Cape Town Cycle Tour 2020

[Fat Boab]

Re e-bikes and CTCT rules on batteries and speed cut-out etc...we all know that a number of the rules for all cyclists are essentially bound by an honour system as policing at the gates and on the course is difficult if not impossible. So whether you ride with tribars, do an unofficial substitution, ride with your mate's chip, have an unregulated ebike or are juiced to high heaven...most of the time you'll get away with it. And ultimately only cheat yourself... The more rules are developed to be enforced, the more expensive entry fees will become with extra PITA at the start pens.

 

As for the spirit of the CTCT day and love to all who embrace cycling... distill it down. Out on a training ride and you ate passed by either another cyclist or an ebiker, is your emotional response, if any, the same or different? I know what mine is and I don't quite understand why the word KUDOS passes through my mind in the first case and LAZY in the second... I thought I was more egalitarian than that but it turns out I'm not.

[Long Wheel Base]

AFAIK they use gun timing.

if not then i'm starting at the back of my group next time and klapping it up NMBlvd

https://www.runsociety.com/highlight/know-your-race-timing-difference-between-gun-time-and-chip-time-explained/

Whilst looking for you in the group at the start(but not being successful), I heard the announcer say the time starts at the gun so some of us will be stationary for a few official seconds.

[Chingy182]

My racetec results shows as 6 hours 19 minutes  when I rode a 4h45 on strava   

 

I shifted down from 2F to 4J.

Seems like I was recorded with 2F.

 

Still beat 4 others in the group...

 

Now for the fun part to query this with Racetec

[Equity]

I started in 6A (09:10)

As soon as we hit the freeway people where scattered all over the road, and there where no groups to speak of at all.

The E-bike group started passing me towards the end of Blue route at one hell of a speed.

Most of them carrying massive backpacks, but I guess that was to carry the spare batteries around.

 

Most of the E-bike guys where fine, but you did get the occasional (Rather large) lady trying to pass people up hills going twice the speed, and yelling rather loudly at anyone in her way.

Was not ideal at all in my opinion.

 

It rained hard up Chappies, and the wind down the other side was hectic. You really had to pay attention towards the end of the ride.

 

Most of the guys doing a second lap where cool, there where a few who took a massive ego boost by showing off to all us back markers and weaving in and around us slower guys.

 

my 53-39 front chaining didn't do me any favors on the day.

All the gear and no idea.

 

 

SO...Whats next?

[MORNE]

My racetec results shows as 6 hours 19 minutes  when I rode a 4h45 on strava   

 

I shifted down from 2F to 4J.

Seems like I was recorded with 2F.

 

Still beat 4 others in the group...

 

Now for the fun part to query this with Racetec

did a antie at the 4j start gate write your number down. you have to get recorded if you drop down to a lower group

[Robbie Stewart]

Which bunch was this?

 

A group of riders all wearing Velokhaya jerseys, riding Trek hard tails. They were riding like complete knobs, jostling and forcing folks out of the way. They came blasting past me on the descent to Edinburgh drive, and later I caught up to them again approaching Smitswinkel. They were brash and rude, and I threatened to mo3r one of them, and they then probably got the message, as I passed them as they pulled over to have a group p!ssing contest. Thankfully I never saw them again after that.

[UnclePolli]

having entered last year to just Shepard my 65 year old dad around for his second tour with his army buddies doing it for the last time i did in on condition that if

the weather looks good and i have a good start-group for the sub3 to be on, i would let them be and go for it.

As luck would have it the one could not make the journey from the lowveld, the other had a emergency knee op and a new girlfriend so it was just me and my dad.  Having

realized that i did not want to leave him alone and that the 1k startgroup with not so much training due to work the last 3 weeks i abandon the ambitions.

I would be the loco as he did not have time to train, its oestyd in the olifantsriver valley and there aint no time to ride a bike.  

The plan was simple, no time will be chased, i will be the loco and he will wiel suig.

