Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2019 Share #1 Posted July 1, 2019 ...this photo journal on the Tour of Ara. Older steel bikes seem to be @Page Turner's thing Named after the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Ara, the Tour of Ara was a race ridden on pre-1999 South African-built steel racing bicycles in the proud tradition of the early Italian multi-day stage races. Held between 2014 and 2018, the six-day Tour followed a tough dirt-road route through the beautiful but harsh semi-desert of South Africa’s Karoo region. It was as much a race as it was an exploration and celebration of this unique and sparsely populated landscape and the people that live there. Each year 40 racers experienced life-changing situations, met locals, and faced some serious race challenges — soft sand, corrugated roads, loose stones, tyre-shredding rocks, rain and mud. Broken frames and forks were not uncommon, and each race brought at least a few serious injuries. The race routes predominantly followed dirt roads, and distances varied from approximately 100 kilometres to 180 kilometres per day. The longest stage was a gruelling 213 kilometres. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted July 1, 2019 Or a video: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page Turner Posted July 1, 2019 Share #3 Posted July 1, 2019 ...in ancient times, we had a thing we called "fenders". They were particularly handy when racing on dirt roads in the rain. It's too bad most of those guys were too young to remember "fenders". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted July 1, 2019 3 minutes ago, Page Turner said: ...in ancient times, we had a thing we called "fenders". They were particularly handy when racing on dirt roads in the rain. It's too bad most of those guys were too young to remember "fenders". Yeah, this young guy was laughing at the start, but crying at the finish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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