[Event] FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay

[Titleist]

guys ..... seriously ... it is a water point, not a Michelin star catering zone!

 

they market it as "fully stocked water points"

[Quagga]

New ownership friend.

Fully aware, and that also explains a lot

They want your money but dont care about you(Amateur)

Edited October 28, 2019 by Quagga

[Hairy]

Did you ride it?

Not this year, but previously yes

[Hairy]

The quality of this race has been steadily declining since 2015

2013 = fantastic, the cared for the amateur doing the 1st and 2nd race....2015 it became more about CEO's standing on the podium and waffle on for 30mins each.....Like I care jack about financial decision or my net worth while I am at a bike race. 

 

Then last year = "We are looking after the PRO's especially women in the 1st one" 

Midweek, = thanks for your money, now we pay nice prize money for the next week

3rd race = Pro's 

 

 

New ownership friend.

 

 

Fully aware, and that also explains a lot

They want your money but dont care about you(Amateur)

 

When W2W announced the new ownership many riders said pricing would go up and value would go down ... so clearly this has been the case.

[Quagga]

Not this year, but previously yes

I find their #seriousgees a joke.

 

There was MUCH more gees in 2013 and 2014 when they did still gave the amateurs recognition.

I remember my friends being on the podium every night and it was great.

 

Now it has become a money making / Pro's orientated race. Was my last one for sure

 

the standared of water table has gone down.

 

I am not asking for dried wors etc. But day 2 WP one had ONLY WW biscuits. banana bread, and water and coke. I ate nothing there.

 

Day 3 WP 2 and 3 were a bit better but still not up what we had years ago.

[aquaratza]

I find their #seriousgees a joke.

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Now it has become a money making / Pro's orientated race. Was my last one for sure

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I am not asking for dried wors etc. But day 2 WP one had ONLY WW biscuits. banana bread, and water and coke. I ate nothing there.

 

This was my first W2W and I got the feeling it was a bit of a money-making scheme. My friend and I had a great time because the trails ROCKED, man we loved the trails. I originally wasn't keen on the Day 2 "hamster wheel" but I think that was my favourite day now. Loved the forest trails. Huge diversity.

 

But, as Quagga said, the water points ran out of a few things. Sweets are the devil's work . Even though they've had bad weather in past years they didn't adaquately provision for it; walkways were trashed (bare mud), outdoor areas were unusable, public areas leaked. The trails were wrecked haha.

 

Despite the weather there was a shortage of brake pads; everyone was hunting around for brake pads, like people at a rave looking for drugs.

 

The "luxury" tents were funny - I got my pass off bikehub. The showers would run out of water. When they did work someone would open a tap and the showers would go from fine to burn hot or freezing cold. This happened countless times (lesson is to just not shower for a few hours...). It's camping, I get it, and it was fun, but for the price you pay it wasn't good. I couldn't believe people had paid R 7.7k (?) for that. The normal tents looked wet and wind swept. The luxury tents were fine, but I'm really glad I packed a sleeping bag (despite the tents being supplied with bedding).

 

Good points:

(1) The trails were *awesome*. The actual cycling was fantastic.

(2) Woolworths catering during breakfast, lunch and dinner was luxurious.

(3) The trails were very well marked.

(4) Staff and volunteers(?) were really friendly and just lovely.

 

There's a general sense of the event media concentrating solely on the pros. Commentators talk non-stop and insincerely punt sponsors - imagine being able to talk to your friends without shouting the whole time.

 

Lessons learnt:

(1) Stick to smaller events (like the Houw Hoek Cycle Tour)

(2) Don't stay at the venue, it's not worth it.

(3) Taking all manner of spares is not paranoia.

 

A luxury toilet:

 

Luxury showers:

 

Bag drop on day 1, before the wind swept away the gazebos:

 

A luxury tent:

 

Baptism of mud to get a bike mechanic:

 

I struggled to find info on the event beforehand, so hopefully some of this helps future n00bs like me ^

Edited October 29, 2019 by aquaratza

[DieselnDust]

This was my first W2W and I got the feeling it was a bit of a scam. My friend and I had a great time because the trails ROCKED, man we loved the trails. I originally wasn't keen on the Day 2 "hamster wheel" but I think that was my favourite day now. Loved the forest trails. Huge diversity.

 

But, as Quagga said, the water points ran out of a few things, baby potatoes - that's all I'm after. Sweets are the devil's work . Even though they've had bad weather in past years they didn't adaquately provision for it; walkways were trashed (bare mud), outdoor areas were unusable, public areas leaked. The trails were wrecked haha.

 

Despite the weather there was a shortage of brake pads; everyone was hunting around for brake pads, like people at a rave looking for drugs.

 

The "luxury" tents were funny - I got my pass off bikehub. The showers would run out of water. When they did work someone would open a tap and the showers would go from fine to burn hot or freezing cold. This happened countless times (lesson is to just not shower for a few hours...). I couldn't believe people had paid R 7.7k (?) for that. The normal tents looked like a refugee crisis- wet and wind swept. The luxury tents were fine, but I'm really glad I packed a sleeping bag (despite the tents being supplied with bedding).

 

Good points:

(1) The trails were *awesome*. The actual cycling was fantastic.

(2) Woolworths catering during breakfast, lunch and dinner was luxurious.

(3) The trails were very well marked.

 

There's a general sense of the event media concentrating solely on the pros. Commentators talk non-stop and insincerely punt sponsors - imagine being able to talk to your friends without shouting the whole time.

