[Event] Houwhoek MTB Tour

[Mamil]

What the heck...I'm in

[emme]

Bad news: Paul Cluver is closed for mtb. Most of the bridges have been destroyed by the fire.

They are rebuilding, and will open some areas over time.

Went riding with JK,owner of the event,this morning.Paul Cluver will be 100% repaired by the time of the event and everything on course for the event.

[Christie]

Great news ????

[Andrea Fletcher 3l3v3n]

I am looking for 2 entries.  So, if any of you hubbers have, and cannot ride for whatever reason, and you feel like being generous, you can send them my way LOL!  TIA! 

[MariusC]

howdie.. I'm out of commission for 6 weeks after taking a dive this weekend:( I've got 1 entry if an one is looking [sold]

Edited May 3, 2019 by MariusJK

[DuncanDoughnuts]

love this event, have done it every year... chilled ride... don't expect free runs in the single track though ... unless you group yourself in the race snake group....

 

take it for what it is... a chilled day in the saddle and you will have fun

[aquaratza]

I'm booked to ride this with some friends, we're apparently going to take it "easy". Super excited.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

I'll be there again this year, looking forward to it although it's looking like we're in for a chilly ride.

[PjT]

Yes, also looking forward to doing this for the 1st time.

Bring the cold and cloudy weather...better than blistering sun.

Safe riding all!

[PjT]

Wow! What an awesome event....well organised...and really great routes with good variety of terrain.

Will be going back next year.

Your comments?

[Mamil]

This was my third or fourth Houwhoek and an event I have always enjoyed.

 

The good .... the Paul Cluver trails on day one have always been great and it was really great to see how well they have been restored after the devastation of the fires. I look forward to them being opened to the public again.

 

The bad - The self seeding system is a disaster. The start on day 2 was shambolic with people not even bothering to line up at the start and joining the "fast" batch from the car park and then noodling nervously down the pass.

 

Day 1 I started at the back of medium to chat to a mate I hadn't seen in a while and it became a kind of interval session - hammer on the open sections of dirt road and vineyard dual track and then wait in queues on the singletrack.

 

There were a lot of e-bikes. Meh.

 

Overall I think this is a great event for beginner riders but I do think something needs to be done about the self seeding system.

 

Wow! What an awesome event....well organised...and really great routes with good variety of terrain.
Will be going back next year.
Your comments?

[wessie12]

This was my third or fourth Houwhoek and an event I have always enjoyed.

 

The good .... the Paul Cluver trails on day one have always been great and it was really great to see how well they have been restored after the devastation of the fires. I look forward to them being opened to the public again.

 

The bad - The self seeding system is a disaster. The start on day 2 was shambolic with people not even bothering to line up at the start and joining the "fast" batch from the car park and then noodling nervously down the pass.

 

Day 1 I started at the back of medium to chat to a mate I hadn't seen in a while and it became a kind of interval session - hammer on the open sections of dirt road and vineyard dual track and then wait in queues on the singletrack.

 

There were a lot of e-bikes. Meh.

 

Overall I think this is a great event for beginner riders but I do think something needs to be done about the self seeding system.

I started in the fast group both days, never had any issues. Especially day 2 was very fast. Great event

[aquaratza]

Largely agree with @ Mamil.

 

I joined some friends for this event. We took it easy as one of our riders was slow. The single track blockages/queues were a bit frustrating. You work hard, get up the hill and then come to a stop for a few minutes hahahaha. I feel like they needed some gating/buffering on difficult sections to improve the quality of the ride for everyone.

 

Some portions of the trail (on day 1 towards the end) disintegrated pretty badly/erosion.

 

I feel like a conservative ass for disliking the eBikes... but yeah. I can hear those motors working hard. I feel like the eBikes often allow people who haven't really worked to ride that event (and lack experience) the upper hand and then they clog up the trail. "Training" and then reaping the rewards of that training, for me, is a big part of why I ride. It feels amazing when you know *you* did it.

Edited May 6, 2019 by aquaratza

[Christie]

The trails were great, and it was good to see the effort and restoration work after the fire.

 

I started in medium on day1, was planning to take it easy as I have not cycled a lot this year. It turned out to be a mistake, as a lot of folks in the first two batches were much much slower than my easy pace. The congestion made the day less enjoyable, but it was not a race and people should have freedom to ride at a pace they can handle given the terrain. I agree, it seems a lot of people went for "fast" when seeding themselves.

Lots of ebikes. Some in the first two groups slowed to a crawl on the many singletrack sections. The trails were too tight for ebikes, or they lacked skills.

 

I saw a crash on those last switchbacks near the end - it sounded like a tree falling over, rider went way down the slope. He seemed to be ok, and rode to the finish.

 

I started in "fast" on day2. Got held up by the group that jumped in from the side after the hotel. It was notable how slow riders were going down the pass, which was relatively non technical - but once again, it was not a race. I saw an ebiker crash on one of the corners, think he just overcooked it.

 

The rest of the day was awesome - man those trails are magical! (more open roads early on helped spread the field and I upped my pace a bit, had nobody in front or behind me on most of the singletrack after wp1

Edited May 6, 2019 by Christie

[Mamil]

I also feel like an ass for disliking tje ebikes. I can't help the thought that they're cheating... i know they're not and when I'm too old to pedal I will defknitely get one but .... doesn't sit well with me.

 

I did feel good though when bombing past people on day 1 to hear someone mutter something about ebikes as I pedalled past.

 

 

 

Largely agree with @ Mamil.

 

I joined some friends for this event. We took it easy as one of our riders was slow. The single track blockages/queues were a bit frustrating. You work hard, get up the hill and then come to a stop for a few minutes hahahaha. I feel like they needed some gating/buffering on difficult sections to improve the quality of the ride for everyone.

 

Some portions of the trail (on day 1 towards the end) disintegrated pretty badly/erosion.

 

I feel like a conservative ass for disliking the eBikes... but yeah. I can hear those motors working hard. I feel like the eBikes often allow people who haven't really worked to ride that event (and lack experience) the upper hand and then they clog up the trail. "Training" and then reaping the rewards of that training, for me, is a big part of why I ride. It feels amazing when you know *you* did it.

[aquaratza]

ahahahaha, it seems to be the thing now if you bomb past someone they say (joke?) you're on an eBike  .

Edited May 6, 2019 by aquaratza