[Event] Cape Town Cycle Tour 2023

[Bub Marley]

20 hours ago, edgarblount said:

Not a bad thing at all. Kudos to riders that can achieve such milestones.

I just do not get it why you would want to do it 21 consecutive times or for the 50th time.

Maybe do it once or twice and then move on to something different like a Munga or bike packing through the Garden Route with buddies or anything else. 

Or do it 21 consecutive times and do the Munga. Sheesh, why are people so judge mental all the time? Let people do what they want to do.

17 hours ago, NickGM said:

Let's get this back on track by laughing at my misfortune and desperation. I write this every year...

I'm one of those guys that would love a sub-3 and I've done a few 100km rides at sub-3 pace, so it's possible. But I'm not really exceptional and I don't train 350km per week, so I need to be in a good bunch and I need the weather to play ball as well. This is how it's gone so far....

2015: Train hard. Fire shortens route.

2016: Just didn't ride it. As I understand, the weather was good.

2017: Train hard. Friend organizes skiing trip with free accommodation and very cheap flights. I skip CTCT and the weather is perfect with something like 1400 sub-3s.

2018: Train hard. On the start line but strong winds cancels the race.

2019: Train hard. Very windy, but not cancelled. Only 141 sub-3s. I limp home at 3:20.

2020: Global pandemic. I decide not to ride

2021: I ride at "fun ride" pace. Best weather since 2017 obviously.

2022: Train hard. It rains for 3 hours straight and I do a 3:11.

Jury's out for 2023. On one hand, training hard seems to bring the bad voodoo. But on the other hand, I'm slowly getting closer. I suspect I will have another go at sub 3 in 2023 but if a plague of locusts descends on cape town on race day please don't blame me.

 

Let me know if you’re training hard or not for next year so i can adjust my training accordingly. Cool 😎 

[bleedToWin]

20 hours ago, edgarblount said:

I just do not get it why you would want to do it 21 consecutive times or for the 50th time.

Maybe do it once or twice and then move on

It's like making love to your partner. If I have to explain to you why some people still want to do it even though they've done it many times before, and it will be the exact same song and dance as last time, then you wont understand the explanation anyway...

[The Ouzo]

3 hours ago, Jase619 said:

2016 was fantastic as I remember it, I started cycling 4 weeks before the race and I SUFFERED the whole way, but I am told the the weather was good.

2017 was the windy/protests/fire cancelled one.

2018 Was good weather

2019 Was terrible weather.

2020 Was fantastic, almost as good as the weather in 2021, except for the late starters/finishers who had some wind and rain.

2021 Glorious day on the bike

2022 enough said, broke my even years are good weather years theory.

I cant list mine like this. I dont recall enough detail from many of them.

I recall a couple of years being really hot where they stopped the back markers from finishing, these were when we detoured over Ou Kaapse Weg.

There were some years where the wind buffeted off the cliffs going down from Lunduno to Camps Bay with such force that you really had to hold on or risk getting chucked off the bike

Couple of years of perfect weather.

And then the first wet one I've done was last year.

[Jase619]

8 minutes ago, ouzo said:

I cant list mine like this. I dont recall enough detail from many of them.

I recall a couple of years being really hot where they stopped the back markers from finishing, these were when we detoured over Ou Kaapse Weg.

There were some years where the wind buffeted off the cliffs going down from Lunduno to Camps Bay with such force that you really had to hold on or risk getting chucked off the bike

Couple of years of perfect weather.

And then the first wet one I've done was last year.

The perks of having fewer rides to list. . . 

First wet one was this year? haha

Have heard war stories of the ou kaapse detour as well as the Boyes drive detour as well.

[edgarblount]

Dear Bikehub Members,

Please accept my formal apology if I have in any way offended an individual or a group of individuals. 

It was not my intention to offend any party but merely trying to understand why people keep returning to the same event year after year.

The Ouzo set out why he keeps returning to CTCT and I can respect that. I even liked the post where he sets this out.

I truly hope we can put this sequence of unfortunate events behind us and move forward in a positive manner. 

I will try my level best to respect and celebrate other peoples achievements together with the rest of you.

[Meezo]

39 minutes ago, edgarblount said:

Dear Bikehub Members,

Please accept my formal apology if I have in any way offended an individual or a group of individuals. 

It was not my intention to offend any party but merely trying to understand why people keep returning to the same event year after year.

The Ouzo set out why he keeps returning to CTCT and I can respect that. I even liked the post where he sets this out.

I truly hope we can put this sequence of unfortunate events behind us and move forward in a positive manner. 

I will try my level best to respect and celebrate other peoples achievements together with the rest of you.

Completely against bikehub spirit this! You don't make up on a Friday 

[The Ouzo]

1 hour ago, edgarblount said:

The Ouzo

I like this part, maybe I should change my username to The Ouzo.  

[Shebeen]

53 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

I like this part, maybe I should change my username to The Ouzo.  

 

[Tim Brink]

4 hours ago, droo said:

Some people like being weed on, don't judge them cos their aspirations don't align with yours...

Agreed on point #2 though, for the most part. There are a few nice ones.

On topic though - I reckon a large part of the reason for the higher entry fees is the massive drop in entries after the cancellation of 2017 (and the BS surrounding the reasons for it). People had paid, prepared, made the pilgrimage down for the weekend only for the event to be canned at the last second. Confidence took a big knock.

