[Event] 2019 PPA Sportive # 3

[Pedal Power Association]

Event Name: 2019 PPA Sportive # 3
When: 31 March 2019
Where: Simonsvlei Winery, Western Cape
Category: Road

This is a wonderful opportunity to get up, get out and get active with your friends and family. If you've done it before, why not challenge yourself to a PB. If it's your first time, you're in for a treat!

Registration will take place on Sunday, 31 March 2019 from 05h45 at Simonsvlei Winery.

97 km start at 076h00

38 km start at 07h30

 

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

From the start at the Simonsvlei Winery, the route will take you towards Stellenbosch and over Helshoogte. You will pedal past the Wemmershoek dam and through the back of Paarl towards Wellington before returning via the R44 to finish shortly after the Suid-Agterpaarl road on the R101. (Can we make this more appealing?)

The 97 km route will have 3 water points and the 38 km route will have 1 water point.

 

MORE ABOUT THE SPORTIVE SERIES

 

This series of fun rides is aimed at all cyclists, from beginners to experienced riders, and offers the perfect platform if you want to keep fit riding road events throughout the year, improving your times and setting a new personal bests.

 

If you’re brave enough to take on the challenge of the longer routes, the series is a great test for endurance and stamina … and needless to say, completing all the events will be a great source of personal achievement.

 

No pressure though! Each one is also a standalone event, so you don’t have to enter all in the Sportive Series.

 

Following this event, there will be four events remaining, spread throughout the year:

 

PPA Sportive #4: 28 April, Windmeul winery (91km/38km)

PPA Sportive #5: 9 June, Perdeberg winery (109km/39km)

PPA Sportive #6: 29 Sept, Simonsvlei wine estate (Distances TBC)

PPA Sportive #7: 13 Oct, Perdeberg winery (109km/39km)

PPA Sportive #8: 1 Dec, Simonsvlei wine (Distances TBC)

 

DIRECTIONS TO THE VENUE

Follow the N1 to the R44. Take exit 47 from the N1. Turn left onto the R101. The venue will be on your right hand side in 6.2 km.

 

GPS Co-ordinates:

Latitude: -33.894066

Longitude: 18.5368146,11

 

NOTES

Remember to wear your PPA road fun ride number.

No children u/16 on the 97 km route.

Kids between 8 and 14 must be accompanied by an adult at all times on the 38 km route.

 

ONLINE ENTRIES

Distance - 97km

Entry fee - R375

PPA members’ discounted entry fee - R275

 

Distance - 38km

Entry fee - R175

PPA members’ discounted entry fee - R125

Go to Event Page

[Frail. "Will forever remain "Frail"]

Bump

Who is Going?

[UnclePolli]

As there has been no post on this after yesterday, it either means the Epic guys are still in recovery mode or the rest does not want to be associated with a PPA event. 

 

As per normal standards the origination was top notch - i dreaded the stand in the q to get your sticker, but to my supprise the PPA ladies were walking around asking if you have yours yet in the parking lot.  Wow 2sec later i got my E for eject number.

 

From my last prediction i knew the consequences and was hoping to hang on till that little klap muts bump.  I got ejected 5 meters before the top when the redline ref counter went into emergency shutdown procedure.  The rest of our ejected CDE picked me up shortly after that and they disappeared again into the sunrise when my chain decided to try and eat my rear wheels spokes up hels hoogste that 1st little kick in the beginning.  This was entirely attributed to me trying to force a gear that my cassette just physically dont have, but i still tried by all my might.  I suspect an over tightening of the skewer (for fear of losing a rear wheel on the hels descent) threw my limit skrew out by that 1 mm too far.

 

I got going again and latched onto the voorbokke of F-H and from hels to finish being strung into single file due to some 3 team riders in blue and pink (some aluminum works) kit being the main enforcers in toe with with a gent in cycle technik kit and a Canonndale tattoo doing the damage.  I felt sorry for him when he dropped his chain 10km before the end as it was certainly not deserving for all the time he spend on the front.  I did my normal 3-4 turns up front for ethical reasons and came home.

