Isuzu 3 Towers Stage Race at Mankele,MP

[BaldBatman]

It started last year when Bigguy gave me a tinkle and told me that he entered us in this new race. O the joy! This was my first stage race so I didn't now what to expect.

I'll summarize by saying that everything else after 3 Towers 2009 was like kissing my sister.

 

Ok 2010 and we're back. This time the boys at Mankele cooked up a "Race" (75, 80 & 50km) and "Challenge" (50, 50 and 50km). O the joy! I think Enema and Root Canal would be more apt descriptions but that's just me. Me and Bigguy are scared of nothing, except maybe Caster Samenya and entered the Race again...O the joy!

 

Thursday afternoon arrived and once again tents were already pitched and the vibe is already there. Since me and Bigguy is on the tall side, we decided to bring out own tents etc. but there is ample room for camping and Mankele don't charge competitors who use this alternative accommodation. Nice.

 

That evening, the guys get the show on the road. Monstrous amounts of food prepared by tannies of the local church. After that some short introductions and videos on big screens to wet our appetites. Race rules are explained, etc.

 

Friday-Day 1:

=============

Misty and chilly but not too bad. We're off at 07:00, me and Bigguy start right at the back followed only by Team Tortoise. As we hit the first climbs and the infamous Sting, our fellow entrants especially the newbies meet Mankele first hand and find out why this race is not for sissies. But all is not lost and soon we hit the main attraction at this race - "Single tracks" - the first of many.

Look no respectable race should be without climbs, but the reward here is superdeeduper. As our ascent took us higher and high...Twilight zone stuff, the weather started turning for the worst. Well, worse than when we started. Roads got wetter, we got dirtier and it got significantly colder.

 

After a hell of a climb we got to Water point 1 - Jeff met us there all smiles - well he IS riding a motorcycle, but then again I'm sure he's done this course more times than all of us combined. Food, drink, merriment. Apparently only one casualty so far. The road splits here for us and the Challengers and we were off - stuffed like Christmas Turkeys.

 

Although we didn't like the idea of getting wet, by the time we got to Ryan's Waterfall, we were very relieved to get all the muck from our bikes. Short portage but with an excellent view and voila! Water point 2 where we were greeted with coffee! Coffee people, 50k's into a race! That is without having to mention the potatoes, bananas, bar-ones, marshmallows, ample water, coke and powerade. We were relatively at the back-end of the race but still nothing had run out, staff is friendly. It's is truly a joy to see a water point.

 

More uphill from there and then some but then again the downhills are superb Forestry roads. Everything that goes up must come down and with a combined weight of the entire group of finalist of America's next top Model, me and Bigguy screamed down the declines.

 

The guys at Water point 3 was a miserable lot but with the temperature dropping like Tiger's pants I could blame them. More food, cleaning bikes again, chatting with locals and other racers.

 

Then the stretch back up to the backside of Sting. O the joy! But...then 60km/h down Sting is scary and fun like nothing on earth, topped with loads of unbelievable single track, fast and furious. Short sprint to the finish and glad to be done.

 

Lots of self-service washing bays, an on-site Bike shop and mechanic - I'm sure he's ordered the new Prado this afternoon. The church tannies was ready with lunch: Chicken, pasta, potatoes, salads, more fruit - too much to mention.

 

Hot showers - o the joy! Even though we finished with a smashing time of 5:20 (riding time) there was still hot water. Toilets are cleaned hourly if not sooner - ok I didn't time the cleaners but it's clean.

 

Saturday-Day 2:

=============

Early morning and it looked to be a slightly overcast day. With a heavy shower the previous afternoon we expected the roads and single tracks to be wet and muddy like day one. But the locals were saying it will be dry and I for one was not convinced.

 

Breakfast was once again a wholesome affair. And lo and behold Bigguy was actually fast enough that we got to the start 5 minutes before the time. It would have been sooner if he didn't have a valve malfunction just before we left the tent.

 

The route was loosely based on last year's day one route but more single track and a dip into the Schoemans Kloof valley.

Some serious climbs and serious downhill. I know of at least one guy who had to choose between a shear drop and a nasty roasty and had to settle for the latter to stay among the living.

 

The water points where again well manned (and womaned?) with reps from Westvaal and locals. I would like to mention that the organisers were almost always at hand at any given time, chatting to us, urging us on, etc. (even when we were swearing at them). And bearing in mind that me and Bigguy was some of the tail-enders of the long distance race it is nice to see that they don’t only care for the pros.

 

The weather played tricks on us: from slightly cloudy, to overcast and chilly and back to warm and sunny. The result though was that the tracks and roads where perfect - not too slippery and not dusty.

