git-svn too slow, contacts upstream svn repo

hello list,

I have been using git-svn in an corporate environment where svn repo has lot of branches, (lot means > 100). To avoid cloning all branches my config looks as below

[svn-remote "svn"]
        url = svn+ssh://url
        fetch = srcroot/trunk:refs/remotes/trunk
        branches = srcroot/branches/{branch_1, branch_2, branch_3}:refs/remotes/*

Now, when a new branch of my interest is added in svn repo, I had like it to be in my git-repo as well. In an ideal world, one shall simply add that branch name to list in curly braces above, but that does not work. I had love to be proved wrong here. Somebody on stackoverflow.com suggested (to else's question, not mine) to add one more "fetch" as show below.

[svn-remote "svn"]
        url = svn+ssh://url
        fetch = srcroot/trunk:refs/remotes/trunk
        fetch = srcroot/branch_4:refs/remotes/* # NEW BRANCH
        branches = srcroot/branches/{branch_1, branch_2, branch_3}:refs/remotes/*

haven't tried it, neither do I like it.

I do have a solution which WORKS, it is modified version of an example from \doc\git\html\git-svn.html page. Below I have pasted the example and modified it to reflect my specifics.

# assume an existing git-svn repo
        D:\sourcecode
# Clone locally - make sure the refs/remotes/ space matches the server
        mkdir project
        cd project
        git init
        git remote add origin file:///D:/sourcecode # file:// is delibrate, want true n/w behaviour
        git config --replace-all remote.origin.fetch '+refs/remotes/*:refs/remotes/*'
        git fetch
# Prevent fetch/pull from local git repo,
# we only want to use git svn for form here
       git config --remove-section remote.origin
# Create a local branch from one of the branches just fetched
        git checkout -b master FETCH_HEAD
# Initialize 'git svn' locally (be sure to use the same URL and -T/-b/-t options as were used on server)
        git svn init http://svn.example.com/project

# edit config to include newly added branch in curly braces
# Pull the latest changes from Subversion
        git svn fetch -r <recentish rev, say BEGIN>:HEAD

Above works exactly as I want, except the last step of "git-svn fetch" connects to svn repo for each revision from BEGIN to HEAD. I want fairly long history (for pretty blame). Which implies my BEGIN is not so recentish adterall. Hence, it takes awfully long to finish, 2 days typically.

When GIT_TRACE is 1, below is output received

trace: exec: 'git-svn' 'fetch' trace: run_command: 'git-svn' 'fetch' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.fetchall' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.parent' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.noauthcache' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.revision' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.nocheckout' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.authorsprog' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.followparent' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.authorsfile' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.useSvmProps' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.username' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.repackflags' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.localtime' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--int' '--get' 'svn.repack' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.ignorepaths' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--int' '--get' 'svn.logwindowsize' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.quiet' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.ignorerefs' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--get' 'svn.configdir' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.addauthorfrom' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.useSvnsyncProps' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.noMetadata' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' '--get' 'svn.uselogauthor' trace: built-in: git 'rev-parse' '--symbolic' '--all' trace: built-in: git 'config' '-l' trace: built-in: git 'config' '-l' trace: built-in: git 'config' '--bool' 'svn.useSvmProps' trace: built-in: git 'config' '-l' trace: built-in: git 'config' 'svn-remote.svn.branches-maxRev' '524908' trace: built-in: git 'rev-list' '--pretty=raw' '--reverse' '9f1414be94ab007b62ace31bf4d210a069276127..refs/remotes/branch_1' '--' trace: built-in: git 'rev-list' '--pretty=raw' '--reverse' '5eb0a454bcf066a8199b851add9ec07cde80119d..refs/remotes/branch_2' '--' trace: built-in: git 'rev-list' '--pretty=raw' '--reverse' '383b68b8514010a71efe10821e5ccc3541903ceb..refs/remotes/branch_3' '--' trace: built-in: git 'rev-list' '--pretty=raw' '--reverse' '89fe1a1d2cfca0886003f043c408fb5afadfec93..refs/remotes/trunk' '--'

I keep an watch for "svn-remote.svn.branches-maxRev", this serves as my progress. This wait is too much for a simple branch. Though, I must point out, day feels fresh once it finishes :) Does any one know any for this?

If you paid attention this is Windows machine git version 1.8.1.msysgit.1

thanks, Quark