2017 Wines2Whales

[LeoKnight]

If I look at the weather forecast and compare it to today, if I am riding with a camelback tomorrow it will be filled with ice blocks

[LeoKnight]

Oooo the excitement.. picked up the race pack, got my name ironed on the top.

 

there is a nice buzz here..

[dev null]

My top is a bit tight around the middle. 

 

But black is not a recommended colour for tomorrow. 

[AllAboutRides]

Only CBC beer available at race village; not even brandy or ice; will rate the food 4/10 for this year

 

Next year is going to be interesting.

[AllAboutRides]

My top is a bit tight around the middle. 

 

But black is not a recommended colour for tomorrow. 

Good luck with trying to exchange for a bigger one

[Delarey]

Oooo the excitement.. picked up the race pack, got my name ironed on the top.

 

there is a nice buzz here..

Good luck to all the Ride riders tomorrow. You are going to have an awesome time. Make sure to try the Sound of Silence Pinot Noir in the evening. You will not regret it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Quagga]

                        This was my 5th W2W Adventure and I am disappointed. 

 

In 2013 they had the following categories

Men open

Masters

Vets

Sub Vets

Mixed 

Ladies 

and some more

They had a prize giving and it was lekker to see some of my friends up there. We cheered and took pics of them on the stage. It was like we had our own "pro riders" who also would ride with us on weekends up there on stage. It really felt like a pro-race for the non-pro riders.

All 3 places were called on stage and pictures taken

 

3 years ago, they started to only call up the winners of the day and now they only have:

Men 

Women

Mixed

Whales

 

The rest of the evening you spend listening CEO of this and CEO of that company or other sponsors chatting. To be honest I am not really interested in the BLA BLA 

 

The food was ... well it's been getting worse every year.

Steak from night 1 from was chopped up cold in some "sauce" the next morning....

 

By day 3 I did not feel like stopping at a waterpoint any longer. Same stuff at every waterpoint. Gone were "Droe wors", and "Rooster koek"

 

This is MY experience. After 5 years I feel that the standards have gone down.

[Clinton H]

Now that the Epic's gang have taken over you'll remember those five events as the good old days !

[Skubarra]

 

                        This was my 5th W2W Adventure and I am disappointed. 

 

In 2013 they had the following categories

Men open

Masters

Vets

Sub Vets

Mixed 

Ladies 

and some more

 

<snip>

 

I am going to disagree here, when I do the adventure & ride I don't give a hoot about who is on podium. I see the adventure & ride as the social versions of the event and the only things I want to see on stage are the "war" stories of the day, a video highlight and yes give the sponsors some airtime as without them these events won't be affordable to average Joe's.

 

You want the bragging rights for podium go do the "RACE" where a decent portion of the field actually care about their positions.

[Quagga]

I am going to disagree here, when I do the adventure & ride I don't give a hoot about who is on podium. I see the adventure & ride as the social versions of the event and the only things I want to see on stage are the "war" stories of the day, a video highlight and yes give the sponsors some airtime as without them these events won't be affordable to average Joe's.

 

You want the bragging rights for podium go do the "RACE" where a decent portion of the field actually care about their positions.

For sure, but why have a "proper prize giving" 5 years ago and now some watered down version.

 

Then rather have nothing, but the current thing is not worth it. 

 

I am saying do it properly or not at all. Same with the food, and waterpoints.

[Cookie88]

So are we all expecting a huge drop in standard from next year now that Epic will be taking over the reigns? Some of the stories around catering and race village vibes at Epic sound harrowing 

[Mufasa69]

 

                        This was my 5th W2W Adventure and I am disappointed. 

 

In 2013 they had the following categories

Men open

Masters

Vets

Sub Vets

Mixed 

Ladies 

and some more

They had a prize giving and it was lekker to see some of my friends up there. We cheered and took pics of them on the stage. It was like we had our own "pro riders" who also would ride with us on weekends up there on stage. It really felt like a pro-race for the non-pro riders.

All 3 places were called on stage and pictures taken

 

3 years ago, they started to only call up the winners of the day and now they only have:

Men 

Women

Mixed

Whales

 

The rest of the evening you spend listening CEO of this and CEO of that company or other sponsors chatting. To be honest I am not really interested in the BLA BLA 

 

The food was ... well it's been getting worse every year.

