Herschel

Well that was all rather interesting, I trained harder for the event this year than when I did it in 2019. I was hoping to improve my time as this would be my first ever event repeated in 5 years of me riding bike. 30KM in, my hardtail started making horrible noises, I mean it sounded like I was riding an E-bike when pedalling…..raaah, raah raah. (foreshadowing, I ended up having many thoughts of e-bikes on this ride). I was too embarrassed to stop at WP1 – ducked and dived all the other people enjoying the refreshments. Luckily I made it through safely without being stoned to death for a noisy bike or riding into a fellow distracted cyclist. Made it to the ferry crossing 10 minutes later than previous attempt. Skipped the rooster koek and off and over I went (ferry was still running at this point). I still felt relatively strong but little did I know what was waiting for me just ahead. At some point I noticed that nobody would stay around me long enough to allow me to wheel suck. Every now and then a proper E-bike would pass me and I started to ponder just what an experience it must be to just enjoy the ride, instead of suffering. Between the ferry crossing and water point 3 I started to really hate life. I lost the ability to shift gears properly, it was like my request for a gear change was sent from my shifter via a pigeon and a slow at that, to my derailleur. The sounds coming from my drive train became worse with every passing KM. Was it just me or did water point 3 move a million kilometres away. Looking ahead at the rollers, they looked deeper and steeper than I remember. Try as I might I could never get enough momentum on the downhill to make it to the crest and eventually my super heavy bike will need to be pedalled up the hill. I’m convinced the sticky mud was just attacking me, everyone else around me must have been on smooth and dry gravel. Well that was my mindset at least. Finally made it to WP3, used some clean water on my cassette and derailleur, it looked like a ton of mud came out. I remember thinking about @Wayne pudding Mol maybe I should get that TrickStuff brakes from him if I make it to the finish line as a treat. Next I grabbed some banana bread and sweets, best tasting things I’ve had in my mouth the whole day thus far. Rinsing the mud from my bottles also ensured I could finally drink without getting mud at the same time. Then something magical happened, I caught an old Oomie with a noisy bike on one of the rollers. The two of us motored, soon we passed a guy on a gravel bike and he decided to join the train. The Oom and I took pulling turns, Mr Gravel bike refused to pull. At first I was annoyed but then I remembered maybe he was enjoying the music coming from our bikes. Within no time we made it to WP4. At some point we hit the black stuff, I was so happy to be on tar. Mr Gravel bike came forward and took a pull, which meant we became instant best friends. I would invite him round my house for a braai any day. My next highlight was when Waldo and Milky came past me like a runaway freight train. I had enough energy to shout "klap it Mr Isaacs" Sensing the end being near but knowing something was waiting ahead I tackled the last of the mud with a lot of enjoyment. Being a child of the 80’s that played Mortal Kombat….all I kept thinking as I took on the remaining mud was…..Finish Him…I mean Finish This Damn Thing!!!!! Crossing the finish line brought me great enjoyment as I had a roll coaster of emotions throughout the day. 45 mins slower than 2019. I made so many deals with myself just to keep going, it will take me a while to remember it all. I allowed my bike to be pressure washed and was totally grateful. The journey home was uneventful. What a day, what a day.

@Wayne pudding Mol - seeing that you not riding anymore I call dibbs on purchasing your remaining set of TrickStuff brakes 😁

Interesting topic, I recently managed to make some changes. I have a set of Jaybird Vista's (the first version) and although the audio quality was great these kept falling out of my ears. I used them mostly when running (outside and treadmill) and when cycling on the indoor trainer. I tried all three sizes without luck and was about to get them molded via a specialist audiology company when someone recommended I take a look at the Beats Powerbeats Pro as an alternative. I've been very happy with the Powerbeats Pro, happy to recommend them. Oh and I use one earphone only when running or cycling outside, it blocks out too much ambient noise for me to consider using both.

I also recommend Armour Ride, Willem is an awesome guy. They wrapped my new bike in December last year.

As I'm based in Cape Town, I worked with Willem from armour-ride directly and they did the work to protect the frame. I recommend you call them and ask for a reputable installer for your area. Very happy with the quality of their work.

Definitely a market for frame protection using PPF, I got a new MTB in December and refused to ride the bike until the frame was protected. I ended up using a company https://armour-ride.com/ In total I spent R3K to fully protect my frame. I did not want a DIY option and wanted to have the work done professionally.

I'm in lets get another 3 guys so we can all get cheaper Kickrs

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Hi T-Bag, I made the switch from a Polar V800 to a Garmin Fenix 5x. I'm relatively happy with my choice however the newest Garmin's can store/play music (used when running on treadmill). So far I have only lost one ride on my Garmin due to an update. My Polar was rock solid.

I happen to work at Willowbridge, it was super convenient to walk into the store purchase the stuff I wanted and be done. However couple of days leading up to Black Friday I decided to upgrade to SRAM Eagle, CWC showed the items on their website, I went into the store to purchase, only to be told they don't have stock. Salesman wanted me to pay to seal the deal and lock in pricing......(yeah whatever mate, not falling for those tricks.) Instead he wrote my number into a little black book. He was going to call me when stock arrives, couple of days later I go back (Cyber Monday) That salesman was now on leave, but get this.....they don't share the black book with other sales people in the same store. Left my details again with a different sales person, waited 3 days. Then gave up, instead I drove down the N7 +- 40KM got everything I needed. (they also did not have the X01 cassette in stock but offered to make a plan for me.....BTW I was willing to wait for the cassette I did not need instant gratification, I'm way to old for that. Also did not want the bling of the gold XX1 stuff which they had in stock. The saleman gave me the option to take a cassette from one of their new bikes which was on the floor. I replied I'm fitting this stuff in the next day I don't care about boxes etc etc. Left the shop after spending R15K happy. CWC +- 5 mins walk away. Instead I went for a drive, came back via the Durbanville Silos. Saw some routes that I want to do on the MTB.

All I wanted was SRAM Eagle XO1 upgrade kit (cassette, chain, shifter) no stock, then I decided okay lets go for SRAM Eagle XX1 upgrade kit, (no cassettes in stock) I reckon my wife is doing some weird black friday voodoo stuff.

Bought Compact Euro 3 Bike from CWC Black Friday last year, paid R7500.00. I remember Volvo selling branded ones at a good price as well.

My buddy and I would love to join, I know logistics can be a pain so thanks for taking the initiative to organise the ride. Is there perhaps a whatsapp group that I can join to make the communication easier for the next one?