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That's the reason I support the local guys/agents' date=' shopping online from international sources is a no-no for me too.[/quote'] Thats a bit one sided guys - you can burn your fingers wherever you shop, just because you support a shop down the road is no reason to think they cant have supplier / transport issues and you could wait as long or longer. .............and dont think just because they are SA based you cant loose money, I know of a few people who paid for something at a shop today and when they went back a week later to fetch it the shop was gone. Let me assure you international retailers have a very strict code of conduct, (much higher than is required in SA) which is heavily enforced by the C/CARD companies, legal international trade is heavily controlled by the banks, non compliance or non delivery or double invoicing etc will be heavily penalised and they could loose their card ability to trade internationally - in many instances (like in the USA) THE C/CARD COMPANY will refund you if there is non-delivery, or the goods are incorrect etc. "Let the buyer beware" it applies to all purchases.

Yes, Jules, as Linnega mentions 99% of the time its a supplier issue, retailers have no reason to keep stock on their shelves when they have orders for it, so its obvious as soon as they recieve it, they send it on. As someone who imports plenty (for business and personal) this is a common issue, sometimes its not even a suppliers issue but a freight problem, (ie) lack of space, product is trans shipped instead of directly shipped, gets tossed out by the airlines or shippers due to overweight issues - there are lots of problems. So, be gentle, they (like everybody) would just give you the information they recieve, then when it gos pear shaped UP the stream, they will generally end up taking the brunt of the customers wrath when in reality it wasnt their fault. Personally I dont buy from Chain Reaction but all the suppliers I use, first send a PRO-FORMA invoice of IN-STOCK lines - From there you can decide what you want to do - wait or ship whats available. If they dont do that, ask for it, its very common and they will know very well what you need. ................But I understand your irritation, believe me, I have an urgent shipment of spares for a major job, sitting in Brussels because the airlines from the USA didnt have capacity to fit it in a direct flight, now its going to lie there for 4 days before a freighter can bring it to SA. **SIGH** try and tell that to a customer who needs the spares to carry on with a dredging job worth about $4 million dollars in Windhoek - and when they stand, its big losses and I get lots of phone calls believe me.!

Certainly the man in form now. I was really surprised, I would never have considered him for the win, I always thought Petacchi was the man for the win, but the windy road running up to the sprint was not conductive to his train and he couldnt get it going, and none of the other recognised sprinters got the break. Barloworld didnt impress me much, just drifted along in the peleton, Gasparotto caught the break but got washed away. widget2008-03-25 02:56:37

Good grief, still got the "brain fog" from the weekend. Yes, your right, its "Seattle coffee" and it sucks.! Is there a Starbucks in SA then??

I didn't even know there was Starbucks here... I was basing my comments on o/seas' date=' so no coment on the local ones... [/quote'] Yah, theres quite a few around, especially in the "Exclusive books stores". They have a very limited "menu" here compared to the USA so not really that great, in my opinion anyway, and nobody beats the US for their 500ml "regular size" coffee. As far as Mellow Johnnys gos, it was inevitable, but Kudos to the man, he has a history with Nike, Trek etc and is just capatilizing on what he knows and dos best, we can all be fairly sure Nike is gonna fly outta there. I am just disappointed he is dosnt forsee selling Cannondale - or I may have popped in.

This is SA boela - the Deep, Dark Southern Tip of Africa where nobody gives a damn and the laws dont apply to us.

My best race is the "Giro D Italia". I prefer watching them than doing them lately.

Well Linex, just called to say the engineering company had finished and they would collect the motor and put it all back together - should be ready tomorrow afternoon. The engineering portion was R2700.00 which included the removal of the corroded grub screws and the fitting of 8 x helicoils. I thought it was pretty fair what do you think Johan.? ..............and by the way, whats a Helicoil.? - I understand its a type of thread? They said they would let me know on the cover issue later if they can re-use it. So it looks promising for the weekend.! .............and Yah, the ammonia did zip, except give the mechanic an itchy nose I hear.!