We started in 5C and what a revelation this turned out to be, no group riding, no wheel sucking, no elbows out jockeying for position niks, nada.

We cruised down the m3 with a slight headwind in cpt terms, but i kept the pace easy and managed to nett a lot of fish in the process as the pace was not hot, but 

faster then doing it by-yourself in the wind when you start in the lower groups, i didnt mind as i just saw it as zone 2 base training.  

close to the M3 turnoff we passed a father (he looked like he could do a sub3) on a tandam with his 10 year old daughter and next to them was his 12 year old daughter 

on her own bike.I realized that this is what i want to do next year with my own kid.  As one hubber pointed out already, it should be a celebration of cycling and being

together with someone you love.  

We got a tailwind from smitswinkel all the way to noordhoek and a gustly side wind before the left turn to chappies, tailwind again allround, houtbay, suikerbossie and then 

some nasty side gusts descending into camps bay.  It was the best tour i have had, as there was no stress no concentration and blood filled eye balls bunch riding, dont

get dropped stuff it was relaxing and my best experience. ( i must add that fitness really helps).  The tailwind made it a lot easier up the climbs for the back markers with

some serious extra watts.

I noticed the ebikes passing us at oceanview and from then at regular intervals looking like they where having afternoon tea, but not threaded though the field like 

the other cyclists that believed they where done in by their seeding groups, tjops will be tjops and there were 10 when i stopped counting.  keep right and pass when safe.

It also blows my mind that when you dont have road closures cyclists are well behaved keeping to the yellow line most of the time giving other ample place to pass.  What

baffles me is when you have full road closure 3 cyclists get it right to block the entire 2xlanes from others trying to pass on the right.  The normal stopping in the middle

of the road etc was there, but not at higher speed places and i sort of anticipated that.  Having read about the crashes etc of where i normally would also jokey for position

i think from now on, ill stick to the fun-ride world champs in 5C.  There where some second lappers that came though, but all passed right and behaved admirably.

 

To the gentleman in the redbull action sports helmet and tank top that accidentally drop his empty bar wrapper on smitswinkel and that i asked politely to pick it up. He stopped

immediately, picked it up and came riding past saying thank you as he did not see it without the normal abusive language and behavior, you sir embody the spirit of the event.

[i24]

LOL, looks like a guy from 6C managed to do a 2:39. E-bikes for the win!

I don't think this is what the organizers where planning on when they opened the CTCT to e-bikes.

 

Policing power, electronic limiters, batteries etc is probably beyond the organizers. But maybe they could just "cap" the times published for e-bikes. If an e-bike goes faster than the cape time, say 4:30, Racetec publish the time the as 4:30. This will tame some of the motivation for multiple batteries and high power settings.

 

On the other hand, we could also just have a dedicated "e-bike tour" (must have live streaming) - move over MotorGP :clap:

[Equity]

E-bikes where all supposed to start in the last group

[sluiper]

I really don't care about e-bikes being allowed: it's a fun ride for most people and I can really see the utility of allowing people who, due to some physical disability or age, would not be able to complete the ride on a normal bike. I can even see myself doing the same in 20 or 30 years' time from now when I'm too old but still want to be part of the festivities.

 

What does grind me, however, is people who use e-bikes to "race" (not even sure what or who they're racing). If it costs more to police e-bikes, the cost of e-bike entries should be increased to cover that cost. Again, if I was old/infirm enough to need an e-bike and wanted to participate, I wouldn't have a problem paying more to ensure the majority of people aren't inconvenienced by a very small minority of inconsiderate people. 

 

Somehow it also takes something away from the accomplishment of completing the ride when you know for R40K more you could train less and just buy yourself a time. I've seen the sense of accomplishment many recreational riders get from riding 109km and it's a bit sad that this is now diminished. 

 

E-bikes are here to stay, whether we like it or not, and people who ride them actually contribute to the sport of cycling. Hopefully we come up with better solutions in the future to ensure everyone can enjoy the most beautiful ride in the world.

