Robbie Stewart

nee sies man!

It has that 6 - beer girl / Roxette vibe going for it. In public, everyone will agree not to like it, but after 6 beers, everyone likes it, and people who say they didn't have a secret Roxette fetish was lying

@PatrickR Thanks for the hard graft you, your team of trail gnomes and Mike have done there over the last couple of years. In terms of progression the Leatt Skills Park has made a HUGE impact, not only for me, but for many other likeminded riders. On any given weekend you are sure to see the same smiling faces out there just doing run after run after run, mostly until the wind decides it time to end the fun. That has translated to better riding skills on the trails elsewhere and the expected escalation of the fun factor. I am stoked to hear that the club is planning on taking this kind of riding even further. And now to take those skills to the Hammer and do such a fantastic run just bends my mind. We are soooo blessed down here in the Cape to have access to these facilities. Dankie!

I can see why they went belly up.

That run from the top of the Hammer to the bottom has got to rank as maybe one of the top lines in SA now methinks.

That build has been wrapped up. 😉 I was fortunate to be allowed an impromptu lap or two last Wednesday when Patrick was out putting some water down with a hose pipe. All it needs is some good🌦️and to be given the 👍. It has got to be the best line of it's kind anywhere in the Cape. Honestly, muchas gracias to TBMTB club and Duran van Eeden for building more of this.

Sooooo, after all the rain throughout the past weekend, one wonders if the guru of all trail gurus, Mr Patrick Roberts will be cutting the ceremonial tape on that piece of magic that Duran van Eeden added to the bottom of the Hoogekraal Hammer for the upcoming weekend?

He better do that sooner rather than later. I'm no pro and can barely ride a bike, but I'll be 48 in a couple of months, and I noticed a steady decline in my speed throughout the last few years. In my mind, I am going at light speed, but then I see my riding mates, some of whom are 2 decades my junior disappear down the trail while I am barely holding on. I rode the Conties full Enduro last week and I set my fastest times down all the lines, and still came nearly stone last. There is a point in one's life where you just hit that performance wall and then speed is one of the first things to vacate the premises.

I ride the section from Sunningdale to Melkbos and on to Duynefontein and back again as a standard 42 km loop at least 3 days per week, sometimes more. I ventured down south to Paarden Island on 1st of April and on a whim jumped onto the N1 to carry on to the V&A and from there on to the top of Suikerbossie. I noticed the decline and the stark contrast between the two clearly discernible sides. It really is sad, because from our part of the world we are pretty much locked in as we can't cross the N7 any longer as Dunoon is too risky, and going South also is a major risk. But I don't see the WC government being able to alleviate the situation without the buy-in from National government, which at present is a not-starter.

Pity that Greg went down. I was very keen to see his run on that line. I am happy for Loic getting the win there finally. He put together a blisteringly fast run. In the Junior men, Asa Vermette was mad fast as well. Looks like he is the next big thing to come out of the junior ranks according to all the hype. Time will tell. In the ladies, I was hoping Tahnee would get it, but well done to Vali Holl.

I also read that the Montague Pass has been closed to ALL traffic, including bicycles.

That pass might be passable on an enduro bike. It will not be passable on a gravel bike.

What an absolute jol of a day. I loved every second of it. I nominate Forest Frenzy for stage of the day for sure. That line is absolutely mental and so much fun. I just loved the steep, off camber turns and speed that you get on that descent. Thanks to the Western Cape Enduro team and Rob Starke for hosting such an awesome event. I can't wait to do this event again.

Sorry to hear. Are you okay at least?

You can do with it whatever you like, but for the sake of better human understanding, please just ensure your tyre brand logos are aligned with your rim logos and valves. Looking at some pics on this thread is making my eyes go into spasms.

That gravel road/sand pit behind Riverside though. I drive there now and then when I want to avoid the parking lot beside Dunoon in the mornings, and each time I think maybe I could ride through there to Hoogekraal. I dunno, my spidey senses keep telling me not to.

I'm curious how you found yourself on that side of the N7 in this morning's fog.

Old Mamre ?

saw a chap do a hard otb on the advanced line at the Leatt Skills Park a couple weekends ago. He had carbon bars that looked like they got attacked by a cheese grater. I am going to assume those bars are toast.

Finally, the Western Cape has a proper technical trail that can qualify as a double black diamond. Witfontein Enduro has a new line option. 🤣

I rode down to the top of Rhino 1 from the Mast at Contermans weekend before last, and before I even managed to enter the Rhino I heard a loud ping and a hiss. Stopped, and looked back to watch my tyre deflate on the bead where I struck a rock. I hiked down to the bottom of Rhino 1 thinking the rim was poked, but then mates saw my foolishness and advised me to inflate the tyre again. I was thinking it was dead, but saw it wasn't. There is a buckle on that spot, but it still holds fine, and I rode down that line on Saturday past again. Here's to hoping the upcoming enduro won't be too harsh on the wheels.

the logo alignment on those wheels is murdering my OCD . . . to the point that the missing dropper post and suspension fork and drop bars don't annoy me half as much as they normally would.

Yesterday I was behind another rider about 100m ahead of me. All I could see was his rear light which was in a static mode, just there, telling me a fellow rider was just riding too fast for me to reel them in at the pace I was maintaining. Then a car came from behind, passed me and then the fellow rider. It was at this point when that rear light started going full disco mode until the car was past, when it returned to giving me the stink eye for not catching them. I watched that dastardly light and it's owner disappear into the fog, never to be seen again. I am calling it a ghost sighting, and I am sticking to my story.

This is also super annoying. I generally don't use mine. I did today for the first time in years and only activated the strobe feature as I was crossing a busy arterial road in thick fog to warn the morons who take it upon themselves to turn right across my path despite the light being green for me.