IRONMAN 14 April 2013 - RR

[Tiger8]

This for me is a ride I look forward to each year, next year even more so as it is the 10th year of Full Ironman in SA. I put out a call to fellow WD's for rider support for the event and in usual enthusiastic fashion, the guy's response was overwhelming, even the usually crowd shy guy's - you know who you are. To ALL of you Dog's a big THANK YOU! :thumleft:

My weekend on the bike starts with the Corporate Ironman Race on a Saturday morning. This is a race for teams or individuals, it is comprised of the following - 320m Ocean Swim; 18km Cycle; 4.2km Run. It is a well supported opener to the Main event and entries are usually full 2-3weeks after opening registration. The Guy's and Gal's who do this fall into 3 categories: 1) Serious Triathletes  2) Amateur Athletes 3) the Office Clowns  :biggrin:

The Team Event: 3 people in a team (a Relay) - 1.Swim 2.Cycle 3.Run - Great team building excercise, many companies support this segment and some folk get to excercise for 4weeks of the year at least (Practice and the Event)  :biggrin:
There is some good competition between the teams from the same firms and much bragging rights for Monday morning!
The Individual: This is for the folk who want to do all 3 events on their own, I know a few who have done this and then gotten hooked on Tri-Racing, and a couple of them even do the Full Ironman, so be warned, madness is contagious  8)

See below I have attached a few pics of the IM Corporate Challenge:

In the 1st Pic is Craig (Knucklehead) and Mark, Craig helped out with camera tracking for the first time ever and did really well.  :thumleft:
The rest are just a couple of the race.

 

[Tiger8]

IRONKids:

Saturday afternoon 12pm is the Kid's turn to Swim and Run, these little guy's are great to watch, they race in their age groups and are released in batches and escorted/watched over from start to finish by IM Volunteers, the safety of the Kids is top priority.
When tracking the little guy's on video they are very funny, a tyke may be out of breath and moeg, BUT as soon as they hear or see the camera bike, they bolt like a horse, just to show how fast they can run, only to bomb out about 25m further  :imaposer:  The funniest is when I track them and see that they are battling to keep the pace they set and the worry creeps over their little faces cause the camera is still with them and they are buggered!  - Like one of the Ironman competitors, an older gent (late 60's), who bent over at the waist like an upsidedown L and just keeping from falling by putting one foot ahead of the fall, eventually he say's to my cameraman,"Please put the camera off so I can walk again" shame he was knackered and cramping, but still didn't give up.

The first kids to start are the Physically Disabled, man, talk about courage and joy - I somer get tears in my eyes thinking of their determination. These kids are some Mentally and some Physically challenged, but their is no lack of gumption, puts me to shame, what BIG Hearts and Smiles.

After them the little guy's do their thing and so the afternoon goes on, a full 5 hours of racing by the Kids.

Here are some pics:

 

[jaybiker]

I didn't take any pictures and I'm too dom to post them if I did, but just wanna say that it was a pleasure, and I'd happily do it again.

 

[Tiger8]

IRONMAN Proper:

Sunday morning 4.30am all bikes to meet at Cape Road and Willaim Moffat intersection - the time had a few guy's frowning   - so I called the bike Marshall and asked if we could meet a little bit later, as this would mean some guy's would have to be up at 3.15am to get ready and meet us. So the time was changed to 5am to beat the road closures that go along with the event. Every year there is a heated discussion with Traffic officers to let us through, because rulres is rules, notwithstanding the fact that we are a vital part of the race control system - so ja. This is the reason for the early start to avoid this scene AGAIN this year and low and behold, there is no-one on Hard-ass duty today  ???

