The ARGUS 2025 Thread (AKA CTCT)

[NC_lurker]

12 hours ago, JM_NEL said:

People were flying! Well done🤙

Thanks for this. Please can you add 5D.

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Pure Savage said:

Someone in 1D beating 1A and getting a 2:47 for him and his GF.

Boet we had a 60-64 rider from 1C in the 1A group......I'll bet he had a storming time

Edited 3 hours ago by DieselnDust
checked the result and he was 60-64 age cat

[droo]

18 hours ago, Mamil said:

Shelled out the back of 1c on Smits, at which point I knew the sub 3 was out of reach. If ever there was a day for it, it was today but...

3.06, a PR by 2 minutes. If you'd told me I'd be disappointed with that time 10 years ago when I did my first one I would have laughed in your face and called you deluded. 

Sounds exactly like my day, in my case I just forgot to pack my climbing legs cos I got shelled by D on the way up Chappies as well.

A PR is a PR though, so don't be too annoyed - at least it wasn't a 3:01.

[The Ouzo]

9 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Boet we had  55-59 or maybe 60-64 rider from 1C in the 1A group......I'll bet he had a storming time

I watched a 2A rider go into our 1D starting pen right infront of a marshal.

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Alliesmeister said:

How do you get this cool view in your Strava? On Android when I look at the segments map I don't see any of my PBs on the map like this. I have to select the segments one by one at the bottom of the screen. 

Was this perhaps taken on an iPhone? 

 

On Android, when you see the "first page" on strava, swipe the map up.

 

EDIT - the above worked when getting a notification of a friends ride.

 

When I now click on the ride, going via Strava not the notification link, I open the map and see the PB's.

 

 

not a paid member, so would expect others to see this as well.

Edited 4 hours ago by ChrisF

[droo]

58 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

This oke is a peter oliver eating sweets.. I refuse to promote him in any way (now watch how many clicks he get as curious cats click to see what the fuss is about)

  Yeah I hear you and great points raised. Cycletour brings its own mentality to the cycling dynamic. I didn't coin it the fun Ride World Champs something like 21 years ago for nothing. Its the day when dreams, sacrifice, bar room bets and long held personal rivalries are all stewed in a pot called Capriccio Italien for 30secs and then released with a thunder clap. In an instant all that energy is released faster than a runaway nuclear reaction.

The first hour is all about surviving - avoiding crashes often caused by over exuberant riders flying into disappearing gaps or wanting to switch peloton lanes as they do in zwift  forgetting the rider they just passed hasn't disappeared.

 

On the overlapping wheels. I hear this advice all the time but its really only applicable when you're out riding with your mates in single file........... 

In a peloton environment overlapping wheels is just what is happening as a result of penning 250 sheeples together and everyone wants to be at the front but nobody wants to be at the front. By it nature, wheel shave to overlap as it is impossible to string out 250 rider single file a much a neighbour keeps asking why you don't.

What you have not mentioned is the aspect of "holding your line"...lets talk about that one a bit

Few seem to understand what this means. A bicycle by its pedaled two wheeled nature is virtually impossible to hold in a perfectly straight line for very long , especially when its a nervous full blooded race machine design to used with a  long slammed stem but instead is equipped with a viagra assisted 80mm 25degree stem raising the bar to allow its pedaler to power it without breaking their back. Holding a line means maintaining your position relative to the riders in front of you and on either side. Side none of us have eyes in the back of the head, the rider behind must keep clear and follow. Unpredictable behaviour like switching is not cool and whoever does this deserves a stern talking to. Dive bombing a corner when the rider in front of you have committed to their line is also dangerous and p*ss poor manners.

<note to dim wit in red cheeohveetah top> Yes Mr. Balie D88s-Works your stupid dive bomb at Sea Point circle was just poor character. You nearly put me and 5 others riders in the steel barrier. Then you're so over enthusiastic you take the next traffic circle too fast, loose the back wheel, drop a chain and drift into 3 more riders, ruining their run into the pavillion. Stay on the couch please. Bly by de v*kk*n huis if you want to bring that attitude. ,<rant over>

Lots of IDT strength and little to no experience riding in a peloton is unfortunately way too common in the racing-but-not-quite-racing groups.

That said, 1C was remarkably well behaved yesterday.

And 10 points to the wedge-shaped time triallist in the Embark kit who almost single handedly pulled about 100 people from Llandudno to the line at 45km/h+.