 

At the finish line water station i was met with well done stay wider of the rider chirp by a tall fellow which had 4 water bottles on his bike.  I remembered him also being in our little group.  As he walked away i realized it was the MAN himself.  That legendary creature that only finished his ride this morning at 00h15 doing 230km odd for the day.  The sportif was the first start of his journey.  RESPECT. 

 

Pros:

Marshaling/ foot solders and bikes/robots etc.

Event PPA knows how to do this in their sleep by now

Great turnout of cyclists

 

Cons:

1.My usual rant about people starting in the front of the group and then get dropped 500m further while sitting 2 abreast accepting their fate.  While the rest have to duck and dive to get past on the ouside both offroad and onroad.  keep left, single file until the group has gone please.

2.The craft beer with the citrus undertone - i love bitter bear and PA, stouts etc, but this tasted like someone threw in old vrot wyn into that beer barrel.  im sorry

3.The person on the short route with her mountain bike - you should not do a U turn after the timing mat when there are 6 people sprinting for position 230.  Please check your rear view mirrors before you do as per K53 learners.

 

o man i just posted a report on a PPA race  .  living bravely today.

[Starchboy]

Yesterday, I was recovering form a batchelor's party when I set off on my recovery ride. I passed the stragglers on the R44 as they were heading to the finish line and I think they all looked better than I felt. Lots of respect to the group pulling children in carts all the way around, that must have been hard work.

[milky4130]

As there has been no post on this after yesterday, it either means the Epic guys are still in recovery mode or the rest does not want to be associated with a PPA event. 

Or some people just couldn't be bothered to post on the hub. Some will only come here to sell & buy or report a stolen bike.

[andre_ct]

Everything went smooth yesterday. Enjoyed the event.

I was concerned that there was no marshal at the paarl circle controlling traffic from the right as we entered. Luckily the bakkie slowed down for us.

 

My first ride with A guys, starting in A-B but I got spat out going up helshoogte...as expected though. Joined into lead C-E bunch after about 45km until the finish.

 

Who was taking photos along the route?

[JohanDiv]

I was out on a training ride with the Mtb.. on my way back to Paarl, just outside Wellington, I passed a guy doing this race.. it was around 12:00, so I assume he was having a tough old day on the bike.. told him to sit in my slip and gave him a wheel to suck up to the 4 way stop towards Windmeul. I turned left towards Paarl, and he asked me with tears in his eyes if he still needs to go straight up that hill. Shame I felt his pain, we all had those days before.

 

The marshals were at the 4 way stop 06:30 when I went pass there earlier, but they were already gone by 12:00 when he got there.. shouldn't they wait until the last rider and sweeper vehicle come by?

[MDJ]

Awesome event, the sticker system with roaming ladies seemed to work very well! I started in C-E, which is becoming less intimidating each time I line up. The starting pace was quite moderate with the only thing exploding seeming to be people's bikes! I saw three bikes self destruct in the first few km's, one poor lady's drive train literally exploded at about 3kms - I got hit by one of the flying bits, followed by the obligatory cursing you'd expect, luckily no injuries.

 

The Simonsvlei sportif route is definitely one of my favorites, especially the section through Stellenbosch over Helshoogte through Pniel and into Franschoek, I could ride that road every weekend . My race was great overall, I went in with tired legs from the previous day's riding so was merely looking to enjoy the event and have a 'fun ride'. 

 

Thanks to PPA and everyone for organizing. The bike marshal for our group did a really great job - keeping cyclist safe and also waving cars to pass, thus avoiding frustration. Looking forward to the next one .

[Bonker]

Enjoyed the event. It was my first time riding the route so I didn't know what to expect. It went well though and I felt strong. I forgot my timing chip at home so there's no record of what I thought  was a respectable time for me. 

 

I promised I'd remember the race number of a rider from A-B who dropped back to help his father finish (and also carried a bunch of us for a while), but I forgot. Shout out to that dude! I tried to do my bit-  also more for ethical reasons than anything else.

