2022 Virgin Active Ride Joburg

[Jase619]

54 minutes ago, Dogs said:

It was a lekker day out and I had a fairly relaxed ride...well done to all involved.

Some minor stuff can be smoothed out, but what I do not understand is, with me being slower and sticking to the left, some cyclists still felt the need to pass on my left, even with 3 1/2 lanes of unused road to the right?  (On M1 a guy on e-MTB even went through gutter to pass me on left #..616 = idiot).

And then that "racing group" shouting at everyone to keep left...eisch, I did not miss you guys at all...get yourself a proper seeding.

Last one was roadies sucking the wheels of e-bikes 👎

Till next year.

 

 

Although I didn't do this race this year, I would like to echo this experience from last year. Tearing down some stretch of highway in the beginning before the pain started, 4 lanes wide, had trains shouting at us to keep left. We were in the left most lane in the middle. Utter boxes, I can almost understand this on CTCT, with two lanes mainly the whole way, but on a 4 lane highway? Where we supposed to go? 

[silkman]

I am a pretty weak rider and all I can say is the climbs are DAMN HARD!

I walked up a few. I just couldn't manage. I had a great day out -but I suffered

Are there any exercises that I can do to aid my hill climbing?

[eala]

1 hour ago, edgarblount said:

I am a firm believer in the Afrikaans saying, 'Dit wat jou nie dood maak nie, maak jy net sterker".

This is truly a race of two halves or should I say Race of False Hope. I felt like Wout or Ganna in that first half. Looked down at the Garmin and couldn't believe my time at the halfway mark. Started calculating finishing times already. I know, I know, it aint over till the fat lady sings. Oh boy, and did she sing. Came crashing down like a ton of bricks.

I knew that second half would be brutal but not that brutal. I never knew I could ache and pain in so many places at once.

Like Frosty said, you have to train for those hills. Atleast I now know what to expect and can train accordingly.

It was an enjoyable day out and I am coming back sterker.

The vet tannies on their e-bikes annoyed the hell out of me. Poor me bleeding through my eyes on the hills and they come flying past all smiles.

My time was 2h50minutes at the 30km sign .My final time 3h45 .Almost an hour to ride the last 30km .Last year i still had Epic legs from October and weighed 6 kg lighter , my time was 3h14 .According to the knowledgeable folks ,this current reverse route is about 10 min slower and that fits in perfectly with my previous times of about 3h5-10 . Only once did i manage under 3hours with a few seconds .Now for my first CTCT in Cape Town  .I will be watching out for seeding races in the new year

[Spinnekop]

1 minute ago, silkman said:

I am a pretty weak rider and all I can say is the climbs are DAMN HARD!

I walked up a few. I just couldn't manage. I had a great day out -but I suffered

Are there any exercises that I can do to aid my hill climbing?

Go to Sabie.  Go do 3000m+ climbing in one day.
Then repeat it the next day.

You'll hate me on the weekend and thank you later.

[BrettS]

This was my first 947 and first road race - nervous as all heck especially starting in a strong batch but it was fantastic - I managed to get involved with a great group all the way through to Kyalami - an awesome guy $ - 52 (you are a legend) helping us all out, letting us all take his wheel and giving us encouragement.

Snapped my chain up the main road climb to Lonehill and luckily got it fixed at the Monte waterpoint mechanics. Climbed back on and managed to get to the finish.

It was an awesome ride, the vibe on the road was great. The climbs all the way to the bridge destroyed the legs but it was incredible to be able to ride these often unridable roads.

[silkman]

5 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

Go to Sabie.  Go do 3000m+ climbing in one day.
Then repeat it the next day.

You'll hate me on the weekend and thank you later.

eish

[The Ouzo]

11 minutes ago, silkman said:

eish

but he is not entirely wrong. climb, climb and climb somemore

[Frosty]

15 minutes ago, silkman said:

eish

If Sabie is too far, there are easier, and more practical, ways to train.

[silkman]

I usually ride on a trainer. Will this help? Or do I need  to go outdoors more often

[eala]

8 minutes ago, silkman said:

I usually ride on a trainer. Will this help? Or do I need  to go outdoors more often

Trainers help ,but your body works harder on a bike to keep balance and climb 

[Frosty]

7 minutes ago, silkman said:

I usually ride on a trainer. Will this help? Or do I need  to go outdoors more often

It depends; the answer can be yes and no.

As most people are aware, the climbing comes after an hour plus of riding, so your training needs to be similar.

A long (outdoor) ride of two halves… say 90-mins of endurance, then 4-5 hill repeats that would be similar to the race (5 sets of 6-8 minute repeats).

Indoors you can work on doing the intervals only, so you improve the power you can hold for 6-8 minutes. 

All other rides are easy (Z2 in a 5 zone model), and also long. This build your aerobic engine to become more efficient.

Send me a PM if you want more of the finer details. 

[NotSoBigBen]

I know the 'Zwifters' and other hamsters will disagree with me but I've said it before ...

 

Trainers make fit not strong riders with little to no 'race craft'

 

Gets hat and coat 😜

[Dexter-morgan]

1 hour ago, silkman said:

I am a pretty weak rider and all I can say is the climbs are DAMN HARD!

I walked up a few. I just couldn't manage. I had a great day out -but I suffered

Are there any exercises that I can do to aid my hill climbing?

Indoor smart trainer with power will help, My wife did only 3 sessions indoor per week since Mid August with some pretty nice workouts and a 2 -3 hour outside on weekends and improved a lot, make sure you do a FTP test before you start and build-up your workouts but make sure to finish all of your workouts - Just my 2 cents.

[silkman]

Thanks guys PM sent @Frosty

[MudLark]

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Best way to endure the hills is to train for them, or at least the duration of the hill at a pace you want to "climb" at. Example, most of the climbs from Lonehill to Jan Smuts (zoo) take about the same time/effort to complete, with a recovery in between that is almost the same time. This means you can do 4-5 intervals (say 8 minutes). Each week ride a bit harder, and you'll you'll see how "easier" it becomes.

As die karre jou nie donders platry nie. I ride JHB roads a lot... as do many others... Jan Smuts isn't a great choice on a bike if you can avoid it. Too narrow on the edges in places, too many taxis, too fast. Better to go do a few circuits of the Cradle maybe. Dunno. YMMV.

Edited November 21, 2022 by MudLark

[MudLark]

44 minutes ago, silkman said:

I usually ride on a trainer. Will this help? Or do I need  to go outdoors more often

Which area do you live in?