ChrisF

First long one in too long .... LEKKA 👍 Absolutely PERFECT riding weather

That SUCKS !!! So much for all their publicity this week about visible policing, and specifically patrolling this section .... Had I not not joined a friend on another route I would have been passing through there this morning ....

Spent more time taking pics than commuting.

Even possible, actually easy, in Garmin Connect. As noted in previous posts, just select the correct bike after each ride. You now have an odometer for each bike. Note the odo reading when you service a chain, just check the odo at the next service. Some of the add on apps just remove paper from the exercise above ... still require the same inputs.

Wednesday commute

Sunday's Gun Run hammered this reality home. 9 000 entries sold out in 7 days. 7 740 started .... whole different story in that. The winners came in at 1 hour and 2 minutes for 21,1 km (21,38km on Garmin). That is barely 20 minutes after the last group started !! 😵 Some 7 000 people rocked up with no expectation of winning .... BUT ... It was so good to hear why the people were there. One gent missed the entries, then got one via substitution but had to start at the back. He managed a 1.35 passing thousands of runners. Rest of us were doing our 1st or 2nd half marathon. What an opportunity to grow in our sport. Heck, I was way way back of the field, but improved 17 minutes on my previous time. Going to Nationals, going to Worlds, going to the Olympics ..... heck, if you made the cut then GO. Being a rol model .... whole different topic .... sadly very few athletes today are rol models worth following .... personally, I am old school on this topic ....

Johan you have a couple of options : 1. Schools MTB series - most schools have coaches for their riders. (like most school sports one needs to check if the coach adds value ...) 2. Granny Gear at Bloemendal 3. Marcel at Veloworld - zero-82 577 1-zero-8-zero Maritz have attended a few sessions with Marcel. He gets my vote.

Where are you kids living ?

my FIRST .... late bloomer ... Winners came in about 20 minutes after we started, "I" batch .... but what lekker gees in the back of the pack.

As a Giant bike owner I met JP at Recycles. It was a few months later when I truly met the man behind the beard. Trans Augrabies 2023. Day one started as bad as ones worst dreams .... first water crossing after the pace vehicle pulled over my e-bike cut out. Bit a of Q20 and I could get going again, now well and truly way behind any other cyclists. We all know that adrenaline rush, when you just go full taps .... coming around a corner I saw a lone cyclist idling along. I thought this was the Tiger, the title of the sweeper. Turns out he was not the Tiger, just a fellow rider who stopped for a nature break and was also slowly catching up to the group. Now you need to understand that Tans Augrabies starts at about 4 degrees celcius, before any wind chill .... we were all layered up like eskimos at this stage. I slow down just a bit and chat to this unkown rider. Nice long gravel section before the days trails. Perfect to dial down the adrenaline and to get to know this fellow rider. And then reality dropped ... this is JP, the man that serviced my bike for this event (or at least his shop). We had a good laugh about not recogising each other under the buffs.... And then we agreed it was time to catch up and lifted the pace. We caught up to a the back of the pack, he noted that his lady was further up and we kept the pace and steadily moved up the grid. Strange how life long friendships are forged in these situations. Later in the day I got this pic of them. JP starting day 2 .... Event tent .... what happens in the tent stays in the tent .... and those that knew JP KNOWS he was PART of the vibe until early in the morning The eagle eyes may spot that JP was riding a Spez bike. As a Giant dealer he rode the Spez with all the branding removed. Back in Bellville .... I had the opportunity to see him living out his passion of fixing classic cars. True enthusiast !! Our last brief chat was at the 2025 CTCT Expo. He was so busy, yet made time to try and help the Potch train with something they needed. My innige simpatie aan sy familie en geliefdes. EDIT - I never met Meurant. By the looks of it he was part of the driving force behind the SPUR MTB series (would like to hear more of this). 2017 / 18 and 19 we participated in this series. WOW !! Such a positive influence for so many kids ! And the number of parents who's eyes opened to the realities of cyclists via this was inspiring.

Perfect weather on Sunday for the 21km Gun Run

Yes, confirmed by a close friend ... his partner at the Epic services

Was fortunate to get to know JP at a three day stage race. His team worked on my bike before the race, as authorised Giant dealers. Often chatted to him since. My heart goes out to his people and family in this tragic time 🙏🙏 May he R.I.P. R.I.P. Meirant. A very sad day for the sport.

