[Event] Paarl Enduro

[MORNE]

2 hours ago, BikeGenie said:

Shot for the company out there @MORNE , it was a brutal day out on the bike. Both the weather conditions and the type of trails to race on the day did NOT suit me. 

Who is bike genie? 😅 mr Meta or mr Rocky mountain?

edit: or mr Giant

Edited December 11, 2022 by MORNE

[El Duderino]

1 hour ago, Meezo said:

I'm on the fence, I've putting in a lot of mileage so my fitness is not bad, hence probably why I'm on the fence. Otherwise I'd probably lean to the majority of views a XCO event with downs timed. I was fortunate to get to most of the stages without any major lines, infact at SS4 i was the only one there and has been for atleast 5 minutes... i was done at around 10:15

The heat was the heat can't be much debated here, just that doing any event in Paarl from November to March is not gonna be the smartest idea.

The stages i thought was a bit a silly, SS1 could of maybe finished 3 minutes before it did. Added to the sillyness of it was the 600m climb to that point. SS2 the same, was pedally and could of ended maybe a few 100m earlier.

It'll be interesting to see number of starters vs finishes. 

Another perception i have was EnduroWC seemed to have dropped the ball a bit with this one, the marketing (social media) in particular was way way off compared to the Jonkershoek Enduro. Probably the only reason i managed to find myself in the top 20 was because nobody actually knew this race was happening...

Having said that, maybe with 20-30 newbies who have bought into it and those who from previous Enduro's for next year the series is going to be good/well attended in my view. 

 

 

[BikeGenie]

21 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Who is bike genie? 😅 mr Meta or mr Rocky mountain?

edit: or mr Giant

The Rocky Mountain. We were a good “support crew” for each other. 🤣

[MORNE]

1 minute ago, BikeGenie said:

The Rocky Mountain. We were a good “support crew” for each other. 🤣

Yes! Yea im glad us 4 stuck together. Otherwise it would gave been hot AND lonely. How is your lyf after that fall?

[El Duderino]

1 hour ago, Meezo said:

I'm on the fence, I've putting in a lot of mileage so my fitness is not bad, hence probably why I'm on the fence. Otherwise I'd probably lean to the majority of views a XCO event with downs timed. I was fortunate to get to most of the stages without any major lines, infact at SS4 i was the only one there and has been for atleast 5 minutes... i was done at around 10:15

The heat was the heat can't be much debated here, just that doing any event in Paarl from November to March is not gonna be the smartest idea.

The stages i thought was a bit a silly, SS1 could of maybe finished 3 minutes before it did. Added to the sillyness of it was the 600m climb to that point. SS2 the same, was pedally and could of ended maybe a few 100m earlier.

It'll be interesting to see number of starters vs finishes. 

Another perception i have was EnduroWC seemed to have dropped the ball a bit with this one, the marketing (social media) in particular was way way off compared to the Jonkershoek Enduro. Probably the only reason i managed to find myself in the top 20 was because nobody actually knew this race was happening...

Having said that, maybe with 20-30 newbies who have bought into it and those who from previous Enduro's for next year the series is going to be good/well attended in my view. 

 

I agree. I think the idea was to get more people into enduro, and that worked. Yes, there was a lot of pedaling, and yes it was hot. But, overall, I think it was a great day out. My mate who has never done an enduro absolutely enjoyed the experience and will definitely do it again. This was supposed to be a fun enduro. I think it was, albeit the tough climbs and heat made it a bit tough. I'll be back for the next one. Well done to the organizers. This one was not meant for the hardcore enduro bros. @Meezo well on the podium. 

[BikeGenie]

5 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Yes! Yea im glad us 4 stuck together. Otherwise it would gave been hot AND lonely. How is your lyf after that fall?

For sure! That was the best decision made. The lyf was good after a slow long swim.  

[Robbie Stewart]

3 hours ago, MajG said:

100percent agree with you...doubt I will be back at paarl trails.Not worth the climbs .

That was an XC race for sure

Think I was talking you on on the first climb, you were telling me about the massive rock slab that I thought we going to ride down.

100% me then 😁.

By that stage I was quietly aware of my inner voice saying listen to your body and turn around. 

My stubborn side convinced me to forge ahead and that was a big mistake.

[Robbie Stewart]

2 hours ago, MORNE said:

Maybe it also proved that alot of the enduro bros are k@k sleg when it comes to actual cycling fitness and that the guys who keep on ending at the top are skilled AND fit.

ja okay, no reason to get personal né 😁.

I woke up with an unhappy chest this morning which might explain my absolute lack of energy yesterday.