 

Third water point had coffee again! After a punishing climb back over the mountain to the Mankele valley it was more single track ad a quick sprint to the finish. A special thanks to the four guys in front of us - if you didn't frustrate us so much in the single tracks we would have never smoked you on that last little climb and "klapped" it to the finish.

 

Tired but happy with our time we went for a quick shower and headed to the tent for lunch. Chicken, Potato salad, pasta, etc.

 

Our bikes where relatively clean because of the weather but I had trouble with my derailleur and was worried about my brakes for Day 3. Fortunately the on-site bike shop sorted out the serious stuff for a R100 service fee and it worked fine the next day. Trent's shop was a life-saver and I'm sure he will be eating white bread for the rest of October at least.

 

Trent incidentally didn't do to bad in the stages. Another honourable mention should go to Team Tortoise that once again didn't make the cut-off time, to the irritation of organisers and safety & rescue personnel.

 

Ok so that evening more food - Barcelos Chicken enough for seconds for everyone, prize giving and videos and pics of the day. Ghost bike give away. The crowd loved the big spills and the team from the Video Production Company are champs. That blond on the back of the quad is beautiful and fearless and I’m sure she has a crush on me - every now and again when I come around a corner or drop into a ditch, there she is stalking me…

 

Sunday-Day 3:

=============

Sunday bloody Sunday! Perfect weather. Three wicked climbs: Sting and her two ugly sisters were not going to make it easy. On the plus side, superb single tracks and WICKED downhills.

I’m not going to rant on about the water points, people or trails of Mankele again for day3 suffice to say it was more of the same. Day 3 was faster in a sense and the Racers and Challengers did the same route 30 minutes apart.

 

Me and Bigguy upped our easy pace from the previous days and made good time for a change. Lunch was Barcelos Chicken burgers and enough so that most racers could pick up second helpings.

 

By 13:00 it was all over with most teams in and prize-giving started. Congrats to all the teams that won and from our side congrats to anyone who entered and finished. It is guys like us that make the podium chasers look good…ahem!

 

Side notes:

========

Mark & Jeff are from the plaas and as such have limited understanding of basic English vocabulary. If they tell you that a hill has a “slight” incline and can be a “little” tough, it will translate to a 21% incline, prostate check-up. Roads that are a “tad” snotty will end you up in intensive care, if you don’t heed the warning signs. Down hill single track that you can “klap” means that Burry Stander and people that had their fear glands removed will chase it down. Mere mortals however will have to use there brakes. But aside from their language impairity, these guys and their family are absolute champs and are tremendous boon to Mountain-biking.

 

If you have not been to Mankele, do yourself a favour and go and stay there for the weekend. Loads of trails to ride, nice facilities, great scenery. There is a Padstal across the road and a filling station about 2 km’s away at Sudwala caves. Take the family to the caves and the dinopark. Not much of an attraction but you kids will be chuffed. Coffee shop and Restaurant. For the wife, the nearest Mall is about 30 Minutes away (Nelspruit) if she starts to suffer from anxiety separation.

 

From what I have picked up between other racers that have also done other stage races (Epic, Sani2Sea, Experience, etc) the Three Towers race is considered as the best value for money. It is a fact that these stage races are expensive, not only the entry fee but also the prep work and travel/accommodation, so only a lucky few of us can afford to do them all. So if you have to choose one, I can definitely recommend the Three Towers.

 

Like the saying saying goes “if you have to choose between two evils, try the one you haven’t tried before!”

Checkout: http://www.mankele.c...zu_3_towers.php

Edited October 18, 2010 by BaldBatman

[DawieO]

Have never kissed your sister, so not sure about the comparison, but there other great races out there.

 

That said, this one has got rave reviews from everyone I have spoken to...

[Weight Weenie]

Stewie911 and I did the challenge together, was a new experience as it was our first stage race.

I can echo all the above sentements by Batman, great event !

 

We were doing well on day 1, sitting in 3rd but went the wrong way somewhere and started doing the route again, adding km's and climbing to the legs, eventually we hitched back a ride on a truck back to the tar road, we were wet and freezing.

 

Day 2 was hard, cramped a bit at the end, managed a 9th but I think we burnt our matches on day one. Had small off, nice half-moon cut on my knee from losing the end cap on my handlebar- there is a reason for those afterall !

 

Day 3 we took on at a leasurely pace and we definitely enjoyed this the most, stopped at the water points, checked out the views, chatted with the othe riders and so on, should have taken a camera though.

