TransBaviaans 2023 - Race Edt

[W Smith]

15 hours ago, TIB said:

The humble perspective of someone more often than not addressed as Oom. 

Rule #1 - Make sure the team is on the same page, don't force the weakest link. 

Rule #2 - Take a sense of humor along, actually take a few senses of humors along... 

Rule # 3 – Deflate your front tyre to 0.9bar (zero point nine) 

Rule #4 – Rule #2 reigns supreme!

If you are dodgy in the fitness department, view it as a veeeeeeery long coffee ride, use the same pace, but if you have done a 5hour ride in your life you should be fine.

Start slow, keep that pace.

To CP #1 Vero’s - Nice 52 km of undulating hills, no monsters, control the adrenaline in the beginning, you can start racing up the Neverender (if by then you still feel like racing).  Screaming down the Nuwekloof Pass is about the most fun you will have in the race. Enjoy the roosterkoek!

To CP#2 Zandvlakte - Gentle 42 km downhill meander, but you must still pedal... keep the heart rate at an acceptable level, it is easy to get over-exited on this section with a nice tail-wind going. The food is generally healthy stuff.

To CP#3 Smitskraal – Just 30km. At 115km Baviaansback is the first bump in the road. A not too serious climb but you start feeling the 100 kays! I lied, screaming down the Baviaansback will be the most fun to be had today. The sosaties at CP#3 are out of this word, enjoy but not too many! By now you will have come to realise that at every waterpoint Wicus the Sadist will offer you great food and immediately take you up a steep incline!! Pick up your lights at this point. Any mishap and you will arrive at Bergplaas in the dark.

To CP#4 Bergplaas – Only 20 km, what can go wrong…. Langwater, The Fangs and the small matter of the Bergplaas climb. The hardest two hours of the day. Cycling past the campsite called Doodsklip invokes some irony as one starts the gentle run-in to Bergplaas. Too tired to enjoy the sunset take the turnoff to Bergplaas for some proper soup! Break out the dry clothes and extra jacket as the cold can be rather intense. 

To CP#5 Pakstoor – Going down the Big Dipper is best done in the dark. Your lights will not reveal the fearsome drop next to the road! This is an easy 30km section, save some energy for the last push home. Pizza and some slap chips do wonders for the body. 

To CP#7 Zuurbron – Focus on the Zuurbron Jaffels. That is all that is important over the next 30km. The Neverender is not an issue. It is not too steep and in the dark you cannot see how far it is. Just grind it out. Like a day at work. Just know after 20km from Pakstoor there is a downhill. The biggest challenge of the day is not to pig out on too many jaffels… believe me the temptation is there. Your Rennies must fight cramps, not heartburn.

HomeRun – Only 20 to go, you are in a surreal world with the rear bike lights mixing with the wind turbine lights. If only all those lights could only flash at the same time…  the OCD displaces tiredness and soon the Railroad single track takes you to Mall. There the Second-Best Spur Burger ever will await us again this year. The Best Ever Spur Burger is served at the To Hell and Back Race!

Have fun. Never forget that.

Best advice!

[Stefan_29]

Good luck to everyone doing the race and repeat, hopefully they made some changes as last year's event felt very low budget compared to my first one in 2018.

 

 

[pedal menace]

Transbaviaans 2023 - done and dusted! 

Few points:

1. It was hot as hell. After training during winter was not quite accustomed to near 30 degrees temps. But compared to last year - I am not complaining. A blast of a day. Hardly a wind to talk about. Could not have asked for better weather conditions. Had a few drops of rain towards Jeffreys - but hardly worth talking about. 

2. Road Condition. WOW, am I smiling!!!! Think it was the best I have ever experienced. A few places there are corrugations but easy to avoid and when we encountered them was really not that bad. A few downhills especially after MAC you must really just be careful. There are some rain ruts that can easily cause an unfortunate issue. Be careful. Many stretches felt like riding on a highway. 

3. Perhaps just me but I found MAC concrete strips really not that bad. In fact, I think it was better than previous years. But that could just be my imagination. Nonetheless, was easy riding up MAC. Not referring to gradient (that remiansa hard climb!!!) - just referring to road condition. 

