your bunch...

 

 

[djvr]

Started in HL group. Going up the first incline out of the stadium, I got the feeling it was going to be a long day in the saddle. The body just did not want to respond.  I managed to stay with a bunch up to the left turn towards Suikerbos. Everybody at the front indicated that we were about to turn left.  As we started turning an  asshole came speeding past my left. He realized he was to quick to turn and grab his brakes. His back wheel locked up and swayed and down he went. His forward momentum fortunately took him past me and I managed to avoid him by millimeters. Bloody tjop got a mouth full from the rest of the group. Dont know if he took down other riders with him as did not look back as I was in shock. Another rider in the group had to show off his downhill skills. Every now and then he got into this aerodynamic position with his bum in the air. We were not even going downhill.Was quite funny but I suppose one can expect it in our lower groups.