River Rat

I wonder if this is the stage at which the points start coming from the GC contenders rather than the sprinters.

Klapperkop As a follow up to my previous report of renewed attacks at Klapperkop I did some investigating. If you recall we did a sting operation in Klapperkop in August last year where 2 attackers were shot (1 killed and 1 wounded) the others fled the scene. However, we had information as to their whereabouts and they were arrested the next day. It would appear that they were released soon afterwards without any ID parades to see if they could be linked to the numerous attacks that occurred in Klapperkop this time last year. We now have information that at least one of the guys arrested and released is behind the recent attacks. Graham De Lange and I took this up with the senior SAPS personnel this past Saturday at a SAPS community briefing and I am pleased to report that the matter has been escalated to Brigadier level who has appealed for those that were attacked to come forward so that he can follow through on these cases. This is where we need your help, if you or someone you know was attacked in the Klapperkop reserve please PM your case number to me so that we can get a response from SAPS. I know some of you might be a bit cycnical about this but having done this before I can state with some confidence that we did get results in the past. So far we have caught 4 and the sentences meted out vary from 13 -19 years imprisonment, please help us get the rest of this gang off our streets.

How can you not take a Fantasy seriously, jeez people just can't get their priorities right.

My team might need 25 stages for the long game to work

If you enjoy walking them off leash you should try Hedianga Farm and Wolwespruit MTB park. you can easily get in 10+km from either venue. Hedianga is a working farm so the dogs need to be under control or keep them on the lead.

This is the second incident in less than a week at midday on Saturday a couple and a bystander were robbed at viewpoint1, five men armed with knives. Clearly there is a new gang operating in the area so be very careful. All I can say is, here we go again.

I think it was 2017 and to be fair the total "unknown" would not be kind to Geraint Thomas but really who would have expected him to be in yellow so early and for that long. I think I only had Froome and Meintjies producing any points for the last 10 stages.

Just check your end date. I understand that there's rain about so the flowers should be great.

It's easy, first you pick your team. Then you watch how some total unkown rider wins the first stage and gets into yellow for the first 10 stages, while the members of your team get sick, withdraw, fall of their bikes or get kicked out of the tour. So no need to worry about the points for the first 10 stages because you ain't going to get any. Then the rest day arrives and you decide to substitute the riders you've lost only to find that they are no longer in the tour. Then you check out the leaders team to see who they picked and you work out a strategy for next year and now you can't remember what that was.

Having just had my rotator cuff repaired 2 weeks ago here's the drill. 6 weeks in a sling and then you can think about a gentle ride but only with narrow handlebars (read road bike). If you're lucky you could be back on the trails in 4 months. In the meantime you have manage the painkillers and there's more than enough pain to justify eating these things like sweeties.

Do you know what the vet is using? Is it Advocate from Bayer?

Not to be an alarmist but my son recently lost his 4 year old Retriever X to this silent killer. He lives in Pretoria but I have seen reports of this from the Benoni area. https://www.greensidevet.co.za/spirocerca-lupi-dogs/?fbclid=IwAR3rJdqVNwFipxkNDyrxHN6o1-yDySRiokgs4FZe5W4HzquqaDHeapercow

So I was a way for the last 2 weeks and what do I see when I get back a Merc 1-2, rinse and repeat. Nothing to see here

We also had the show thing this weekend not really something I enjoy but our boy has become a bit of a stud dog so we were sort of urged by the other breeders to take him to the show. He was awarded Best Graduate but I got the impression that the judge found him to be rather large.

So while Mercedes closed out the front row here's the qualifying for Formula E

https://youtu.be/TZJ-aSYtDA8 can't find a free site for live broadcast in SA yet.

