[Event] Sedgefield 500

[Gravalist]

Event Name: Sedgefield 500
When: 08/09/2023 - 10/09/2023
Where: Wilderness, WildernessWilderness, Western Cape
Category: Sedgefield 500

The Sedgefield 500 ultra gravel bikepacking race across the Garden Route is an epic journey of endurance and discovery that will leave you inspired and in awe of the natural beauty of South Africa. This incredible race takes you through some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet, from lush forests to pristine beaches, and everything in between.

As you cycle your way through the Garden Route, you will encounter challenges that will test your physical and mental limits. The rugged terrain, steep climbs, and challenging descents will push you to your limits, but with each pedal stroke, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that can only be gained through perseverance and determination.

Enter now: howler.co.za/sedgefield500 (8-10th September)

enter.gravalist.com

Go to Event Page.

[Spinnekop]

Some feedback.

I go to the page.  Links are copied wrong.  
Eventually get web page open.  Mix between tours and racing and etc.  Confusing.  What is what?  
5min later I see it costs R2k.
Now I want to see the route and climbing.  I get to a map with two routes on it.  Is the third route not showing?  No idea how long each stage is.  Route profile?  How to get between stages?  Do you have to pedal to the next stage seeing it is unsupported?    etc. etc.  etc.  Further confused.

10 min later I just give up because I am not in the mood to forensically go search how to do this event.  
That coupled with the fact that I can go ride this route unsupported for free makes the R2k kinda stupid in my books.

Maybe its just me.

Good luck with the event.

[Gr3mlin131]

Quote

 UNSUPPORTED ULTRACYCLING GRAVEL

500km. Self-supported. This means no aid stations, no route markings. You get a route gpx file and you ride it your way. Do it over the full 60 hour cut-off and stop where you like, or test your mettle and ride it non-stop. There is no prize money or assistance on route.

So what exactly are you paying R2000 for, just a gpx file? 

[Shebeen]

5 hours ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

So what exactly are you paying R2000 for, just a gpx file? 

I'll answer your question for them.

 

yes, you get a GPX file that is pretty much publicly available.

and you get included in the "starting list" and the "tracking"

you get some gees, kudos and camaraderie.

That's all.

 

Sure these rides/races sail pretty close to the wind in terms of the events act, but they serve a purpose, and they're wildly unpopular as it remains "off the radar". They attract likeminded people with an adventurous spirit and no latent desire for frills and mollycoddling. To put it mildly, the kiff:d005 people ratio is pretty high.

There's actually nothing stopping you from just rocking up on the day and riding the race unofficially without entering. You won't be counted in the results, and if you have a mechanical you might not find your fellow road users lend you much more than a cheesy grin.

If you really don't think it's worth it, then rather go and enter an official event with official waterpoints, official hype and official entry fees. 

 

 

 

[Gr3mlin131]

2 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I'll answer your question for them.

 

yes, you get a GPX file that is pretty much publicly available.

and you get included in the "starting list" and the "tracking"

you get some gees, kudos and camaraderie.

That's all.

 

Sure these rides/races sail pretty close to the wind in terms of the events act, but they serve a purpose, and they're wildly unpopular as it remains "off the radar". They attract likeminded people with an adventurous spirit and no latent desire for frills and mollycoddling. To put it mildly, the kiff:d005 people ratio is pretty high.

There's actually nothing stopping you from just rocking up on the day and riding the race unofficially without entering. You won't be counted in the results, and if you have a mechanical you might not find your fellow road users lend you much more than a cheesy grin.

If you really don't think it's worth it, then rather go and enter an official event with official waterpoints, official hype and official entry fees. 

 

 

 

Okay, do not understand, but for those that do enjoy these events, go have your fun. 

Just to clear up some potential misunderstanding, I am not saying I want to do this event without paying on the day. It just seems that you are paying a substantial amount of maoney, and not getting a lot of value. Personally at almost R1000 now CTCT is already expensive, but you get closed roads, medical support, aid stations etc. This comes in at double for just a gpx file, that is the part that I do not understand.

For only R200 I would rather do another Audax any day.

[AkwA]

This is a pretty niche race, its not targeted at many people, not sure how many people CAN ride 500km. I think the one last year had 19 entrants, with I think around 15 finishing.
For 2k a rider, they get 38k, of this 38k, they have gps tracking, start and finish lines, as well as results and im assuming some sort of medal. 

Compare this to the 16000 riders at around R800 per entry for the CTCT, this is derived off of the 15700 last year, which will be more with the shorter one this year. They got around R12.8 mil just in entries, this is without sponsors, how do you compare the 2?

[Gr3mlin131]

Ah the GPS tracking added makes this whole lot make a lot more sense. From the website it looked like it was just some app that you needed to add on your phone, but if you are issued a device to be trackable on route, that is becoming a lot more reasonable. 

The CTCT comparison was more of the value for money for me, what it costs vs what is included.

