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[Event] The Munga MTB 2017


Slowbee

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I'm getting way misunderstood here. My point was not for okes to go and ride the actual munga route. But that bike touring will give you a lot of the same experiences and can be done at very low cost.

From what I can see the route is predominantly district type roads and for those few short cuts across private land there are alternatives.

There is no reason a bunch of cyclists cant do this on their own.

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From what I can see the route is predominantly district type roads and for those few short cuts across private land there are alternatives.

There is no reason a bunch of cyclists cant do this on their own.

I smell a tourism opportunity.....

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I smell a tourism opportunity.....

There are many already providing tours all over and you can do almost any part of the country.Always room for more with a more adventure flavour to them.

Its a good idea though.

I saw one the other day that stitches Meirings Poort,Swartberg and Montagu together somehow

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From what I can see the route is predominantly district type roads and for those few short cuts across private land there are alternatives.

There is no reason a bunch of cyclists cant do this on their own.

 

 

Sure we can ride 1100km across the Karoo to Cape Town, or even do the Trans Cape route from Plett to Cape Town, but that really isn't the same, is it ?

 

What makes the Munga special is not the distance per se, but the competitive aspect of it; some racing for line honours, some racing their own demons and everyone racing the clock. 

 

There are no easy miles because you need to keep going. No parking off in a river crossing to cool down, no long stops for a Coke and a Bar-one at a spaza shop (or even a Zamalek quart and a bag of niknaks if it late in the day) because the is no "late in the day". All days are contiguous.

 

And, critically, the mental pressure. Pressure of knowing that people are watching. The pressure to ignore the easy way out - step into a support vehicle and your ride is over, but it is always there to ease your suffering.  The pressure of having to navigate when sleep deprived and the implications of making a small mistake. All of this will make it even harder.

 

Vetseun, Taito, Benky and other hubbers, you deserve all the respect I can give.

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Sure we can ride 1100km across the Karoo to Cape Town, or even do the Trans Cape route from Plett to Cape Town, but that really isn't the same, is it ?

 

What makes the Munga special is not the distance per se, but the competitive aspect of it; some racing for line honours, some racing their own demons and everyone racing the clock. 

 

There are no easy miles because you need to keep going. No parking off in a river crossing to cool down, no long stops for a Coke and a Bar-one at a spaza shop (or even a Zamalek quart and a bag of niknaks if it late in the day) because the is no "late in the day". All days are contiguous.

 

And, critically, the mental pressure. Pressure of knowing that people are watching. The pressure to ignore the easy way out - step into a support vehicle and your ride is over, but it is always there to ease your suffering.  The pressure of having to navigate when sleep deprived and the implications of making a small mistake. All of this will make it even harder.

 

Vetseun, Taito, Benky and other hubbers, you deserve all the respect I can give.

 

Very well said

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Sure we can ride 1100km across the Karoo to Cape Town, or even do the Trans Cape route from Plett to Cape Town, but that really isn't the same, is it ?

 

What makes the Munga special is not the distance per se, but the competitive aspect of it; some racing for line honours, some racing their own demons and everyone racing the clock. 

 

There are no easy miles because you need to keep going. No parking off in a river crossing to cool down, no long stops for a Coke and a Bar-one at a spaza shop (or even a Zamalek quart and a bag of niknaks if it late in the day) because the is no "late in the day". All days are contiguous.

 

And, critically, the mental pressure. Pressure of knowing that people are watching. The pressure to ignore the easy way out - step into a support vehicle and your ride is over, but it is always there to ease your suffering.  The pressure of having to navigate when sleep deprived and the implications of making a small mistake. All of this will make it even harder.

 

Vetseun, Taito, Benky and other hubbers, you deserve all the respect I can give.

Fully agree with you.

Just answering those who question the feasibility of doing it on their own

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Reminds me of the'after watching Comrades all day' couch discussions .... [emoji6]

 

Sent from my LG-D958 using Tapatalk

 

 

Interesting that you should say that because one of the reference points I have is running Comrades.

 

It was the uncertainty of what lay ahead that was the hardest part. Only when I realised that I would make it, could I relax and enjoy the race.

 

 I did it when the cut-off was 11 hours. Now it is 12. I am not dismissing the efforts of the 5000 odd runners who finished between 11 and 12 hours last year, but the mental calculations of time vs distance would be much reduced.

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I'm getting way misunderstood here. My point was not for okes to go and ride the actual munga route. But that bike touring will give you a lot of the same experiences and can be done at very low cost.

Andy Masters from Massive Adventures offers the Karoo Dash (which is essentially a very similar route) or the 1000 miler (Jhb-Cape Town) for a vastly reduced sum, but it's basically unsupported, check out the website (massiveadventures,co.za). 

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18k is a lot no matter which way you spin it... Bit isn't sani close to that now per rider?

nope .. per team

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So here's the emerging plan (Slowbee read this).

1. Have a chat with my man Pieter Strobos about the Munga, (after he has soaked his Munga bum in the sea over christmas) to get an understanding of the event. Bearing in mind that Pieter is a very different rider to me as he has a very good cycling pace where as I'll be slow, but his insights will help me understand the requirements of this race.

2. Get my back sorted out by Christmas.

3. If 2. above is sorted do Joberg2c.

4. If 3 above is a success target a 180km ride under 10hours.

5. If 4. above is a success enter Munga.

6. Then train like hell, :ph34r:

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6cc8b52b8be28851cc28c02b2004785b.jpg

 

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Had a great ride the Jean this morning, picked his brain about the Munga. Hot as hell apparently! What a lekker oke and his bike <3

 

Awesome coffee ride

I'm surprised he found the coffee shop [emoji6]

 

 

No just kidding..always nice to hear the oke's are lekker.

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

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