UnclePolli

roadbike:GolfGti dualsus:doublecab bakkie hardtail:singlecab bakkie gravelbike:np200 nissan diesel, light nimble and can hammer a gravel road in good nick

i must admit though when out on the roadi on this horible ex tar pavement, ive been very envious of those bikes that simply ride next to the road out of harms way. that being said, when the din wiel is replaced it would be for that purpose.

dual sus with a drop bar ????. sinkplaat amd rigit fork hmmm thats a no for me. a short section of sinkplaat is fine, but 50km of it not so much unless you like your joints nice an loose after????

Hectic, i wil have to rethink taking my mtb for the long weekend. hope youre unhurt. now even the west coast isnt safe anymore

bit of a hit and miss for me somedays perfectly synced loaded, otherdays no power to screen but all is connected. then close pc app, reopen power works, or it stuck at loading....when that happens i usually just call it a day. happens most in the evenings. i have done the whole internet router isp tests and checks. my biggist issue is that it is not consitantly working abd that frustrates me think their servers cant cope with the load or people. but it is a very relistic and feels more solid than the arcade style thats so popular.

bit of a hit and miss for me somedays perfectly synced loaded, otherdays no power to screen but all is connected. then close pc app, reopen power works, or it stuck at loading....when that happens i usually just call it a day. happens most in the evenings. i have done the whole internet router isp tests and checks. my biggist issue is that it is not consitantly working abd that frustrates me think their servers cant cope with the load or people. but it is a very relistic and feels more solid than the arcade style thats so popular.

aah, i forgot to add. make your profit its a business afterall, but be realistic for the less fortunate okes. also the price demand always plays out in favour of high prices, if the demand drops then you will hear the price is high because we dont ship a lot as we used to. appart from components my peevf hate is that a bicycle tyre cost more than my family car sedan replacement yokies

As i have been following the new Epic review and the thread almost derailed into pricing i though it best to start a new one not to impede on the review. Since there is usually a lot of sandbagging with these things, i put down some numbers. The same thing happened with the new Scalpel tread. I have done some simple calcs in order to understand what the hell is going on, by no means im a numbers person so dont flame the calcs. some general assumptions are made so if someone has more accurate numbers, please gooi. For me it is clear as daylight that the demand is driving the exuberant pricing of new bike as well as components. Lets not forget that some of the distributors are also importers of part and im sure they get factory discounts etc. Im not in the industry so there will be variables thats unaccounted for like levies tax etc, but as far as i know most importers bring the bikes in as parts and assemble locally to bypass the additional tax. regardless the below is somber reading and i just realized that i will never ever be able to buy a new carbon bike again in my lifetime. Its by no meas accurate, but a guide non the less. You decide - I you can afford it great if you want it awesome if you cant, them sorry you cant have it. I dont judge. At some point the demand will drop and reality set in. by example that you can usually buy a brand new bike 2 years later if there is still stock and in your size for up to 45% off the RRP. just saying.

the shell must be between 86 and shorter if i recall the scalpel is around 83ish width wise. the outboard ones are too wide. so if going threaded make sure it the flush ones like your pf cups on the outside. i also had to remove a spacer otherwise the sideload is too much. replaced bearings only now no more of that other creaky stuff.

https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/bb386evo/386evo-abec-3-bb-black.html https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/pf30/pf30-abec-3-bb-black.html i have this one in the scalpel and have been very happy the treaded ones where out of stock, the 79mm ones are too short. 386 will work

His face after the 1st time he uses it and it strikes him, "Im Cheating"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ck8LwApd4 BBC docu

All that i can say about his event besides the normal writeup, is i really felt sorry for the short route people from the silos to fruitsellers into that headwind, i saw some broken people when we passed them. It is also sad that that some people that survived to the 4ways to agter paarl road will probably not return to ride an event again. After that side wind and trucks passing i was soiling myself trying to keep cool and calm controlling my bike.