To be fair they're trying their best to create a contest with DRS, mandatory tyre changes etc but these are just putting plasters on a bleeding wound. The front teams are so far ahead of the rest that there's no chance they can catch up and as we're seeing this season Mercedes are way out front of Ferrari and Red Bull. I see Ferrari are reporting Charles had an engine failure which I believe is symptomatic of how desperate they are to compete without the tools to do so. However, if you're Mercedes fan it's great news as your team is most likely going to walk away with the championship, for the rest it going to be very boring as a contest, unless of course you get excited about the race for 3rd place.. So it's boredom that's going to kill F1 as viewers look for more competitive motor racing coverage and sponsors will follow the viewers. Formula E has the addded incentive in that it's a great proving ground for new technology in a growing market and that's where we find BMW, Jaguar, Mahindra and Audi investing their money. I somehow can't see F1 offering a viable alternative to Formula E in the long run as the top tier are so entrenched with the wherewithall to keep themselves there.

I can see the predictability of the current F1 environment being the death knell to this format as a spectator sport. Ferrari were desperately trying for a result and I believe that they had a 2 pronged strategy for this weekend, they took a huge risk in turning up the performance of Leclerc's car and it nearly paid off for them but it won't work all season long. Vettel's car was clearly slower but more reliable, however it wasn't quicker than the Mercedes in the heat of battle (add to that Vettel's brain fart to compound matters) , so once again Mercedes will dominate this season. The only thing worth watching is whether Ferrari will finish at least one car ahead of Max at the end of the season, but it really is a one car race. In the meantime I glanced over to Formula E where the racing was tight and it's attracting more and more sponsors who are chasing the Chinese electric car market. The growth in this format is huge and I don't think F1 will be able to compete in terms of attracting sponsorship while it is so predictable. I think the blame lies with the top F1 teams as they try to dominate the grid at the expense of a spectacle.

Great competition, just a question how do you deal with the points allocation when penalty is dished out post the results being published as with Galileo Risk receiving a 30min penalty?

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Don't worry you'll be fine and back on the bike within 3 weeks. As for long term it does not affect any other functions other than producing viable swimmers.

I had mine done almost 20 years ago and it was quite an amusing experience. Once admitted into the ward I was told that I was number 12 in the queue for those that elected the procedure to be done under a local anaesthetic, the chaps that chose full anaesthetic would follow after that. Our ward nurse was a rather large gay man who did his rounds offering to do the necessary shaving. Needless to say I did my own shaving but I couldn't avoid the inspection of the my handywork, but I did my own lifting. The first operation was scheduled for 8 am and we were all shaved and settled in our beds by 6:30 am. Almost everyone of us had our spouses with us and there was lots of handholding and "moenie worrie nie my liefie, ek's baie lief vir jou" going on. As 7:30 arrived the conversations were conducted in hushed tones and our nurse was extremely busy as he was consulted on what I did know. But he minced his way from bed to admin desk on a number of occassions. All I got from him was "Is jy alraait, ou groote?" followed my a brief nervous nod from me. 7:50 am arrives and the nurse, standing at my bed, announces to the whole ward " John Wayne, jy's nou nommer een" he had a huge grin on his face as he wheeled me off into theatre. Apparently, the waiting took it's toll and those ahead of me chickened out of the local opting for the full, I was the only one left. The op itself gives you a sense of why some of my comrades opted out, you see you lie on your back with your legs in strirrups with your whole package on display as the doctor goes about his business. You are embarrasingly aware that your package is now the focus of attention for all including the pretty young blonde nurse. Our gay nurse was no longer there but I was rather hoping that the term "ou groote" was referring to my nether regions, but I wasn't too sure. The doc and I discussed cricket and the sad fortunes of our world cup team, who should open the batting became a great distraction from my discomfort. But our bowlers problems with no balls made me wince a bit, so I changed the subject to fielding, it felt safer than no balls. All the while I could feel something wasn't right and soon I could feel a serious burning sensation on my nought. I couldn't see this but the alcohol they used to kill any germs in that region had dripped down my crack and was attacking my nought with vigour. I told the doctor and he summoned the pretty blond nurse to do the necessary cleaning up which she did with gentle care and affection. The worst part was that I couldn't feel a thing!

At last my own bike!

Simply awesome :clap: :clap:

Are their any hubbers that have done this race that can give me an idea of this race in terms of how technical? How much climbing? How much sand? Asking for a friend