Robbie Stewart

Read this in another forum. Relates. People need to relax. Speaking as much to myself as to everyone else. I lost to my hooligan side again earlier when a Uber popped a red and tried to gap my lane. In that instance I very nearly intentionally stepped on his bonnet with my 4x4. Upon my exit and his excrementing his pants I came to my senses and wondered quietly what the actual . . . that was about.

Uh, uhm... Uh .... What now? What is the point of this QR code exactly? Can anyone just scan it and access your personal identifiable information? POPI act? Liability? Mmmmm

You see, I've got to blame my new pony for that, seeing as when I rode down the Rhinos last weekend I found that all the rocks and previous gnar was missing and all that remained was a fun, flowy trail that rode super fast. It's either that or the Stumpy is an even better bike at deleting gnar than I thought 🤔😉😂

The only bit I know of is that new line of craziness at Hoogekraal Skills Park that Mike built recently with that cannon into the huge drop that sets up the 10 meter gap. I'm cool to watch. Ride it? Hard pass!

I'm going out on a limb here but I'm pretty confident that is a small DB in terms of the schema so no matter the amount of lines it contains it shouldn't have flopped the way it did, even on a budget SA service provider platform. All I can think is that the query structures are sub optimal and haven't been load tested before going live. This is pure speculation though, but working with databases for big data this is the most obvious culprit in my experience.

Shouldn't have blown up. Depending on the web service provider hosting the e-commerce side and their ability to handle the sort of traffic that you would typically expect from Takealot on a slow day for something very few people want, there is no reason for a couple of people logging in causing this type of system failure. If that was the case then the service provider needs to buy more virtual server capacity, but knowing what kind of money needs to change hands, usually in USD, it makes sense that it is running on bare minimum to cater for the handful of usual connections on any typical day. Edit: I do find that often designers spend way too much time and money in making something pretty and in the process neglect the functional side of the solution being provided. An example of that aside from the e-commerce failure is the coming soon notice that meets you when you view the reward partner section. I would like to know where I can go to use my club affiliation, specifically if TWT is still onboard, but nothing so far indicating that this is an option. Form over function works in fashion, not in tech spaces.

Imagine the club tells us what the new fee will be for next year . . . I'm rather fussy about knowing how much I'm on for to decide if I want it before I spend it.

Ja, I feel somewhat like a kid with a new toy not knowing what to do first. So many possibilities are suddenly presenting themself. On my to-do list is Iron Monkey without a doubt. Some Armageddon for sure and I'm curious to just go punish Red Phoenix because that is the one trail the Camber really gave me a hard time on. By the time I get spat out at the bottom my arms are in shock

Thanks nonky! Yeah, I am fortunate that I ride with a group of people that are alike and we keep each other in the eye all the time and don't just ride "blind". We would spend time on a feature going back again and again to get it dialed. We will also spend an entire morning at the skills park at least twice a month, if not more to just do drills over and over again. Our confidence on the trails have increased tremendously because of it and our skills show up for the fun. If we see something we don't want to do, we move on. All that made the bike a no-brainer for me, as I was also on the fence whether I should be riding a "big bike" at my age. The boy in me won that decision.

Yeah, it is the EVO Alloy. The camber is XL and I was weighing up if I should go L/S4 on the EVO, but decided to go for S5 again as that was closest to the feel I had on the Camber. I checked the calculations on 99 Spokes and also saw on the Spez website that I was on the top limit of the S4. I could ride it, but I was worried it may feel cramped. I am not regretting my decision.

Thank you! The ride is completely different. I am loving it and yet have to get used to how different it is. My first take away is the mullet wheel and how "different" it makes the back end feel. It definitely feels faster. I took it down the two Conters Rhinos a while back. On the camber, Rhino 1 would be a challenge, specifically the top bit. I could ride it, but most often than not I would walk down that top rocky bit. The Stumpy ate it for breakfast and spat out the carcass. At Plaisir and Hoogekraal Skills Park the experience is different. I almost want to say the Camber is a better jumper. The Stumpy just feels wallowy and absorbing of the jumps. I suspect suspension setup is key and I still need to find the "sweet spot". And, this is most where the back wheel just is more noticeable. When I really drive hard out of a berm, or land a jump a tad off center from straight upright, then the rear feels like it wants to let go behind me. Not bad, just different. I am loving the 30t chain ring. It gets me up to the top much easier than the 32t on the Camber. I haven't fiddled with the flipchips and headsets yet as I am still getting used to the slacker feel of this bike. But from what I have found so far, I am super keen to spend my holiday on the mountains of the western cape. I have a week in George coming up and I will be putting in some time on Witfontein and I am super keen to see how it handles. Overall, I am absolutely loving the bike. The camber was not a "bad" bike and it held up under the absolute abuse I exposed it to. I rode that bike as if it was a much bigger bike, and it never let me down, so that is partly why I went back to Spez again. It has now been retired to doing cycle path duty between home and Melkbos and maybe the odd Karoo to Coast and the Stumpy will take over the baton to rule on the trails.

