Spur Schools MTB League

[Riamich]

Fighting for a sprint finish which ended in a blatant push from another cyclist causing a nasty ctash at the finish. Nothing wrong with fighting for the line but blatantly pushing another cyclists is disgusting

[ChrisF]

My son used to hate the Montana track. Said he did not like those little up and down bumps, and then for measure the wind used to be hectic, and it made the conditions dusty and unpleasant.

 

After last years horrid weather it took a lot to get Maritz to take part in this one .....  thankfully the weather was PERFECT this time round ! 

 

 

On Sunday morning Maritz asked if we could go back to Worcester as he wants to ride the trail again     The "trail" is perfectly fine for a "family ride" .....

 

 

It is a different beast when so many kids have to negotiate the same narrow and steep sections.

 

 

The Garmin computer stops timing each time the group stops ....  There is a full 2 minutes of stationary time when I compare the Garmin time to the event and video times. 

 

 

 

It certainly is "not ideal".  But the leaders had a good race, and the the rest (including Maritz) had a good learning experience.  Take your gaps where it is safe to do so, patience with other riders on narrow trails ..... dare I say the odd adult trail rider can do with some of these skills ...    

 

Even had a nice chat with Maritz as his buddy rides in the next group - though both are 8 years old the buddy's birthday is in December .... We chatted about their finishing positions, comparing their event times, even looking at last years performance .... honing the concept of "riding against yourself".   Dont get hung up on the race position, monitor your own progress ....

[ChrisF]

Fighting for a sprint finish which ended in a blatant push from another cyclist causing a nasty ctash at the finish. Nothing wrong with fighting for the line but blatantly pushing another cyclists is disgusting

 

which group was this ?    

 

If it was that blatant then the rider should lodge a protest as per rule 8.14, and the officials may impose a penalty for offences as listed in 8.15.   The possible penalties are listed in 8.13.  Refering to the SASC rules, as posted on the SPURT MTB website.

 

The rules are in place.  if riders and parents followed these rules to the letter, then such bumping and barging will quickly stop .... loosing a race results will effectively end a riders championship !!

 

 

 

 

PS - these rules makes a lot of sense for the "high schools" riders.  Just possibly "outside technical assistance" for the small riders may need some more thought .... trying to wrap my mind around the various factors for the 7 to 10 year old riders.  

Edited August 26, 2019 by ChrisF

[Skubarra]

My daughter did the sub-nipper race again. Have mixed feelings about the course, thought it was somewhat too tough for 7&8 year old girls, that said the majority of the little ones were "vets" of the previous 2 races and I was amazed at how bravely they soldiered on despite many biting back the tears! And then when your daughter finish the 2 laps and you see the sense of accomplishment she has after being forced outside of her comfort zone and being made to suffer then maybe the tough course was a good thing after all. (Of course I received a tongue lashing for telling her beforehand the route would be easy! Just a flat field next to the mall.... "Dad, you lied!!")

[Iwan Kemp]

It "felt" like a lot less kids than Bloemendal .....

 

But the sub-nipper boys were only  down from 105 to 88 participants.  The wide start DID help.

 

 

...

 

839 total entries vs 907 at Bloemendal

[dev null]

My daughter did the sub-nipper race again. Have mixed feelings about the course, thought it was somewhat too tough for 7&8 year old girls, that said the majority of the little ones were "vets" of the previous 2 races and I was amazed at how bravely they soldiered on despite many biting back the tears! And then when your daughter finish the 2 laps and you see the sense of accomplishment she has after being forced outside of her comfort zone and being made to suffer then maybe the tough course was a good thing after all. (Of course I received a tongue lashing for telling her beforehand the route would be easy! Just a flat field next to the mall.... "Dad, you lied!!")

 

Yes, that track is a biaatch with all those little steep bumps. You really need to carry speed to get over them, else it is stop halfway up, climb off and push your bike.

[Sbloomer]

My son was strangely off and was a few places down this leg, unlike my daughter who held her position.

 

Asking what was wrong, he said nothing, but he was out of the saddle a lot.  In pushing him, it turns out he never changed gears once.  He said "I forgot"!!         

Should buy him a bloody SS.