Steak from night 1 from was chopped up cold in some "sauce" the next morning....

 

By day 3 I did not feel like stopping at a waterpoint any longer. Same stuff at every waterpoint. Gone were "Droe wors", and "Rooster koek"

 

This is MY experience. After 5 years I feel that the standards have gone down.

 

I totally agree on this one. Had to wait in line for 30 minutes on Saturday night to get food (waiting for the meat),only to be told that there is only chicken wings left as a meat option.  I am really disappointed. Last year I had font memories of the food and water points. The trails is awesome and they put a lot of effort into making it more enjoyable, but is that enough to justify the entrance fee you pay for the total package....? Standards has dropped for sure.

[Quagga]

I totally agree on this one. Had to wait in line for 30 minutes on Saturday night to get food (waiting for the meat),only to be told that there is only chicken wings left as a meat option.  I am really disappointed. Last year I had font memories of the food and water points. The trails is awesome and they put a lot of effort into making it more enjoyable, but is that enough to justify the entrance fee you pay for the total package....? Standards has dropped for sure.

Yes the trails were fantastic and the new additions were very nice to ride. 

[Spinnekop]

I am going to disagree here, when I do the adventure & ride I don't give a hoot about who is on podium. I see the adventure & ride as the social versions of the event and the only things I want to see on stage are the "war" stories of the day, a video highlight and yes give the sponsors some airtime as without them these events won't be affordable to average Joe's.

 

You want the bragging rights for podium go do the "RACE" where a decent portion of the field actually care about their positions.

Agreed.

 

I think Sani has the recipe on this one. 

Only podium announcements in the Race.  The other events you have fun with war stories.....best photo of the day.....best story.....etc. etcl

[Quagga]

Agreed.

 

I think Sani has the recipe on this one. 

Only podium announcements in the Race.  The other events you have fun with war stories.....best photo of the day.....best story.....etc. etcl

 

Like I said they should either do it PROPERLY or not at all.

[Spinnekop]

Where's the reports for day one?

Waiting to hear how the portage section treated everyone.

 

Okay.

Mini report

 

Background:  I can handle my MTB just fine.  Not the best out there but I have done one or two events.

I am fortunate enough to be lekke fit.

 

So day 1. 

Technical......definitely.  Can you ride everything (except the portage)....most definitely yes. 

 

It was a very hard day out.  The wind made it extra tough. 

Very enjoyable in general.  Proper mountain biking full of adventure

 

The walking....I can honestly not think of any reason why any bike rider should ever do an event that forces you to walk.

Let's do rugby and then in the middle of the game throw in a little cricket with a touch of ballet.  Bollie man.

Get a route that I can ride.  That is why I am there. 

So the walking part up the mountain was just stupid beyond stupid.

Was it hard?  Jip.  Can't push your bike all the way up.....to narrow at spots.  Carrying your bike on your back is just kakka.  Mountain BIKING people.........get with the program.

 

Day 2.

oooooooo so much fun.  Smiles all around.

Course I think is not too technical.  Lots and lots of singletrack with a boatload of bridges and ups and downs. 

Absolutely loved it!

 

Day 3.

The route was again pretty amazing.  Some pretty technical stuff with negative camber narrow turns and rutted down hills but nothing too major.  All do-able.

The finish was very nice.

 

All in all a memorably experience as a first timer.

Finished off in a smidge over 11 hours.

 

Food:  It was good.  I gained 1kg over the three days.  Have I had better?  Yes.  So there is room for improvement.

Water tables:  Same old same old.  Potatoes, jelly babies, bananas.  That is it.

 

Something to note that caught me by surprise - no matter how hot the day was, the nights were moer cold.  We had the pretty tents with the duvets and even with that you could feel Jack Frost nipping through......So take enough warm stuff for the evening......kort broek khaki is not going to wing it.

 

Bike wash:  Pretty good. 

Tech support:  Okayish.  SRAM was there, Spez, Cannondale.  Nothing more.

 

Beers:  CBC was obviously the suppliers.  Nothing wrong though if you just want a cold one after the ride.

Good wine was available at fair prices.

 

What did I leave out?