[Event] Darling Brew Extreme 2018

[avatar]

Think you should rather ask who else got lost/werent directed in the right direction. Must be the most poorly marked course ive ever ridden! That can still be forgiven for but the biggest dissapointment for me is that i missed out on ALL the single track because of the terrible route markings. Feels like the entire day was an expensive waste

[GmtbR]

Think you should rather ask who else got lost/werent directed in the right direction. Must be the most poorly marked course ive ever ridden! That can still be forgiven for but the biggest dissapointment for me is that i missed out on ALL the single track because of the terrible route markings. Feels like the entire day was an expensive waste

Which distance? I did the 30km and found the markers and marshals excellent and exactly where they were needed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LeoKnight]

Which distance? I did the 30km and found the markers and marshals excellent and exactly where they were needed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually saw someone on Strava that did n extra 14km due to an unexpected detour. Not sure what contributed to that.

 

I also did the 30 so can't comment on the other races

[GmtbR]

Who else got to enjoy the ride today? Was very nice day on the trail. We did the 30km. which ended on 33km. But those extras were not that bad. Agree with limiting single tracks on the shorter routes as it can cause lots of frustrations. Water stations were well stocked.And the events tent was very well organised with sufficient food and drinks for all.

 

Some feedback to share was the loading of the groups which given the space were going to be a challenge. As was the seeding which I am not sure how that was done. But I will be back next year again for the race.

Also did the 30km and really enjoyed the ride.

 

I didn’t find much backing up on the single track and was only forced to walk a few times: once to navigate round a huge mud mess, when a guy fell over on a climb (didn’t clip out in time) and crossing the railway line at the end. The other riders were great about making way and walkers stayed mostly to the left.

 

Those extra 3 odd km were unexpected, but overall a really great ride.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mp321]

Also did the long route. Bad marking caused nearly half the A bunch to go the wrong way. Our group did an extra 18km. Riders landed up in town not knowing where to go. A bakkie from the organisers escorted us 6km back to where the turn was and all of a sudden there was a bakkie, big board and a Marshall standing by that turn directing other riders. Not impressed.

Edited May 26, 2018 by mp321

[avatar]

Long route and 50km route, both had terrible hicups

[Mufasa69]

Long route and 50km route, both had terrible hicups

I did the 50km and did not have any issues with the markings. I was very impressed with this event and how much its grown in the last 5 years. Definitely back next year and well done to the organisers.

[cadenceblur]

My fourth. The route changes have spoiled the event. Not enough reward for all the climbing. Why remove all the single track?

[Albatross]

Rode the 50km and had no problem with the route markings, there was ample signage warning riders of an upcoming split for different distances. Definitely need to up my prep for this ride next year as the cramping started at 32 km although the beer water point motivated me to get up that last hill.

[LeoKnight]

I think this year that have swopped some of the routes, starting with the big climbs, because flip did the looong one last year and hitting that tallest mountain in the western cape at the end was just tough

 

Going back yesterday I realised the climb on the long route last year was technically not as bad, was probably just unfit that day and it felt worse than it actually were..

[SCD]

Think you should rather ask who else got lost/werent directed in the right direction. Must be the most poorly marked course ive ever ridden! That can still be forgiven for but the biggest dissapointment for me is that i missed out on ALL the single track because of the terrible route markings. Feels like the entire day was an expensive waste

 

Must have been the bad fortune of the lead group. I was riding the 70k in A but not in front, and we had no problems... Awesome event again

[Me rida my bicycle]

Did the 50 was my 1ste DBX and still smiling was a great race with some heart breaking climbs and some great single track. Well stocked water points and route was well marked for me. Will definitely do it next year again!

[dirtypot]

I did the 70km route.  Was meant to start in A but dropped back to C to ride with mates.  I found the signage was fine as long as you read the route split boards instead of just following the yellow and black signs as they said in the briefing. 

However,  being a bit further back in the field this time meant that we merged with the riders doing the shorter distances.  This COMPLETELY stuffed up the day for me.  There was so much traffic on the trail that it was impossible to move.  From the second water-point (great stop at that one!  Plenty of food, vibey music, lube - all great!) onward the whole thing was a write-off.  I was getting super frustrated, and even the multiple beers at the races unofficial end point at the beer tent couldn't fix it.  And then the last 9km of riding around fields in a big circle around Darling felt like an utter waste of time.

I feel that switching the route around this year was the problem.  Last year we hit all the trails first and then tackled the big climbs at the end.  This meant that we never merged with anybody and flowed smoothly. 

If the course is kept the same as this year I definitely won't be back.  

[Tomik]

Agree with Dirtypot. Rode the 70km in B, didn't get lost but did take a slight short cut going down a grassy section by mistake (no signs showing the way with multiple animal/tyre tracks). Otherwise signage was OK but could've been hard to read if one was head-down racing (or slip-streaming a rider on the shorter routes).

 

No congestion in B batch at all thankfully.

 

Agree about the last 10km - the loop to the finish was pointless and there was not enough reward for the climbing. 

[Sidmouth]

All part of mountain biking, flats hills, even getting lost sometimes unfortunately, I used that flat section to close some gaps on the skinny climbers, one of the best one day races on the calendar 

[Hamstring]

That beer stop on the 50 and 70km was just the best, we stayed there for about an1Hr