 

 

Re e-bikes and CTCT rules on batteries and speed cut-out etc...we all know that a number of the rules for all cyclists are essentially bound by an honour system as policing at the gates and on the course is difficult if not impossible. So whether you ride with tribars, do an unofficial substitution, ride with your mate's chip, have an unregulated ebike or are juiced to high heaven...most of the time you'll get away with it. And ultimately only cheat yourself... The more rules are developed to be enforced, the more expensive entry fees will become with extra PITA at the start pens.

As for the spirit of the CTCT day and love to all who embrace cycling... distill it down. Out on a training ride and you ate passed by either another cyclist or an ebiker, is your emotional response, if any, the same or different? I know what mine is and I don't quite understand why the word KUDOS passes through my mind in the first case and LAZY in the second... I thought I was more egalitarian than that but it turns out I'm not.

[Groadie]

I started at 8:08 and rode about 5:30 tour (which was a reasonable time for me).

 

- I got passed by LOTS of e-bikes. Assuming they started at 9:30 they would have ridden about 4 hours.

 

- Most e-bike riders were courteous but a few were more "assertive".

 

- Near the end going round Camps Bay, the e-bikes were motoring. I suspect the riders had spare energy left and cranked up the power levels to consume what was left in their batteries.

 

- There is no obvious speed limiting device on many of the E-bikes. Many were going 35 or 40km/h.

 

- It is weird when someone passes you up a hill, calmly pedaling with cadence of 40/min while you busing your guts.

 

- Most e-bikes were dik wheeled MTB's but there was the guy with drop bars cutting through the traffic at an impressive speed.

 

Clearly even E-bike riders are keen on improving their time. Next year we will see more efficient bikes with bigger batteries and sporting electronics. Ultimately the guy with the biggest battery is going to get the fastest time (potentially faster than the wining pro). If I was writing the rules for the event, I would set a maximum mass for batteries (fitted and spares) and ban getting additional batteries from crew on route. Then set that mass so that riders have to pace their power to achieve a time of say 4 to 5 hours. This will keep e-bikes as an option to those with reason to ride them but not upset pure cyclists competing in their own race.

 

E-bikes should get different colored cycle boards, different rider numbers, different medals (if any) and e-bike rides should be "counted" separately from pure rides. Start chutes should be policed to keep e-bikes out of the pure cycle chutes. But pure cycles should have the option of dropping back and riding with friends and family on e-bikes.

The eBikes aren't timed (no race chips registered for them).

Anyone can enter the ebike category (in the past you needed special permission to ride on one; normally for medical reasons).

There is no perfect place for the ebikes to start becuase they are quick uphill; quick into the wind; but slow (relatively speaking) on the flats.

Most ebikes only have enough battery for one loop - but its a close call form most ebikes on a 109km range.

Good idea about different numbers as a differentiator.

As long as you get your medal, why worry about theirs? They are not official finishers (as they have no official time). 

The Cycle Tour is a celebration of cycling. There are always going to be safety issues from all segments of riders. Its a lot of people going around the Peninsula and there will always be idiots . But the majority are fun-loving folk who just enjoy the day out (racing or not). 

[Long Wheel Base]

 

having entered last year to just Shepard my 65 year old dad around for his second tour with his army buddies doing it for the last time i did in on condition that if

the weather looks good and i have a good start-group for the sub3 to be on, i would let them be and go for it.

As luck would have it the one could not make the journey from the lowveld, the other had a emergency knee op and a new girlfriend so it was just me and my dad.  Having

realized that i did not want to leave him alone and that the 1k startgroup with not so much training due to work the last 3 weeks i abandon the ambitions.

I would be the loco as he did not have time to train, its oestyd in the olifantsriver valley and there aint no time to ride a bike.  

The plan was simple, no time will be chased, i will be the loco and he will wiel suig.

We started in 5C and what a revelation this turned out to be, no group riding, no wheel sucking, no elbows out jockeying for position niks, nada.