 

Overall the event ran smoothly. Very well marshalled. My only annoyance was the driving habits of a few cyclist/drivers on the way to the event. Look forward to the rest of the series.      

[Skubarra]

Enjoyed the event. It was my first time riding the route so I didn't know what to expect. It went well though and I felt strong. I forgot my timing chip at home so there's no record of what I thought  was a respectable time for me. 

 

I promised I'd remember the race number of a rider from A-B who dropped back to help his father finish (and also carried a bunch of us for a while), but I forgot. Shout out to that dude! I tried to do my bit-  also more for ethical reasons than anything else.

 

Overall the event ran smoothly. Very well marshalled. My only annoyance was the driving habits of a few cyclist/drivers on the way to the event. Look forward to the rest of the series.      

 

If you recorded your ride on Strava or similar you can try sending your result to PPA and ask if they will record it for you

[Bonker]

If you recorded your ride on Strava or similar you can try sending your result to PPA and ask if they will record it for you

Cool thanks! I did have it recorded on my Garmin. I'll give them a shout.

[TrekSLR]

So a week of good preparation went somewhat down the drain with a short night of 4 hours sleep and a bloated stomach from not so wise food choices the night before. What was I thinking?! So after skipping breakfast completely I showed up at the starting line with my group, I-K. 

 

As we jumped away I sat with about the first 12 guys rotating profusely with my heartbeat colouring the charts red. They were pumping along at 40k/h. I asked myself wft are these guys doing?! Am I the only one not warmed up?! Then, after hanging at number 6 for a while I turned around and suddenly realized I was in the breakaway and the main bunch was only but a spec disappearing in the distance. Yippee I thought but then quickly realized I was in way over my head as my lungs came looking for air in my throat. Is this pace going to settle down anytime soon, and if so when, is there an objective here or are we all just trying to get away from satan as quickly as possible? So I opted to do the sensible thing and sat up for the main bunch.

Once neatly tucked in the calm safety of numbers I started feeling frustrated. My natural pace is 28-32k and these guys were doing 22 and I ended up pulling for several kilometers at a time even after adamantly offering the space up to any takers. These guys are biding their time, I thought. 

 

Anyway I then saw two guys come screaming past, C-E and L-O and myself being sufficiently warmed up, tremendously overconfident, and defiant of my "unhelpful" group buzzed off on the trail of the two muscle bound chasers. We blazed along at 35, 38, 40, 45 and at some point I wondered whether i made the right decision to latch on to these guys, but it was too late now. I-K were long forgotten when ripped up Helshoogte at 21 and down the other side at 60 odd. The pace was wicked but it was fun. I wasn't sure how long I was going to keep up but I was impressed. Number C was doing most of the pulling for his buddy in L and I was streaming behind like a sticky toffee wrapper. I didn't even have time to look where we were going. All I was given the opportunity to do was observe the wheel in front of me.

 

These two guys were executing a brilliant plan and they were methodical about it, and they obviously had the strength to carry it out. As we caught up with a bunch they'd sit up for a few minutes, eat, drink, check in with each other and then just at the moment when I'm not yet recovered at all, they'd put the hammer down again chasing ahead with me hanging on for dear life. They did this repeatedly, each time using a group to feed and each time we dropped a bunch no-one bothered keeping up. At times they'd glance around at me as if puzzled by my determination. I'm sure by this time they could see by my body language that this wasn't the usual Sunday pace for me. I made it known that I wasn't going to be of much help in front. The kind of damage i would do in front would not benefit any of us.

 

At an hour and half into the race, while these guys were on a racing/feeding frenzy I haven't eaten anything yet. I simply could not stomach anything and each time I tried to force myself I would nauseate! I wasn't sure whether this was from bad takeout the night before or whether these guys were riding me into puking mode but my stomach did not feel ok so I figured I was under the weather slightly. By this time I had about 4 sips of energy drink - against my will, and perhaps 2 sips of water - also against my will. 