At the meeting spot, it was very misty, almost ghostly and Jupiter, tunes "it would be worth getting up early if we at least had coffee here". The man is so predictable, give him a Wimpy Breakfast and Coffee and he will agree to anything  :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:
What a sight to see 18 bikes appear out of the mist as I look over my shoulder going down the Moffat Express. We pickup a few more guy's in Walmer and on to the Beach Hotel we ride. The prep work for the day starts, Ironman fills up all the bikes and then to a Referee's meeting and coffee (Jup's happy - well I think that was his happy face  :biggrin

Bikers get allocated Referees or Media and are off to watch the Start of the Race and a very exciting Race it would be.
The mist burns off revealing very good weather for the day, last year was a nightmare, 60kph + wind speeds and rain, today however would be perfect, no wind to speak of and plenty Sunshine, although later the  sunshine would be a big factor in dehydration and heat stroke for many.

This year I followed the Mens race and didn't see the competition between the ladies much. The Frenchman Faris took off like a scolded cat and was ahead of the bike pack most of the way, till halfway into the 2nd 60km Lap his seat post came loose and he had to fix that, resulting in him being overtaken and unable to recover from that, he retired later with bike problems. The top ten bikes were close on each others heals and the race was on.

Besides the big guns, there are the stories of triumph over hardships and disability, the endurance of the human spirit, bonds between family and friends. As an example I Kevin and Nikki, father and son, Nikki has CP but wanted to do a marathon, so hi dad started to train and they did a marathon together and quite a few other endurance events. Last year they attempted Ironman, but the wind and weather was terrible and this was year that Nikki would be light enough that dad, Kevin, could wheel on a special bike and wheelchair. This year they finnished in 15hrs and some change. Kevin was going to come back to do the Ironman solo in 2014 and may yet do that. This year though a father helped his sons deam come true, and I was right there next them for quite a bit of the way, right into the finish chute, I cannot explain the emotion to share this triump with them, to see the absolute ecstacy of their achievement, what a priviledge.

There is the story of the 2 best friends Hein and Alwyn, Hein is blind yet wanted to partake in extreme sport, so Alwyn his mate say's, cool bud I will do it with you. What great guy's and best friends, they ride a Tandem in the cycle and are tethered in the Swin and Run. As the sun set on Sunday evening Hein says to us, "it is now my turn to lead Alwyn as I am used to the dark"  :imaposer: this after almost 200km's of racing they are still going strong. The irony was that he seemed to be leading Alwyn, as he was slightly ahead of him AND going around others in front of him! I asked him if I should turn on my bikes High Beam, so he could see better, tunes me, ja it might help Alwyn not to hold him up  :lol8:

Top 10 Males

1. Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) 08:11:23
2. Cyril Viennot (FRA) 08:19:50
3. Bas Diederen (NED) 08:20:08
4. Horst Reichel (GER) 08:22:33
5. François Chabaud (FRA) 08:29:29
6. Hervé Faure (FRA) 08:34:19
7. Berger Dominik (AUT) 08:43:52
8. Kent Horner (RSA) 08:44:31
9. Karol Dzalaj (SVK) 08:45:41
10. Michael Davidson (RSA) 08:47:39

Top 5 Females

1. Jessie Donavan (USA) 09:10:57
2. Jodie Ann Swallow (GBR) 09:16:59
3. Lucie Reed (CZE) 09:27:06
4. Simone Braendli (SUI) 09:32:23
5. Dianne McEwan (RSA) 09:12:55


Please guy's who were there , please add your story to the tapestry that was Ironman 2013.

Couple of Pic's:
1. Crowd Shot at the Start
2. Knucklehead and Jason
3. Refree's
4&5. Barry and Darryl(Ref)
6-10 Some of the cycle

 

[Tiger8]

More Pic's
1. Ronnie Schildknecht - what a machine
2-5. Top 4-5 men
6. Victorius!

 

[Tiger8]

More Pics: Kevin and Nikki - Courtesy of Finisherpix 2013, as I couldn't get pics as my camera ran out of battery power 

 

[Barrie]

Thanks for the pic of me and my referee, I've done the track four times, my ass felt it, believe me, by 7'o clock went for the bed, but it was lekker, see next year, I hope the Kirkwood dogs get,s a little bit yealous and maybe next year we can team up in a pack like dogs do.