It does have one yes. All major routes has a comprehensive camera system that is monitored 24/7. They also have a gunshot alert system that records and triangulates gunshots and reports that to SAPS and law enforcement for action. The problem is how to employ this tech on a mountain that is basically accessable from anywhere and everywhere.

Sure they're old(er), but if you underestimate their knowledge, skill and experience you're being foolish. A gang of 28's are no match for 3 or 4 specop veterans. I knew one. I've seen his toys. I've handled his memorabilia. I've heard the stories. I've seen the pictures.

Our char earns more than that. And on top of her salary we pay for her Golden Arrow / MyCiti bus ticket to and from Kayalitsha / Sunningdale each month. This explains a ton. That is shocking to say the least. And considering they are asking for R100M then I'd love to know what the remaining R79M is being employed for.

and if you do the conservative math and take R75m and allocate that to salaries for the additional 400 proposed rangers, they work in a high risk environment for still what is considered a rubbish salary of around R15.6k per month. I guess when you look at it objectively TMNP has an uphill battle w.r.t. funding and that becomes evident in the crime spree that is taking place. And with our decrepit state of SAPS and the utter inability to be of any value, I suppose it comes as no surprise and should in fact be expected that things are the way they are.

Why is this being allowed? Why is the WC government and SAPS and SANParks not doing anything about it? Is the plan to completely muck up the tourism industry in the Cape, which is the top tourist destination in SA?

Don't you tune me about my choice of rubber boet 🤣

Saw that and decided to leave it. I was already pushing my luck 😁

I was being facetious. My bike is a full suss borderline Enduro beast. I don't have a horse in this race, but things got tense and I thought to try (unwisely) to lighten the mood. At the end of the day who cares. Ride what you want. The "best" bike is the one you're on. Can we all just go ride already?

I will just say that I took my Stumpy EVO to plaisir today. That Spez pedals beautifully uphill and it just ate those jumps on the flow line for breakfast. Take that all you Spez haters 😘 Is that of topic enough ? 😂😂

As @MORNE says, I've done the Argus on 29 x 2.60 Spez Butcher and Eliminator rubber. No biggie. Of course, I was participating the the fun ride, not the race.

Living close by Tokai you want a bike with decent geo and good suspension. I'm 125kg or thereabouts and my Stumpy with the Fox 36 feels amazing even for a big chap such as myself. My Camber with 120mm Rockshox Revelation 32 was wallowing by comparison on the rough stuff.

As much as I understand the desire for people to feel safe and protected on a bicycle, I am not sure that carrying a firearm is effective deterrence. I read a N24 article this morning about a kid that got attacked in Kayamandi in Stellenbosch over the weekend after he got mugged of his bike and tried to fight back. He tried to follow them as they made of with his bike before realizing the folly of his pursuit. Other instances of people getting stabbed or worse are rife after they fought for their possession. I understand the emotion. We all do, but what I am questioning is the sudden urge to carry a firearm every time something like this happens. firstly, you had better be able to utilize the firearm effectively to either dissuade the attack, or to then if you do end up using it, to ensure that you are not endangering other people. Backstop for one - can you with certainty say you know where the round(s) will end up after being discharged? When did you pull the trigger? Were you still endangered, or has the attacker retreated before you shot? Can you prove it in a court of law, because you are going to find yourself in one whether you like to or not? Did you kill your attacker? Was it justified in the eyes of the law? Can you deal with the emotional rollercoaster that will bring knowing you took a life? What if during the attack you lose your firearm? What if you get shot with it? What is God forbid someone else gets killed with your firearm? What if innocent cyclists nowhere close to you gets attacked and killed purely for the reason that it has become common knowledge that cyclists carry concealed firearms? I've said it before and I will say it again. The day cyclists start carrying firearms, I will hang up my bikes.

So, I was long toying with the idea of upgrading the fork on my 120mm Camber. I rode that bike on every line I could apart from Plumber. I even did Tokai DH on it. And in my head, that bike wasn't needing to be upgraded. I would however find myself walking down the top jank of the Conters Rhino 1. Well, a week ago I finally decided to pull the trigger on a new bike. I got the Spez Stumpy EVO with 160mm Fox 36 and 150mm Fox Float X. On Sunday at the Conters Funduro I rode down the Rhinos and obliterated that jank as if it wasn't there, and Strava informed me I PR'd the line. My advice? Don't waste money putting lipstick on a pig. It might have a pretty smile, but it's still a pig.

When I left George 10 years ago it would take me around 30 - 40 minutes to drive across town from Fancourt side to the mall. I used to surf, and getting to Vicbay was a pain in the a$$ eventually. It would be quicker to go via the airport / N2. If airport access is a requirement, then staying on the Western side of George is viable. In terms of cycling there are many routes to ride all across the place, depending on what kind of riding you do.