[Event] 24Hours Of Oak Valley

[Shebeen]

My butt regrets the fact that I said this!

 

(Well, my butt, my feet, my wrists, my chicken wings, my knees, my hands, my lower back ... )

Bummed to have missed it (pun intended), well done again.

 

Meurant, 2022 can not come soon enough.

[Velouria]

How mad was that first lap!! 

It was crazy. Everyone is ready to race - we'd all been tapering for ages and then BOOM.

 

Your rational brain is yelling at you to slow down, as is your HRM showing some scary numbers, and yet your irrational brain just wants to hurt everyone. "MORE POWER!!!".

 

It took me 4 hours to settle down and find my rhythm - I was quite a fragile wreck until that happened!

[PhilipV]

I had a Rollercoaster weekend.

We had a lekker camp, lekker crew of solos, a lekker braai and lekker riding.

We had a sidebet going on, burger and beer to the rider with the most laps. I lost our 2019 Total Kms Burger and Beer bet by many country miles, so I wanted this one.

I did three laps, kuiered a bit with my family who came to visit, and then another two before dinner.

After our braai I silently kitted up, put my bike to one side, and while everyone was chatting made a duck for it and went riding alone. And then I didn't stop until 2Am. It was beaulas. This was my favourite stint of the race. I went to bed on 9 laps.

After breakfast it was 5 more laps, the last of which I rode with Dane for a while. Well until he dropped me (he came past me many times over the weekend) anyway. I jumped into the top dam with the PRG Laaities, cooling off and then returned home.

My 14 laps was enough to win me a bet, with Jakkals on 13, Grease Monkey on 12, Hansolo on 11 and CJ Van 10. It was lekker, I never felt out of my depth, the granny was always slow enough and the downhills was fast enough to satisfy. Two years to do it again seems very far away.

 

It was at 5pm on Sunday when my wheels came off. I started vomiting and had the runs. I thought it was from dehydration and fatigue. At 2am on Monday morning my wife found me flat on my back in the bath room and forced me to go to the ER. Fortunately even my green triage got attended to quickly, and I got put on a drip with some drugs. I had the most amazing sleep on that thin bed, and when the blood work returned it showed I had a viral infection and was a bit dehydrated. Luckily the doc listened to her clinical instincts and didn't just treat me for sports induced dehydration. She reckons I'm in for a rough couple of days until the bug is out, but at least she prescribed me some good stuff to make my life slightly easier.

Edited February 3, 2020 by PhilipV

[PhilipV]

Oh and adding JK'S and the climb afterwards was a stroke of genius by Meurant, a stroke of genius laced with sadism.

[Velouria]

I had a Rollercoaster weekend.

We had a lekker camp, lekker crew of solos, a lekker braai and lekker riding.

We had a sidebet going on, burger and beer to the rider with the most laps. I lost our 2019 Total Kms Burger and Beer bet by many country miles, so I wanted this one.

I did three laps, kuiered a bit with my family who came to visit, and then another two before dinner.

After our braai I silently kitted up, put my bike to one side, and while everyone was chatting made a duck for it and went riding alone. And then I didn't stop until 2Am. It was beaulas. This was my favourite stint of the race. I went to bed on 9 laps.

After breakfast it was 5 more laps, the last of which I rode with Dane for a while. Well until he dropped me (he came past me many times over the weekend) anyway. I jumped into the top dam with the PRG Laaities, cooling off and then returned home.

My 14 laps was enough to win me a bet, with Jakkals on 13, Grease Monkey on 12, Hansolo on 11 and CJ Van 10. It was lekker, I never felt out of my depth, the granny was always slow enough and the downhills was fast enough to satisfy. Two years to do it again seems very far away.

 

It was at 5pm on Sunday when my wheels came off. I started vomiting and had the runs. I thought it was from dehydration and fatigue. At 2am on Monday morning my wife found me flat on my back in the bath room and forced me to go to the ER. Fortunately even my green triage got attended to quickly, and I got put on a drip with some drugs. I had the most amazing sleep on that thin bed, and when the blood work returned it showed I had a viral infection and was a bit dehydrated. Luckily the doc listened to her clinical instincts and didn't just treat me for sports induced dehydration. She reckons I'm in for a rough couple of days until the bug is out, but at least she prescribed me some good stuff to make my life slightly easier.