 

[Tiger8]

Pleasure Barrie, at least you got into bed at 7pm, I only finished riding at 10.30pm, that was a 15.5hr day, with +-1.5hr's break in total. I was finish, but in a good way. I had done a total of 23.5hr's riding on Sat+Sun.

To all you guy's who travelled a ways to share the day with us, cheers,  :thumleft: it was a good day.

I wonder if we could do a slow ride 'Iron Butt'? :biggrin:

 

[Knucklhead/knuckey]

was a pleasure bud, we both enjoyed it..dirtyxt also started a RR...

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=122076.0

 

[Roarman]

Thx guys for supporting Ironman. We were sitting next to the power horse drinks at 10th avenue. We sat supporting there till just after 23:00. I could hear the KTM coming from a mile away
I was told by one of the Referees that Ironman SA never battles to get motorcyclists to help. Not like other races do in SA. So thx again for helping out.

Next year I'm hoping to take part again in the race and to do my PB (personal best).

 

[jaybiker]

Regarding the 45km/hr speed limit. Being a first timer I was very conscious of the warning that anyone exceeding the limit would be pulled off the course, and I didn't want to disgrace myself that way, so I determined to abide by it, however my referee had other ideas. Especially out on the more open stretches the cyclists were strung out in bunches with long gaps in between, and l was instructed frequently to speed up to catch the next bunch, who appeared to be slipstreaming, and the ref wanted to catch them out. At times l must have been doing 80 or so, but only where I judged it safe to do so. Other times, where they were pulling out to pass, or in the built up areas I slowed right down. It's a question of wanting to obey the rules, and follow the referee's instructions at the same time. I certainly hope this admission won't jeopardise my chances of taking part  next time.

 

[Tiger8]

No fear Jim, you're more than welcome at the next one, a bit of speed was necessary as the original limit was not practical in the least, not even the cop bikes obeyed that rule. What is important is that no-one was reckless in the speed that they travelled and due consideration was given to the competitors at all times.

I have been chatting to Keith Bowler, one of the event organisers and he wants to produce a 10yr commemorative Badge/Sticker/Patch for the Bikers for 2014. What would you guy's think would be a good memento of the Ironman for you? Let me know so I can give feed back from the guy's that matter. I have my idea's and have shared with Keith, but lets hear yours.  :thumleft:

 

[Big E]

kool

 

[Barrie]

Sounds good.

 

[DirtyTeNeReLess]

No fear Jim, you're more than welcome at the next one, a bit of speed was necessary as the original limit was not practical in the least, not even the cop bikes obeyed that rule. What is important is that no-one was reckless in the speed that they travelled and due consideration was given to the competitors at all times.

I have been chatting to Keith Bowler, one of the event organisers and he wants to produce a 10yr commemorative Badge/Sticker/Patch for the Bikers for 2014. What would you guy's think would be a good memento of the Ironman for you? Let me know so I can give feed back from the guy's that matter. I have my idea's and have shared with Keith, but lets hear yours. :thumleft:

sweet ! get my name on it and you will be a legend. and ill buy you a cooldrink

 

[Lear300]

awesome pics.,  :thumleft:

 

[Ant]

Some more pics.......
1. Chopper, just before dawn
2. The Pro's get underway
3. Dancing Girls.... went on from dawn to way after dusk
4. Main group hits the water
more to follow......

 

[Tiger8]

Nice pic's bud, your Go Pro? Post a couple of that Puffy on the cycle route...

 

[Ant]

Some more...
1. PE people up bright and early
2. Leading Pro's entering second swim leg
3. Proof that Tiger8 was there (trying to keep pace with the cyclists)  ot:
last ones coming up....

 

[Tiger8]

At least I could keep up to the faster Traffic...................I never saw your KTM pass me in 180km's  eepwall:  :biggrin:

Post the Puffy already, preferably the video clip