24 hour at Rietvlei

[Tumbleweed]

Congrats to all riders' date=' unfortunately i did not get to see many hubbers and only got to see Delgado and HR's set up which looked quite festive. [/quote']

 

nice to see you again, mate. that set-up almost got blown away in the storm! saw quite a few hubbers: ox wagon (A for effort), procrates (good to make your acquaintance), bionic man (you know you want that bike), konafan (looking forward to the groenies night rides), slave (nice to put a face to a rant), cat-i (as always, managed to smile throughout), wonder woman (who looked happy "riding for two"), caad4 (nice bike ...saw the other one go past our camp a coupla times), big ben (sorry my teammates made fun of you so much), little bb (did you get your phone back?), bardie (you gotta love how kids get onto jumping castles), uniruancycle (hope the "snakebite" heals up soon), ngala (who was rockin' it wigga-style)...*it's early, and i'm still tired from the weekend, so if i've forgotten anyone - and i'm sure i have - add you name here to jog my memory? * holy roller2009-12-06 23:50:43

[pastapouch]

also did the 24 HR, the ride was good, we wanted to enter a ladies team but that route was too technical for them. The freakin weather Saturday....we were a bit unprepared for that cold, some tents were broken by the wind, so we packed up and went home, and went back yesterday morning. Well done to those who rode through that.

[Tumbleweed]

i want to give two beeeeeeeg thumbs-up to this event. it was well-organised. here are a few things that made for a kewl weekend?

- having a bike shop right at the venue to be able to buy things you mighta forgotten.

- the lekker vibe. 'nuff said!

- great teammates. we went there with three things in mind - beer, braaiing and backgammon. in the end we only nailed down the first two. despite having to make a detour to cyrildene on the way to get a backgammon board, we never got round to playing one game!

- as mentioned elsewhere, getting a beer on course near the finish line from my son. okay, technically this would be illegal seconding?wanta lodge a protest? be my guesthe was also quick to dive into the collerbox after a morning lap to get me one!

- the weather?yeah, yeah, so it bucketed down, but we were blessed with the sun for the most part. even dismantling two gazebos in a tempest was fun. we almost got carried away mary poppins-style while doing it. drenched, but happy.   

- the course?i really don't think it can be criticised. there was ample space to pass and be passed. most guys and gals were courteous in this regard. the mud made after the restart made it interesting - okay, hellish - but, hey this is mountain biking, no? even the trek back after abandoning the lap before the course was shortened was a jol. the banter was hilarious, as was seeing cat-i pop out of the long grass. 

- heading out in the dark after the course was changed. loved how the nearby spotlights illuminated the vlei.

- the winding singletrack in the dark made for some interesting moments. clipped a coupla trees, but am happy to report a lie-down-free weekend.

- the smell of freshly braaied boerewors after a night lap. washed down with a hansa or three.

- heading out on the course on a pre-dawn lap and being out there as the sun came out. 

- fish-tailing through the singletrack down by the river in the morning. was a little challenging to keep upright, but a bucket of fun.

- the cheery chicks with the fairy wings. i think they greeted us on every lap.

- seeing wendell bowes churning out the laps for that kid's cochlear implant. hope some hubbers managed to pop into cycle hub to contribute to the cause.

- and seeing and meeting so many hubbers!

  

[Guest Agteros]

 

The course is wicked and way more interesting than NF! When you go through BigBen's corner you'll all be thanking me

 

Some cool new sections and interesting riding the sections we know 'in the opposite direction to normal'!

 

***** edited for those from north of the boerewors curtain *******

 

That was Bennys Bend?

 

What did you do there to have it named after you?

 

[Mats]

Summit Well Done. You did great.

 

Thanks for all your support and advice. It made a huge difference. I learned a lot from this race and if all goes well I will be back next year.

[pastapouch]

- the cheery chicks with the fairy wings. i think they greeted us on every lap.

  

I got stuck behind one of them ... just couldn't get past

[Wyatt Earp]

 

- the cheery chicks with the fairy wings. i think they greeted us on every lap.

 

??