Yoh Flippie - that story took a sudden turn. I hope you're doing ok now.

 

And thanks for many chats we had in the wee hours - although I didn't quite know how to take it when you said "I expected to catch you a lot quicker" when you passed me towards the end of Vissie's Magic.

 

And well done on winning the bet - no matter what anyone says, we're always racing for something

[Karman de Lange]

some photo's up

 

https://www.facebook.com/chris.hitchcock1/media_set?set=a.10156909894998963&type=3

[DieselnDust]

I had a Rollercoaster weekend.

We had a lekker camp, lekker crew of solos, a lekker braai and lekker riding.

We had a sidebet going on, burger and beer to the rider with the most laps. I lost our 2019 Total Kms Burger and Beer bet by many country miles, so I wanted this one.

I did three laps, kuiered a bit with my family who came to visit, and then another two before dinner.

After our braai I silently kitted up, put my bike to one side, and while everyone was chatting made a duck for it and went riding alone. And then I didn't stop until 2Am. It was beaulas. This was my favourite stint of the race. I went to bed on 9 laps.

After breakfast it was 5 more laps, the last of which I rode with Dane for a while. Well until he dropped me (he came past me many times over the weekend) anyway. I jumped into the top dam with the PRG Laaities, cooling off and then returned home.

My 14 laps was enough to win me a bet, with Jakkals on 13, Grease Monkey on 12, Hansolo on 11 and CJ Van 10. It was lekker, I never felt out of my depth, the granny was always slow enough and the downhills was fast enough to satisfy. Two years to do it again seems very far away.

 

It was at 5pm on Sunday when my wheels came off. I started vomiting and had the runs. I thought it was from dehydration and fatigue. At 2am on Monday morning my wife found me flat on my back in the bath room and forced me to go to the ER. Fortunately even my green triage got attended to quickly, and I got put on a drip with some drugs. I had the most amazing sleep on that thin bed, and when the blood work returned it showed I had a viral infection and was a bit dehydrated. Luckily the doc listened to her clinical instincts and didn't just treat me for sports induced dehydration. She reckons I'm in for a rough couple of days until the bug is out, but at least she prescribed me some good stuff to make my life slightly easier.

 

 

Good going. 14 laps is some serious riding and a monumental effort in that heat.

I managed one more mostly because I went to bed thrice.

first time after lap 3 because I was totally cooked by the heat

then again around 7 when I supposed to be fitting lights

and at midnight when I thought "lets just rest the head on a pillow for a moment......that turned into 5hrs. (rough week in the office)

 

the course was superb. Hell of a tough lap. Most weekend warriors would be buried in the beer after just 1 lap.

Can't wait till 2022 in the mean time I need a trip to Utah to find a shamen who can teach rain dances........could have used a sprinkle at noon on Saturday

[PhilipV]

Yoh Flippie - that story took a sudden turn. I hope you're doing ok now.

 

And thanks for many chats we had in the wee hours - although I didn't quite know how to take it when you said "I expected to catch you a lot quicker" when you passed me towards the end of Vissie's Magic.

 

 

You were going down Vissie's quite a bit faster than I assumed you would. You know what they say about assumptions....

[NC_lurker]

It took me 4 hours to settle down and find my rhythm - I was quite a fragile wreck until that happened!

Out of interest, what did you eat during the event?

 

I always struggle when it's hot to eat, even when having long leisurely breaks like I did.

I can't comprehend how you're able to keep yourself fueled sufficiently for such a mammoth effort!

[hansolo]

Ouch, luckily you could get sorted and no long term damage! I feel surprisingly good afterwards, suppose I had more in reserve and I'll have to see what the Krampus is capable of in 2022 (if it's still around). I do think I overcompensate on hydration and nutrition.

 

Slight correction, I did manage to do 12 laps...