20 minutes ago, AkwA said:

For 2k a rider, they get 38k, of this 38k, they have gps tracking, start and finish lines, as well as results and im assuming some sort of medal. 

The price looks even worse when compared to a 600km Audax, essentially the same thing for just R200, excluding the GPS tracking. 

[peepeekaitjie]

15 minutes ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

600km Audax

please elaborate on how a 600km ride only costs r200.

[AkwA]

Seems to be R180, but also cannot be compared to the Sedge 500, as thats mostly offroad, gravel roads, the audax looks to be a lot bigger event, road only.
I have no clue how they work, but seems its all just completely on your own, more of a challenge event than a race.

[Gr3mlin131]

24 minutes ago, peepeekaitjie said:

please elaborate on how a 600km ride only costs r200.

You can see for yourself on their website: https://audaxsa.co.za/entries/

 

Compared to the description from the Sedgefield 500 https://enter.gravalist.com/sedgefield500-wilderlands:

The descriptions are very similar, so just because it is "Gravel" they charge almost 10 times the price? That is the math that does not make sense to me.

[Shebeen]

41 minutes ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

Ah the GPS tracking added makes this whole lot make a lot more sense. From the website it looked like it was just some app that you needed to add on your phone, but if you are issued a device to be trackable on route, that is becoming a lot more reasonable. 

The CTCT comparison was more of the value for money for me, what it costs vs what is included.

The price looks even worse when compared to a 600km Audax, essentially the same thing for just R200, excluding the GPS tracking. 

no, you actually need to bring your own tracker, they just hook you into the backend (that does cost money).

Comparing it to CTCT is apples and pears.

Audax is probably closer to it, but there are significant differences (and nothing compares to an audax).

 

I assume you are basically saying that this is just a rip-off and the organisers are taking the proverbial piss? We're probably just going to agree to disagree on this one, so instead I'll just slot this in:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gr3mlin131]

3 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I assume you are basically saying that this is just a rip-off and the organisers are taking the proverbial piss? We're probably just going to agree to disagree on this one, so instead I'll just slot this in:

 

Asumptions are dangerous, especially on the internet. I am just saying I do not understand what makes people value this highly enough to justify the entry fee. From the website I cannot see that the roads are anything but publicly availble routes. A medal, start and finish lines can be done at a lot more events. The distance with recording, start and finish without support is pretty much Audax. So what part am I missing that makes this worthwhile for the 20 odd people that do it? I do not understand, 

[BrentCGP]

Then leave the topic if you dont understand bikepacking. Pretty simple. I dont get the point of knobbing around doing 70km a day for 3 days and paying R10k either anymore. Been there done that. Everyone is on a different journey when it comes to riding a bike. Nobody really cares about negative nancy opinions anyway or cares what you think. I dont parade my opinion on MTB stage race threads just beacuse I dont (enjoy) do them anymore.

Ill be at the next Sedgefiled 500. Unfortunately out the country this time... Again.

[Jewbacca]

43 minutes ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

Asumptions are dangerous, especially on the internet. I am just saying I do not understand what makes people value this highly enough to justify the entry fee. From the website I cannot see that the roads are anything but publicly availble routes. A medal, start and finish lines can be done at a lot more events. The distance with recording, start and finish without support is pretty much Audax. So what part am I missing that makes this worthwhile for the 20 odd people that do it? I do not understand, 

On another thread I see you have paid to do an Iron Man event, yet struggle to see the value in paying 'so much' for an event...........

If you don't get it, it isn't for you. 

Let's leave it there? 

I honestly have no idea how anyone can pay what they pay to do Iron Man, having done a number of full IM myself. It's a glorious rip off and is 4 times what this costs now, for only like what, 10 hours of racing?

This is way more bang for buck in terms of time racing per zar!

[Gr3mlin131]

4 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

If you don't get it, it isn't for you. 

Clearly, 

5 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Let's leave it there? 

And it looks like I stepped on to many toes, so let me bow out. But would still like to find out the why, but looks like this thread is not the place. Happy that there are people that believe it is good value for them. 

Enjoy the evening, 

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

Clearly, 

And it looks like I stepped on to many toes, so let me bow out. But would still like to find out the why, but looks like this thread is not the place. Happy that there are people that believe it is good value for them. 

Enjoy the evening, 

I don't believe either of this nor IM are 'good value'. 

I'm pointing out the irony that just because this isn't your proverbial cup of tea, you question it's value, yet are happy to overlook the glorious rip off that is Iron Man because it's part of your narrative. 

IMHO event 'value' is like anything, it is worth nothing until people buy in. Some events, IM, Epic etc are massively overvalued and over subscribed. Things like this are far more niche and offer those who don't like red carpet heroism for average feats of physical exertion the chance to do a rad event, be a part of a race, without having to plan a route, sort out logistics and get some mates to commit.

This gets like minded people together in one place to go and have some fun. To some that is most definitely worth some money