Starting a race with the light southerly wind at your back and finish is priceless in the western cape in December !!! F-H bunch was well behaved and there were 2 punctures in our bunch that happened next to me the experience riders immediately called it and moved over out of the way slowly. KUDUS!! Some club members from route62 where early animators when the pack was split on the spice route drag as came to light when i realized the marshall is the only person behind me on our way to windmeul and from then the pack was driven by the same 7 or 8 people right up till the cross over the N1 (frail, cycleteck with green cannondale etc). After that Cyclopaths took over and hammered the last 15km home. I only managed 1 turn at paardeberg and after that it was hold on redzone till the end. Legs gave up 1km from the finish, emptied myself stukken broken satisfied. sorry i could not help up front more. shamelessly wheel sucked but at least did not go for the win like some do...... Generally well behaved and people understanding the group riding dynamics, barring 1 entitled individual that was also a bit over the place. had to hand on the hip him 1 time as he was squeezing me of the road. I think this made me realize that once a person is on the edge between bloodshot eyes and coughing red their ability to aware of the other people around them diminishes exponential.

Thanks David very Impressed with the work you have done, and best of all no subscription or CC required not yet anyways. WRT accuracy. I have noticed quite a difference in the way the hrTSS is calculated between various apps that i use. With all the different methodologies views all i can say is what i was educated by my boss about some stuff we did a long time ago "Dont faff too much about the actual number, manage the trend". and i have taken this approach with fitness trends and charts.

I spoke to him now, he will update the post with the details and MO. Can confirm that the firearm is the weapon of choice.

heads up - Brother and Friend got hit this morning as well. Watch and Cell phone taken. Will post details once i have the full story. This is surely the work of a repeat offender now. the same person/group. three incidents in 6 days. Quick sell pawn items like watch and cellphone

Now that my kit is on the washing line, shoes properly drying out in the sun and my bike washed before it goes to the shop for a rear wheel rebuild i can "sit down" finally (relative term, technically im in front of a standing desk) Being a two first timers for this one and some tips from those whom have gone before we ended-up being a newbie team of 2 we headed to willowmore with high hopes of a 14hour finish time. That night during the racebiefing and having some pasta from the tannies in the kerk saal the question was asked whom is first timers. 90% raised their hands and the guy with the mic just smiled. qurious about the amount of first timers, i left it there in the back of my mind. Usually these events are more a 70% repeat splits. The koshuis where we stayed really brought some old memories back and when the bell went off the next morning to get up and again for breakfast i was transformed back in time and really enjoyed the experience again. You will only understand this if you where a koshuis kind at some point in your life. The morning we started the cloud covering was friendly gift to not overhead, it also kept the temp higher than a cloudless karoo night in the end of winter. The wind was perfect for a pilot flying from george to cpt in a prop powered two seater and we knew our time was a 50/50. the open plains provided some scenery for the next 100km with some excitement of sinkplaat. Saw a couple of crashes due to some hiding in the wind and overlapping, but all got up and carried on. As per clear instructions from those who went before, we kept our time at checkpoints fast and had a max allowance per cp. All went smooth and according to plan our time was touch and go at cp2, but the wind died down and wasnt an issue in the real kloof. then 2km before the little gate into the baviaans my partner commented on whobbly running back wheel, looking down a saw it had 2mm of tyre clearance on the seat stay at the valve when it went round - odd i though and carried on looking down now every couple of minutes. That gap got smaller and smaller and we stopped just after the gate to have a look. Time does not apply when you are in mechanic mode and this helps to fix once only instead of every 10 minutes. The culprit was found to be a broken spoke and we played a bit with the odd and end spokes to get it more to a acceptable clearance wobbly. 8min unplanned stoppage, bit time still good....Careful riding was needed till CP3 after this so the smoothest lines and flattest rocks where chosen with limited weight on the back wheel when there was an unavoidable obstacle. Enter CP3 and straight to mechanic stand whilst partner sorted the crate. i was number 3 in the Q and seeing the bikes that was before me i realized that i am fortunate. broken derailleurs, missing jockey wheels and a wheel with 4 spokes broken....Here the decision was made to wait for the mechanic cause another broken spoke will spell disaster for us in a kloof at night with zero reception and someone to pick you up. the wonder kid did his thing by trying to get my wheel as close to center as he could and just to get me till the end. Thanks bud you are my rock star. After this our time was not of any consequence anymore and that made the riding relaxing (mentally speaking as the MAC would quickly dispel the zen) I really would like to see what it looks like in the daytime because it must be spectacular with the line of lights zigzagging up when you look at it from the bottom. After the left turn to CP4 i felt empty like all my cells in my body was drained of their essence. Here i decided to do a complete kit change, filled up on koffee had a chokkie melkie and was on my way again, the full kit change was just what the shrink would have ordered and this turned out to be my race defining moment. Dry, warm, clean ready for the slog homeward. CP5 came quickly after my 2200 lum decent from CP4 and here we had a chip roll as ordered by a friend that did it last weekend. The proper solid food felt great and a koffie to enjoy, chains lubed we headed out. as we left CP5 there where no lights in front or the back and we almost missed the turn right onto the gravel road. I know there is no route marking etc, but at such a critical turnoff right after the CP i felt it would not harm to have just a little arrow when you are tired an easy mistake will be to just carry on with the tar road. we went up the first hill out of the valley and i thought what is this never ender nonsense only to realize that we haven't even started it yet !! CP6 finally greeted us and a battery change swop was performed. My partner showed his first sign of being human when the road went up a tat more after CP6 and i think i heard him say this is enough now its not needed anymore. I think the fact that this is ridden at night for me makes it not so daunting, i can only imagine the mental effect this will have on you to see where it snakes up and around for km's on end. We caught up to a bunch on route to CP7 and suddenly we hear a whistle being blown...did someone fall, are they OK, turns out he was celebrating the double century mark!! CP7 - coffee and a jaffle and after this the pace significantly increased. We flew up mini MAC and really pushed the pace after that. heading into the last right turn railway line i though to myself why, why to race organizers always do this when you have suffered so much already. I decided to use this energy and channel it into watts per kg and just hammered the tailwind for the first time during the whole ride just made me do it harder. i emptied myself here and when i turned left after the wall to see the finish line i knew it was over. There was no crying, no emotional outburst nothing nada, just a calm blissfulness. Missed our target time by 1 hour, but that did not matter anymore the fact that did not have to sit on my saddle anymore was a better achievement that chasing that 14hours. Great event, good people, well behaved fellow cyclists with good attitude and manners. one of the best i have experienced. Lost of technical and i still cant figure out why. Yes it is rough, but only really for the 80km jeep track its not as if is mountainous trail-riding terrain. the rest is district gravel roads. Congrats to all finisher and best of luck for non-finishers, i hope all got home safely. I have already started planning for next year in order to make sure i DONT have to that again......at least till next week, then i will reconsider

