River Rat

Riaan, there was a veldfire on the R21 section and many of the trails are now visible. There appears to be quite a few options on this section with one ( just below the reservoir) in particular that needs about a 3m bridge to open it up. PM me if I can help.

Salah I highly recommend this event in mid December, www.sabiexperience.co.za it is a 4 day event with plenty of climbs. You can do it solo or with a partner its your choice, just book your accommodation early. From Sabie you are about an hour away from the Kruger National Park if you want to see the Big 5, you also have great trails at www.mankele.co.za only about 45 mins from Sabie. I know you have reservations about Johannesburg but you when you land in Johannesburg it is well worth your while to ride amongst the beasts at Groenkloof before you head out into the country check it out here www.tshwane.gov.za/.../Pages/Groenkloof-Nature-Reserve.aspx . I'll be happy to ride it with you if I'm in town.

There were only 4 finishers on the Induna ultra. I did the 75 (78) which was about as tough as the Sabie Marathon but definitely tougher than day two on Sani.

Bet the lion noticed you!

I heard that the race number 51 has won the Le tour more times than any other number. Nibali has race number 51!

He was a coward when he took a young life and he was a coward when he ended his own life. We all make mistakes but it is how you deal with these mistakes that will define who you are. I fail to see what societal commentary had to with it and I find it very difficult to have any sympathy for him.

The Wiggins Froome debate reminds me of the Lemond Hinault battle of the mid 1980's which became a real soap opera well worth the price of Mnet at the time. And who can remember when Mnet wanted to can the coverage of Le Tour, we had to petition Russel what's his face to keep it on air. Man it's fun to have seen this movie but not know the outcome.

If you can manage a ride there every 2nd week the season ticket works out. But think about riding Voortrekker monument as an alternative, it's great if you want some hill training. Groenkloof is worth exploring though and if you add Fountains to it this could easily add another 8km to your fun.

In the beginning left is best until you hit the fence at the R21 from there on the right section is the better but tougher option. After the 4x4 section keep left and you will get to a fence line next to the residential area with a stiff climb, beware if you turn right before the houses as you will have a very technical climb. It is extremely steep and rough but doable, the fence line option is easier but you need to turn right before the crest onto a jeep track which leads to a left turn into some awesome single track. At the end of the single track (2 sections) you come to the west fence line where you can either stick next to the tar road or turn right and take on the infamous onion hill before returning to the start. Enjoy!

I didn't have a problem with the marshalling but that might be because I finished before 14h00. However, this was not course conducive to overtaking and mixing the 40 and 80km was disastrous. I really do not have a problem allowing the faster riders to pass but the only way this could be done todayon the single track after halfway was to stop and pull over to let them pass. This would seem reasonable but picture this, I would get stuck behind guys in my own race and I would have the 40 k guys trying to pass I would try and do the right thing by stopping and moving aside, everytime I did this I would be passed by at least 3 - 4 40k riders plus some 80k riders that I had passed earlier. Only to find myself at the back of the bunch effectively behind the same riders just 7 places back. You can imagine how irritating this was and after a while there was no more stopping which led to some wannabees trying to barge past and push me off the track. My humour was long gone when some skinny runt tried to push me into an Aardvark hole well my elbow adjusted his glasses and redirected him into that grasslands. His downcast looks and quiet demeanor when I could eventually let him passs tells me that I might not try that again. The organisers of races seriously need to consider this aspect when deciding on the different start times for the various races. As for the Sondela Race they may want to name it the Berg & Beach with the amount of sand we encountered today.

That was a quick aha moment hopefully followed with a facepalm!

I agree that the std one should be fine. I can see how the wing clips would break off but it can surely only occur if the rubber band used were too tight, if you use the appropriately sized rubber bands there should be no problem. However if you want more bling logic is not going to change your mind.

And here I thought you had a problem with the Jedis!

What a ride, I reckon as tough as any day on Sani. The additional hill in the last 10 kms of the second lap certainly added some spice, thank goodness for the delightful team on the last waterpoint they were a treat, I hope the Yorkie made it. Loved the bull run, once again I found out that Avids are not up to muster when it comes to heavy braking,time to get some Shimano brakes. Strange how much sand there was compared to last year, which made the going quite tough. The funniest was the monkey that decided to hop onto the track on the downhill with his back to me and started catching ants or something. I realised that I was going to hit him at 30km/hr and I whistled, he heard my whistle and instead of jumping off the track he jumped straight up and landed on my camelback and off. Thank god he did not have a bowel movement! Thanks to the organisers, see you next year.

Any idea of the starting times?

When I saw this post this morning I bet myself that it would go nowhere. Voila,I won and I'm off to buy myself a six pack. Shame on all of you for not reaching agreement but thanks anyway!

Clive have you guys sorted the online entry process yet? Last time I tried it was seriously frustrating and I have avoided this since then.

At least you're riding enjoy!

Who is up for this one? My first long ride after Sani2c and really looking forward to it. Maybe too much recovery I guess I'll know when I watch the Boks whip the English later that afternoon.

I can only give you some anecdotal evidence, I bent my Dt Swiss 450 SL front wheel on Sabie I have replaced it with a Dt Swiss M520 which seemed to hold during Sani2c. Added 100g but I could not feel it.

Looks like a wet and cold start for the Trail. Good luck to all and be safe.

In theory you should be okay, just watch for the trick where they say that they inadvertently made a payment into your account. They then ask you to refund them, only to reverse the original payment once your money is received.

Huh?

From the wife ...... Softtail.

Wave when you pass!