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MTB events in WC - poor turnout?


johnw

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Are attendance figures dropping for MTB events? Or are the results incomplete? Or is there some other reason? This last weekend's results show:

49 finishers for Eselfontein 70km and 53 for the 40km.

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36 finishers for Stellenbosch Wes 55k and 57 for the 40km

 
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? and where are all the capetonians who go on about there being no mountains in gauteng. so you have the mountains, but are too girlish to use themTongueno offence to the girls! 

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let me try explain.

 

 

 

Ceres is 200k's from town (+-)

 

 

 

damm far, still cold in the morning, etc.

 

 

 

I will even go so far and say that you can blame The Epic.

 

 

 

Riders are already training for the Epic and we rather do 120 - 150 km rides at this stage. So, for us, the 70km is not far enough.

 

 

 

and its got nothing to do will "difficult enough".

 

 

 

We now doing the long hard hours in the saddle en a 3 to 4 hour mtb race (with the expences going with it), is not viable.

 

 

 

only my opinion.popeye2007-09-11 07:02:14

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The PPA website only shows the results for paid up PPA members who wear their winningtime transponders for the race.

 

I guess about 50% of entrants are not listed on the PPA results page for most races.

 

Also the two examples that you mention above are among the hardest on the calendar - not suited to the "roadies" Wink and thus attract less people.

 

mountain_lion2007-09-11 07:04:23

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popeye, i wonder.

 

surely there are just as many people from up north doing the epic. yet even the races that are a similar or further distance away - think dullies, hazyview, sabie, barberton, etc - are just growing and growing. 

 

even the cold couldn't scare anyone away. 
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I'm with you on that one ML, the roadies don't like the real Mtb races, they'd rather go and do a 120km training ride on the road. Or alternatively a 100km Road race on mtb's (Karoo 2 Coast) and such like. Ceres only takes an hour and 45 minutes to drive to and that's not driving that fast at all.

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JohnW, if you attended the AMG PPA thiny a month or so ago you would have received a booklet with all the figures and what not in. From what I can remember the Mtb events attendance were up by quite a bit. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

PPA is trying to get more ppl to join PPA by letting Non PPA members start at the back of PPA members at Mtb events. I?m pretty sure the guys will get sick and tierd of passing the ?roadies? and join PPA.Wink

 

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I guess about 50% of entrants are not listed on the PPA results page for most races.

 

then double the figures (in bold) and it's still not very impressive.

 

49 (98) finishers for Eselfontein 70km and 53 (106) for the 40km.

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36 (72) finishers for Stellenbosch Wes 55k and 57 (114)  for the 40km

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took us 1h04 to Ceres from Durbanville and that's over Bainskloof sitting behind old ppl that drive waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to slow..

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? and where are all the capetonians who go on about there being no mountains in gauteng. so you have the mountains' date=' but are too girlish to use themTongueno offence to the girls! [/quote']

 

 

if we had television coverage at the most of our events, then we would also have a huge turnout...!!!LOLLOL

 

 

 
Robotech2007-09-11 07:18:15
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Popeye, that proves what I was saying. People would rather do an easy race than actually be taken out of their comfort zones on the tougher races. Budget constraints? R70 entry fee, plus petrol for 200km, can't be that much? To do one of the best races in this country, seems like a fair trade to me.

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agree, but remember they have to still pay their way down to uniondal - knysna and all the other weekend expenses.

 

 

 

So, maybe the R70 and petrol money is kept for next weekend.

 

 

 

And yes, I'm a roadie that do the MTB thingy just for the fun. I'm not a hardcore MTB'er , so I do think different about the mtb rides.

 

 

 

If I hear anything "technical route/single track", i wil not do it.

 

 

 

not because I don't wont, but because I cant. I only do the Argus mtb rides and epic. so I got a complete different feel for mtb'ing.

 

 

 

Ok, let me tell you my "medical" thing. I had a retina detachment about 5 years ago, that meant that my retina tear away from my eyeball (something like that). It was the saturday, so on the monday I went to the eye surgeon and the Thuesday they open my eye and had to laser the tear (3 of them). but it had some bleeding as well and that blood touched my "centre point" of focus at the back of they eye.

 

 

 

I lost my "depth perception" from my left eye. So, I can see with the eye, but I struggle to measure depth from the left eye. So, especially when you ride in darkish , then sunlight, than darkish area's, I struggle to see how deep a hole or contour of the road.

 

 

 

Thats why day1 of the Epic will always be my hardest (concentration wise) that riding inbetween the tree's with sunny spots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

popeye2007-09-11 07:27:11

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