Sabie X Feedback

[Little-Ben]

in sabie its hard to find a venue that has sufficient space for 900 riders plus there families and cars, i think they have a perfect venue considering the demands, maybe next year they can try and get large rubber mats like the ones they put over cricket fields or maybe those grid mats for the muddy days to prevent the fields from being destroyed,

 

immagine you lent them your lovely school field with grand stand and they wreck it, would you want them back coz i doubt most people would,

 

they really have come along way but they have done well,

 

on my side i had a great first day, got a 23rd overall

 

second day we were in about 9th or 10th when my derailer broke and rode single speed to the end for a 35th.

 

on day three my team mate pulled out for some reason so took it easy from there and same on day 4,

 

nice too see some hubbers and plenty familiar faces

[latentree]

Awesome event, big vibe, then the first time is always the best. Learnt to decend without brakes, about Spry & Cook to keep off mud (might try that next time ?) will considder full cable sleeves also. Had lots of laughs & with a great mate.

Those guys at the front knows how to JAAG!

West Rand Cycles was sold out yesterday on brakepads.

I put up pics on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77157&id=594617989

 

 

[Sean Badenhorst]

Seems like mechanical issues weren't discriminatory ? even the winners had big issues. This from the Stage 2 review:

 

After winning Stage 1 on Saturday by a huge nine-minute margin, Stewart and Knox were once again the aggressors on Sunday when they moved into the lead at the base of the first big climb. But at 15km Knox?s rear gear derailleur broke, leaving him with just four gear options instead of the usual 27.

 

But by the summit of the long climb, which lasted for virtually the first 45km of the stage, Knox and Stewart had a four-minute lead on the chasing pack, which included the Garmin 1 pair of Theron and Buys, the Garmin 2 team of Green and Mackenzie and the Mr Price Red team of Johan van Zyl and Dana Coetzee.

 

?My knee is still painful so we just kept a steady pace from there and actually built up our lead to almost 10 minutes,? explained Knox.

 

But with 15km of the 74km stage remaining Stewart?s back wheel started losing composure as spokes began to break. The further he rode the more spokes broke as a result of the inconsistent tension on the rim.

 

?We had to stop three times in the last 15 kays to tinker with Brandon?s wheel just to keep it in a decent state to allow us to keep riding,? recalled Knox. ?We knew that Francois and Philip were catching so it was a relief to have had enough of a cushion to still win the stage!?

 

Brandon counted 10 broken spokes at the finish!

 

 

 

[GoLefty!!]

Hey Dirt, it was leker to meet you.

 

we back in CT safely with no broken bits off our bikes this time.

 

A lot of the crit you leveled at the event I would 2nd. There is a lot that can be improved, especially on the technical backup side. Well at least inform the riders in advance which brands are represented so that if any niche products are require (hope mono mini pro brake lever for example) then the riders can obtain these in advance of the event.

 

I thought the marshalling and commisaires did an excellent job though.

[Roons]

in sabie its hard to find a venue that has sufficient space for 900 riders plus there families and cars' date=' [/quote']

 

 

 

The school was also being used as a examination marking centre this year so they weren't able to use it for Sabie X. But I do think that the field after last year had something to do with it!

 

 

 

It would be great if they could run Sabie X twice a year - have a summer (Dec) one and a winter one too!

 

 

 

As it would be great to experience those routes without the added difficulty of rain!

[NotSoBigBen]

"Brake pads wear out!  Put new ones in before you arrive for the race and for your own sake bring a couple of spare sets particularly if you have weird or unusual (or OLD!) brakes! And use metal pads if possible, they howl like banshees but don?t disintegrate at the first hint of moisture."

 

From the SabieX e-mail received and on their website .......

[nochain]

What a race!!!!!<?: prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /> <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />And this coming from a roadie.

My first Sabiex and it won't be the last that's for sure. Man what an amazing experience and challenge this was.

Must be the hardest thing I have done this year but also the most rewarding by far.

Day 2 must have been the hardest most amazing 4 and half hours I have ever done on a bike....but I must admit at some stage I got a bit worried that we are never going to stop climbing!!

Day 4.....I have to say this is one day I never want to have again. To give you an idea we ended up every day somewhere in 40 th place overall and then comes this mud wrestling contest......we ended up in like 100th place for the day.Can't say it was my worst day ever on a bike.... because I was more off the bike than on it!!

 

I struggled a lot with back problems during the first hour of everyday and then started to feel better as the day went on...some people say it's just because I am not that used to the Mtb and climbing for long periods??

 

To all the people involved especialy those people standing in the pouring rain, waiting to help us with the route or some refreshments......a very big thank you!!!

 

In 2009 I will focus on doing enough Mtb races so I can come back to this race and really give it a full GO!!If this is the only race I get to stand on the podium next year I will be more than happy!!!  

 

And to Beee and her partner who also completed this monster and ended up being 7th in the ladies...I am soooooo Proud of you!!!!!!

 

 

Also thanks to dfm1 for making this possible for me.

 

 

 

nochain2008-12-18 08:28:10

[taygan]

Awesome event...Loved the single tracks. Hectic climbing, but well worth it!! difiantly in for next year!!

[Beee]

This was really an EXPERIENCE!!!

 

Very tough and as Nochain said, so VERY rewarding!!! I love climbing, but at one stage I just thought enough is enough!!! where does it end!! heheheh

 

We got through everything just fine, totalled one brand spanking new set of brake pads, and needless to say, nobody had any spares left by day 4!! Got a set eventually from Dana and then we were well away.

 

I'm soooo glad I didn't have to start in the horrible conditions the frontrunners had on the time trial!!

 

[QUOTE=nochain]

And to Beee and her partner who also completed this monster and ended up being 7th in the ladies...I am soooooo Proud of you!!!!!!

 

 

 

ag dankie hoor my liefie!!! ons was actually 8ste, maar dit voel soos 7de so!!!

[intern]

All I can say about Sabie X is that CAMPING f*ckin BLOWS. Never again will I pay a grand to spend a weekend slushing around in a muddy field with a hundred or more other damp squibs....

[dfm1]

All I can say about Sabie X is that CAMPING f*ckin BLOWS. Never again will I pay a grand to spend a weekend slushing around in a muddy field with a hundred or more other damp squibs....

 

Well then next time dont camp, my wife's defenition of camping is a 3star hotel

[dfm1]

 

 

Also thanks to dfm1 for making this possible for me.

 

 [/quote']

 

Ag dis 'n moerse plessier, werk net so bietjie aan die backstroke, dit sal dag 3 se swem baie meer draagbaar maak