a view from the back. as my ride started from the bontebok park at 6am for a nice warmup and not to wake up my family i embarked in great spirit for the 8km trek to the start line. Great thanks must go the Ketso, the park manager that opened the gate at 06h30 in the morning. just as it opened a couple of fellow riders emerged from the park, but with bike in vehicles wrapped in the cocoon of an warm air conditioned vehicles. at the start i was surprised to see so many riders. As the weather was predicted to be cold and this being a TB training/equipment etc check i invested in a pair of leg warmers against my own better judgement. This turned out to be one of my best acquisitions and i will never ever again judge anybody wearing it is sub 5degC weather. if its double digits you will be judged. i took my place in the start pen at latter park of the back and was not amused nor supprised by people forcing their way to the front on climb over the side of the barriers. if you are late, you are late and you join at the back of the que unless you are a seasoned pro A batch rider. the "druk gang" out of the start gate was intersting to see people loosing it in the first 5meters . yet again, maybe start in the road next time. After the somewhat chaotic start procedure and being in the back, there was certainty that i will not be drafting today. I did catch up to some form of a group for the tar section, but after the left turn it was groepies of 2 or 3. As i have never done such a distance in one go, i decided to keep in around the upper zone2 lower 3 levels in order to not blow up 50km from the end. This meant that the groups where either to fast cause i have crashed and burned before and not willing to change my game plan i accepted that it will be a lonely solo ride for the next 140odd kms. I soon realised that this put me in an unfamiliar position of being a real back marker. As i accepted this mentally things were looking up. I must comment on the water points. not one was empty when i got there and they where well stocked. The rain that was playing see saw with my rain jacket caused me to put on/ off a couple of times as it is then too hot when the sun comes out, i will have to look at this for TB as i have lost too much time going though this exercise. The most astonishing fact for me about the mud that as soon as you went over the ferry it was bone dry, the other side was wet. some farmers might have upset the weather gods closer to town is what was going through my mind. the mud, was not an issue because it wasnt "klei". it came of quickly and was not sticky as to clogg up the drive train and tyres. the rain jacked worked wonders here to keep me warm and clean. the malgas station was heaven as this was like a oasis after trekking though the desert. The breakfast bun - can you still call it that if its after 13h30 ? was excellent and i think i must look in taking more solids for such a long ride it worked perfectly without any issues. the ferry crossing was cool, but after this there must be some sizmic activity playing about cause it felt that my gps was sitting on km112-120 for ever. every time i looked down it was still on the same number . mind over matter i told myself and just kept on going staying in my designated range of afford. as the temperature went above double digits i adored it, but then as i got closer to town it droped to 7.5 again, i started to feel as if my glute stiffens up so much due toe cold that i could no longer get of my bike from the one side . The run in to town was cool and i used all that left over red zone reserve to empty the tank the last 15km. I finished strong, happy with my effort and conquered new territory both mentally and physically. I really did not find an issue with the one wooden bridge that we crossed as per complaint already, seriously if you cant ride that then stick to the road bike. the good stuff: water points/route markings gravel was it pristine condition no "sinkplaat" general race orginzation. NO WIND !! the friendly fellow back-markers you guys and ladies are cool. mental strength for solo so long the bad stuff: entitled punks pushing in the start pen "druk gang" in the beginning no bike wash when i finished well before race cutoff i have been standing for the whole morning and have not had the guts to sit down yet