We cruised down the m3 with a slight headwind in cpt terms, but i kept the pace easy and managed to nett a lot of fish in the process as the pace was not hot, but 

faster then doing it by-yourself in the wind when you start in the lower groups, i didnt mind as i just saw it as zone 2 base training.  

close to the M3 turnoff we passed a father (he looked like he could do a sub3) on a tandam with his 10 year old daughter and next to them was his 12 year old daughter 

on her own bike.I realized that this is what i want to do next year with my own kid.  As one hubber pointed out already, it should be a celebration of cycling and being

together with someone you love.  

We got a tailwind from smitswinkel all the way to noordhoek and a gustly side wind before the left turn to chappies, tailwind again allround, houtbay, suikerbossie and then 

some nasty side gusts descending into camps bay.  It was the best tour i have had, as there was no stress no concentration and blood filled eye balls bunch riding, dont

get dropped stuff it was relaxing and my best experience. ( i must add that fitness really helps).  The tailwind made it a lot easier up the climbs for the back markers with

some serious extra watts.

I noticed the ebikes passing us at oceanview and from then at regular intervals looking like they where having afternoon tea, but not threaded though the field like 

the other cyclists that believed they where done in by their seeding groups, tjops will be tjops and there were 10 when i stopped counting.  keep right and pass when safe.

It also blows my mind that when you dont have road closures cyclists are well behaved keeping to the yellow line most of the time giving other ample place to pass.  What

baffles me is when you have full road closure 3 cyclists get it right to block the entire 2xlanes from others trying to pass on the right.  The normal stopping in the middle

of the road etc was there, but not at higher speed places and i sort of anticipated that.  Having read about the crashes etc of where i normally would also jokey for position

i think from now on, ill stick to the fun-ride world champs in 5C.  There where some second lappers that came though, but all passed right and behaved admirably.

 

To the gentleman in the redbull action sports helmet and tank top that accidentally drop his empty bar wrapper on smitswinkel and that i asked politely to pick it up. He stopped

immediately, picked it up and came riding past saying thank you as he did not see it without the normal abusive language and behavior, you sir embody the spirit of the event.

 

I started on the back of the tandem with my toppie, after a few years I went onto the single but still rode with him as our seedings were similar. Then somewhere in the middle I decided to "race" it but soon realised that I was only able to do it a few min faster than my toppie. Then in 2012 we got back onto the tandem together and I don't really care what time we do, I just love racing with my toppie. We have smashed a few sub 3s together and that just made it even better. So, don't give it a second thought, do it with your kids and even better if your Dad can join and have 3 generations!!!!

 

BTW, nice post in general!!!!

[DJR]

I started on the back of the tandem with my toppie, after a few years I went onto the single but still rode with him as our seedings were similar. Then somewhere in the middle I decided to "race" it but soon realised that I was only able to do it a few min faster than my toppie. Then in 2012 we got back onto the tandem together and I don't really care what time we do, I just love racing with my toppie. We have smashed a few sub 3s together and that just made it even better. So, don't give it a second thought, do it with your kids and even better if your Dad can join and have 3 generations!!!!

 

BTW, nice post in general!!!!

100% with what LWB says.

[HdB]

Lekker man. I think I remember you. Were you on a green Cannondale?

 

 

Bright green Scott Foil, wore my Club 21 shirt ????

[UnclePolli]

I started on the back of the tandem with my toppie, after a few years I went onto the single but still rode with him as our seedings were similar. Then somewhere in the middle I decided to "race" it but soon realised that I was only able to do it a few min faster than my toppie. Then in 2012 we got back onto the tandem together and I don't really care what time we do, I just love racing with my toppie. We have smashed a few sub 3s together and that just made it even better. So, don't give it a second thought, do it with your kids and even better if your Dad can join and have 3 generations!!!!

 

BTW, nice post in general!!!!

 

Already in the planning.  3 generations it will be !!

[Chingy182]

did a antie at the 4j start gate write your number down. you have to get recorded if you drop down to a lower group

Yes, I got recorded as I entered at the gate.