[Iwan Kemp]

Gauteng South #4 Images by Henk Neuhoff aka Tankman

 

https://www.facebook.com/SpurMTBLeague/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2501998206510522

[ChrisF]

My daughter did the sub-nipper race again. Have mixed feelings about the course, thought it was somewhat too tough for 7&8 year old girls, that said the majority of the little ones were "vets" of the previous 2 races and I was amazed at how bravely they soldiered on despite many biting back the tears! And then when your daughter finish the 2 laps and you see the sense of accomplishment she has after being forced outside of her comfort zone and being made to suffer then maybe the tough course was a good thing after all. (Of course I received a tongue lashing for telling her beforehand the route would be easy! Just a flat field next to the mall.... "Dad, you lied!!")

 

YES !

 

Saw the same with the little boys as well.

 

Some of them SUFFERED, but no way they were giving up !!

 

 

This is certainly a character building event in their lives. 

[ChrisF]

My son was strangely off and was a few places down this leg, unlike my daughter who held her position.

 

Asking what was wrong, he said nothing, but he was out of the saddle a lot.  In pushing him, it turns out he never changed gears once.  He said "I forgot"!!         

 

Should buy him a bloody SS.

 

Hiehie .... sorry ....

 

 

For months Maritz just could not get the concept of the gears sorted .... then one day he started using the right gear at the right time .... MAN, was I happy 

 

NOPE !!     Next event he completely forgot about the gears ...   

 

 

Couple of us dads were standing at those little hills behind the school fence.  Next to that U-turn followed by the steep hill ..... many of the kids would change gears, but all too many would change SMALLER at the back ... 

 

 

It was slightly better with the Nippers .... just slightly .... 

[ians H2Sport]

Things are going really well in most/all provinces right now with schools cycling. Whilst I fully agree that regulating schools cycling further could lead to schools adopting it as an official school sport, I hope it doesn't lose the fun factor.  

 

https://www.intocycling.co.za/exciting-developments-for-schools-cycling-in-south-africa/?fbclid=IwAR2QgI-5HehuBd31VCJNSPD9Cq3o5TYRyRkTO3CmYipgnvi_odkudJlL-IE

Edited August 27, 2019 by ians

[dev null]

My son was strangely off and was a few places down this leg, unlike my daughter who held her position.

 

Asking what was wrong, he said nothing, but he was out of the saddle a lot.  In pushing him, it turns out he never changed gears once.  He said "I forgot"!!         

 

Should buy him a bloody SS.

 

My younger son was the same when he started with his Spur races. Said it was too much effort to change gears.

[dev null]

Things are going really well in most/all provinces right now with schools cycling. Whilst I fully agree that regulating schools cycling further could lead to schools adopting it as an official school sport, I hope it doesn't lose the fun factor.  

 

https://www.intocycling.co.za/exciting-developments-for-schools-cycling-in-south-africa/?fbclid=IwAR2QgI-5HehuBd31VCJNSPD9Cq3o5TYRyRkTO3CmYipgnvi_odkudJlL-IE

 

 Many boys that gets shunned for selection to the top rugby teams in their schools because of racial quotas are now taking up cycling as a school sport. Let's just hope that quotas do not crop up when this is formalised. But, I just don't see how they can enforce it. It is not as if there is a limitation on the amount of participants in a team. What they can do however is to organise funding for kids that want to race but cannot afford it.

[Sbloomer]

Things are going really well in most/all provinces right now with schools cycling. Whilst I fully agree that regulating schools cycling further could lead to schools adopting it as an official school sport, I hope it doesn't lose the fun factor.  

 

https://www.intocycling.co.za/exciting-developments-for-schools-cycling-in-south-africa/?fbclid=IwAR2QgI-5HehuBd31VCJNSPD9Cq3o5TYRyRkTO3CmYipgnvi_odkudJlL-IE

 

What I am not seeing however, is road cycling mentioned at school level, or am I missing things?

[Milkman]

What I am not seeing however, is road cycling mentioned at school level, or am I missing things?

 

 

I think it's the safety thing ?

 

Looking at what happened this weekend again at the Bestmed Cansa race , road cycling in SA is becoming a really dangerous sport .

[Skubarra]

What I am not seeing however, is road cycling mentioned at school level, or am I missing things?

 

Personally would love to see road cycling becoming a school sport but I guess for practical reasons we will have to stick with mtb only? Just don't see how the safety & logistical issues can be overcome in the current environment. Luckily I don't think it's that hard to make the switch for young cyclists when they are slightly older?