[Event] The Gallows

[I FLY]

1 minute ago, bleedToWin said:

At least appears to not be a super fast section. 

The single track also gets quite narrow near the dam because of shrubs next to the track. Hopefully the organisers trim these

if it does not rain hard here tonight I might ride the track through the nature reserve tomorrow 

[Jewbacca]

8 hours ago, Kom said:

Im curious to hear more about your travels to other cycling cultures where its any different.

I mean, do you even Dylan Johnson bro 😝

 

6 hours ago, Kom said:

Agree completely - marginal games is absolutely a thing.

Even Matt Beers had to adjust his game to compete - his interview on Trainer Road  was super enlightening.

Dunno, I've ridden bikes pretty comprehensively in the UK, NZ, parts of Europe and some other places over the years

MANY to most of the people I rode with had the same bike with the same setup for many different uses, conditions, race types etc

There are even those in SA who do the same.

It is a pretty 'select' bunch of dedicated people who swap and change tires and gear ratios for different races.

I'm not excluding myself for this, I'm on the hunt for a 44 or 42 front ring for my BMX for gallows as the 52 was a bit big at Swartberg

[milky4130]

2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I'm not excluding myself for this, I'm on the hunt for a 44 or 42 front ring for my BMX for gallows as the 52 was a bit big at Swartberg

Try Nils @Nils@WScycleworks or @udxcob for BMX Chainrings.

[Dicky DQ]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:01 AM, Jewbacca said:

I think you'll find a LOT of people (especially on BikeHub) pay way too much attention to their kit/tires/sealant/spare tube weight etc than 99% of the rest of the world who just have a bicycle and ride it, regardless of how optimal it's set up is for that specific 3% of use it gets.

I know, it's difficult to hear, but it's true. 

Golfer syndrome runs deep with cyclists..... 😆

That is because it is the new golf................ well old golf now.
The more you can spend the better you are apparently.
Coat, hat, door...........

[Mayo916]

Entries closed already 😭

Edited May 11 by Mayo916

[I FLY]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:14 PM, I FLY said:

The single track also gets quite narrow near the dam because of shrubs next to the track. Hopefully the organisers trim these

if it does not rain hard here tonight I might ride the track through the nature reserve tomorrow 

We rode the section through the nature reserve yesterday. About 5kms and 66 m of ascent. Apart from a few minor patches it might have the nicest non tar surface of the race

[bleedToWin]

14 hours ago, Mayo916 said:

Entries closed already 😭

Socials said "sold out" so might have had a limited number that was reached just before the deadline... Set a reminder in the entries for sale classifieds maybe.

[Jbr]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:01 AM, Jewbacca said:

I think you'll find a LOT of people (especially on BikeHub) pay way too much attention to their kit/tires/sealant/spare tube weight etc than 99% of the rest of the world who just have a bicycle and ride it

Maybe because there are people on the hub that race their bicycles and dont "just have a bicycle and ride it"

[Jewbacca]

54 minutes ago, Jbr said:

Maybe because there are people on the hub that race their bicycles and dont "just have a bicycle and ride it"

Absolutely

In context though and without immediately getting defensive, I said it's a very small group of people, who are also then bemused that someone might ride a bike/tire etc not suited to said event and do well.

THAT is my point, not YOU and your racing/fiddling, that you will find a lot of people who don't fiddle/change stuff all the time and still do relatively well.

That's all. 

 

[Mamil]

I buy way too much **** for my bikes. I love gadgets especially but tires for trail vs tires for ultra gravel rides on the MTB and then tyres for the gravel bike for the Ronde van Riebeek and various other gravel rides .... Then a nice Alu valve core tool ... And then ....

I'm still pretty mediocre despite all this but I'm having fun. And as my favourite author of all time says "you're here on earth to fart around and don't let anyone tell you different".

Biggest performance boost I had recently is bone conduction headphones.... I'm told I'm Pavlov's hamster 'cos now the tunes that I use on 40 minute zwift races come out on the road and zone 2 goes out the window. PRs on all the hills. It wasn't the tires after all!!!

[Kom]

https://www.strava.com/routes/3225778262533755908

Strava route 👆 for official 2024 Event. Vrolijkheid nature reserve no longer on the route.

[Jbr]

28 minutes ago, Kom said:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3225778262533755908

Strava route 👆 for official 2024 Event. Vrolijkheid nature reserve no longer on the route.

Looks like there are a few more twists and turns ?

[MongooseMan]

51 minutes ago, Jbr said:

Looks like there are a few more twists and turns ?

Blue (119km) is 2023, Red (115km) is 2024

 

Farm vibes:

 

Skipping the nature reserve:

 

And slightly different past the town:

Edited May 15 by MongooseMan

[MongooseMan]

Oh, and it goes higher up the climb 🤣

[MongooseMan]

A potential warning, don't follow this blindly. 

There's a weird out and back as you get onto the road after McGregor (probably a routing artifact?). You really don't want to turn left, only to be told to u-turn 50m later (especially if you're off the front of your group like @Jbr might well be)

Edited May 15 by MongooseMan

[Jbr]

3 minutes ago, MongooseMan said:

A potential warning, don't follow this blindly. 

There's a weird out and back as you get onto the road after McGregor (probably a routing artifact?). You really don't want to turn left, only to be told to u-turn 50m later (especially if you're off the front of your group like @Jbr might well be)

I saw a weird one here too 

I have no plans of being off the front at any time in this race 🤣 at least not on my own. I'm expecting some of the pros to join Dan, I'll race with the dads 😂

Edited May 15 by Jbr