The other one is the increased red tape from CoCT around events. It's a massive admin and therefore cost burden, and has caused the price of pretty much all events to go through the roof over the past 2 years. Smaller events can sometimes get away with it by flying under the radar, but something as big as CTCT needs to check all the boxes.

Tell us more?

[argie1]

As a teenager I used to deliver the morning Cape Times before school and the afternoon Argus after school.  What homework? Thats how I got into cycling.

When we decided to enter the first Argus Pick n Pay cycle tour, (using money orders) we did not know much about cycling further than newspaper deliveries or to the beach and back, maybe 6 km.

After a few years, that sub 3 grabs your attention.  We managed to do all the detours over the years.  I really liked the Boyes Drive part, the view over False Bay was great when you weren't watching the wheel in front but the descent was deemed too dangerous, like the descent into Kommetjie.

I still train very hard, but not enough to make a sub 3, but I have something to dream about.

My parents and little sister have supported me every year but they have all since passed away.    I can't tell you why I still ride the Argus other than for me it is the excitement of the entry (I am in for 2023) the training with my club buddies (all the after ride "refreshments") the trip to Cape Town over the last 20 years, (locust swarms, tyre blowout, etc. for 2022) The hype of collecting my number and searching through the club 21 names. Saturday Camps Bay breakfast ride, will make you think its race day.

Rising very early on "race" day for brekky, the trip to the start, the warmup ride are my lights working? the checking of all the stickers/tags, the long wait for the gun amidst other riders, hardly anyone you know, and WHOOPLA.

And before you know it, it's all over too soon until the next year.  But then I don't do many races anyway.  I will be 65 one day, should I make it 50 tours?

[edgarblount]

@The Ouzois in the house.

He did it! Brilliant!

[HdB]

I've made the trip down from the Free State every year since 1997. First few with the school, and the rest with my mom and dad.

Next year is going to be quite strange, without all the familiar sights, padstalle at De Doorns, etc. The race is really just the highlight of an awesome long weekend.
argie1's post has made me super nostalgic, and itching for next year's

[i24]

5 hours ago, droo said:

The other one is the increased red tape from CoCT around events. It's a massive admin and therefore cost burden, and has caused the price of pretty much all events to go through the roof over the past 2 years. Smaller events can sometimes get away with it by flying under the radar, but something as big as CTCT needs to check all the boxes.

This:

There is lots of pressure from development, with more and more houses being built in the South Peninsular. This is why there are no other road cycling events in the South Peninsular left on the calendar. CoCT has a bunch of red tape requirements with plans for disaster, traffic etc and lots of traffic cops working overtime on the day. Entries are fewer and I suspect the authorities will not let it go up to 35000 again. The money has to come from somewhere - hence entry fees are up. Sponsorship also is down and the charities are also loosing out - blame the state of our economy for that.

If you are planning on riding 21, then you better get going because this race might not be around forever and it is definitely going to get more expensive in future years.

Is it worth it? I ride it every year just to enjoy the scenery with pavement to pavement road closures for the entire 109 km. (There are whole suburbs which are cut off for the day for our benefit have you ever stopped to consider what the cost for that is for the folks who live and work there). It is a priceless opportunity!

But more still, It is the cheapest way to ride through a bunch of red robots with the traffic cops watching 😁😈!

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, i24 said:

There are whole suburbs which are cut off for the day

^^^^^

This right here always amazes me. I'm sure there are those that complain, but as a whole it seem to me that the majority of the folk rather than complain about being locked down, get out there and embrace the event.

I always compare CTCT to 947, and in 947 there is one particular street in bryanston that comes out and embraces the event, for the rest it is like we're just a bother. 

[Shebeen]

2 hours ago, i24 said:

This:

There is lots of pressure from development, with more and more houses being built in the South Peninsular. This is why there are no other road cycling events in the South Peninsular left on the calendar. CoCT has a bunch of red tape requirements with plans for disaster, traffic etc and lots of traffic cops working overtime on the day. Entries are fewer and I suspect the authorities will not let it go up to 35000 again. The money has to come from somewhere - hence entry fees are up. Sponsorship also is down and the charities are also loosing out - blame the state of our economy for that.

If you are planning on riding 21, then you better get going because this race might not be around forever and it is definitely going to get more expensive in future years.

Is it worth it? I ride it every year just to enjoy the scenery with pavement to pavement road closures for the entire 109 km. (There are whole suburbs which are cut off for the day for our benefit have you ever stopped to consider what the cost for that is for the folks who live and work there). It is a priceless opportunity!

But more still, It is the cheapest way to ride through a bunch of red robots with the traffic cops watching 😁😈!

Can someone remind me how to spell melodramatic?

The last fun ride on the Cape peninsula was probably the rollercoaster, or the Cape cobra or something similar. These housing developments you talk of mushroomed much later, traffic rules just got tighter.

Argus not happening? Ha ha, it will outlive the ANC rule by decades the city knows it's a good thing and no one wants it stopped.

 

 

[DieselnDust]

7 hours ago, bleedToWin said:

It's like making love to your partner. If I have to explain to you why some people still want to do it even though they've done it many times before, and it will be the exact same song and dance as last time, then you wont understand the explanation anyway...

Chirp of the month and candidate for chirp of the year 👌👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