947 Ride Joburg 25km/55km MTB

[Veshanp]

So I was hearing alot of complaints on the day of the 25km race that the event was way too hilly especially for "newbies" just wanted to find out what everyone else that raced it thought about the whole race as a whole

[Gr3mlin131]

I actually enjoyed the hills and more technical terain they included this year in the 25km, not just endless dirt roads. But if you were not fit enough it could be a long day out with some of the climbs. 400 odd meters over the 25km is a bit of climing, especially if the last 2km has 100m of climing to get back to the start. So from the perpective of a roadie, right amount of technical terrain for newbies, maybe some of the climbs were a bit much if you did not have the fitness or gears. 

[Veshanp]

I found it okay I actually did quite well and I enjoyed it even with riding it on an enduro rig. But after the race I heard alot of people complaining so just wanted to see if there was an actual problem ????

[rorydewet]

the problem is not hills and not single track

its when you combine 2

so when you have lots of steep hills and lots of single track like at the start of this one you get issues

riding up and down river bank on single track causes blockages

a better solution would be to ride the reverse route

so the single track hilly sections are rode at the end by which time the field should have thinned out

hills at the beginning on single track create issues

[ACE Cycles]

Too hard for newbies? How much easier do they want it to be? This is mountain biking, not lawn bowls. 

PS, my 12yr old laaitie did it at just under 20km/h ave

[MudLark]

4 hours ago, Veshanp said:

So I was hearing alot of complaints on the day of the 25km race that the event was way too hilly especially for "newbies" just wanted to find out what everyone else that raced it thought about the whole race as a whole

I suppose the answer is that you don't (or should not) enter an event like 947 unless you expect to be challenged, at least a bit.

[Veshanp]

Its all the unfit people that were complaining about it. I was standing by the maxxis tent and heard all of this????

[MudLark]

46 minutes ago, Veshanp said:

Its all the unfit people that were complaining about it. I was standing by the maxxis tent and heard all of this????

I found the 50 km enjoyably challenging but not too hard – and I am a pretty mediocre cyclist at the best of times. 

All I can say is that if you found the 25 km too hard, maybe mountain biking – or at least participating in mountain biking events – is really not for you.

[The Ouzo]

7 minutes ago, MudLark said:

I found the 50 km enjoyably challenging but not too hard – and I am a pretty mediocre cyclist at the best of times. 

All I can say is that if you found the 25 km too hard, maybe mountain biking – or at least participating in mountain biking events – is really not for you.

if you found it to hard then train harder.

 

When I did my first 947 road race back in '98 it nearly killed me, I vowed to not do it again unless I trained properly.

Why do people want everything to be easy ? It used to be / is called a cycle challenge for a reason

[MDB1997]

I honestly loved it, difficultly was fine like if you ride at normal trails in most places you’re going to encounter similar elevation. 
 

my obvious complaint would be that stinky water, that was pretty nasty ???? 

[JJDT]

I think that their should be a disclaimer that states that you need to be somewhat of a techically skilled rider and that it will be tough (typically the same type of description for when you enter the 50km...needed to complete at least a 20km event. Most people that enter the 25km are mostly weekend warriors training on tar/gravel roads without some skill sessions in between. Typically these races appeal to the masses that think they are fit enough for a 25 km.

For me that rode the event with my wife it was fine, although with her limit tech skills she could ride everything except the muddy section. The only issue for me was the concrete walkways which was about 30% of the route...

[Comrade J]

39 minutes ago, MDB1997 said:

I honestly loved it, difficultly was fine like if you ride at normal trails in most places you’re going to encounter similar elevation. 
 

my obvious complaint would be that stinky water, that was pretty nasty ???? 

I must concur, I acutaully thought last year was a tougher route, I did a 2.10 This year with less training, covid, plus a heart issue as a result of covid, I was trying for a 1.50.

However I smashed a 1.37???? riding at Tempo, never went into the red once

[Veshanp]

I personally found it easy and when I finished I was fresh. Just wanted to find out what everyone else thought

[MDB1997]

13 minutes ago, Comrade J said:

I must concur, I acutaully thought last year was a tougher route, I did a 2.10 This year with less training, covid, plus a heart issue as a result of covid, I was trying for a 1.50.

However I smashed a 1.37???? riding at Tempo, never went into the red once

My first time was 2019, I think 25km was my longest ride and the route was really not technical and it really destroyed me???? this years route was quite fun and engaging compared to 2019. I went into the red on that final bit trying to get under 1h30 but cause of all the blockages I got 1h30 dead

[SundayCycler]

2 hours ago, MDB1997 said:

My first time was 2019, I think 25km was my longest ride and the route was really not technical and it really destroyed me???? this years route was quite fun and engaging compared to 2019. I went into the red on that final bit trying to get under 1h30 but cause of all the blockages I got 1h30 dead

Also did the 25km (nowhere near fit enough to tackle the 55km at a decent pace) and I must say it was enjoyable. It was just technical enough to ensure you weren't just cruising but also not too difficult so you could enjoy the ride. Really had fun with this year's run.
Fair enough there were a few bottlenecks but of the 4 947's I've done, I've always come across bottlenecks..
The worst part was the black water. A few of us went across it and simply repeated what the announcer said; that it was not sewage and the smell was from the sewage close by. None of us were convinced.
That last climb did put me in the red as well but I was happy with my time. (1h30 dead as well, if I put anymore effort I was sure to pass out at the line).

[MDB1997]

5 minutes ago, SundayCycler said:

Also did the 25km (nowhere near fit enough to tackle the 55km at a decent pace) and I must say it was enjoyable. It was just technical enough to ensure you weren't just cruising but also not too difficult so you could enjoy the ride. Really had fun with this year's run.
Fair enough there were a few bottlenecks but of the 4 947's I've done, I've always come across bottlenecks..
The worst part was the black water. A few of us went across it and simply repeated what the announcer said; that it was not sewage and the smell was from the sewage close by. None of us were convinced.
That last climb did put me in the red as well but I was happy with my time. (1h30 dead as well, if I put anymore effort I was sure to pass out at the line).

I’ve actually been a bit sick since Monday with a stomach bug and worried it could have been from that water spraying up on me…