The ARGUS 2025 Thread (AKA CTCT)

[Alliesmeister]

Adding my 2 cents to the conversation.

I started in 2D and rode 03:33 in my 11th tour, cutting 7 minutes off of my previous PB. Which I am very chuffed by as I have often tried to improve my time and more often than not I haven't been able to. Reducing it by 7 minutes is more than I've ever managed to improve it by with most of my times between 03:40-03:55 and a couple of sufferfest tours at +-04:30.

I am very unlikely to ever come close to 3 hours, while I have a family member & a friend who do and have missed out on sub3 times by about 30 seconds in this and other years. 

Ultimately for me though there is immense satisfaction in competing against myself and trying to improve my own time regardless of how many other people finish ahead of me. 

In addition there's the stunning scenery, the vibe, the many supporters along the road & the camaraderie of meeting other cyclists along the way (each with their own story, ability & objectives whether ride for a time or taking in more of the scenery). 

Going up Chappies I noticed a couple of ebikes passing me, but for the most part their pace wasn't excessively higher than those around them and they didn't look all that different than a stronger cyclist passing me by (which I'm well used to). I don't have much of issue with this because it wasn't all that noticeable, but given my time I assume most of these would have either waited at the finish line or been DQ'ed. 

On Suikerbossie however there was one guy in particular that came flying past about 60% up the hill easily doing double the speed or more of those around them. This was very dangerous due to the speed differential and not knowing that someone was going to come flying past without warning. It also spoils the vibe & camaraderie mentioned earlier on, when everyone else (all shapes & sizes) are suffering up the hill and someone comes past who might as well have been on a motorbike. Respectfully that's not what the tour is for, he can do it any other day of the week if he wants to. 

Moving onto happier themes again, I started doing the Argus because of my dad years ago, but due to a heart condition he stopped at 21 tours recently. Not having him on the route with me is something that I'll always miss, but there was a different kind of special experience in having my parents go through the effort of waking up early with me, dropping me off and then making their way first to Edinburgh Drive and then to Suikerbossie to cheer me on. These types of stories & experiences is what the Argus is all about! 

Also thanks to all who have this this a very enjoyable thread to read, though I haven't posted much, I have enjoyed reading all the stories. 

 

 

[DJuice]

11 hours ago, capediver said:

I think you may be too late....apologies have been offered and order is about to be restored!!!

Indeed @capediver, did you ride? If share a pic or a video, always great to watch.

PS. For any new to be parents or parents with children under 5, your friends that tell you the kids are in bed and a sleep at 20:00...that is a lie.

[mikkelz]

28 minutes ago, Alliesmeister said:

Adding my 2 cents to the conversation.

I started in 2D and rode 03:33 in my 11th tour, cutting 7 minutes off of my previous PB. Which I am very chuffed by as I have often tried to improve my time and more often than not I haven't been able to. Reducing it by 7 minutes is more than I've ever managed to improve it by with most of my times between 03:40-03:55 and a couple of sufferfest tours at +-04:30.

I am very unlikely to ever come close to 3 hours, while I have a family member & a friend who do and have missed out on sub3 times by about 30 seconds in this and other years. 

Ultimately for me though there is immense satisfaction in competing against myself and trying to improve my own time regardless of how many other people finish ahead of me. 

In addition there's the stunning scenery, the vibe, the many supporters along the road & the camaraderie of meeting other cyclists along the way (each with their own story, ability & objectives whether ride for a time or taking in more of the scenery). 

Going up Chappies I noticed a couple of ebikes passing me, but for the most part their pace wasn't excessively higher than those around them and they didn't look all that different than a stronger cyclist passing me by (which I'm well used to). I don't have much of issue with this because it wasn't all that noticeable, but given my time I assume most of these would have either waited at the finish line or been DQ'ed. 

On Suikerbossie however there was one guy in particular that came flying past about 60% up the hill easily doing double the speed or more of those around them. This was very dangerous due to the speed differential and not knowing that someone was going to come flying past without warning. It also spoils the vibe & camaraderie mentioned earlier on, when everyone else (all shapes & sizes) are suffering up the hill and someone comes past who might as well have been on a motorbike. Respectfully that's not what the tour is for, he can do it any other day of the week if he wants to. 

Moving onto happier themes again, I started doing the Argus because of my dad years ago, but due to a heart condition he stopped at 21 tours recently. Not having him on the route with me is something that I'll always miss, but there was a different kind of special experience in having my parents go through the effort of waking up early with me, dropping me off and then making their way first to Edinburgh Drive and then to Suikerbossie to cheer me on. These types of stories & experiences is what the Argus is all about! 

Also thanks to all who have this this a very enjoyable thread to read, though I haven't posted much, I have enjoyed reading all the stories. 

 

 

Awesome, well done! 👏

[capediver]

57 minutes ago, DJuice said:

Indeed @capediver, did you ride? If share a pic or a video, always great to watch.

PS. For any new to be parents or parents with children under 5, your friends that tell you the kids are in bed and a sleep at 20:00...that is a lie.

Juice, NO! Unfortunate changes to my schedule had me out the country this year so sadly I had to skip...however, I made up for it .....

Saw Argus organiser Dave Mellors with this one:

And then because I was there.....

Forgot this one.....

And off the bike:

 

Edited 8 hours ago by capediver

[NGM]

36 minutes ago, Alliesmeister said:

These types of stories & experiences is what the Argus is all about!

Definitely. I enjoyed reading that.

