Attakwas 2020

[Stevovo]

Oh yeah! What a destroyer...bikes and bodies. Well done to all survivors of the 2020 edition.

 

My ride:

Started easy at the back of the batch. Went well for the first part with damp dustless roads and a tailwind in the kloof. Whoo hoo! Atta youre a brease. Aaaand then it got wetter and the puddles started to appear and oh my goodness those wilderness downhills... bomskok when I reached the bottom. When youre in, theres no exit...white knuckle, neck braking stuff with a dusting of slippery mud. Had a bit of arm pump grabbing those brakes as hard as possible but it felt as if I was just going faster.

 

Survived that and then past waterpoint 3 the gravel roads showed that it actually rained a bit more than the guys from Dryland and the the weather apps wanted us to know beforehand. What trickery! Never did it get sticky but when you hit the downhills you get the lekker muddy water spray in the eye and try to guage speed, the possibility of sliding out on the next corner and the best line through the puddles with 2% vision was dodgy. And geese was that last climbs steep with tired legs. Allways wondered why go smaller than 36 with eagle gearing...now I know. Oh and I think there was a mother headwind from waterpoint 3 or was it from the start...cant remember anymore...everything blurred together. Goodness 122kms are far in the western cape. Respect that beast I say and update that hashtag Dryland! #hellofthesouthwithweatherfromthenorth

 

Enough time has passed since going over the finish line to start forgetting the pain. Short memory we endurance athletes have, hey? 10000 things could go wrong on a day like that and none really did go wrong for me so Im happy with the result. Not a day for PBs and records as even the pros showed with their times. I did ride 7 mins faster than my 2014 time with great weather on a 26er HT. So maybe Ill give sub six a go in 2026.????

 

Gonna remember this one for years to come.

 

Oh and I have to mention I swapped my rear tyre Maxxis Aspen for a Vittoria Barzo on friday evening and I think that influenced my raced in many ways. Didnt slip on the climbs and helped a lot with the slippery descends. Dont think rolling resistance was on anyones radar.

 

Where can we get race photos. Need to frame these with my medal????

Edited January 21, 2020 by Stevovo

[W Smith]

I see why Christoph Sauser rates Attakwas after the Cape Town Cycle Tour(The Argus) as the second 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. 

 

Fixed it for you .Thank me later .

[Roneblack46]

Single speeder by heart. Quick race report:

First Attakwas. Decided to really represent the SS brigade and wore a pink Hawaiian shirt. Decided on 34/20. Started in A batch and had a good first 45km. Conditions were cool but dry and quite a stiff headwind from the get go. Then headed up to the Attakwas kloof and everything changed. Just before WP2 I took a wrong line at a strong flowing river crossing. OTB and swimming. Not my finest moment. Then I to the Attakwas and it was already muddy and wet. Traction was a constant battle between balancing weight on the back wheel and keeping momentum as every power stroke caused the Ikon at the back to slip out. The geared riders were also struggling in their 50 cogs. The descent out of Attakwas was hairy and knarly with muddy slippery rocks everywhere. Was super cautious down here. Hit 60km in 3.5hours and thought I was on for a 7 hour finish time. The heavens opened proper and the wind was probably a good 40km/h from the front. The forest roads were brutal with regular views of 17%+ gradients on my Garmin. The surface was muddy with slosh and maintaining traction was a nightmare. Third gear was used where ever possible. Conditions worsened and the last 30km was where I was litterally bleeding out of my eyeballs. But sucked it up - enjoyed every moment of it and ended in 7:51. Definitely my hardest day on bike. Bring on Attakwas 2021.

[babse]

Was this you?

That looks pretty ainah... Well done on dripping yourself off and pushing on.

['Dale]

Hawaiian ???? oraait

Eish

[Roneblack46]

Was this you?

That looks pretty ainah... Well done on dripping yourself off and pushing on.

Not my finest moment - I am sure I saw a beer between those rocks‍♂

[Stevovo]

Whens the entries opening

[Stevovo]

Single speeder by heart. Quick race report:

First Attakwas. Decided to really represent the SS brigade and wore a pink Hawaiian shirt. Decided on 34/20. Started in A batch and had a good first 45km. Conditions were cool but dry and quite a stiff headwind from the get go. Then headed up to the Attakwas kloof and everything changed. Just before WP2 I took a wrong line at a strong flowing river crossing. OTB and swimming. Not my finest moment. Then I to the Attakwas and it was already muddy and wet. Traction was a constant battle between balancing weight on the back wheel and keeping momentum as every power stroke caused the Ikon at the back to slip out. The geared riders were also struggling in their 50 cogs. The descent out of Attakwas was hairy and knarly with muddy slippery rocks everywhere. Was super cautious down here. Hit 60km in 3.5hours and thought I was on for a 7 hour finish time. The heavens opened proper and the wind was probably a good 40km/h from the front. The forest roads were brutal with regular views of 17%+ gradients on my Garmin. The surface was muddy with slosh and maintaining traction was a nightmare. Third gear was used where ever possible. Conditions worsened and the last 30km was where I was litterally bleeding out of my eyeballs. But sucked it up - enjoyed every moment of it and ended in 7:51. Definitely my hardest day on bike. Bring on Attakwas 2021.

 

Kudus on finishing it on a ss. You deserve a special medal.

[Jocklaw]

I was right behind you - it was spectacular! Made my mind up to wade across, glad you're ok, as it looked sore!

Single speeder by heart. Quick race report:
First Attakwas. Decided to really represent the SS brigade and wore a pink Hawaiian shirt. Decided on 34/20. Started in A batch and had a good first 45km. Conditions were cool but dry and quite a stiff headwind from the get go. Then headed up to the Attakwas kloof and everything changed. Just before WP2 I took a wrong line at a strong flowing river crossing. OTB and swimming. Not my finest moment. Then I to the Attakwas and it was already muddy and wet. Traction was a constant battle between balancing weight on the back wheel and keeping momentum as every power stroke caused the Ikon at the back to slip out. The geared riders were also struggling in their 50 cogs. The descent out of Attakwas was hairy and knarly with muddy slippery rocks everywhere. Was super cautious down here. Hit 60km in 3.5hours and thought I was on for a 7 hour finish time. The heavens opened proper and the wind was probably a good 40km/h from the front. The forest roads were brutal with regular views of 17%+ gradients on my Garmin. The surface was muddy with slosh and maintaining traction was a nightmare. Third gear was used where ever possible. Conditions worsened and the last 30km was where I was litterally bleeding out of my eyeballs. But sucked it up - enjoyed every moment of it and ended in 7:51. Definitely my hardest day on bike. Bring on Attakwas 2021.

[Roneblack46]

Luckily only a bruised ego. Other than a small scrape on the knee and some bruising on my left palm I was lucky to evade any injury. Was totally soaked and a bit concerned of going into the Attakwas cold and wet in those conditions. Fortunately it started raining shortly thereafter so everyone was in the same boat - wet and cold.

[BSG]

Yesterday Dryland fetched their last trailers etc from Pine Creek and on the back of the Hilux was 2 Scott full suspension bikes but the one especially caught my eye, front wheel buckled like mad, then I saw that about 6 (could've been less or more) spokes were snapped. The rider must've came down really really hard. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about the rider of mentioned Scott?