Robbie Stewart

First off, well done to DieselNDust, Stephan and SamTaylor (and everyone else) for finishing the event. It sounds like it was tougher than the daily broadcasts made it look. Reading the race reports I am convinced more than ever that the amateur field exists for the sole reason of funding the helicopters and nothing else. I am more convinced as well that I am 100% not a candidate for this type of event. I enjoy riding my mtb over long distances, but I enjoy riding single track more. And the more technical the trail, the higher my level of enjoyment. So for me to pay all that money and then stand in endless queues waiting for unskilled people to ride the most basic of trails would just end me. I have a short fuse already, so no need to add to it. But at least this event isn't about me, and no one cares, but I will honestly say that I enjoyed watching the live streams every day, even long after the event stopped broadcasting, but still, I won't be lining up to partake in what to seems to me to be a fool's errand.

I'm enjoying the interviews with Haley Preen and Bianca Haw. They are such an entertaining vibe. I hope they manage to contain the Cannondale ladies to finish on the podium tomorrow.

I saw a Biogen bottle with a red cap amongst the shrubbery

I rode Contermanskloof today and I was disgusted to see how much litter the Epic riders left behind. If that is how these people treat our trails that were pretty much pristine before they came through, then they can take their race and shove it. What a bunch of tossers.

The floor iiiiis laaaava 🔥

Don't be like that. You know that's "untamed" tar... Only the truly hardcore can ride on that. It really requires an extra measure of skill.

That is such a stupid comparison. It's beyond cringe really. The TdF at least is a race worthy of it's title and not a dick measuring contest between fat old guys with fatter wallets like the Epic has become.

On their post-race interviews Bianca Haw was mentioning how she doused herself with 5lt of water before drinking some and then doing it again. I recall thinking how would that impact other riders behind them, but then I don't think folks at the front even think about anyone else other than the race. In that sense I'd say there should really be a pro's only water point and then one for the groups following. I remember that during the Paarl Enduro a few years back the water point had run out of water by the time I stopped there. It was a mere 31°C day and still it was so bad I had to withdraw and DNF for the event. Watching the riders go through those same trails today gave me bad memories of that day.

I just watched the stream of today (work makes day watching impossible) and man, what a day. It looked brutal from my couch. I can only imagine what it must've been like on the bike. I suspect that the starts batches will be much more sparsely populated tomorrow. Well done to everyone who's riding.

I predict that the people with 40t rings up front will be pushing the bit in yellow on Monday. I've seen my fair share of full-fat eeb riders take a hike up that bit.

I dropped my phone at the bottom of Smitswinkel and pretty much did the same thing . . . I was also riding on the left of the tar though and the lady I had just passed yelled out "phone", and "luckily I didn't ride over it". - However, I pulled off the road immediately.

I saw a chap riding a MTB while wearing a backpack that had a battery sticking out the top as we started the ascent from Millers point. I was wondering what on earth he was actually willingly carrying that extra weight around for because I saw no eeb anywhere close by. Maybe it was the flat one that has already been replaced, but then I am struggling to understand the logic, because surely the amish rider is not anywhere near as quick as the eeb. I am befuddled by that. As for speed, I was riding my 29er Camber on XC rubber and my top speed was 70 km/h going down Wineberg hill. Admittedly I was muuuuuuuuch slower going up, but all in good fun. As for control, I actually found that speed way less intimidating than for instance descending Red Phoenix at Jonkershoek at not even a third of that speed. I did have three poo-your-pants moments though with riders just riding like they do when they drive and YouInstaTikTokFace. One lady was steering eratically and nearly plowed into me. Another lady cut right into my line as I was passing her to her right as we descended Chapmans. She was going slow. I was flying and called the line, yet she decided to veer right into my line as I was passing. I nearly earned myself a face full of Chapmans Peak rock cliff for my effort. I rode out of that one as high as a kite on adrenaline. A bit later on the descent to the 12 Apostles hotel a dude swerved into me and we touched bars. I had the mother of "tank slappers" and thankfully again rode it out at the 57km/h I was doing according to Garmin. No lies, this upcoming enduro at Jonkershoek is less intimidating to me than a day riding the Argus. I still enjoyed it and missed my target time by 12 minutes. Funny that, seeing as I lost precisely 12 minutes with a mechanical less than 2km from the start. Next year I will try again.