I never ride in the rain. I never race in the rain. I crashed twice in the rain. If its raining and I feel the need to spin wheels, I go to the VA and do a spinning class or two, dry and comfortable and pretty woman to keep one interested. If I was going to race and it rains - I stay at home and read the newspaper. Riding / Racing in the rain increases your chances of an accident 100 fold, I personally see no reason to tempt fate, but I dont mind if others do.

I heard he rode the Argus for charity, I didnt see him or even know until the other day, but, I think old Jan is a decent guy. Leave all the politics and "hoo haa" aside and he is just a regular Joe, like you and me enjoying a day in the sun, no bodygaurds, no pomp and ceremony, no big headlines and banners, just old Jan and family. I have to wonder if the great Mr Armstrong would do likewise.?? Somehow I doubt it.

Speaking of crashes, one of my new favourite shows on TV has to be "Whacked out sports" - I think its on "Zone Reality" not sure when its on but I always seem to find a re-run, phenominal what some folk do, ............and survive, which is the strange part.! Lots of Bike crashes, but the most spectacular are the extreme snow ski accidents, tumbeling down an entire mountain, bouncing off rocks and cliff faces is not uncommon..

"Oh Okay", thanks, it seems quite east to obtain then. ........I am gonna give it a go, so I will drop it off later with them, personally I dont think its going to work either, but I feel its worth a try anyway. If not, tomorrow I guess I will have to give them the go-ahead to drill. Johan, its definately not a DIY job for me, believe me, I have no clue about this sort of thing and my tool box consists of a hammer and a bent screwdriver I used last to stir some paint.!! I am going to ask about the washers though, sounds logical.

"Agh" who cares?? - but yeah its old news.!! I wonder what they talk about though - "Hey Honey" remember that great day when I first won Paris Roubaix?" "Er "No" Tom, I was 9!!"

Ai, ai, I stopped off at the workshop last night to see for myself whats going on. Its pretty much as you mention Mr Bornman, somewhere, somehow previously the cover was removed and the little grub screws must have been replaced without the special coating of (blue stuff) that they use, water got into the threads and now they are "corroded vas".! The mechanic said he has been spraying it with everything he can find (WD40, Q20 and some Wynns stuff he showed me) for the whole day but its made no differance. The problem is these little screws are quite long (about 8mm) and the stuff isnt penetrating down. The issue with the cost is, they dont do the engineering themselves but take the whole engine to a specialist shop to drill and so on. Apparently the little screws have a head to hold the cover on and when you drill the screw out sometimes the hole gets too big and then the cover wont fasten down, so it has to be replaced, but if they can reuse it obviously they will - as this is the most expensive part. I just read the bit about ammonia, phoned and asked the mechanic if he knew about it, he said "No" but he will try it if I can get him some and tell him what strength to use (must he dilute it ir not). To be honest he didnt sound very hopefull. So, please Mr Bornman (or anybody else) where do I get this stuff, it dosnt sound like you just go to the local supermarket for it, and how do we use it - I figure its worth a try, or what do you think? You will probably need a stiff brandy after this one "hey"? Thanks for any help.

.........to all the technical boffins - and I hasten to add I am not one of them.! Anyway, today I had my outboard engine serviced, its been used in salt and fresh water recently, but I maintain it with its regular servicing. Anyway, the mechanic calls to say he cant get the stainless steel grub screws out that allows him access to the inside, he tells me the screws and the aluminium housing have corroded / welded together and the only remedy is to drill the screws out but this will require a new cover (approx R8000.00) and helicoiling (or something) the block, Labour etc - entire job about 10K. I asked how can this happen and he waffled on about some block that stops corrosion between two metals which is worn out and thats what has happened, the engine is three years old so out of warranty. Anyway, I said hang on, I have to think about this before I say go ahead, because my non technical brain tells me surely something can be done besides drilling. Now my question to all the technical fellas here is - 1)Is this possible - the engine is serviced according to manufacturer specs?. 2)If the screws are corroded / welded together to the housing is there any way of getting them out besides the suggested method of drilling? I want to use the boat over easter so I need some speedy replies.

Thats cos I am old and grumpy Mampara, you young stallions have to still justify yourself. Been grumpy is a liberty us semi-senior folk take very seriously.