 

We eventually caught up with a bunch of C riders. At this point the dynamic changed completely for me. These C guys were not to be shaken so easily and they muddled with my precariously balanced energy management and rhythm severely. I now no longer had the single purpose of latching onto the wheel in front but had to deal the with the constant acceleration and deceleration that comes with riding with a bunch. And each time someone new goes to the front the pace was fresh. Things got erratic very quickly and on one of the smallest hills, perhaps even a bump, i lost the wheel in front of me and watched it stretch away. It was the last wheel. Slowly and surely the gap grew. I frantically tried gearing up, gearing down, standing out the saddle, even brute force, but nothing helped and in a few seconds i would hear the birds chirping, and the crickets cricketing in the fresh farmland air. I was alone. Not a rider in front, not a rider behind. Just me and the R301. And the crickets. And birds. Tar

 

I turned my ride computer to show distance (because I prefer that hidden on the ride) and what an utter disappointment it was! It showed I've only completed 53k. It felt like I've been in the saddle for a day! 

 

So on I went churning out my normal pace - 32k. I was still doing ok. Surprisingly. It felt like hours. I still could not eat. I knew my glucose had to run out at some point but I was not going to think about it too much. I tried another swig of energy drink -but no.

After several decades F-H showed up and I was once again amidst the familiar purring of drivetrains and wheels. It could have been at the 65k mark but i'm not sure. The pace was doable, but i started to fade and they eventually spat me out on a small bump. 

 

Eventually I-K showed up with about 10k to go. I recognized them, the gear, the faces. I wondered if they recognised me too. I hoped they didn't. I remember being impatient with them. They all looked so fresh. Then I faded from them too as they spat me out on an even smaller bump. I was now churning at 22k. I still had nothing to eat. My legs were starting to ache and I was alone again. 

 

I started to question whether cycling is really for me. Perhaps I should just give it up. Perhaps I'm too old for it now. Maybe I must just stop exercising altogether. I questioned my purpose in life. Why the hell would I be doing this to myself? I feel like sh*t. I wished for a puncture so I can just have a reason to stop. No such luck! This is definitely going to be a race I will not talk about - ever. 

 

I eventually crossed the line at 3h13 and cursed the people who made me ride another 5k to my car. I imagined them sitting somewhere under a gazebo all morning having drinks and coffee in the shade. 

In the hospitality center I sat on the grass. Broken. Defeated. My stomach still aching. My lungs felt aerated from the activity. It felt good. My legs were engorged with blood and I could feel every muscle. It felt good. I listened to the people around me share their ride tales with excitement. It felt better. I decided to attempt eating again and took an energy bar from my back pocket and let it melt in my mouth - too tired to chew. It felt even better. My girlfriend arrived and after heaving myself off the grass we started towards the car. I started telling about the breakaway and the hectic pace, and the wheel in front and my tongue hanging out all the way. Basically everything I wrote above - but all the way home. And then suddenly I couldn't wait to do it again.

 

But those two blokes, Mr C-E and Mr L-O, jislaaik, whoever you are, you are awesome. I won't mind riding with you again.

Edited April 2, 2019 by TrekSLR

[Frail. "Will forever remain "Frail"]

 

At the finish line water station i was met with well done stay wider of the rider chirp by a tall fellow which had 4 water bottles on his bike.  I remembered him also being in our little group.  As he walked away i realized it was the MAN himself.  That legendary creature that only finished his ride this morning at 00h15 doing 230km odd for the day.  The sportif was the first start of his journey.  RESPECT. 

Hello UnclePolli

Correction I did 53Km to the Event, arrived at 06H00 (that is not included in my 502km).

 

I have just arrived back at home Thanks to a Kind Soul who gave me a Lift from Durbanville. Monday @23H30, 502Km in 28H22, moving time over 40H00.

I am Finnished.

Thank You for your Kind words

Edited April 2, 2019 by F.R.A.I.L. -K

[Frail. "Will forever remain "Frail"]

Roll On next Sportive.

Cant wait.