A there has not been any action on this forum: All i can say is this personally was tougher than the sani overall. The distance is manageable, but what the youtube and photos dont show is the terrain. jeep track rocki non stop. There is no manicuring here, they say they compacted some corners on day 3, but that probably was heresay for some. Sure there were a couple of free miles thrown in, but that was probably just done so that you dont quite the event and to get you back will be difficult in a lorri. The little tar road section was pure bliss for my back-end when we descended from the karoo veld only to be destroyed on what played ahead after it became gravel again. Does small thumb size rock count as gravel i wonder. At dinner that evening we sat down with the one of the route builders and he said they thought of cutting a bit of single track again to break up the tar road section, but that was met with please dont by an unanimous table decision. The thing is that it felt like you never stop peddling ever. for every meter you got down double will be paid back up. Where many mere mortals got broken was the sadistic element to make you climb back up the zuurberg pass to the finish 8.7km of it on day1 and day3. I must complement the race organizers with route markings and Ciska's briefings - the danger places was there where she said spot on. The route is clearly marked and if you got lost or off-route you need to get binoculars to see. You are also only greeted with "Caution" when really needed. The "Slow down now" meant there is a sharp corner so if you dont want to yield to the sign we will be picking you from a bush. the down arrows where there where they were needed and as far as i am concerned the choice was yours to ignore and pay the price. The severity of the amount of errors was spot on for me. Warm water showers where available after your ride, Canves tents with beds, proper beds yes. Chalets in the addo park you really could not use that as excuses im sorry. The thing is that although it is not as smooth precision driven like the Sani or the other big ones it does feel more intimate, you bump into the same new faces multiple times and its not a vertrapping op bodies. Its not so small that you get tired of each other also and i hope the event doesn't grow bigger (sorry organizers). As race organizers always boast about the amount of singletrack they have, they sometimes forget that it is very frustrating if you have the skills and are stuck behind someone that is fitter uphill, but struggle down and as it then becomes single track hell. In SA we dont pull over even when politely asked. The whole route over the 3 days sorted this out before we hit the 40km trails on the last day. Thanks the the ladies that let me pass you are awesome without me asking. To the lady that i ended up behind, women you can ride a bike and left me for dead at some places. You were my guardian angel and i know when i came to close to quick i had to slow down NOW!. cause you only slowed down because you had to. Shout out must also go out the all the sponsors you did a great job without being in my face so the subtle marketing is working for me. The land owners that opened up their places for these crazy licra clad people that throw WRAPPERS on our land - i do apologize for the mtb community, but not the punks that can eat it, but not stuff it. It seems more and more that this happens at the sharp end of the field cause a mid packer like myself always see this its not the weekend worriers, but wanna be racing pricks - you are disgusting point. Would i do it again - Yes and its only Monday. To the rider that had the bad fall and was airlifted - speedy recovery My only only gripe was that we that stayed in Addo chalets needed a after race hangout place with some bean bags or something like that. Apart from that the fact that the addo park opened the restaurant way earlier in the mornings etc must be applauded. Keep those wheels on the ground or rocks and if you must fly, be sure to check there is a landing spot. !

