River Rat

Looked like a large dog's but I can't remember seeing claws or not. I'm really regretting not paying more attention to my son's doubts now.

And we're still debating it! I'm starting to convince myself that it was not a dog and if I look at the report and my Garmin log it would appear to be about 1km from the spot of the last sighting.

On the the 31st August my son and I rode in the Sabie forest around Klein Sabie when we spotted a large animal. I was in front at the time and I was convinced it was a very large black dog. My son was less convinced and we rode upto the spot where it had slunk off into the undergrowth. The track was elevated above the forest floor but we could not find the animal and we hung around for about 10 minutes. We decided to carry on but continued to debate whether it was a dog or something else so we dubbed it the werewolf of Sabie. Until my son came across this http://sabie.co.za/blog/?p=912 could this be what we saw?

Grip shift

Or maybe a swalling is a bird in hand...

Proof that one swalling does not make a summer!

There you go! That should be more than enough without changing the front derailleur.

I am a fan of the triple but that's because I have no choice but to spin uphill but I love downhills and I often spin out on my 44 x 11 combo usually at about 65km/hr. However, it is highly unlikely that you'll get many of the fairer sex doing that ( although not impossible as I've found out on Sabie earlier this year). So a 22/34 combo should do the trick if coupled with a 36-11 cluster. I am guessing but the 34 x 11 should give you about 45km/h which is plenty on most MTB rides. In fact you might get away with a 22/36 combo but shifting could be problematic.

just did the Lindani stage race this weekend. www.lindani.co.za very lekka!

It's a great ride but if you're hoping to see any game it won't happen on the ride if last year is anything to go by. It seems as if the game clear the area where we cycled we saw more game on the bus ride to the start.

I am not sure what your sister in law's condition is but I was unable to sit in a car seat or in my canoe for that matter for longer than 30min before my legs would go numb coupled with an excruciating back pain. After about 6 weeks of core strength exercises my doctor eventually relented and allowed me to get on a MTB. His reasoning at the time was that I had a long history of doing endurance sports and I was in a reasonable physical condition. It was a slow process and it took me about 3 months before I could do a 45km race but the good news for your sister in law is that I have completed 6 stage races since then albeit finishing at the back of the field. I still get backache but I have learnt to ride with it and as per the recent X-rays it has not caused any further damage. My problem now is that I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that my race pace would suggest that I cannot even begin to think of a Joberg2c or an Epic for that matter. I am also running out of partners with sufficient patience to wait for me on the uphills and then ride like the clappers on the downhills.

Thanks for the replys. Marc it's actually not possible to be slower than I am on hills so I doubt if I ever had the pleasure of passing you on an uphill. GOG the fact that you had a positive outcome is just the news I needed to hear and I have an appointment setup with a spine specialist in 4weeks time. The hard part is trying to be patient once you have decided to do something about it. Boyracer can I take a rain check on your advice until after consulting with the specialist?

I have just been to the radiologist to check out the condition of my spondylolsis. My condition relates to a fracture in the facets in the L5 and currently manifests as a acute lower back pain. I was diagnosed with this condition in 2009 and I have been unable to paddle since then. This is hugely frustrating as I'm a mere 3 Duzis shy of my 20th. I tried all sorts of physio treatment and core exercises. I eventually resorted to MTBiking out sheer desperation to get some sort of relief from the boredom and ultimately the pain. This has worked a treat and although I can't get back into a canoe I have really enjoyed my MTBiking and I am leading a normal life without any chronic back pain. However, I have noticed that in recent races that my inablity to ride hills is really taking its toll and my leg strength has reduced my hill pace to a pedestrian spin in my lowest gear and believe me I look for the lowest possible gear ratio available. Fitness is not an issue and I comfortably finish a Sani, Sabie or Mankele stage race albeit at the back of the field. This lack of leg strength has forced me consider whether I am doing more harm than good when it comes to cycling and I have decided to have it checked out. Today's X-rays confirm that my condition has not deteriorated nor has it improved which is concerning considering the effort that I have put in. I am off to see a spine specialist as soon as I can get an appointment but I was wondering whether there are any other spondylolsis suffers out here and how you have coped.

I was thinking about describing this incident with a bit more humour along the lines of the three piggies and then I remembered this story.

Thanks for making the effort it really is an inspiring journey!

It's a new fashion for wild men Loin-cloth when you can't fit everything into baggies!

With pleasure!

It's a Specilalized Epic 29r 24/32/44.

Sorry double post.

I've used this E-type by simply removing the bottom bracket attachment. However I found that the alignment differed between the SRAM and Shimano and I had to use some washers as spacers for the Shimano to get it right but it's no big deal.

Well said porkie, LOL.

I must admit a lot things went through my mind but bunny hopping and bacon were not on the list! Although the way my back wheel was snaking under braking I guess I developed a new technique, the Warthog Wobble!

Sorry double post.

I thought today's route was a winner. Fortunately for me I am no racing snake and other than the kloof there were no bottlenecks for me on the 70. This route was a lot tougher than last years and a whole lot more fun. I really enjoyed seeing some game for a change a stampeding herd of Wildebeest with some Impala intermingled and a sounder of warthogs, which I nearly hit ( see other thread). As for extra 5km I think they added the best riding to the end of the route so no complaints from me

I was cruising along a flat stretch between the 40-50k mark today when a sounder of shallow pigs decided to cross the jeep track . I do not know what my speed was but I guess it was between 30-40kph. The mom and 2 little ones decided to bolt across the track and I guess the other three youngsters could hear my bike wheels skidding in the dust and thankfully they hesitated. I managed to bring my bike to halt almost exactly where the first three crossed and the remaining three crossed about 5 meters in front of me. A close call but what an awesome sight. I wonder if the rider behind me caught this on his Go-Pro.