gerryonimo

I hope they didnt send you down the same trails that were 'chocolate mousse' for us on Stage 2 of the Chardonnay! After pushing through the mud up Protea Alley and then trying to carry our bikes, the only way to get through the quagmire, through Rietvlie Magic, washing our bikes, for the fourth time in the last 3 hours, in the dam at the end, we pulled the plug. Flagged down a motorbike marshall, and asked him to guide us out of the mudbath on a ridable trail back to Oak Valley. No fun for the back markers, we should have been warned that the trails would be unridable. I was very thankfull that I was not staying in the tents, the cold and marshlike conditions around the camp were not great. Day 3 was an enjoyable day of riding, but at the end, in the hospitality tent, with no Lager left on sale and the under cooked, raw pizzas served, the only form of replenishment for a hard few hours of riding, was not enjoyable.

Hi, contact Andrew Lucas A.K.A. Dr Lefty, at Velotopia. He has a workshop in Limbro Park: 082 333 6406. Best Lefty mechanic around!

Riding the Pinotage, also my first W2W, looking forward to riding those lekker Cape trails and enjoying the great wine infused Cape hospitality.

Thanks Squier, great video. Tranquilitas looks like the place. We did the Mankele camping thing a few years ago and enjoyed it!

Looking to spend a few days riding with my son and maybe a little fishing if available?

We decided to do something a little different, having travelled all the way from JHB, and not wanting to waste our hours of training for the DC. We rode to Arniston and back with 7 of our team, plus our backup vehicle that we did not want to waste, and really enjoyed it. Our other choice was to do a coffee ride and stop somewhere in Swellendam on the way back for brunch. Which would probably have meant having our first adult beverages with said brunch and everything going south and a bit rowdy after that! A few drops of rain and a side wind there and back, besides that great conditions to cycle 194kms in. A completely new route for us made up for the huge disappointment of the DC cancellation, and we enjoyed it throughly! It also meant we could hold our 'fines meeting' at the braai that night, which went way south! Unfortunately we where unable to collect our DC socks, we weren't too worried about the braai pack, a hungry local probably put that to better use! We have e-mailed them requesting them to courier the socks to us, no reply as yet. I do think this cancellation is going to hurt the event in future, especially with those that travelled from far, unless some kind of compensation is offered, other than preferential entries for the next event!

I have nothing but praise for this bike shop, if ever a bike shop deserves to do well in these trying times it is GMC! Craig and his team have stellar attitudes and the service they put out there is an example not only to other bike shops but to all retail outlets! Remembering the great service we got when one of our school boy MTB riders had his bike stolen and Craig and his team had no hesitation in lending him a Santa Cruz,at very short notice, set up and all, rider enabling him to compete in the race held at Cascades! They will always have our support! Bravo GMC!

Thanks for taking ownership of this noble task TNT1! I have 2 bags full of cycling clothing I want to donate to a worthy cause. Please let me know how I can go about this, I am in the Edenvale area?

Great to eventually ride through the famous 'Piet Skiet' route. Thanks for the awesome MTB experience Nathrix, in what turned out to be an eventful ride, swollen river crossings and all. Special to ride through the Rhenorsterspruit reserve with all the gnarly climbs,descents and natural beauty!

So having visited Swellendam again for the awesome but windy PPA Double Century, a few of our team decided to support and sample some of the wines in the region. By far the best we tasted was the Bonnievale River Merlot 2017. I think we paid R76 a bottle in the local Tops. Great red for the price, so much so that we have returned to JHB and placed an order for a few boxes via Cellars Direct. Having joined the Bonnievale wine club I pay R63 a bottle. Can't wait to receive my order for my Christmas stash!

Anyone know of anybody collecting old cycling apparel in the JHB/Edenvale area? I have cleared out and have been waiting for an opportunity to donate to cyclists that need a little help>

Sid i'll join you for a double espresso, trade you for our special banana bread spread with Nutella!!

Thanks, I don't do either, but I could ask my daughter to have a look for me. Gonna get big attitude from the teenager, but it's worth the hassle!

Missed out on the online order for the DC commemorative t-shirt. Tried a few times to access the link on the web page without success. Don't think they will be selling at the start or after the race like last year. If anyone has over ordered or has a Large spare please let me know. Not sure how much they cost this year but don't mind spending a little extra to cover a commission of sorts?

I would go Momsen, pay a little more for good quality. I was not impressed with the replies I received from Signal when I enquired about buying a few of their MTB's for our new boys starting out in our MTB team. Basically got fobbed off when I asked a few pertinent questions.

We are off at 06h49, so you early birds spare a thought for us when we are pedalling in the midday heat and you are enjoying a cold one! Our team has varying strengths, two strong riders training for the Epic, a few mid strength Mammils and three hot shot tri-athletes training for Iron man next year. Should be interesting holding onto these buggers. Hoping to better our 07h02 time from last year!

Phew, let's hope we get an earliesh start time. Baldrick as a local which watering hole would you recommend, not too far from the finish, for a tired team to grab an adult beverage recovery drink? Perhaps with nice outdoor seating facilities?

According to the web briefing the other day the seedings and start times will be released this Friday, tomorrow.

I rode this event for the first time last year, with iRide from JHB, very impressed with the organization and of course the route. One of the best races I have ever done! Lucky enough to be invited back to ride it again this year. Kudos to Dave Belliars and his team for finding a way to make it happen again, without a headline sponsor. Really looking forward to it now, our new team kit is made, some nice long training rides done, flights and accommodation booked. Please guys arrange some nice weather down there to welcome us Vaalies!

Apologies for the double photo, my first time posting in this relatively new format. My mate sent this to me, love the Osjaar reference!

I bought a pair of Lizzard full fingered padded gloves, on special at Cycle Lab last week, R350. Used them twice on my trial rides, nice fit with good padding. Good value for money!

Hi I stopped and picked up a Racetec timing chip on the trails at Modder last Saturday morning. I have contacted Racetec they informed me that they cannot reveal owners details. PM me if you have lost your Racetec chip number: RT345936

Looks great, well done on putting this together. I am sure your group will grow, good luck guys!

Unfortunately I did not have the same experience. The first two orders where delivered promptly and I complimented them on their good service. My third order not so good. I ordered a foldable Gatorskin tyre, I needed for a spare. I didn't hear a thing for a few days and, Murphy's law, I went and split my tyre on a training ride earlier that morning. I sent them an enquiry and only six days after the initial order they sent me a reply saying they didn't have stock and where trying to source me a replacement tyre. I replied saying that to keep a customer waiting without an update on the order was not acceptable and I cancelled the order and had to wait another week for my refund. I phoned and spoke to Bianca who had a very blasé attitude and didn't seem to think it was bad service and was not phased at losing a loyal customer. There are a few online cycle shops and LBS's offering good service and prices, and that's where I will take my business in future!