As there has been no post on this after yesterday, it either means the Epic guys are still in recovery mode or the rest does not want to be associated with a PPA event. As per normal standards the origination was top notch - i dreaded the stand in the q to get your sticker, but to my supprise the PPA ladies were walking around asking if you have yours yet in the parking lot. Wow 2sec later i got my E for eject number. From my last prediction i knew the consequences and was hoping to hang on till that little klap muts bump. I got ejected 5 meters before the top when the redline ref counter went into emergency shutdown procedure. The rest of our ejected CDE picked me up shortly after that and they disappeared again into the sunrise when my chain decided to try and eat my rear wheels spokes up hels hoogste that 1st little kick in the beginning. This was entirely attributed to me trying to force a gear that my cassette just physically dont have, but i still tried by all my might. I suspect an over tightening of the skewer (for fear of losing a rear wheel on the hels descent) threw my limit skrew out by that 1 mm too far. I got going again and latched onto the voorbokke of F-H and from hels to finish being strung into single file due to some 3 team riders in blue and pink (some aluminum works) kit being the main enforcers in toe with with a gent in cycle technik kit and a Canonndale tattoo doing the damage. I felt sorry for him when he dropped his chain 10km before the end as it was certainly not deserving for all the time he spend on the front. I did my normal 3-4 turns up front for ethical reasons and came home. At the finish line water station i was met with well done stay wider of the rider chirp by a tall fellow which had 4 water bottles on his bike. I remembered him also being in our little group. As he walked away i realized it was the MAN himself. That legendary creature that only finished his ride this morning at 00h15 doing 230km odd for the day. The sportif was the first start of his journey. RESPECT. Pros: Marshaling/ foot solders and bikes/robots etc. Event PPA knows how to do this in their sleep by now Great turnout of cyclists Cons: 1.My usual rant about people starting in the front of the group and then get dropped 500m further while sitting 2 abreast accepting their fate. While the rest have to duck and dive to get past on the ouside both offroad and onroad. keep left, single file until the group has gone please. 2.The craft beer with the citrus undertone - i love bitter bear and PA, stouts etc, but this tasted like someone threw in old vrot wyn into that beer barrel. im sorry 3.The person on the short route with her mountain bike - you should not do a U turn after the timing mat when there are 6 people sprinting for position 230. Please check your rear view mirrors before you do as per K53 learners. o man i just posted a report on a PPA race . living bravely today.

On a different note big ups the the ladies group over 60 years old doing the fun family easy ride . It was certainly not the normal 5km around the barn ride. 2 sand sections to the likes of which has never been seen in such an event distance. not to mention the two uphills. Respect and keep at it it does get easier the more you do it. To the gentlemen that had to replace 2 flats. Slime is what you are looking for. you get tubes with them in.

No worries. Always happy to stop help a fellow 2 wheeler out when im not in lycra and in the top 3 position of a fun ride mmm sorry race....