On a separate note, I don't know if it's the mileage I did leading into the CTCT that has left me with the testosterone levels of a 10yr old but some of the photos of Parent-Child tandems and people towing buggies for kids with disabilities leaves me with a serious lump in my throat.

Anyways, I'm off to drink some whiskey, wrestle a mountain lion and listen to AC/DC.

[bleedToWin]

1 hour ago, Christine Meyer said:

Please give us a chance to experience what you experience.

I'm ebike ignorant - What could you realistically achieve on a normal bike? I feel like 2h50 on an ebike means you could do 3h30 and be well ahead of the bell curve and then you would actually experience what we experience. 🤷‍♂️

[Wyatt Earp]

2 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

IS IT FRIDAY ALREADY???

Feels like 2014, where is @Wyatt Earp and @Patchelicious ?

Ive never done an August, so everyone can enjoy rubbing one out.

[Shebeen]

24 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

I'm ebike ignorant - What could you realistically achieve on a normal bike? I feel like 2h50 on an ebike means you could do 3h30 and be well ahead of the bell curve and then you would actually experience what we experience. 🤷‍♂️

what's going on here....has admin moderated this?

From what I can see from quotes I missed some ebiker coming out swinging defender her right to do wtf she feels like?

I'm VERY PRO ebikes, think they are excellent machines and make our sport better. But chops gonna be chops, so we all have to have rules.

An ebiker wants to get the "same experience"? Unfortunately you don't just get to ride in a fast bunch without paying your dues. You need to do a bit more than swipe a credit card and twist a grip. There is a real issue with people who's bikes are much faster than their ability to handle them in a bunch. You only get that skill with experience.

 

 

 

Since I'm all for transparency.

Here's the current name and shame list from winningtime, (apologies to those who are here with a DNF).

 

 

there's also 20+ ebikers with a UOF (so taking longer than 8hrs). Totally different scenario, but would love to hear these stories!

 

 

[Shebeen]

34 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

I'm ebike ignorant - What could you realistically achieve on a normal bike? I feel like 2h50 on an ebike means you could do 3h30 and be well ahead of the bell curve and then you would actually experience what we experience. 🤷‍♂️

Or you have a chipped ebike that has had the limiter from 25km/h removed.

2:50 is close to 40km/h. So either you are riding in a fast peleton and capable of holding your own or you are doing 50km on the flats and 25km up the hills.

I guess we can guess that answer.

 

[Shebeen]

32 minutes ago, Wyatt Earp said:

Ive never done an August, so everyone can enjoy rubbing one out.

What, and you call yourself a cyclist?

puts you in the same category as this guy (who has the medal hanging up on the wall, but CTCT seemingly scratched his result after he fessed up on Oprah)

 

 

 

 

[NotSoBigBen]

36 minutes ago, Wyatt Earp said:

Ive never done an August, so everyone can enjoy rubbing one out.

Are you even a cyclist then? 

[Mamil]

12 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Or you have a chipped ebike that has had the limiter from 25km/h removed.

2:50 is close to 40km/h. So either you are riding in a fast peleton and capable of holding your own or you are doing 50km on the flats and 25km up the hills.

I guess we can guess that answer.

 

Some of the newer road and gravel ebikes have higher limits - I think the trek domane ebike version gets assist right up to 45kmph - which is bonkers - probably great fun but bonkers nevertheless.

[Ncayi]

20 hours ago, cadenceblur said:

Well done on your results. We chatted on the forum same time last year around your improvements in LY’s race and now you’ve gone even better , 

At LY’s weight we’re about similar, don’t think i can get to around 91kg- perhaps I can with some real focus, 

My seeding took a hit this year as I didn’t do enough races and had a race ending mechanical in the winelands tour to boot. 

That being said, I missed this year’s event due to work travel, a pity as conditions were prime and i reckon so was my prep. 

Its a pitty you couldn't make it, there conditions were perfect.

My progress has been quite consistent (in hindsight). 4h15, 3h30, 3h6 and a sub 3.

I have not done anything fancy as I coach myself through intervals icu and xert. I do about 8-10hours a week with intervals once a week and progressive overload over the duration of my season. Im a bit of nerd about this stuff so I enjoy the process.

But the biggest game changer has been losing weight. My power curve has stayed the same but my watts per kilo has made good strides.

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Lynskey said:

You are the absolute problem with society. I have so I can do whatever I want. Thank goodness there are not many of you around. 

loads of them actually

[Mamil]

Just now, DieselnDust said:

loads of them actually

More and more everyday and quite a few are in charge of countries and making massive geopolitical and economic decisions that affect us all --- there I knew it, e-bikers will bring about the end of the world.

[Jbr]

37 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

So either you are riding in a fast peleton and capable of holding your own or you are doing 50km on the flats and 25km up the hills.

 

Not to brag, but we went up smits at 32.6 kph, without motors 😜

I sat up bottom of chappies after doing a big final turn to try to bring the breakaway as close as possible before the climb, and still went over chappies 31.5kph.

I regret to say that even with a ebike, you probably can't get the experience that we experience, and even if you did, you'd be a massive danger to everyone around you, as most of the race we are bar to bar at high speeds, using the entire road.

I used to like motorbike racing as well, and was pretty decent at it, but I accepted there that I would never experience what racing a motoGP bike feels like, same as I've accepted that doing 7w/kg for 30 mins up a mountain is not something I'll ever experience. Just enjoy what you can do, respect the rules and others.

Edited 7 hours ago by Jbr