[Bianchisti]

13 hours ago, JM_NEL said:

People were flying! Well done🤙

What are the circles indicating? Assuming the flat horizontal bar is the fastest time?

[DieselnDust]

basis the result, 3 guys rode away from 1C , through 1B and caught 1A..........

 

I don't know about you okes but straight away I can smell BS

[ChrisF]

25 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

I watched a 2A rider go into our 1D starting pen right infront of a marshal.

 

Saw a couple of "early starters" ... saw ONE being shown back to the starting pens.

 

Frankly this is up to Finish Time to make good on their promises to DQ early starters.

 

 

On this topic ....

 

I see a lady managed a 2:50 on her ebike ... now to be a registered ebike rider she was supposed to start 3A or later ... doing THAT time for 3A would have meant way too many stupidly dangerous passing moves !!!  Sure, the results have been purged, and she has been DQ'ed ... Most of the first page of results were significantly faster than 3:50.

 

One ebike rider managed 3:49:56 ... name removed from the list this morning.

 

off topic ...

29 ebike riders managed it in 3:50:05 to 3:50:55 ...

[PappaWatTrap]

48 minutes ago, droo said:

Sounds exactly like my day, in my case I just forgot to pack my climbing legs cos I got shelled by D on the way up Chappies as well.

A PR is a PR though, so don't be too annoyed - at least it wasn't a 3:01.

My PR from a few years back is still haunting me at 3:01. 

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Dri said:

I feel so many of these incidents can be avoided if people just stayed calm, were kinder to each other and applied some simple rules. We don't need to have massive crashes 5km into every race

- Avoid overlapping wheels. 

- I feel this is the one that is lacking the most. Communicate to the people around if you think they don't see you. "Hey I'm on your right/left". Also if you see the pace dropping significantly or something happening up ahead, signal it to the people behind you. It helps everyone.

- Climb incoming or descent flattening out causing the speed to drop? don't sit 1mm from the guy infront's wheel and be suprised when you collide. There is often a chain reaction in these larger groups and having a bit more space, gives everyone more time to react.

- Own your mistakes, deescalate the situation.

- Be predictable

 

Yes, yes and yes on all your points.

 

I had more than a few nervous moments with people slipping in behind me ... half wheeling ....  With the ebike I can kick and get out of it, IF it is open ahead.  Still not nice having to watch all around just to stay safe.

 

Had a seriously nervous moment past Muizenberg .... I was riding on my , then got caught by a peleton, with the lead rider sitting next to me, with no room to manouver between him and the pavement ... some 20+ in the peleton behind, think we were close on 40km/h on the gently down slope.

 

Next moment a dog starts walking towards the road ... A quick check ... JIP ... he is heading into the road right in front of us !!!  There was absolutely no time for a gently wave of the arm .... I SHOUTED "DOG .... DOG .... DOG !!!!"

 

The lead rider started moving away a bit and you could hear the freewheels as the group slowed up ....

 

The dog actually put his feet in the road in front of me before the owner called it back.

 

That could have been a seriously bad crash !!

 

 

 

 

Racing vs a fun ride ....  Let's for a moment say the concept of seeding is not too far off the mark, 1 or 2 groups up or down not being an issue.  The "racers" have a fair chance to start before 7:00.

 

If for which ever of many reasons you got your seeding wrong, or fell back to start with friends at the back .... PLEASE dont shout out "race orders" at the fun riders, many of whom were doing their first CTCT. 

 

[Pure Savage]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

Boet we had  55-59 or maybe 60-64 rider from 1C in the 1A group......I'll bet he had a storming time

How do you think they got there

[Bub Marley]

51 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

I watched a 2A rider go into our 1D starting pen right infront of a marshal.

What’s the point of this? They’re just gonna get disqualified.

[RustyHWR]

It was an EXPO at Good Hope - now its a bazaar.

[Bianchisti]

13 hours ago, JM_NEL said:

 Closer look at the faster groups.

4C, D & E were "Internationals otherwise unseeded" who seems to have gone faster then all the seeded riders in Groups 2 and 3 

[Skubarra]

1 minute ago, Bub Marley said:

What’s the point of this? They’re just gonna get disqualified.

Do they though? I almost never see any consequences for people who jump ahead to start in earlier groups. And to be fair to the marshals, also something very difficult to police in practice and one trouble maker can occupy a marshal for minutes while 10 others slip trough.