I didn't finish the Epic because.....and the after effects

[sometime]

I saw lots of people on the prologue who just didnt look as if they would cope. Barely able to ride a mountain bike and not very strong looking. It would be interesting to know how many of them finished it.

 

I made a note of 4 teams like that during a short 20 mins of watching the prologue on TV. Only 1 of those 4 teams finished

[arendoog]

I think he meant looks while riding the bike. Like the poeople walking the "tech" sections on the prologue...Those "drops" can't be higher than 20 or 30cm...fail.

I finished Epic 2019 yesterday.No Crashes .Only really sore legs .Some riders surprized me many times in their good and bad abilities .Very few are good at everything .Biggest mistake imo is trying to ride everything all the time .I trained to have a strong core and that really helps if you stand and climb and with those treacherous long descents .Without the necessary skills to ride switchbacks and fast singletrack descents you can have a disasterous end on many places .A friend,s epic ended on day 3 at a spot where he rode and i semi walked

[Jewbacca]

I get what you are saying, BUT. If you are at the level of riding such a massively strenuous race like the epic you would expect people to have enough technical skill to ride the basic obstacles. I saw the same when i rode W2W a few years back. I race knows to have singletrack. People simply were not prepared even to ride a switchback. That descent on the prologue should not even feature for these guys. Look we're never debating the top people here. They're better than all of us in every respect, but the average joe epic rider. Go for a few skills lessons too like Julien advertised and make the totality of the experience better. BTW, my "riding preference" is to ride uphill and down and be competent on both. So no prejudice here. I just think people doing a race like this should be better prepared to ride stuff you could teach a total beginner to ride in 1 day.

Also, what's with the sudden fetish with using my real name? I mean I don't mind, but it's like you're trying to achieve "something" by it?

hahaha 'fetish' is a bit strong there tiger.... That was so no-one calls you David again. (Or whatever)

 

Reign it in a bit. I'm not disputing the fact that it's embarrassing. Just that those 20-30cm 'drops' wouldn't be my first concern when watching a lot of these guys on the prologue.

[slickjay007]

I finished Epic 2019 yesterday.No Crashes .Only really sore legs .Some riders surprized me many times in their good and bad abilities .Very few are good at everything .Biggest mistake imo is trying to ride everything all the time .I trained to have a strong core and that really helps if you stand and climb and with those treacherous long descents .Without the necessary skills to ride switchbacks and fast singletrack descents you can have a disasterous end on many places .A friend,s epic ended on day 3 at a spot where he rode and i semi walked

 

Kuods for finishing! 

[Thermophage]

hahaha 'fetish' is a bit strong there tiger.... That was so no-one calls you David again. (Or whatever)

 

Reign it in a bit. I'm not disputing the fact that it's embarrassing. Just that those 20-30cm 'drops' wouldn't be my first concern when watching a lot of these guys on the prologue.

Hahahah nothing wrong with a lil fetish

My point I guess it that those should not be an issue for riders of this caliber...even the tail gunn...enders. Meh. wanna ride bikes. hero dirt today!

[Headshot]

I finished Epic 2019 yesterday.No Crashes .Only really sore legs .Some riders surprized me many times in their good and bad abilities .Very few are good at everything .Biggest mistake imo is trying to ride everything all the time .I trained to have a strong core and that really helps if you stand and climb and with those treacherous long descents .Without the necessary skills to ride switchbacks and fast singletrack descents you can have a disasterous end on many places .A friend,s epic ended on day 3 at a spot where he rode and i semi walked

Well done, it looked like a tough event this year!

 

I think that  discretion rather than balls to the wall is the better way to ride the Epic if that enables you to finish. What I do find very odd is how people idolize Nino, Hatherley, Beers and co a for their fortitude and stamina but don't bother trying to upskill themselves to be more complete riders like they clearly are. With the more advanced geo that many marathon and XC bikes now have, gaining those skills has become more accessible and its also huge fun. The better you can ride, the more confident you are and the less energy you use anyway. 