4. Water crossings. Found it drier than previous years. Most crossings just a little stream. Water crossing after braaivleis checkpoint was quite long. DO NOT waste your time with dry socks. One of our team riders clipped out in front of me so had a nice long walk through the crossing. Through the reserve there were a few proper MUD pools. Will definitely demand ankle deep riding through - BUT very easily traversable. Mostly just muddy water - not actual mud. 

5. Single track at end. Not muddy at all. Very dry. It may still rain this week but for us was perfect riding all the way. Except for very tired legs found it no issue at all. 

6. Food stops. Perfect! Oh boy did I love those sosaties! Wish I was less tired and could eat more! Did spend a bit too much time there. 

Let me know if there are any other questions and I will gladly answer. for the Repeat - enjoy it. It was a blast for me and one of the best ever! 

 

 

[TyronLab]

Massive congrats to @WaldoZ, taking his first Transbaviaans win! I'm proud to say that I'm far, far removed family of his, and he towed me to my first TB completion in 2019.

How the hell you manage an average speed of 27kph for the whole thing is beyond me...

@pedal menace Sounds like it was a great day out, and an ideal first outing with your kid. Congrats! My FOMO has now ramped up substantially...

Edited August 14, 2023 by TyronLab

[pedal menace]

13 minutes ago, TyronLab said:

Massive congrats to @WaldoZ, taking his first Transbaviaans win! I'm proud to say that I'm far, far removed family of his, and he towed me to my first TB completion in 2019.

How the hell you manage an average speed of 27kph for the whole thing is beyond me...

@pedal menace Sounds like it was a great day out, and an ideal first outing with your kid. Congrats! My FOMO has now ramped up substantially...

Tx @TyronLab. I too am gobsmacked at the speed of the winners. Do they even stop??

My son was (and still is) in pain, but he has not stopped smiling since we finished. I could not be prouder of him! What a privilege! We finished in just over 13h30m so am very chuffed personally.  

[gemmerbal]

TB done and dusted. As mentioned above, conditions probably couldn’t have been better for my maiden voyage through the Baviaanskloof. My partner unfortunately had to pull out after CP5 because of medical concerns so I joined another team and ended up using this event as a training ride for my 2nd Munga attempt later this year. Managed a respectable 15,5 hrs in the end. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by gemmerbal

[WaldoZ]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:55 AM, TyronLab said:

Massive congrats to @WaldoZ, taking his first Transbaviaans win! I'm proud to say that I'm far, far removed family of his, and he towed me to my first TB completion in 2019.

How the hell you manage an average speed of 27kph for the whole thing is beyond me...

@pedal menace Sounds like it was a great day out, and an ideal first outing with your kid. Congrats! My FOMO has now ramped up substantially...

Memories made! I will always have a soft spot for this race just because I have shared this experience with so many friends and family. You all helped me gained the experience of this route to know exactly what to do where! @milky4130 and I came close in 2019 Repeat with a mechanical costing us. This year I had Du Toit dragging me through there and what a powerhouse 🙌 

[pedal menace]

1 hour ago, WaldoZ said:

Memories made! I will always have a soft spot for this race just because I have shared this experience with so many friends and family. You all helped me gained the experience of this route to know exactly what to do where! @milky4130 and I came close in 2019 Repeat with a mechanical costing us. This year I had Du Toit dragging me through there and what a powerhouse 🙌 

Congrats @WaldoZ Super achievement! 

[Hennie Nel]

Did my first Baviaans, (the Repeat) last year at 70 with Robert and Garry. When Robert pulled out, I thought "what am I in for". Thanks to Garry, nicked named "Coach" who helped me through, especially on Mack, not to mention the mud................. We came in at 15hours and 18min.

Looking forward this year with Garry, again the Repeat. If the weather stays the same, I am going to enjoy it this year. 

[Mamil]

This was my third entry to the TBV and the first time I actually got to line up on the start line - illness and a few broken bones getting in my way the other 2.

3 of us set off and were setting a good pace until .... we weren't. I made the huge mistake of wolfing down a "sosatie wors" at the control point and that and the effect of not used to the heat made sure that at the top of the concrete climb I was in trouble and as the first upward drag of bergplaas kicked up,  I imploded spectacularly. Full body cramps, nausea, an urgent need to do what bears do in the woods but an inability to let go enough to let it happen. The 14km between the 2 control points took 2 hours, and every minute was hell. 

