The Munga

[hboli4]

It was very tough. Must say the 1st 30hrs or so with the wind and corrugations was the toughest I've experienced on the bike. Had lots of temp fluctuations as well - dropped to 2 degrees between Britstown & Loxton and was 34 degrees when going into Tankwa - this was at 7 in the evening.

And then the wind from hell blew through the Tankwa that night. Was moving at 6km/h on the flats. Lay on the floor at Da Doer padstal for about 6 hours before setting out into the wind again.

That stretch from Tankwa Padstal to Matroosberg was also a killer and I had a good walk up Bloubank.

Got in in about 103hrs Sunday night. Very tired and very sore.

@Mamil - didn't know it was you we did the Loxton razzle with...Well done on the finish!

[Mamil]

My very long winded race report on the Munga is on my patchwork mamil blog 

The Munga is more than a bike race. To me it seems a container for a spiritual journey. The route is explicitly designed to take a rider on an inner sojourn as well as an outer pilgrimage across the most beautiful, harsh and ancient places of our land. The race is unbelievably hard. There is nowhere to hide. The prevailing wind is a head or or cross-headwind. The first 400 kilometers to Britstown were into the teeth of this headwind.…

https://mamil.co.za/the-munga-2024-ride-report/ 

for the rest.

Please feel free to slag me off here or in the comments on the blog. 

 

 

 

[SSCC]

14 hours ago, Mamil said:

My very long winded race report on the Munga is on my patchwork mamil blog 

The Munga is more than a bike race. To me it seems a container for a spiritual journey. The route is explicitly designed to take a rider on an inner sojourn as well as an outer pilgrimage across the most beautiful, harsh and ancient places of our land. The race is unbelievably hard. There is nowhere to hide. The prevailing wind is a head or or cross-headwind. The first 400 kilometers to Britstown were into the teeth of this headwind.…

https://mamil.co.za/the-munga-2024-ride-report/ 

for the rest.

Please feel free to slag me off here or in the comments on the blog. 

 

 

 

Great stuff. I think you captured it perfectly. You know you have done this race properly if it lives on in you as one of life's most treasured memories.

Yes the prep for it can be all consuming but it can be done on a lowish amount of cycle training if you do lots of mental training. I did it on less than 10hrs a week of riding and just missed my sub 3 day target by a few hours. IMO the mental prep is just as important as the bike training. 

[Underachiever]

15 hours ago, Mamil said:

My very long winded race report on the Munga is on my patchwork mamil blog 

The Munga is more than a bike race. To me it seems a container for a spiritual journey. The route is explicitly designed to take a rider on an inner sojourn as well as an outer pilgrimage across the most beautiful, harsh and ancient places of our land. The race is unbelievably hard. There is nowhere to hide. The prevailing wind is a head or or cross-headwind. The first 400 kilometers to Britstown were into the teeth of this headwind.…

https://mamil.co.za/the-munga-2024-ride-report/ 

for the rest.

Please feel free to slag me off here or in the comments on the blog. 

 

 

 

Superb write-up!!!

 

 

 

[Rowl]

50 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

Superb write-up!!!

 

 

 

This, thanks for sharing @Mamil!

[nathrix]

 

[Robbie Stewart]

On 12/14/2024 at 4:24 PM, nathrix said:

 

I'm watching this now, and I have a new found respect for anyone who started and pushed through their limits to do this event. I'm motivated to give it a go at some point. 

[Prince Albert Cycles]

1 hour ago, Robbie Stewart said:

I'm watching this now, and I have a new found respect for anyone who started and pushed through their limits to do this event. I'm motivated to give it a go at some point. 

It had exactly the opposite effect on me 😇

You have to live a bit in the Karoo to appreciate how brutal the wind and heat can be.

Hats off to everyone that stands on the start line 

[Mamil]

Having complained bitterly about the snoring of my fellow riders the only Muppet whose snork makes it into this excellent munga movie is mine.

Sometimes life is cruel

[W Smith]

29 minutes ago, Mamil said:

Having complained bitterly about the snoring of my fellow riders the only Muppet whose snork makes it into this excellent munga movie is mine.

Sometimes life is cruel

I saw that .

[nathrix]

Not sure if it was shared somewhere here, but here it is. Awesome to watch and liked:

 

[nathrix]

Wow! Early bird entries sold out in like a day.

Edited December 26, 2024 by nathrix
Edit: Christmas Special sold out

[Mamil]

15 hours ago, nathrix said:

Wow! Early bird entries sold out in like a 

Just a sense the munga is going to grow enormously..... and I would also say, but not too loudly, it is extremely well priced for what it is. I hope that growth doesn't change the nature of the event though.

[Wouter van den Heever]

During 2024 I had the privilege of attending both the Cape Epic and The Munga as a volunteer to capture the stories of the amateurs at the back end of the race. These are often the unsung heroes of endurance events as they spend so much more time on their bikes. These 2 events are very different in nature, but Alex Harris as a participant of the most extreme bike races on earth, is in the best position to articulate the differences in this documentary. Where the Cape Epic is very technical, the Munga allows the rider to look around and observe the landscapes. The 10th anniversary of The Munga saw its highest participation to date, with 230 riders taking on the challenge and an impressive 79% completing the race. 
Let’s hear from the riders who have experienced the unique challenges of completing both the Cape Epic and The Munga.

 

[nathrix]

 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

I watched that last night, it was a great documentary, well done to all that finished it 👏 

It also just made me realize, once again, that I don't want to do the Munga at all 😅