Any Hubbers doing Gun Run ? Enjoy, and best wishes

Online entries are closed, but you may be able to register on the morning at the event. I have done this a couple of times. Just reach out to them to check if they are sold out, i.e. reached event permit number of entries.

Time for a new bike 😉

Taking a chance here .... speak to FORZA. They have some interesting stuff

I am convinced bleeding car and motorcycle brakes are a lot easier ... Oooooo, those days of manually turning up the brake shoe dial on the 80's Mini ....

Maybe check with your LBS or one of the Hubbers about your specific Shimano break model. Older was bled bottom up, i.e. syringe. Some of the latter can sustain damage this way, and should only be bled top.down from the bleed kit reservoir.

Jip. Not as if he set out to defraud people. Got in over his head with music promotions and paid some steep school fees .... rest is just collateral damage. Sucks for each and every person that paid entry fees ! But this was not a scam like the many from our infamous wood-fetcher .....

I had a similar issue with rear brakes, also Shimano ... on a new bike. I took it back to the dealer no less than 5 times .... last time they charged me to bleed the brakes, on a set that did not work correctly from the start. And no, the paid for bleed did not help ... I took the bike to Mark and booked it in. I picked it up later that afternoon .... Mark just smiled and said it was sorted. And it was SORTED !!! Next 3 000km was an absolute pleasure. I replaced the brake pads and bled the system .... damned if I could get the lever sorted ... kept on going soft .... took the bike to Mark and said "I fixed it until I broke it.." I went upstairs with him and he showed me .... unbolt the caliper, let it hang .... hose one long gentle uphill to the lever. Now bleed the system (spacer in between the pads) .... jip, that last bubble comes out and it is perfect for the next few thousand km. Seriously sad that so many "authorised dealers" are not up for these most basic tasks .... but 100% ready to sell you a brake upgrade .... bl!kskottels ...

Snap, was about to say the same.

And while National, Provincial and Municipal regulations and by-laws dont allign it creates LOTS of loopholes !! For years lots of smaller sporting events flew well under the radar, especially when it did not use municipal roads. This years Two Oceans have truly rattled this cage !! Suddenly these officials are actually inspecting events, even being at the venues Saturday mid,day ....

Nope, no, aikona .... "You" arrange something. "You" SELL something. "You" proceed to issue a gpx file for your clients ..... That is a product you are selling. As this product is for a pre-arranged activity by a group of people, this is most definitely an "event". At least, that's what it looks like at first glance. More specifically for the "Province of the Western Cape" as gazetted, in 2002. "Public safety" seems to be the key word, and thus an event permit is needed..... By 2015 the City Of Cape Town "admitted" that an "event" with a "few people" pose no real threat, and that the blanket use of the term "event" is not practical nor reasonable. Thus a new By-Law was published in August 2015 with the important distinction that the need for an event permit starts once the number of people, including staff, exceed 50 persons. Based on my experience with other By-Laws, we can well expect slight to significant changes between different municipal zones and different provinces. Spare a thought for the Cape Epic organisers that traverse between three different municipal districts, with distinctly different By-Laws and different event application offices on any given STAGE of the event. PS - Even Hubbers (not me) working for the "Local Authority" sitting in the main monitoring tent at the Cape Epic .... lucky chaps ...

For better or worse (worse for the sport) there are very clear By-Laws in place that govern "events" .... you sell an entry ticket you are legally liable. Participants cant sign away their rights nor safety. Adding ambulance etc for such a small number of riders over such long distances .... the numbers were never going to add up. Let's not forget the Two Oceans fiasco where the City of Cape Town, and by implication the Government of the Western Cape, were co-sponsors of an oversubscribed event ..... that storm has most certainly not died down yet !! Even a small "organised" park run on a farm now has the local council staff at the venue checking permits, facilities, number of entrants, etc .... Last month the organiser had to stop day entries as they reached their permit number. It must suck even more than normal to be an event organiser in the Western Cape during these times. And yet, more than a 1 000 people may cram into Bellville park for a park run .... because it is "not an organised event". NO organiser will ever get a permit to over populate that area like that ..... STRANGE world we live in master Jack ....