 

I watched about 20 riders cross a rocky section of prologue. Only two looked like they had an idea of how to ride over a small kicker of a rock and land both wheels together. The majority either avoided it completely or were like sacks of potatoes - no weight shift, rolled the thing with the back wheel and saddle kicking into the air Do that faster over a bigger obstacle and you're over the bars...

[Jewbacca]

Hahahah nothing wrong with a lil fetish

My point I guess it that those should not be an issue for riders of this caliber...even the tail gunn...enders. Meh. wanna ride bikes. hero dirt today!

Ha!

 

Hopefully the wind doesn't turn the trails into a dust bowl by the time I leave work this evening!

[Rapunzel]

Last year I bombed out the queen stage with the tummy bug that was doing the rounds (finished last 3 days on blue board, imodium and fat reserves ). Even the best laid out plans can be dashed.

[Paul Ruinaard]

Its a funny race. You spend so much time, effort and money to get there that the last thing you want to do is have to bail because of a fall so you become ultra conservative and start to hesitate and walk things you cna normally ride. I saw it on the last day. Stuff you would normally ace you get hesitant on...

[AfricaMike]

I remember that race in 2006 - that rain was unreal - local bike shop in Jhb sending brake pads to the middle of nowhere by speed-courier....but it was also the motivation to get into shape and just do it.  For all semi-serious MTB'ers the ACE has to be experienced if you can find a sponsor (no chance I'll ever pay R100k to enter a race!).

 

Its' not an easy race - whether Knysna to CT or the more recent clover-leaf style it still remains Epic - and it needs to stay that way. 

 

The biggest change I've noticed over the last decade or so is the rapid growth in foreigners entering the event (and a even quicker decline in self-funded Saffers!).  I think a lot of the foreigners find SA (and Epic) good value for money and grossly underestimate the difficulty of the technical riding that is required to have a good ride.  Some foreigners that I witnessed are there simply because they've got money to burn and should never have been on the start line in the first place. However, being a backmarker doesn't have to be an 8-day sufferfest if you prepare correctly...

[SwissVan]

Starting to sound like a when we thread

????

Let me tell you.... when I did it.... nearly died on the 3 last die due to stomach bug

[SwissVan]

Will never eat a Woolworths food pack sandwich again....

[Dirkitech]

Will never eat a Woolworths food pack sandwich again....

What happened SwissVan? I'm guessing it wasn't a frog, some bacteria maybe?

[mrcg]

I think the better thread to start would be: how to prepare for the Epic correctly. Maybe for three/four different rider types e.g. beginner/unfit to experienced/fit. More to tell those poor delusional souls who think riding 7days of hard track (climbing) and quite a lot of technical stuff sounds like a fun outing.

I still think each to their own and "anyone" can finish the Epic - but some will definitely suffer badly and even experience horrific aftereffects. But if you want to pay for that.....

[SwissVan]

What happened SwissVan? I'm guessing it wasn't a frog, some bacteria maybe?

I was green just like a frog ????

[arendoog]

I think the better thread to start would be: how to prepare for the Epic correctly. Maybe for three/four different rider types e.g. beginner/unfit to experienced/fit. More to tell those poor delusional souls who think riding 7days of hard track (climbing) and quite a lot of technical stuff sounds like a fun outing.

I still think each to their own and "anyone" can finish the Epic - but some will definitely suffer badly and even experience horrific aftereffects. But if you want to pay for that.....

I think the better thread to start would be: how to prepare for the Epic correctly. Maybe for three/four different rider types e.g. beginner/unfit to experienced/fit. More to tell those poor delusional souls who think riding 7days of hard track (climbing) and quite a lot of technical stuff sounds like a fun outing.

I still think each to their own and "anyone" can finish the Epic - but some will definitely suffer badly and even experience horrific aftereffects. But if you want to pay for that.....

There is a big difference between myself ,at194cm tall and weighing a100kg and a 160cm tall rider, weighing 65kg going down a steep switchback and drop off.I am convinced John Smit does not ride every tight switchback with a cliff on the far side .All the riders were capable .Some just have more to lose when they get hurt ,and that keeps your ego in place