My team mates were patient and encouraging and helpful and eventually got to the top as darkness started setting in. Until then we were on for 12 hours.  

As I dismounted at the top, my calf went into the kind of cramp that can bring me to tears when an angel of mercy armed with a spray can of deep heat saved me from the humiliation of a wailing prayer to my maker for mercy.

I wanted to quit - more because of the emotional discomfort of being the weakest link than out of a desire to end the suffering but the team captain said "Vxk jou - jy kom nie so maklik weg nie papa" as he handed me a second soup.

Mountain biking has taken me to some interesting psychological spaces and the porta potty at the top of bergplaas was one of them. There's nothing quite like spending 5 minutes wrangling a damp vest off one's body to sit in the cold darkness of a giant piece of Tupperware using the illumination from one's watch face to see if you have wiped your backside properly while holding your legs as straight as possible to avoid the cramps and giving yourself a good talking to about the next 100km.

I'm glad I didn't quit. 

Then, with about 80 to go, my other team mate's freehbu gave up the ghost meaning that every time he stopped pedalling, he would drop the chain. 

He had a fair few moments of sense of humour failure. IT was hard seeing a sea of lights catch us and then leave us behind as we noodled along on the downhills and kept a steady pace on the uphills. My cramps abated, with the aid of half a packet of rennies and a gargantuan dose of USN cramp block but it was only at the last rocky little climb that I could hold anything above low zone 2 for more than a minute.

The team captain took out his vape and I watched the smoke drift through the lights.

Eventually the freehub broke completely and my campadre faced "a long walk to freehub" along the single track. We judged it was probably better for all if we allowed him to suffer alone and illegally, we waited for 40 minutes at the end of the singletrack, freezing our @sses off.

Gorgeous race - fantastic scenery, coming back next year for the 12hr effort.

Just say no to sosatie wors.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Mamil

[lechatnoir]

47 minutes ago, Mamil said:

This was my third entry to the TBV and the first time I actually got to line up on the start line - illness and a few broken bones getting in my way the other 2.

3 of us set off and were setting a good pace until .... we weren't. I made the huge mistake of wolfing down a "sosatie wors" at the control point and that and the effect of not used to the heat made sure that at the top of the concrete climb I was in trouble and as the first upward drag of bergplaas kicked up,  I imploded spectacularly. Full body cramps, nausea, an urgent need to do what bears do in the woods but an inability to let go enough to let it happen. The 14km between the 2 control points took 2 hours, and every minute was hell. 

My team mates were patient and encouraging and helpful and eventually got to the top as darkness started setting in. Until then we were on for 12 hours.  

As I dismounted at the top, my calf went into the kind of cramp that can bring me to tears when an angel of mercy armed with a spray can of deep heat saved me from the humiliation of a wailing prayer to my maker for mercy.

I wanted to quit - more because of the emotional discomfort of being the weakest link than out of a desire to end the suffering but the team captain said "Vxk jou - jy kom nie so maklik weg nie papa" as he handed me a second soup.

Mountain biking has taken me to some interesting psychological spaces and the porta potty at the top of bergplaas was one of them. There's nothing quite like spending 5 minutes wrangling a damp vest off one's body to sit in the cold darkness of a giant piece of Tupperware using the illumination from one's watch face to see if you have wiped your backside properly while holding your legs as straight as possible to avoid the cramps and giving yourself a good talking to about the next 100km.

I'm glad I didn't quit. 

Then, with about 80 to go, my other team mate's freehbu gave up the ghost meaning that every time he stopped pedalling, he would drop the chain. 

He had a fair few moments of sense of humour failure. IT was hard seeing a sea of lights catch us and then leave us behind as we noodled along on the downhills and kept a steady pace on the uphills. My cramps abated, with the aid of half a packet of rennies and a gargantuan dose of USN cramp block but it was only at the last rocky little climb that I could hold anything above low zone 2 for more than a minute.

The team captain took out his vape and I watched the smoke drift through the lights.

Eventually the freehub broke completely and my campadre faced "a long walk to freehub" along the single track. We judged it was probably better for all if we allowed him to suffer alone and illegally, we waited for 40 minutes at the end of the singletrack, freezing our @sses off.