 

To sum things up - lots of climbs, near perfect weather, Schweeeet singletrack, friendly well stocked water points, hairy descents, lots of great food and entertaining pics and vids daily.

 

Do it next year, you wont be dissapointed

[BaldBatman]

We were doing well on day 1, sitting in 3rd but went the wrong way somewhere and started doing the route again, adding km's and climbing to the legs, eventually we hitched back a ride on a truck back to the tar road, we were wet and freezing.

 

Day 2 was hard, cramped a bit at the end, managed a 9th but I think we burnt our matches on day one. Had small off, nice half-moon cut on my knee from losing the end cap on my handlebar- there is a reason for those afterall !

Sorry to hear about the bad luck...I suppose it happens. See you guys next year.

[Mr. Nature]

Hey baldy,it's okes like you and the bigguy that make this race so awesome!!! Congrats om beating team tortoise, I hear it was a photo finish. See you guys next year. Oh and thanks for compacting our trails. Mark and I were out at 05:30 this morning, what a "slight"jol!!!! Cheers Geoff

 

 

It started last year when Bigguy gave me a tinkle and told me that he entered us in this new race. O the joy! This was my first stage race so I didn't now what to expect.

I'll summarize by saying that everything else after 3 Towers 2009 was like kissing my sister.

 

Ok 2010 and we're back. This time the boys at Mankele cooked up a "Race" (75, 80 & 50km) and "Challenge" (50, 50 and 50km). O the joy! I think Enema and Root Canal would be more apt descriptions but that's just me. Me and Bigguy are scared of nothing, except maybe Caster Samenya and entered the Race again...O the joy!

 

Thursday afternoon arrived and once again tents were already pitched and the vibe is already there. Since me and Bigguy is on the tall side, we decided to bring out own tents etc. but there is ample room for camping and Mankele don't charge competitors who use this alternative accommodation. Nice.

 

That evening, the guys get the show on the road. Monstrous amounts of food prepared by tannies of the local church. After that some short introductions and videos on big screens to wet our appetites. Race rules are explained, etc.

 

Friday-Day 1:

=============

Misty and chilly but not too bad. We're off at 07:00, me and Bigguy start right at the back followed only by Team Tortoise. As we hit the first climbs and the infamous Sting, our fellow entrants especially the newbies meet Mankele first hand and find out why this race is not for sissies. But all is not lost and soon we hit the main attraction at this race - "Single tracks" - the first of many.

Look no respectable race should be without climbs, but the reward here is superdeeduper. As our ascent took us higher and high...Twilight zone stuff, the weather started turning for the worst. Well, worse than when we started. Roads got wetter, we got dirtier and it got significantly colder.

 

After a hell of a climb we got to Water point 1 - Jeff met us there all smiles - well he IS riding a motorcycle, but then again I'm sure he's done this course more times than all of us combined. Food, drink, merriment. Apparently only one casualty so far. The road splits here for us and the Challengers and we were off - stuffed like Christmas Turkeys.

 

Although we didn't like the idea of getting wet, by the time we got to Ryan's Waterfall, we were very relieved to get all the muck from our bikes. Short portage but with an excellent view and voila! Water point 2 where we were greeted with coffee! Coffee people, 50k's into a race! That is without having to mention the potatoes, bananas, bar-ones, marshmallows, ample water, coke and powerade. We were relatively at the back-end of the race but still nothing had run out, staff is friendly. It's is truly a joy to see a water point.

 

More uphill from there and then some but then again the downhills are superb Forestry roads. Everything that goes up must come down and with a combined weight of the entire group of finalist of America's next top Model, me and Bigguy screamed down the declines.

 

The guys at Water point 3 was a miserable lot but with the temperature dropping like Tiger's pants I could blame them. More food, cleaning bikes again, chatting with locals and other racers.

 

Then the stretch back up to the backside of Sting. O the joy! But...then 60km/h down Sting is scary and fun like nothing on earth, topped with loads of unbelievable single track, fast and furious. Short sprint to the finish and glad to be done.

 

Lots of self-service washing bays, an on-site Bike shop and mechanic - I'm sure he's ordered the new Prado this afternoon. The church tannies was ready with lunch: Chicken, pasta, potatoes, salads, more fruit - too much to mention.

 

Hot showers - o the joy! Even though we finished with a smashing time of 5:20 (riding time) there was still hot water. Toilets are cleaned hourly if not sooner - ok I didn't time the cleaners but it's clean.

 

Saturday-Day 2:

=============

Early morning and it looked to be a slightly overcast day. With a heavy shower the previous afternoon we expected the roads and single tracks to be wet and muddy like day one. But the locals were saying it will be dry and I for one was not convinced.

