Cyclechallenge mtb 55km comment

[Tankman]

 

the road race is also becoming Bleh ! I think thats why they reversed it to create something different to keep the numbers up. This will be my 17th and probably the last - it just doesn't excite me anymore.

 

The road race is not Bleh, it is kek!

I have only done one and that was enough for me to convince myself to rather to 10 Arguses (Cape Town Cycle Tour, for the newbies) instead of one 94.7 road.

 

You have done 17 and only coming to that conclusion now ... ook maar lekker hardkoppig!

[Squier]

Spare a thought for the guys that have to travel from out of town to get to the races please .

Already had to get up at 3:00 to be on time for this one .

I'd spare a thought for you that you drove from out of town to the worst mountain bike event in Gauteng. That's way worse than waking up early.

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Considering they have to cater for so many people I thought the route was not that bad ?

 

There was actually quite a bit of single track ( maybe too much for the later batches that might have had bottlenecks - but as mentioned earlier , you cannot have single tracks without having bottlenecks in a race with a lot of participants ) . So not too boring for a mass event I think .

The climbing wasn't hectic ? 650 meters on a 55 km race is definitely doable .

 

And as far as the stench goes - you cannot really blame the organisers for that now can you ? Rain before the event would have eliminated that to a large extend .

 

You might have a point regarding letting people qualify to be able to do the event , but to be honest , I think the organisers will get even more stick for that from people that want to ride and are refused entry because of not qualifying ??

 

In the end the race is what it is - a mass participation Mtb event with single track ( bottlenecks ) some twists and turns on loose gravel and some climbing to be done in order to finish . It's supposed to be a " challenge " for the average guy is it not ?

 

A nice and considered reply to my initial post. No hysterics or wild accusations. This is the type of response that keeps BikeHub relevant. Thanks Milkman

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Starting time that are after 7 am become dangerous on hot summer days. The first riders can start at 5:30. The route was good. It was great. The only thing that got to me was the tons of raw sewage that was flowing into the river. It stunk and it goes to who how much the infrastructure is no longer. In china factory owners or municipality workers who pollute the rivers can get put to death. Now the Chines rivers after being so polluted are slowly recovering.

 

I last rode at Northern Farms some 2 years ago when  I regularly rode tandem with my missus. The sewage stink / pollution into the river and the irrigation channels was not evident then. The massive increase in poorly processed sewage effluent being pumped from Northern Sewage works has definitely deteriorated in quality as indicated by the super powerful stink and heavy foaming of effluent coming out of the plant.

 

Can this suggest that Jhb sewage processing is not being done to standard? That they are not allowing for sufficient  cleaning before putting this muck into the public river system.

[Chris NewbyFraser]

that part from "take someone who is untill at conciderable risk" don't bite off more than you can chew comes to mind.i think if you enter a race in that condition no one puts you at risk except yourself.

 

Agreed, but hundreds still do. Witness the 947 road event and "Argus". How many unprepared riders drag themselves to the finish line, potentially dangerously near causing cardiovascular harm, totally unprepared for the distance/conditions, which places  the organisers in difficulty because of the need for enormous safety facilities. Yes, organisers want to create an event that allows anybody to enter into the spirit and that is the correct objective. However, organisers should ensure that the open entry system does prevent the foolish from participating. For the riders own good.

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Starting time that are after 7 am become dangerous on hot summer days. The first riders can start at 5:30. The route was good. It was great. The only thing that got to me was the tons of raw sewage that was flowing into the river. It stunk and it goes to who how much the infrastructure is no longer. In china factory owners or municipality workers who pollute the rivers can get put to death. Now the Chines rivers after being so polluted are slowly recovering.

 I'm a fattie and well past my prime (63), but I specifically do much of my training rides in the heat of the day - to prepare for hot race days

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Very sad indeed, 35 years old. 

 

Yup, first fatality at this event but not too long ago some of the other big events also had their first fatalities ... common enemy number one, heart attack.

Remember the Epic a few years ago? A 23  year old world endurance champ from Aussie didn't wake up in the morning. Died of heart failure in his sleep.

Our hearts are incredibly over-worked machines and like machines, break down. Like some cars, some are Friday/Monday models and others are solid mid-week builds. We should be careful to not mess with this machine.

[V18]

Heart attack at 35. Very rarely it is the classic chronic metabolic syndrome profile that we all envision. You can be fit as a fiddle and in your prime... If you happen to have underlying predispositions (familial dyslipidaemia/hypertension/asymptomatic prediabetic/prinzmetal angina/long qt syndrome/hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy,rheumatic heart disease etc) you can drop dead from a heart attack or other acute cardiac dysfunction at any race. Wouldn't have taken a hard route to bring this out either. I think unfitties and fatties tend to not push through and rather just have a bout of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Also serious but not really the you heart attack that we saw here.