 

 

 

 

 

I had a Rollercoaster weekend.
We had a lekker camp, lekker crew of solos, a lekker braai and lekker riding.
We had a sidebet going on, burger and beer to the rider with the most laps. I lost our 2019 Total Kms Burger and Beer bet by many country miles, so I wanted this one.
I did three laps, kuiered a bit with my family who came to visit, and then another two before dinner.
After our braai I silently kitted up, put my bike to one side, and while everyone was chatting made a duck for it and went riding alone. And then I didn't stop until 2Am. It was beaulas. This was my favourite stint of the race. I went to bed on 9 laps.
After breakfast it was 5 more laps, the last of which I rode with Dane for a while. Well until he dropped me (he came past me many times over the weekend) anyway. I jumped into the top dam with the PRG Laaities, cooling off and then returned home.
My 14 laps was enough to win me a bet, with Jakkals on 13, Grease Monkey on 12, Hansolo on 11 and CJ Van 10. It was lekker, I never felt out of my depth, the granny was always slow enough and the downhills was fast enough to satisfy. Two years to do it again seems very far away.

It was at 5pm on Sunday when my wheels came off. I started vomiting and had the runs. I thought it was from dehydration and fatigue. At 2am on Monday morning my wife found me flat on my back in the bath room and forced me to go to the ER. Fortunately even my green triage got attended to quickly, and I got put on a drip with some drugs. I had the most amazing sleep on that thin bed, and when the blood work returned it showed I had a viral infection and was a bit dehydrated. Luckily the doc listened to her clinical instincts and didn't just treat me for sports induced dehydration. She reckons I'm in for a rough couple of days until the bug is out, but at least she prescribed me some good stuff to make my life slightly easier.

[Shebeen]

Good going. 14 laps is some serious riding and a monumental effort in that heat.

I managed one more mostly because I went to bed thrice.

first time after lap 3 because I was totally cooked by the heat

then again around 7 when I supposed to be fitting lights

and at midnight when I thought "lets just rest the head on a pillow for a moment......that turned into 5hrs. (rough week in the office)

 

the course was superb. Hell of a tough lap. Most weekend warriors would be buried in the beer after just 1 lap.

Can't wait till 2022 in the mean time I need a trip to Utah to find a shamen who can teach rain dances........could have used a sprinkle at noon on Saturday

suppose now is a good time to ask that question.

 

 

2 years ago it was moved to april and okes moaned that it clashed with 36One.

 

i'd prefer a milder date, boland in jan/feb is oven crisp conditions

AND gives more night time.

[NC_lurker]

i'd prefer a milder date, boland in jan/feb is oven crisp conditions

AND gives more night time.

I'd definitely support that, the 2018 event in April worked far better for me from a heat perspective.

 

I guess with the format of the event allowing you to choose when to ride (excluding the racing machines of course) the risk of heat related casualties are maybe lower than during a normal event, so reduces the concern around time of year.

 

Regardless, great event organising by Meurant and his crew as always.

 

Late Sat afternoon I mentioned to Meurant that a section of the singletrack climb was being damaged by water from a damaged water furrow next to the track. An hour or so later it was all fixed up, really impressive response.

[Grease_Monkey]

Great event, well organised! Well done Meurant and team! My only complaint is that I have to wait until 2022 to do it again.

 

I had a good ride, but not quite as many laps as I would have liked. I started off with little sleep on Friday after a rough week at work - so my strategy going in was to do one opening lap and then sleep for a few hours and put in the hard laps late afternoon and evening. That strategy went out the window from the first second. PhilipV, Jakkals, CJVan, Hansolo, and myself did 2 opening laps together - the heat was brutal, but the excitement was high, so after a quick stop to refuel I went out for a third lap - that was my first mistake. The heat did a number on me and I was already quite low on hydration. 

 

After lap 3 I tried to sleep, but no luck, and after sitting around for a while decided to go out for another 2 laps with CJVan - little bit less heat, but still on the warm side. At this point I was quite sleepy, but it was braai time. I took a quick shower - felt like a new person, and we sat around the fire until about 9:30. 