 

Breakfast was once again a wholesome affair. And lo and behold Bigguy was actually fast enough that we got to the start 5 minutes before the time. It would have been sooner if he didn't have a valve malfunction just before we left the tent.

 

The route was loosely based on last year's day one route but more single track and a dip into the Schoemans Kloof valley.

Some serious climbs and serious downhill. I know of at least one guy who had to choose between a shear drop and a nasty roasty and had to settle for the latter to stay among the living.

 

The water points where again well manned (and womaned?) with reps from Westvaal and locals. I would like to mention that the organisers were almost always at hand at any given time, chatting to us, urging us on, etc. (even when we were swearing at them). And bearing in mind that me and Bigguy was some of the tail-enders of the long distance race it is nice to see that they don’t only care for the pros.

 

The weather played tricks on us: from slightly cloudy, to overcast and chilly and back to warm and sunny. The result though was that the tracks and roads where perfect - not too slippery and not dusty.

 

Third water point had coffee again! After a punishing climb back over the mountain to the Mankele valley it was more single track ad a quick sprint to the finish. A special thanks to the four guys in front of us - if you didn't frustrate us so much in the single tracks we would have never smoked you on that last little climb and "klapped" it to the finish.

 

Tired but happy with our time we went for a quick shower and headed to the tent for lunch. Chicken, Potato salad, pasta, etc.

 

Our bikes where relatively clean because of the weather but I had trouble with my derailleur and was worried about my brakes for Day 3. Fortunately the on-site bike shop sorted out the serious stuff for a R100 service fee and it worked fine the next day. Trent's shop was a life-saver and I'm sure he will be eating white bread for the rest of October at least.

 

Trent incidentally didn't do to bad in the stages. Another honourable mention should go to Team Tortoise that once again didn't make the cut-off time, to the irritation of organisers and safety & rescue personnel.

 

Ok so that evening more food - Barcelos Chicken enough for seconds for everyone, prize giving and videos and pics of the day. Ghost bike give away. The crowd loved the big spills and the team from the Video Production Company are champs. That blond on the back of the quad is beautiful and fearless and I’m sure she has a crush on me - every now and again when I come around a corner or drop into a ditch, there she is stalking me…

 

Sunday-Day 3:

=============

Sunday bloody Sunday! Perfect weather. Three wicked climbs: Sting and her two ugly sisters were not going to make it easy. On the plus side, superb single tracks and WICKED downhills.

I’m not going to rant on about the water points, people or trails of Mankele again for day3 suffice to say it was more of the same. Day 3 was faster in a sense and the Racers and Challengers did the same route 30 minutes apart.

 

Me and Bigguy upped our easy pace from the previous days and made good time for a change. Lunch was Barcelos Chicken burgers and enough so that most racers could pick up second helpings.

 

By 13:00 it was all over with most teams in and prize-giving started. Congrats to all the teams that won and from our side congrats to anyone who entered and finished. It is guys like us that make the podium chasers look good…ahem!

 

Side notes:

========

Mark & Jeff are from the plaas and as such have limited understanding of basic English vocabulary. If they tell you that a hill has a “slight” incline and can be a “little” tough, it will translate to a 21% incline, prostate check-up. Roads that are a “tad” snotty will end you up in intensive care, if you don’t heed the warning signs. Down hill single track that you can “klap” means that Burry Stander and people that had their fear glands removed will chase it down. Mere mortals however will have to use there brakes. But aside from their language impairity, these guys and their family are absolute champs and are tremendous boon to Mountain-biking.

 

If you have not been to Mankele, do yourself a favour and go and stay there for the weekend. Loads of trails to ride, nice facilities, great scenery. There is a Padstal across the road and a filling station about 2 km’s away at Sudwala caves. Take the family to the caves and the dinopark. Not much of an attraction but you kids will be chuffed. Coffee shop and Restaurant. For the wife, the nearest Mall is about 30 Minutes away (Nelspruit) if she starts to suffer from anxiety separation.

 

From what I have picked up between other racers that have also done other stage races (Epic, Sani2Sea, Experience, etc) the Three Towers race is considered as the best value for money. It is a fact that these stage races are expensive, not only the entry fee but also the prep work and travel/accommodation, so only a lucky few of us can afford to do them all. So if you have to choose one, I can definitely recommend the Three Towers.

 

Like the saying saying goes “if you have to choose between two evils, try the one you haven’t tried before!”

Checkout: http://www.mankele.c...zu_3_towers.php