To be honest, I dont care anymore. I fly solo and look after myself. My feeling is you can only "take the horse to water - you cant make it drink" and if somebody wants to ride like a "goon" and gets flattened, dont expect me to attend your memorial ride.

I thought yesterday was an excellant stage. Strong head winds, rain and cold dropped the average speed to 31 kph - pedestrian for guys of this calibre, and showed the in form and the not so"in form" teams quickly. Quick-Step is definately te in-form team here, upping the pace to 60kph to catch the breakaway and leaving 90% of the peleton scattered all over the road with the second bunch (with Cadel Evans) nearly 2min back. I think a lot of guys are gonna be walking / pushing up Mt Ventoux. I was also impressed with Euskaltel-Euskadi, this stage didnt suit them at all, but they were always busy in the bunch, chasing down breaks, and trying a few of their own - also very "in-form" I think, and now they have got rid of all the old "dead wood" the new youngsters are really keen to race. I expected more of Cunego, he missed the break and lost a bit of time, maybe he will be more competitive in the mountains, and as for "Popo" - what a class act - he just sits quietly two rows from the front and never misses a thing - he is definately my man for the overall win.

There is no doubt the UCI will have to back down quickly Christie, there are too many teams who want to race, too many sponsors who want exposure and too many spectators who want to watch, - in general ASO as the organiser (and astute businessmen) have all the cards,- the UCI needs to learn to work with them and stop trying to play hardball.

When was the previous break?? I agree with Grapkas, at least 4-6months to heal and set fully. If someone chances a ride where there is a good possibility of a fall and the bone is still not 100% set and healed - well, you deserve what you get.

Yah, thought the same thing, I cant see how anyone can honestly be objective here.

..........and the point of this is?? I get nervous when guys (I assume) post pictures of other guys in semi naked shape - most hetro guys dont spend a lot of time thinking about other sweaty males in various stages of undress.!! ..........of course if you are of the female gender, well, hey its all fair.!

I also set the PVR (as I was at the other race ) but I will watch it tonight as well as todays stage. I agree, Beurocrats like the UCI and relevant organisations are generally cash strapped because they are run by "quasi politician" types who do little to engender themselves to their customers, (who will pay them if they feel they are getting a fair deal) instead they largely prefer to try and "legislate" their way into funds to keep going, and if that fails resort to threats and litigation. This works in the short term, but it wont make you the most popular fellow on the block with those businessmen who are out on the coal face risking their own finances and reputation to provide a service which you are doing your best to muscle in on but giveing nothing or very little in return. Sooner or later the commercial operators will decide its not worth while and they will cut you off - this is called "business" and beurocracies all over the world have yet to learn this rule. Actually, we have a similar situation here dont we, we have a beurocracy who cant sustain itself (CSA) because they previously offered nothing in return for funding, so now they have to "legislate" their way into funds, which has probably been successfull in the short term, as the public will initially pay up (like the previous relationship between ASO and the UCI), but unless they recieve value sooner or later they will say, "Hey, whats going on, I am paying up..... but for what? they will stop paying and the funds dry up again. Far better, as any successfull businessman will tell you, court your customer, offer them value and service, look after their concerns, talk to them like equals, correspond with them, address their complaints and they will pay up forever, and smile doing it.

Sounds like the same guys who put up a "****off" message up on the "Welcome board" at OR Tambo airport a few weeks ago.

Translations aside, I can understand ASO's point. The UCI has consistantly stuck its nose into the organisers affairs and tried to control the events organised by ASO for a long time now. ASO is obviously concerned about something (I imagine its a doping issue, but who knows) and have decided to make changes. Its not as if they have just decided to make up their own set of rules, its allowing the race to go ahead under the rules of the French Cycling Federation who have a very strict code of ethics regarding doping and are more than capable of carrying out the required tests. In any event at the end of the day its ASO s race, they fund it they support it and they do the necessary work to keep it alive. They are a commercial organisation and as such have a right to make their own decisions, we could say "The Golden rule applies" - "He who has the GOLD applies the rules".! widget2008-03-04 01:04:14