 

 

I got stuck behind one of them ... just couldn't get past

 

Cervelo, that's your excuse and you better stick to it

 

Dobby you were like a racehorse.

[Tumbleweed]

- the cheery chicks with the fairy wings. i think they greeted us on every lap.

  

I got stuck behind one of them ... just couldn't get past

Cervelo' date=' that's your excuse and you better stick to it
Dobby you were like a racehorse. [/quote']

 

so that's what that galloping noise was!

[latentree]

really enjoyed it very very much!

1st time on that side of Jhb & was cool.

Think what i enjoy most about 24h is that i feel like a kid again, after a few laps it all feels familiar, like your home town where you're just riding the whole day, & pop in for some refreshment now and then, and then you're off again, no chores, freedom, ...  and wow what a course.

Does anyone know it the little hedgehog made it?, 'was roaming in the track at about 04:00, oblivious to the wheels flying past.

Congrats to all who were there and did their best.

some campsite pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wietz.beukes/Rietvlei?authkey=Gv1sRgCMeKkLrTou_C7wE&feat=directlink

 

 

[Guest Agteros]

 

really enjoyed it very very much!

1st time on that side of Jhb & was cool.

Think what i enjoy most about 24h is that i feel like a kid again' date=' after a few laps it all feels familiar, like your home town where you're just riding the whole day, & pop in for some refreshment now and then, and then you're off again, no chores, freedom, ...  and wow what a course.

Does anyone know it the little hedgehog made it?, 'was roaming in the track at about 04:00, oblivious to the wheels flying past.

Congrats to all who were there and did their best.

some campsite pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wietz.beukes/Rietvlei?authkey=Gv1sRgCMeKkLrTou_C7wE&feat=directlink

 

 

[/quote']

 

Also saw the little critter at about the same time. It just stood very still in the trail, I guess complete confused by all the bright lights coming at it. still shouted to the riders behind me that there is one in trail. Hopefully it got away to live to tell the tale of the bright lights!

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Saw the little dude as well.

 

I saw Holy, Ox Wagon (whom I chirped a few times)Denise Devine,Little Ben,BigBen,Sean Bardenhorst,Jo-Anne Bardenhorst and even Kalon (he is pretty much a hubber)Dobby,Cat-i.

 

I missed Scotty

 

Thank you to everyone who also pitched during the 24 hours, my mate Chris Froome for the neck massage.

 

 

 

I think that every single person who rode that course is a winner, that was one tough course, everyone of you are worthy

 

SteelNiner,TurtleK and Velouria it was an honour and a pleasure to be riding with you chaps.

 

Ridemyplanet, well done on a great even 10 years in and you have set a benchmark.

 

 

 

Well done evryone Summit Cycles2009-12-07 01:49:51

[mohanjalan]

Also saw the hedgehog ~04:00 (early in the lap, on the "jeep track climb" towards the fence). I am sure he made it... just another night in Gauteng ;-)

To the organizers... Awesome event! Thanks a million :-)

 

[Jozanne]

Awesome event ! Thank you to everybody involved !<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Only one complaint:  we were a bit disappointed with the campsite. We arrived at 8am and all the nice spots were pre-booked.. mannn it was really scorching out at the back in the sun. Never the less?.

It?s been a great 2009 season and I was fit and ready to race really hard- solo ? no sleep,  but alas I only  had the privilege of doing 3 awesome laps before the niggling tummy flu  got so bad I had to demote myself to official photographer. I had a good night?s sleep, with a couple of uncomfortable visits to the ?wit huisie? ,  but I was still to dehydrated and week  to ride on Sunday morning.

The rest of our party had a blast and I am still envois..

I took a couple of awesome pictures ! will post them as soon as I can.

The following things made this weekend memorable:

?         10 rain drenched people hanging onto the gazebo..

?         Awesome sunset -

?         Seeing everyone coming back ? mud / clay covered and laughing- made the fact that I was stuck in camp a lttle more bearable

?         Having a was in the water feature

?         Crashing the back to school party ? mann did they pick the wrong weekend !

?         Finding a respectable wit husie at 3am

?         Walking along the course at dawn and seeing everyone having fun on their bikes !