Gorgeous race - fantastic scenery, coming back next year for the 12hr effort.

Just say no to sosatie wors.

@Mamil's race recaps are the best!! who's with me?

[Underachiever]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

This was my third entry to the TBV and the first time I actually got to line up on the start line - illness and a few broken bones getting in my way the other 2.

3 of us set off and were setting a good pace until .... we weren't. I made the huge mistake of wolfing down a "sosatie wors" at the control point and that and the effect of not used to the heat made sure that at the top of the concrete climb I was in trouble and as the first upward drag of bergplaas kicked up,  I imploded spectacularly. Full body cramps, nausea, an urgent need to do what bears do in the woods but an inability to let go enough to let it happen. The 14km between the 2 control points took 2 hours, and every minute was hell. 

My team mates were patient and encouraging and helpful and eventually got to the top as darkness started setting in. Until then we were on for 12 hours.  

As I dismounted at the top, my calf went into the kind of cramp that can bring me to tears when an angel of mercy armed with a spray can of deep heat saved me from the humiliation of a wailing prayer to my maker for mercy.

I wanted to quit - more because of the emotional discomfort of being the weakest link than out of a desire to end the suffering but the team captain said "Vxk jou - jy kom nie so maklik weg nie papa" as he handed me a second soup.

Mountain biking has taken me to some interesting psychological spaces and the porta potty at the top of bergplaas was one of them. There's nothing quite like spending 5 minutes wrangling a damp vest off one's body to sit in the cold darkness of a giant piece of Tupperware using the illumination from one's watch face to see if you have wiped your backside properly while holding your legs as straight as possible to avoid the cramps and giving yourself a good talking to about the next 100km.

I'm glad I didn't quit. 

Then, with about 80 to go, my other team mate's freehbu gave up the ghost meaning that every time he stopped pedalling, he would drop the chain. 

He had a fair few moments of sense of humour failure. IT was hard seeing a sea of lights catch us and then leave us behind as we noodled along on the downhills and kept a steady pace on the uphills. My cramps abated, with the aid of half a packet of rennies and a gargantuan dose of USN cramp block but it was only at the last rocky little climb that I could hold anything above low zone 2 for more than a minute.

The team captain took out his vape and I watched the smoke drift through the lights.

Eventually the freehub broke completely and my campadre faced "a long walk to freehub" along the single track. We judged it was probably better for all if we allowed him to suffer alone and illegally, we waited for 40 minutes at the end of the singletrack, freezing our @sses off.

Gorgeous race - fantastic scenery, coming back next year for the 12hr effort.

Just say no to sosatie wors.

Text book case of rule 5!!!!  Well done!!!

[TyronLab]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

This was my third entry to the TBV and the first time I actually got to line up on the start line - illness and a few broken bones getting in my way the other 2.

......

Haha, dude, I tip my hat to you, you had a proper adventure! As much as it sucks in the moment, it is those kinds of experiences that stick with you. No good story is ever based on everything going hunky dory! Pity about the wors though, I guess it just takes one dodgy one to cause an issue. The food at TB is generally top notch.

Good on you for sticking it out though. I've seen some unfortunate souls that had called it quits at Bergplaas take a VERY rough ride in the load bed of a bakkie down the Big Dipper, if they hadn't been ****** at Bergplaas, they sure as hell were after that "rescue". 

Chapeau!

[Velouria]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:55 AM, TyronLab said:

Massive congrats to @WaldoZ, taking his first Transbaviaans win! I'm proud to say that I'm far, far removed family of his, and he towed me to my first TB completion in 2019.

How the hell you manage an average speed of 27kph for the whole thing is beyond me...

@pedal menace Sounds like it was a great day out, and an ideal first outing with your kid. Congrats! My FOMO has now ramped up substantially...

Well done @WaldoZ - fantastic effort.

What a difference a year makes. Probably one of the best days for riding Baviaans that we've had in years (and I've now done 19).

(Sorry for the late reply - don't hang around here too often anymore)

 

@boink

[boink]

Yes amazing ride from @WaldoZ and Du Toit!

Thanks for  posting pics where I was still pedaling myself up MAC @Velouria....

 

When do we get he Velo Tales "Dane Train" race report? 

Edited October 2, 2023 by boink