Stay away from chainsaws, and FVL

LOL. I mean, too soon.

I'm only taking my disc.

PE is a small town, you could possibly do a small safari nearby if you have the time before or after the race. I am not sure how much time you are spending in SA< but would strongly recommend the drive from PE to Cape Town, best thing ever!

This would be my suggestion, the 'Garden Route' (as it is known) is awesome. If you haven't done much travelling before you'll be even more amazed.

I did Ironman SA there last year. Port Elizabeth is nicknamed "the windy city" for a reason. I'd say take both, on a good day disc will be perfectly fine but on a bad day you'll be blown away. And no matter the weather, expect a bumpy landing.

how far in advance of the race are you flying into PE?

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

My wife and I went in 2004 - awesome vacation. There is Addo Elephant Park in Port Elizabeth. That is fantastic day trip. There are also private game reserves that you can stay at for a night or two where you can do a safari. Garden Route drive from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town is awesome too. Great food - great wine.

Thanks everyone for feedback so far. We are arriving Thursday afternoon before race and staying until following Wednesday afternoon,so more time after event for sightseeing. Addo Park sounds good. Do you need a car or are there tours that go to Cape Town for a day trip?

We went to Schotia Private Reserve 30 minutes north of Port Elizabeth in 2004 after RSAIM. Hired a van from the Reserve. Driver picked up us about 9am and drove us out there. Did a tour in day time. Ate a wonderful cookout, then went back out in the Reserve to see the night active animals. Nothing like it. Probably saw about 50 different species. Nothing you would see in PA. You should go to Cape Town too. Arguably the prettiest city in the world. Great views from Table Rock Mountain. Hire a van to walk at the end of the African Continent. My wife claimed to have visited the prettiest beach in the world near the Cape. There is a penguin colony on the way there. False Bay is spectacular. Their wine country is an hour or so north of the city. And Robbin Island is one of the most emotional places you will ever visit. Oh, and the race isn't too bad either...……

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It's about an 8 hour drive, each way, between PE & CT. If you wanted a day trip you'd have to fly.

1. stay at boardwalk casino hotel which is right at the start and where everything happens. You won't need a car or anything if you do and its by far the best place to stay and its dirt cheap for those not earning in South African Rand !
2. PE is not much of a place to take a vacation. Not a place I'd choose if I were to be making a trip to SA. Much better places to visit there and the town is not overly safe once you get 500m either way of the race start area so any post race plans I'd look at travelling to other parts of SA and there are plenty depending on what you want. Cape Town is amazing.
3. The roads are absolute shit. This year at IMSA I rode a 25cm back tire and rode much lower pressure than I had before and it was a game changer in terms of how uncomfortable I was vs other years - ie it was much better but still very bad. They were suppose to pave the roads but have not and they are piss poor esp the first 20k in and same part on return leg.
4. Make sure you really put your bike back together well. Lots of people have bottle cages rattle off and my headset came loose from the bumping and constant vibration from the bad road surface
5. Take a front wheel that is not super deep as an option. It can get very windy. Should be ok with any wheel but there are odd days there where it is blowing a gail and I'd prob want a bail out wheel if that was the forecast
6. Odds of swim cancellation are much higher than other races. Of the 30 days I have spent there in years past I would estimate 10-15 of those there would have been a swim cancellation. If wind is coming from N/NE it will be rough and its not good rough as its more chop and not nice rolling swells like some typical ocean swims. It can be dead calm but its 50/50 on it being quite bad from my time there
Good luck. The spectator support there is great and the course notwithstanding the rough roads is world class on s/b/r