 

We then started getting ready, was waiting around for the guys to get ready when we noticed PhilipV was gone - we thought he had gone for a PRD, but the sneaky bugger pulled a race move and went out for a solo ride - he clearly wanted to win the side bet!

Jakkals and myself started pedalling again around 10, went out for 2 laps, our tally now sitting at 7. At this point I felt amazing, I had plans to do at least another 3 laps before going to sleep, but when we were refuelling for lap 3 of the evening the tiredness hit me very hard. On the 3rd lap I bonked HARD - took a tactical chunder at the end of the lap in Fountain of Youth, and decided to call it quits and go to sleep. Got back to camp, and proceeded to throw up a cocktail of energy bars, bananas, and steak - felt pretty terrible, but fell asleep straight away after a quick shower.

 

At this point PhilipV had not yet gotten in from his night ride, and I knew I'd be at least one lap behind him in the morning, possibly 2. 

 

I woke up around 6, with 3 hours of sleep. The tally at that point:

 

PhilipV - 9 

Jakkals - 8

Myself - 8

CJVan (battery failure and a trail run too much that week) - 7

Hansolo - 7

 

I knew the chances of catching up at this point was slim to none, so my goal was just to make 12 laps and get that silver medal. 

Jakkals and myself went out for 2 laps, quick refuel, and then another. Now around 10AM it was starting to get very hot, and I don't do well in the heat. I went back to camp, and Jakkals did another lap. PhilipV was also out on the trail, putting in the hard laps in the heat on his big trail bike.

 

Jakkals and CJVan circled back to camp for me, and we did our final lap, finishing just after 12. 

 

That put the final tally at:

14 for PhilipV (On a Giant Trance with slow rolling tyres),

13 for Jakkals (On a Giant Trance with slow rolling tyres and flat pedals),

12 for me, and Hansolo (and that on a rigid bike - kudos!),

CJVan on 10 (Try not cancel yourself on a trail run 2 days before the event next time)

 

My money was on CJVan for the win, but it seems Philip's competitive racing side came out for the victory. 

 

All said and done, it was an awesome weeked, lekker camping, better company!

 

Hats of to the sharp end of the race, you guys are not human!

Edited February 4, 2020 by Grease_Monkey

[Velouria]

Out of interest, what did you eat during the event?

 

I always struggle when it's hot to eat, even when having long leisurely breaks like I did.

I can't comprehend how you're able to keep yourself fueled sufficiently for such a mammoth effort!

 

This was what I took to OakValley in 2017 (I didn't have a photo from this year, but it's mostly the same). 

 

I started off eating quite well, but after about 8 hours switched to mostly fluids. Coke, Mountain Dew, and Enduren. I couldn't stomach the chocolate milk, and I lost all interest in the jelly babies.

 

Towards the end as the race was heating up, I popped some gels.

 

My theory is to take enough stuff that should you have a craving you're ok, and you never quite know what's going to work.

 

My 5 year old son thinks bike racing is the greatest thing ever, because I came home with so many snacks!

[PhilipV]

This was what I took to OakValley in 2017 (I didn't have a photo from this year, but it's mostly the same).

IMG-20170126-WA0004.jpeg

 

I started off eating quite well, but after about 8 hours switched to mostly fluids. Coke, Mountain Dew, and Enduren. I couldn't stomach the chocolate milk, and I lost all interest in the jelly babies.

 

Towards the end as the race was heating up, I popped some gels.

 

My theory is to take enough stuff that should you have a craving you're ok, and you never quite know what's going to work.

 

My 5 year old son thinks bike racing is the greatest thing ever, because I came home with so many snacks!

I’m pretty sure a dietitian somewhere just choked on his whole wheat and avo toast sarmie after seeing that healthy spread.

[NC_lurker]

My theory is to take enough stuff that should you have a craving you're ok, and you never quite know what's going to work.

 

My 5 year old son thinks bike racing is the greatest thing ever, because I came home with so many snacks!

Thanks for sharing, that's a serious selection!

 

I tried to take a large selection to hopefully have something that I'd feel like. But looks like additional variety in drinks is in order!