[EVENT] Tour de PPA

[Jbr]

https://pedalpower.org.za/events/tourdeppa/

How come PPA announces a route with Vissershok but the 99er will still be on the updated route from last year ? The road is still pretty crap on the other side by Meerendal, also kind of blows my mind that Durbanville can't fix a road in over two years, everything is so nice and tidy that side...

[KingZA]

I voted No purely because a climb that early on doesn't suit me 😅

I foresee a long day of chasing in my future.

[Thomo]

11 minutes ago, KingZA said:

I voted No purely because a climb that early on doesn't suit me 😅

I foresee a long day of chasing in my future.

I'm always in favour of a gentleman's agreement to go easy over any climb that comes that early, but my lobbying generally falls on deaf ears. 🙈

[bleedToWin]

24 minutes ago, Thomo said:

'm always in favour of a gentleman's agreement to go easy over any climb that comes that early

There's only one way to actually get to the top of Visser's and it aint easy...

[bleedToWin]

1 hour ago, Jbr said:

How come PPA announces a route with Vissershok but the 99er will still be on the updated route from last year ?

I doubt there's much cross communication between these organisers. PPA either feels the road is not that bad, or most likely haven't even given the road surface any consideration...

[Mamil]

1 minute ago, bleedToWin said:

I doubt there's much cross communication between these organisers. PPA either feels the road is not that bad, or most likely haven't even given the road surface any consideration...

The only time I ever got over vissers vaguely in touch with the group was when a certain hubber who usually rides higher gave me a push over the last big ramp at the top...... I got dropped further on anyway so.

[babse]

is the road surface the issue?

 

[bleedToWin]

2 minutes ago, babse said:

is the road surface the issue?

 

Communication from 99er last year:
```
The City of Cape Town recently repaired potholes on Vissershok Road, but conditions on Visserskhok remain a concern. After extensive discussions with the road's authorities, it was decided to change the 99er long route, in the interest of safety.
```

[babse]

but we go so slow on vissershoek road anyway, what's the safety concern? 

 

🙃

[bleedToWin]

I think both sides are trash.

[Jbr]

yeah it's mostly the other side as you go over that's a concern, but I think it's not that bad (I mean considering the roads we usually ride on and especially considering I'm not expecting a massive bunch to go over together and descending at full speed either

[Skubarra]

2 minutes ago, Jbr said:

yeah it's mostly the other side as you go over that's a concern, but I think it's not that bad (I mean considering the roads we usually ride on and especially considering I'm not expecting a massive bunch to go over together and descending at full speed either

You are right, bunches usually quite spread out after the climb. So in theory it should be ok, I guess the organisers/safety officers err on the side of caution.

[Pure Savage]

6 hours ago, KingZA said:

I voted No purely because a climb that early on doesn't suit me 😅

I foresee a long day of chasing in my future.

Is there a petition to sign?

[Wannabe]

Very little chat about this event, seeing the "magnitude" of it (last chance for peeps to improve on their August seedings.)😂

All I can say, it was well organised, as expected. I did not see one fall or accident on the route,  but what I did see was loads of punctures. I was the victim of 3 myself. Last one was on the downhill just after the last Waterpoint. As I have used my spare tube and the only one "quick patch" I had with me, as well as both my bombs, I was stranded next to the road.  Considering the position on a nice downhill, no one was keen on stopping to help me, but one kind hearted soul saw my predicament, and come to a stop about 50 meters past me, and threw his spare tube towards me, before carrying on. To you Sir, a VERY BIG THANK YOU!!!! Luckily I had my trusted small Blackburn pump attached to the downtube, so I could at least get the tire up to a rideable pressure and could finish the ride (I'm loath to call what I do racing😊)

Edited February 27, 2023 by Wannabe
Spelling corrected.

[Mamil]

I enjoyed it - a small group of C riders took off like scalded cats through the so-called neutral zone and we didn't see them again after I decided that chasing them would see me alone and unhappy before long.

The rest of C took the first 50 fairly quickly averaging about 37kmph and then disappointingly soft pedalled the last 50 a fair bit slower than that.

The motorbike marshal with us did a great job shepherding this flock of mostly middle aged sheep but that didn't stop us riding up one of the rollers after the silos en messe both sides of the road on a blind rise --- on another day the truck that barrelled past us at about 100kmph 2 minutes later would have been cresting the rise from the other direction and the survivors would be posting post traumatic stress symptoms on bikehub.

I mansplained the policy of not overlapping wheels to a woman who spectacularly saved herself and the rider behind her after her front wheel tapped someone's spokes and made a new strava friend as a result.

And I didn't get dropped - again -- of course there weren't any hills worth the name but in years gone by I've been solo at the left turn onto the R44 so I'm claiming it.

Tour du Cap then CTCT and then it's over to the MTB again.

 

[Newbie321]

28 minutes ago, Mamil said:

I enjoyed it - a small group of C riders took off like scalded cats through the so-called neutral zone and we didn't see them again after I decided that chasing them would see me alone and unhappy before long.

The rest of C took the first 50 fairly quickly averaging about 37kmph and then disappointingly soft pedalled the last 50 a fair bit slower than that.

The motorbike marshal with us did a great job shepherding this flock of mostly middle aged sheep but that didn't stop us riding up one of the rollers after the silos en messe both sides of the road on a blind rise --- on another day the truck that barrelled past us at about 100kmph 2 minutes later would have been cresting the rise from the other direction and the survivors would be posting post traumatic stress symptoms on bikehub.

I mansplained the policy of not overlapping wheels to a woman who spectacularly saved herself and the rider behind her after her front wheel tapped someone's spokes and made a new strava friend as a result.

And I didn't get dropped - again -- of course there weren't any hills worth the name but in years gone by I've been solo at the left turn onto the R44 so I'm claiming it.

Tour du Cap then CTCT and then it's over to the MTB again.

 

I was also in C, didn't know the first section is a neutral zone, not that it would have mattered I barely hung on the first 20km's in the bunch But given all the speedbumps and circles for all these races in Durbanville they should probably enforce it.

These groups seem to always start strong in the first 40km's then starts to fade the last 60km's from my limited experience.