 

Lessons learnt:

(1) Stick to smaller events (like the Houw Hoek Cycle Tour)

(2) Don't stay at the venue, it's a rip off.

(3) Taking all manner of spares is not paranoia.

A luxury toilet:

20191027_053314.jpg

 

Luxury showers:

20191026_162517.jpg

 

Bag drop on day 1, before the wind swept away the gazebos:

DSC_0275.JPG

 

A luxury tent:

20191025_162853.jpg

 

 

 

I think the organisers need to hear this kind of honest feedback. Chapeau on completing the event and braving it out

[aquaratza]

I think the organisers need to hear this kind of honest feedback. Chapeau on completing the event and braving it out

Thanks man, we only decided to do it 2 weeks before the event ahahahahahaha 

[Links MTB]

I did my 4th W2W this weekend and the 1st one since the Epic guys took over. I enjoyed it and would be back again, but there are a few things worth mentioning.

 

Positives: Food was really great. Trails fantastic. Route marking top notch. Communication with riders and results were adequate and timeous. Amenities on par with other similar events.

 

Negatives: Organisers were surprisingly totally under-prepared for the weather! The start at Lourensford was disorganised and they seemed almost caught off-guard! At Oak Valley walkways were inadequate, not enough shelter / gazebo's and the tents are not designed for wet weather - they leaked and with the opening on the narrow side it was impossible to enter or exit in the rain without your bedding getting soaked. The "gees" in my opinion was not as good as previous years - for example what happened to the signature W2W theme song that they used to play prior to each batch's start?? Weeks afterwards the song would still bring back great memories of W2W - nothing like that anymore! I agree with others - the event does "feel" more corporate, or business-like.   

 

Whilst the idea of a ladies-focused event is great and justified, the implementation thereof imo need work. The organisers shouldn't loose sight of the fact that everyone paid the same entry fee, so you can't treat some as VIP's and the rest as if they are just there to make up the numbers, because that's honestly how it felt to me. 

[Marcv]

guys ..... seriously ... it is a water point, not a Michelin star catering zone!

Look I wasn’t expecting Michelin. Most of the other single day events I have done have had some borewors, pre cooked in a container. I would have been very happy with that.

[DieselnDust]

I did my 4th W2W this weekend and the 1st one since the Epic guys took over. I enjoyed it and would be back again, but there are a few things worth mentioning.

 

Positives: Food was really great. Trails fantastic. Route marking top notch. Communication with riders and results were adequate and timeous. Amenities on par with other similar events.

 

Negatives: Organisers were surprisingly totally under-prepared for the weather! The start at Lourensford was disorganised and they seemed almost caught off-guard! At Oak Valley walkways were inadequate, not enough shelter / gazebo's and the tents are not designed for wet weather - they leaked and with the opening on the narrow side it was impossible to enter or exit in the rain without your bedding getting soaked. The "gees" in my opinion was not as good as previous years - for example what happened to the signature W2W theme song that they used to play prior to each batch's start?? Weeks afterwards the song would still bring back great memories of W2W - nothing like that anymore! I agree with others - the event does "feel" more corporate, or business-like.   

 

Whilst the idea of a ladies-focused event is great and justified, the implementation thereof imo need work. The organisers shouldn't loose sight of the fact that everyone paid the same entry fee, so you can't treat some as VIP's and the rest as if they are just there to make up the numbers, because that's honestly how it felt to me.

 

#itsepic

[Nick]

Whilst the idea of a ladies-focused event is great and justified, the implementation thereof imo need work. The organisers shouldn't loose sight of the fact that everyone paid the same entry fee, so you can't treat some as VIP's and the rest as if they are just there to make up the numbers, because that's honestly how it felt to me. 

 

Same will happen with the men's racing this weekend too. Despite the hashtag, the midweek event is probably the only one with the #SeriousGees.

 

Maybe it's because ebikers are friendlier people 

 

Out of interest, where does this feeling come from? The dinner time presentation? The media coverage?

[Links MTB]

Out of interest, where does this feeling come from? The dinner time presentation? The media coverage?

 

Dinner time presentation - through what is said, how it is said and by giving almost zero recognition to the top three finishers in other categories.  

[Grease_Monkey]

Dinner time presentation - through what is said, how it is said and by giving almost zero recognition to the top three finishers in other categories.

Same happened last year. The guys that won the overall event were not even mentioned.

 

Like you said, nothing wrong with a ladies focused event - but it's just about how it's executed. Everyone pays the same to enter the event.

[DieselnDust]

Dinner time presentation - through what is said, how it is said and by giving almost zero recognition to the top three finishers in other categories.

 

But the men's and mixed categories compete at the Shiraz so there will be presentations there.

For the men and mixed categories the chardonnay and pintoge are fun rides.

doesn't seem fair but that's the way the competition is structured

[Grease_Monkey]

But the men's and mixed categories compete at the Shiraz so there will be presentations there.

For the men and mixed categories the chardonnay and pintoge are fun rides.

doesn't seem fair but that's the way the competition is structured

Yeah, but the ladies there aren't "ignored". I put it in hakkies because the men aren't ignored, there just seems to be a bigger effort not to mention men while this is not the case for ladies at the other events.

 

In any case, let me not stick my foot in here again (well any deeper in), I did last year and seemed to have the unpoppular opinion...

Edited October 28, 2019 by Grease_Monkey