That derailleur is bent in its chops. The chain is also routed around the outside of the cage and not even over the jockey wheels. I would say that the technician that did this job has some massive explanation pending. Also it seems like Cyclelab owe you a new derailleur if it's the RD that was bent and not the hanger. I would take the bike back to them, demand to speak to management and demand they restore you to the condition you were before this mess began, failing which you want your money back. Poor service needs to be called out and the people doing it must take responsibility. This is unacceptable. I hope you come right.

In South Africa, you give way to traffic on the right, that is already entered or at the circle before you. That does NOT mean you give way to the entirety of traffic approaching from your right, only to the traffic already in the circle or busy entering the circle as you approach. At that point when it's your turn, then you enter and continue to give way to traffic to your left already in the circle before you. Unfortunately the asleep-behind-the-wheel Capetonians think that you need to sit stationary at the circle for ad infinitum while the rest of Cape Town enters the circle to their right. The logic is really simple. A traffic circle is nothing more than a moving four-way stop with pretty much similar logic other than yield to your right, then to your left. What is is NOT is a stop till the whole world passes by.

The more astute will notice the unobtrusive S swish logo with the words Specialized below the S on a fairly prominent spot on the rear canopy lid 😉. I reckon that should be clue sufficient.

I had TWO morons do this to me today while they were driving in their cars and me in my 4x4. First incident I was already turning right at a 4 way stop when the boet in his black jeep renegade decided he wasn't stopping until he saw a big red 4x4 that clearly didn't give a rats ass. He stopped in the middle of the road and waved his arms at me, despite him being the prick who didn't stop at the line. Literally 5 minutes later a woman decided to also not stop at the traffic circle I was already in and she proceeded to just drive straight at me, flipping me off while she passed. People need to calm down, because life is too short. And whenever people want to get crazy they need to remember that there are other people crazier than they are also out and about. They might even be driving a large red 4x4. . .

This is such a non issue I almost regret even commenting, but here goes. To go through such elaborate means of responding to an advertisement, paying asking price via EFT and then after it has cleared receiving the goods from the seller, only THEN to employ the scam by trying to convince the bank that the transaction was fraudulent sounds so ludicrous and far fetched that it's probably easier to play the lotto everyday hoping for a win. Regtig mense. Critical thinking is a thing. Try it.

Technically you could do it. You only need one arm to hold the bars 😜

She really has a good eye. That really is a beautiful shot. Whenever I think Vrystaat I have a mental picture of potato and mielie fields in the dry dusty Karoo, not green, lush mountains. Just shows how skewed our perceptions can be. Well done on this one Block.

I rode Jonkershoek on Saturday. First time ever I encountered drizzle that made no difference to the powdery dust. also, this year I "trained" for the cycle tour by doing mock enduro rides at Jonkers. I figured if I'm ready for the enduro on 16 March then the tour will be a walk in the park.

Am I the only one expecting a few Hobbit's to come skipping along?

The a-typical South African is quick to moan about the lawless state of the country and is even quicker to break those same laws. The irony of it all boggles the mind.

Windy.com is forecasting the polar opposite from this. The safe bet is as @droo says, check on the day. The last two years I have found the weather forecasts in Cape Town to be spotty at best and downright wrong at worst. My advice for out of towners. Get some wind riding in, although I suspect it's a tad late for that now.

Should I care? My phone doesn't ring ...

Although it isn't completely foolproof, and won't work with email, one app I do subscribe to annually is Truecaller. Since I've started using that app fully my phone seldomly rings, and when it does and it's a spam caller I can train the app while the phone is ringing to block the number. I also set up an AI assistant in the app to take calls on my behalf should I choose not to speak to the caller. As for email, I make use of the rules feature to stop unwanted mails.