the shameful act of group treason. Since it was my first race back from the crash at one tonner i was very reserved about the whole bunch thing as my confidence took quite a knock. and i decided as from my 4 previous tour de PPA's, being dropped 15km from the finish line (cramps, Not fit enough, burned to much matches trying to hold on etc.) that this year i will commit the shameless act of not contributing anything not even riding 3d or 4th wheel, but last wheel the whole day. I will not as per my usual ethical standards go and do 3-4 pulls in front, nor close a gap if i see the group split, cause every time this is performed my box of lion matches are depleted to the point where all the "wiel suigers" that never do anything in the bunch come past me looking like they just stepped out of the shower whilst i have been in the trenches and leave me in the gutter alone to my own demise whilst they ride to the gates of Rome in triumph. The weather gods smiled on me and from experience i knew the start will be hectic. If i can just hold on till vissers i will let them go and fall back the the next group. BUT before that could happen whilst we were waiting to start a person in lycra forgot to unclip on the bricks and fell over - we all judged this person with the though of you never ride clipped in the start area, i have seen way to many men's egos destroyed by this practice and low an behold to me now it was the MAMIL. i asked if he was ok, but he just mompeled how embarrassing picked up his bike and carried it further. yes bud is was - but kudos for not swearing or being a box about it as it would have not been zen at 06h00 in the morning. Glad you bike was ok as that is more important then your physical well being...... back to the start i quickly scanned where the chains are on the casset as this usually give me an indication of experience started. those in top gear i stay away from as they just bottleneck the start from being in the wrong gear. the acceleration was hectic as per normal an i dug deep till tiekie where i knew you have to go to a dark place not to get dropped. I went pass many other that had a bit too much during december holiday to find myself in the last position over the crest in what i though was the split - still a substantial size. hammering on till vissers so i could claim my strava PR over my followers we began the climb and i was feeling strong and just went for it. there was a split again and i found myself in the latter. not panicking and waiting for the rest to chase i followed and we made contact again at graanendal. the split came again up that bump at fisante kraal and since i was riding last wheel i was caught out (risky business for not working) me fellow drop-ees was not intent to work so i took it appon myself to bridge the gap up the little kicker after the 4 ways stop. leaving my fellow rides for dust. I did catch the group only to be caught 10 minutes later by the rest i left for dead. Our group size started to swell i i though that we were caught by the latter part of our group that was left at tiekie. I did however notice a couple of F's, D's and even a B in our GH group and they seemed to be more than us. since i was sitting at the back i was only content not to crash again and i though that these where probaly the rejects of the other groups (partied the night before, twins kept me up, went to hard out the gate - all terms very familiar to me). I could smell the marshals motorbike fumes the whole day and you know that when he goes by you are on your own. every time we went over a kicker or around a corner i sprinted because i did not want that idling wolf to come past me and i had to since there is a lot of yoyoing at the back which im not accustomed to always trying to be in the front 3de. turning right after the silos and going past my usual drop place still in the bunch i started to believe and dug deep again up that final drag before Adderley turn. Here we split again an i made the split (by not having done anything the whole day). The pace was just below my threshold hr and i was quite happy. going on addelry there was a slight head breeze and i did not put myself in in, no sir not today. there where now a mixture of d,e,f,c,b in our midst and looking at their guads i just tucked in. up that final drag i saw it split again and went with the split since i had almost half a box of lions left. the 5k came up and nobody attacked. i just wanted to finish and realized that due to the slight headwind it will be futile to go it alone. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. with 500m to go some youngsters for the short race that found refuge in our soup went for it and nobody responded, i though to myself that this was my chance to be a box for once and go for it whilst i left the rest to burn. A tactic i am very familiar with as i am usually burned by the shower crowd. Looking at race results i finished in the breakway of our group some 15 minutes before the majority of GH which i am very tjaft with, but if feels hollow as if i cheated or took TUE the day before. as all of the universe is in balance for my act of shamless group riding ethics betrayal i am now promoted to E for ejected 5 km after the start to take my rightful place back in G for grounded probably after the next two race Pros: Weather, cant remember if i ever rode a PPA tour without a storm southerly nor cool 20deg. Marshall and organization, PPA def the standard leaders here Cons: The dude that dumped his wrapper Dudes riding without numbers and timing chips (common pay the entry) Honorable mention: the lady that perfected the art of drifting back though the group when we go uphill. I though you executed it very well. Going to the front before the gradient kicks up and drifting back whilst going uphill. May i just ask that to just drift back on the side and not in the middle cause we then have to play dodge and it just is difficult to get back into a rhythm. In Closing: will i be shameless again - highly unlikely, cause i hate it when others dont contribute, but share in the spoils. Was it worth it ? - probably not cause now i am punished to E and will be one of those rejects picked up by other groups. Was it fun? - Hell yes, most enjoyable road race i have done in 4 years.