I might go back to session DH, but if I take the time and effort and cost to go all that way I'd much rather go do Plaisir or Banhoek.

[MORNE]

Not what i meant and it wasn't aimed at anyone. Just a general comment.

….So does this mean you identify as an enduro bro then? 😅

what i mean is theres this toxic bro culture in this side of mtb’ng that looks down at any and all other versions of cycling for some reason. Even at noobies IN this genre of cycling. Kind of reminds me of school and not being part of the cool kids club. Luckily i’ve always just done wtf i wanted lol. It has served me well.  I really hate that kind of thing. Almost enough to just keep to myself and enjoy my bikes on my own.

There has been some of it here already. ‘XC duro’ as if being good at XC means you'll be crap at enduro. Quite the contrary I believe. Ive mentioned it before but look where Van Zyl placed at jonkers enduro on a 100mm scalpel. P14. If you’re good, you’re good.

If you are in a position to laugh at the climbs and then be fresh as a daisy before every descend, you have the advantage 100%.  Im quite certain if you shuttle both of us up to a stage and let us both do a run down it, you’ll probably beat me at this stage in my journey…but we had to ride up it instead, and I was fresher when i got there obviously so that counted in my favour. Like having an ebike would help. I admit that fully. 

Why top enduro guys will probably place well at an xc event too because they are fit enough for it…and have plenty of skills to back it up too.

I ride all kinds of bikes because I enjoy the act of cycling. i’m a cyclist and i’m not ashamed about it. I have nothing to prove to anyone other than wanting to challenge my own comfort zones while enjoying a day out or suffering with likeminded peeps. This is the kind of riding im enjoying at the moment. The people are generally lekker too. 

But someone musn’t come and say “screw this, this wasn’t an enduro because it was to easy and XC”. BS..there were timed stages, untimed liasons…and lots of fun and suffering inbetween. It was an enduro😁

30 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

ja okay, no reason to get personal né 😁.

I woke up with an unhappy chest this morning which might explain my absolute lack of energy yesterday.

I might go back to session DH, but if I take the time and effort and cost to go all that way I'd much rather go do Plaisir or Banhoek.

 

[Robbie Stewart]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

….So does this mean you identify as an enduro bro then? 😅

Me? That would require me to be able to ride up a hill as well as down.

No, I'm one of the guys who should rather just ride for the fun of it, definitely not for the competition.

But ja, I was also not taking a swipe at anyone either. I agree that the event was good and a proper challenge on the day. Any race requires prep and your results will only ever be in proportion to your preparation as @Meezo alluded to.

My preparation has been dismal to be honest due to many reasons, but I'm not looking for excuses. I could do better. Lesson learnt.

I intend to start a 12 week base fitness bracket where I will drastically improve on my riding mileage. I can ride down most anything in the Cape (except plumber) but I struggle on the ups for obvious reasons. Being a big boy does me no favours.

I'm just big boned as Eric Cartman would say ... 🤣

Edited December 11, 2022 by Robbie Stewart

[MORNE]

8 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Me? That would require me to be able to ride up a hill as well as down.

No, I'm one of the guys who should rather just ride for the fun of it, definitely not for the competition.

But ja, I was also not taking a swipe at anyone either. I agree that the event was good and a proper challenge on the day. Any race requires prep and your results will only ever be in proportion to your preparation as @Meezo alluded to.

My preparation has been dismal to be honest due to many reasons, but I'm not looking for excuses. I could do better. Lesson learnt.

I intend to start a 12 week base fitness bracket where I will drastically improve on my riding mileage. I can ride down most anything in the Cape (except plumber) but I struggle on the ups for obvious reasons. Being a big boy does me no favours.

I'm just big boned as Eric Cartman would say ... 🤣

I mean at this stage your scope for improvement is probably way more than mine. You just need to build fitness…and thats a short term, 100% achievable goal. I need a few years to catch up skills wise haha….

[MORNE]

Oh! I think what i found most entertaining were the little ‘nippers’ at the prize giving trying to barter amongst each other using their prizes haha. Maxxis tyres, scott and leatt gear all changed hands🤣

 

[Meezo]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

I mean at this stage your scope for improvement is probably way more than mine. You just need to build fitness…and thats a short term, 100% achievable goal. I need a few years to catch up skills wise haha….

so road biking is the winner at the end of the day? 🤐

[Robbie Stewart]

2 minutes ago, Meezo said:

so road biking is the winner at the end of the day? 🤐

hey now 

that being said, cycling on the road does make one fit. I know this from the many thousands of kilotimeters I cycled in 20Covid.