Attakwas 2020

[BSG]

I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. Took is easy for the first 30 and that allowed me to finish in 9.15 without too much suffering.

 

Slippery and treacherous mud slowed everybody down and I think many riders tumbled.

 

I thought sub 9 was on with 30 to go but then someone put hills in the way. Grootbrak ... the only sea level town you get to by going uphill.

 

Entry fee is worth it for the seamless organisation of the event. This is not just another mtb event and I will be back next year for sure.

Grootbrak ... the only sea level town you get to by going uphill.

 

Haha that's why I always say that if one lives in Groot Brak it doesn't matter which way you go for cycling, everywhere you point the wheels to, start with a climb.

['Dale]

I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. Took is easy for the first 30 and that allowed me to finish in 9.15 without too much suffering.

 

Slippery and treacherous mud slowed everybody down and I think many riders tumbled.

 

I thought sub 9 was on with 30 to go but then someone put hills in the way. Grootbrak ... the only sea level town you get to by going uphill.

 

Entry fee is worth it for the seamless organisation of the event. This is not just another mtb event and I will be back next year for sure.

Chapeau, Mamil ????????‍♀️

[Andrew_Smith]

Chapeau to everyone who completed the brutal Attakwas 2020!

[aiyaaz]

Well done to all finishers! Was a first for 6 of us that took to start line and what an experience...

 

Was cold, windy, wet and very muddy but was still worth every bit of effort and penny that went into getting ourselves to the start line.

 

The organisation of this event is absolutely top top class. I was super impressed by this aspect. The water points were just perfect with staff that made the route through easier for for us. Very well done to Dryland Event Management. Will definitely return for this one.

[taito]

One thing is that Dryland knows how to run an event.Their water tables are so well stocked and friendly helpers always.

Even in that crazy weather they were so prepared.

 

The rider numbers seemed a bit down but that must have been the weather.

 

After 8 rides this year was the worst weather by far.

[Mamil]

At my desk waiting for my first appointments of the day the following 

 

1. ATTAKWAS BABY!!!

2. I f@#@king love mountain biking

3. I feel invincible this morning

4. A memory of looking at my legs on one of the climbs and realising that I was covered in mud from head to foot. The 50s are amazing!

[Slowbee]

Ag common, where are the ride reports!

 

[W Smith]

But lets talk about the really important stuff. How disappointing was that goodie bag? Not even a t-shirt this year. Granted you could buy one, but at R350 a pop? For that entry fee I expected more quite frankly. 

Read the report of Warrenlee and you will understand where the money goes  It is costly to arrange for effective medical care and water points over such a vast distance in such a remote area .If every entrant gets a free t shirt the organizers my have to cut the costs of important services mentioned herein above and that my dear friend , may be to  your detriment  the next time that you ride the event .

[Skubarra]

I see why Christoph Sauser rates Attakwas the toughest single stage race in the world. Its brutal. Unfortunately I got to 75km before disaster struck. By derailer hanger snapped and in doing so wrecked my derailer. Race over. To be forced to quit when I was feeling so strong is not an easy thing to deal with. Walked a few km before being picked up by medical team at taken to WP. Amazing care there as by that time during the walk the cold had set in. Warm blanket, coffee and food. Didn't make me feel better about being out the race but at least I was comfortable. Amazingly well organised event! Im not done with this bugger of a race. 2021 Il be back and ready for more abuse. 

 

Tough break Warren! Surviving the rocky technical terrain only to have a hanger break on the district roads (not an Eagle NX by any chance  ). mtb'ing can be a cruel sport some days

[Headshot]

Last year also did not have a t shirt in the goodie bag. When the entry fee bridged the R1k mark, I just could not justify entering again this year Just too expensive. I still wonder why the fee went up that much though. Barberton classic is next week at below R500 entry fee for the ultra...

Its R1000 plus the travel cost and accomodation.

 

Add the cost of a drivetrain replacement after riding in the wet grit for 70km to that price. I did 12km at Tokai in the rain this weekend and that was enough.

 

Kudos to all who competed and completed!

[BuffsVintageBikes]

I see why Christoph Sauser rates Attakwas the toughest single stage race in the world. Its brutal. Unfortunately I got to 75km before disaster struck. By derailer hanger snapped and in doing so wrecked my derailer. Race over. To be forced to quit when I was feeling so strong is not an easy thing to deal with. Walked a few km before being picked up by medical team at taken to WP. Amazing care there as by that time during the walk the cold had set in. Warm blanket, coffee and food. Didn't make me feel better about being out the race but at least I was comfortable. Amazingly well organised event! Im not done with this bugger of a race. 2021 Il be back and ready for more abuse. 