?         Braaing tjoppies at 9 am in the morning and washing them down with beer..

?         Witnessing the Bike chuck for the first time? missed the previous couple of years.

?         Enjoying the USA drinks after packing up the camp?

We are looking forward to  2010?

[Canaris]

Race report from Konafan:

 

The day started off well, a team of four arrived did rolecall of the beers and set the tents up in the thorn bushes (paper thorns are ouch).  All accompanied by the sounds of dead marines.  Four hubbers ready to go.  Proctrates lead the way, followed by me, Dragson and Gawie.   THe first laps raised concersn of bad Kharma, something was just wrong.  Only after carefull analysis did we realise we were cycling occult symbols all over the marshlands and acient runes through the forrests...........

 

It did not take long for this to awaken the sprites and nymphs of the forrests, and winged faeries were soon sighted (very diferent from road fairies).  The bog spirits vented their enthusiasm and plotted to waylay the insolent cyclists.  First part of their scheme was to re-invigorate the bog by calling a thunderstorm down on proceedings, which flattened some of the campsite and brought and end to riding until after 7:30 and sunset.  Here the real business of the mean spirites kicked in.  Mtbikers entering the marsh after night were renedered directionless and forced to cycle in circles for hours.  (It took cat-i 20 minutes to ride 200 meters, and two cyclists cannot account for 2 and a half hours of their lives)  Equipment was grabbed and grappled until derailers were ripped from frames.  Eventually cyclist fled from the battlefield like a routed army of will o wisps.  MAny of us developed a fear of the dark and retired back to the tents and the safety of intoxication after this initial skirmish. In desperation the organisers afforded respect to the bog and rerouted the brave around the marsh, leaving us at the mercy of the tree sprites who mad fun of us by gently mudging us off our lines into each other and the trees.  However, when the sun came up they got bored and retired to the beer tent.  The sun goddess smiled at our folly and passed blessing on those on single speeds, who were given clarity (due to having only one geer) and strength for the uphills.  MAny great laps were ridden after sunrise, finishing off what can be best descibed as an involentary visist to faerieland.

[Tumbleweed]

Race report from Konafan:

 

The day started off well' date=' a team of four arrived did rolecall of the beers and set the tents up in the thorn bushes (paper thorns are ouch).  All accompanied by the sounds of dead marines.  Four hubbers ready to go.  Proctrates lead the way, followed by me, Dragson and Gawie.   THe first laps raised concersn of bad Kharma, something was just wrong.  Only after carefull analysis did we realise we were cycling occult symbols all over the marshlands and acient runes through the forrests...........

 

It did not take long for this to awaken the sprites and nymphs of the forrests, and winged faeries were soon sighted (very diferent from road fairies).  The bog spirits vented their enthusiasm and plotted to waylay the insolent cyclists.  First part of their scheme was to re-invigorate the bog by calling a thunderstorm down on proceedings, which flattened some of the campsite and brought and end to riding until after 7:30 and sunset.  Here the real business of the mean spirites kicked in.  Mtbikers entering the marsh after night were renedered directionless and forced to cycle in circles for hours.  (It took cat-i 20 minutes to ride 200 meters, and two cyclists cannot account for 2 and a half hours of their lives)  Equipment was grabbed and grappled until derailers were ripped from frames.  Eventually cyclist fled from the battlefield like a routed army of will o wisps.  MAny of us developed a fear of the dark and retired back to the tents and the safety of intoxication after this initial skirmish. In desperation the organisers afforded respect to the bog and rerouted the brave around the marsh, leaving us at the mercy of the tree sprites who mad fun of us by gently mudging us off our lines into each other and the trees.  However, when the sun came up they got bored and retired to the beer tent.  The sun goddess smiled at our folly and passed blessing on those on single speeds, who were given clarity (due to having only one geer) and strength for the uphills.  MAny great laps were ridden after sunrise, finishing off what can be best descibed as an involentary visist to faerieland.

[/quote']

hey, i was enjoying this report up until the bit in bold. i hope you're not referring to me

[scotty]

Race report from Konafan:

 

Nice report, but you left the part out about running around before the race. Thought for a moment you had entered a triathlon.