Incorrect Race Distance

[dirtrider]

Groenkloof has so many options !!!! But if you just do the "standard " route you should have done about 15km

[Tumbleweed]

dr, thanks, that's about right, then. i was a bit worried about my garmin when i saw the sign saying that it was 25km!

[Tony]

wisecrack, saw you win the duvet, pity it is now summer.

 

My son did me proud and won the u10 30km race.

 

 

[Nettie R]

I don't think the more experienced rider worries too much about a couple of kms extra in a race.

Its horrible if organisers make you pay for a 80km mtb event and you end up riding only 40. (Isn't that what happened @ Tzaneen mtb race?)

With races being a lot more expensive these days, you pay for the distance and organisers should try to get as close to it as possible.

(If you work it back to R p/km. $$$! )

[wisecrack]

Gongrats.

 

I remember his picture been taken.

 

[phoenix]

But no one complains when it's longer then advertised.

 

 

 

The Montecasino race was 116km last year, advertised as 100. My wife and I crawled the last 10km's on the tandem, having expected to be finished way earlier.

[Fork-it]

And lets not forget the 94.7... maybe it's secretly sponsored by one of those stations with a much higher frequency... 98.00, or 102.7...??

[widget]

I hate it, especially when its longer than advertised, its a garaunteed way of putting me in a bad mood.

 

Theres nothing worse than expecting the end (especially if you dont know the route) in say 10 kms and it ends up actually 15 or even 20 kms away.

 

..........and theres no excuse for it really, its just plain apathetical on the organisers behalf.

 

[Sean Badenhorst]

Dirty Harry 2007 was advertised as 75km but was 83km. Not your average 8km extra, but a flipping torturous, spirit-crushing, fun-dial shattering 800000cm. Not one rider was happy about that. It's not difficult to measure a race route, even if it is a MTB route. Perfect way for Garmin to gain cycling market confidence as a GPS sponsor to major races. It's not just us middle-of-the-pack plodders that hate inaccurate race measurment, the top riders measure their efforts to the metre and a distance inaccuracy can mean the difference between first and second place.

The other thing that really bothers me is when the refreshment station folk at a (long) MTB race tell you it's 10km to go when it's actually 15 or more! I'd rather they didn't say anything and channel their enthusiasm into passing me another Coke!

MTB races should all make an effort to have countdown distance markers at say, halfway, 20km, 15km, 10km, 5km to go at least. It reassures the riders and is another branding opportunity for the event sponsor.

Gripe (with some suggested solutions) over!

 

[Mudsimus]

That never happens

 

Uhm...If the idiot that mark the route's car still works in miles it does! Had a very unpleasant experience as a junior when a 80km stage at the eric van enter turned out to be so much further...