 

Was there no chance of just converting it to a single speed to get to the finish?

[babse]

Some feedback from my 2nd Attakwas experience...

 

Managed to secure a entry thru some kind hubber. Then also managed to get a car transfer from another hubber and friend. LEGENDS!

 

Booked accommodation very very close to the finish in Grootbrak (skeptical whether this was a good decision or not because of the early morning drive to start).

Rain continuously from Friday afternoon till Sunday morning when i checked-out. Early drive thru to start/car transfer location on Saturday morning. The drop off was swift and hassle free. Cycled thru to start was needed as i hadn't managed to do a ride at all on Friday. 

 

After an emergency toilet stop at the start, went off in A batch.

Start was very hot at the front of A and after 30mins at 190bpm i realized this wasn't the smartest idea and waved the front guys goodbye. 

Managed to get into a decent steady pace until things got slippery climbing up Attakwas kloof. Rain started lightly but fell consistently from about 50km mark till the finish. Descending was very tricky as rain caused some proper mud to to form. 

JOC rider went down hard just in front of me but i think he managed to swallow rocks and soldier on.

 

The 10km after WP3 was the hardest section of the route for me. Massive headwind up those climbs. I was solo and slowly started to contemplate life at this point. Groads were soaked and mud bath it was for the last 40. Lost complete pressure in rear shock so HT it was on the last stretch.

Got caught by a rider who motivated me to hold on his wheel. Worked well and even managed to finish off relatively strong, passing quite a few blown riders in the last 20kms. 

 

Stopped the clock on 6:25. Okay'ish considering conditions.

2min mission back to AirBnB was the best part as all i wanted was to crash under a hot shower. Cant imagine having to drive back to Oudtshoorn after that ride.

 

Kudos to Dryland, this event is run proper. They really do know how to run the show and that's probably what you pay for. 

Overall it is probably is an expensive trip but definitely worth the experience!

[Skubarra]

Will try not to turn this into a seeding rant only, but starting in the back of the field when you are chasing a time is pretty frustrating, every climb in the first 70km you are stuck in a slow moving line. Always fighting for a gap on the jeep track to pass without being a total ass to fellow riders. 

 

Conditions were fine until the KOM where we started encountering mud & rain. Either my tires are too worn out or they are just not suited for mud but the downhill after the KOM was a nightmare for me. Riding the mud was like skating on a soap floor. Had a nasty tumble & roll halfway down when my backwheel just swiped out under me (even managed to break one of my shoes & my Tygerberg bikeboard - a first for me). Took the rest of the downhill veeerrrry slowly.

 

The last 50km was better but the mud made it hard to make up time, going up steep climbs you have your back wheel spinning out in mud & going down you have mud & rain blinding you while trying to avoid slippery mud patches throwing you off your bike. Stopped at every waterpoint to clean my glasses & lube the chains to have at least 300 meters of riding where I can see & not hear my bike squeaking.

 

Missed the sub-7 by 5 minutes, tempting to blame the 2,5km that was added to the route    but glad they cut out that singletrack after WP4 that would have been a swamp of black mud. As others said, the race is very well organised so well done Dryland! 

['Dale]

Geez

Well done @babse @Skubarra (what’s the verdict on the slippery slope situation? Tyre choice confirmed or tyre pressure?)

 

Respect ✌????

Edited January 20, 2020 by 'Dale

[babse]

Geez

Well done @babse @Skubarra (what’s the verdict on the slippery slope situation? Tyre choice confirmed or tyre pressure?)

 

Respect ✌

Nah i think just conditions on the day made it tricky. With the variation of terrain over this course you would of compromised some part of the ride if you had gone with bulky, low pressured rubber...

 

Hindsight, i wouldn't have gone in any other way.

Last year i ran slightly lower pressures and suffered with 2 punctures (rocky terrain in first half can be very tricky). 

Part of Mountain Biking i take it 

[LuckyLuke]

It was slippery as hell from we started climbing the KOM and the desent from there to bonidale was like soap. I had race kings front and back. haha...some adventure. Tried for sub 7 but the wind from bonidale was too strong. Ended up doing a 7:18. Just could not see anything anymore from the last waterpoint.