Take home message. One day will be your day. Go for prophylactic checkups(BP/BMI/lipid profile/arterial stiffness measurement/glucose checks/stress ecg) with your GP. Most of my buddies over 30 have gone for their annual checkups and quite the number of us have some preventable risk factor requiring treatment already despite all of us being in fair shape. Don't wait until you have symptoms. You may have your first (as I suspect this poor oke had) on race day in the heat.

[Dirkitech]

It is surprisingly difficult to read your posts without the multiquote Chris. Actually read the first and just skipped everything else.

[Milkman]

I'd spare a thought for you that you drove from out of town to the worst mountain bike event in Gauteng. That's way worse than waking up early.

 

Okay , I didn't really want to explain my situation too much for fear of sounding as if I am bragging , but your comment makes me feel as if I have to defend my actions ?

Not everybody does the race just to try and finish it . Some try and compete as well .

 

My 19 year old daughter was also competing in the race , so I had to give her a lift . She didn't have her best race but still managed 4th overall. So there was reason behind the madness !

 

O , and someone mentioned the Magalies Monster as a better race to get up earlier for . She won that one this year , so yea , we got up early for that too . ( okay maybe I am bragging a bit now ?     )

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Congrats to your daughter, milkman!

[LongDonkey]

Agree on the late start its just silly for people to start MTB races as late as they do. People get up freaking early for the road race, so why not the same for the MTB race. Early start, early finish.

Its a MTB race, complaining about having to ride your bike up hills..... um not so sure you know what mountain biking is about. The organisers never claimed it was a nice flat fast MTB ride.

Never made it out the parking lot due to a mechanical, so cant comment on the race and bottlenecks which are always an issue.

Value for money, i dont think this is a race for people who want that, as suggested by others, find a more scenic race somewhere. The organisers do hype this event and i think they are a little naive to make the claims they do in this score. It is however a race near the city and the convenience for people who dont want to go far to find nice routes. I do think the van Gaalens or Hakahana would be a MUCH better venue for this race, even if it is outside the city a bit.

[JK7]

Good post V18. Thanks for sharing. Reminded me book an appointment! Are you in the medical field? 

 

The one thing i can add is that cardio can lead to the underlying problem itself. There some studies that show athletes are more prone or at risk to atrial fibrillation (AF) from endurance events.   Just another reason to have a holistically healthy lifestyle, including diet etc

 

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/ten-points-to-remember/2017/09/20/14/38/atrial-fibrillation-in-athletes

 

 

Heart attack at 35. Very rarely it is the classic chronic metabolic syndrome profile that we all envision. You can be fit as a fiddle and in your prime... If you happen to have underlying predispositions (familial dyslipidaemia/hypertension/asymptomatic prediabetic/prinzmetal angina/long qt syndrome/hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy,rheumatic heart disease etc) you can drop dead from a heart attack or other acute cardiac dysfunction at any race. 

[MudLark]

Heart attack at 35. Very rarely it is the classic chronic metabolic syndrome profile that we all envision. You can be fit as a fiddle and in your prime... If you happen to have underlying predispositions (familial dyslipidaemia/hypertension/asymptomatic prediabetic/prinzmetal angina/long qt syndrome/hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy,rheumatic heart disease etc) you can drop dead from a heart attack or other acute cardiac dysfunction at any race. Wouldn't have taken a hard route to bring this out either. I think unfitties and fatties tend to not push through and rather just have a bout of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Also serious but not really the you heart attack that we saw here.

Take home message. One day will be your day. Go for prophylactic checkups(BP/BMI/lipid profile/arterial stiffness measurement/glucose checks/stress ecg) with your GP. Most of my buddies over 30 have gone for their annual checkups and quite the number of us have some preventable risk factor requiring treatment already despite all of us being in fair shape. Don't wait until you have symptoms. You may have your first (as I suspect this poor oke had) on race day in the heat.

Worth going beyond your GP and actually seeing a cardiologist for a proper checkup.

[Mokgaga'a mmakubela!]

Worth going beyond your GP and actually seeing a cardiologist for a proper checkup.

can you see cardiologist without referral letter?

[MudLark]

Yes, you can. And if for any reason a cardiologist insists on a referral letter, getting one from your GP should be simple. In fact this very morning I made enquiries for some friends and the cost of the full exam is currently R5400 (well with one particular cardiologist anyway). Medical aids often cover it to the extent of your medical savings.