Zawillow

👆👆 what he said. Massive fan of the Aspen's, but only put them on when riding K2C or Trans Bav.

The issue for me is less about the fynbos and more about the trees - the existing forest with the climb up to Saaltjie and then the young trees up the Irish climb. The fynbos and bush will grow back, but it'll take years for the trees to grow (assuming there is a will to plant new ones). Judging by the image below (red is the unburnt vegetation) it looks like the forest may have been saved to a degree. I could be wrong though. High res image available at https://t.co/OfbnX63Bak?amp=1

Reminds me of the fire 12 years or so ago with the ash raining down in town. I’m still hoping they managed to save the forest area in Jonkers. Now I’m worried about Eden Forest. Fire is after all our cycling trails.

I see Jonkers has been closed for the weekend due to the fire that's been going for the last few days (I think it came over from Franschoek side). Does anyone have any idea of the severity of the fire - has it hit the forested area that has the the jeep track up to Saaltjie?

Details on their website.

Fair comment - I do think think they're still working things out, but by all sounds coming from their side the event is going to go ahead. I hope sense prevails. I think with the Christmas travel the country is likely to see a spike at the time of the event as everyone gets home. In terms of it being ballsy to enter the event - entries opened and closed last December already, way before Covid. I don't like being put in the position where I need to decide to give up a R8k investment in the event and accommodation or do the event and risk getting or spreading covid. In all honestly I'd hate to pick up covid and then infect a parent or friend who doesn't make it at the end of the day. Sure the likelihood is low, but is it worth and R8k chance? In an ideal world it would be great if they could push it out to late March/April.

As much as I want to ride a Summer TB, I think this is reckless from the organisers - the area has been declared a hotspot. Sad to see that decision is being driven by finances.

I've got the same issue, as one of the slower teams I'm worried we're not going to be able to finish and make it back to PE before the lockdown at 10pm. IF we start at 5am we effectively have to finish by 9pm (time to pack up and race through to PE) it effectively gives us 16 hours for the ride, which at our pace, leaves little room for mechanicals or a slower pace due to the heat etc. I don't like the idea that I'm going to have to watch the clock the whole way through the race - sure to take some of the fun out of it (particularly when suffering up MAC in the middle of the day). It would be interesting to know more or less how much of the field usually take longer than 16 hours to finish, but I wouldn't be surprised if its at least a third of more - all of those teams are going to have issues if they're looking at getting back to PE. With the festive season coming I also think there is a strong possibility of the lockdown rules being expanded further down the garden route which would impact Jeffery's. As much as I'd love to do a TB in summer and actually get to experience the views in the kloof I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't push the event out to Aug, but I suppose that ship has sailed.

Doable without support vehicle. Where it become important though is if you're suffering and really considering throwing in the towel - knowing someone is waiting for you or simply getting encouragement from them can make the difference between getting medal or not. If you're a strong rider with some training in the legs (and if the weather is not ridiculous - a big IF) you'll be fine without support.

Keep in mind that the new timing only applies if the current State of Emergency laws still apply by race-day. Will be watching closely to see if the government keeps the curfew in place through the December holidays.

^^^^ what he said

I've got the Baviaans light from Extreme Lights - can't think you'd ever need anything brighter than this (3600 lumen) - cars see you coming because its so bright you're blinding them. And on lower settings (which are perfect for most conditions - I only use max setting for downhill at speed) the battery lasts over 10 hours. There's a reason it's named the Baviaans. The light and battery setup is also very practical to use - it also has a remote which is more handy than I thought it would be (and helps the cars around you by making it easy to switch to a lower setting quickly). Another great use for the light is during load shedding - put it on max setting and shine it up against the ceiling - it lights up an entire room easily. No need for gas or candles.

So DsTV have something like this. I honestly didn't think there was anything more annoying than listening to music while being number 3245 in a queue waiting for help until I tried the WhatsApp line. Bots trying to decipher what you want based on a message just doesn't work for anything more complicated than a balance query (yet).

I have a Kickr4 and, as mentioned previously, the local support from Wahoo is excellent. After 8 months of use it developed a bit of a vibration - I thought the unit just needed a service - took it in to the local bike shop and a few days later they let me know I can come pick up my new unit (this based on local bike shops feedback to Wahoo - so no need to have waited for it to be shipped it for a full assessment). I don't have any issues with the Ant+. Had a few issues with the Bluetooth (lots of other devices in the area) and decided to buy an Ant+ dongle - works perfectly. I like the idea of using an IDT without power and not needing to calibrate it - that would add value. The other Neo benefits are more nice to haves that I'll happily give up for the level of service I've received from Wahoo.

There are portable shower facilities at the mall - in a shed like structure behind the mall toilets. From what I can remember they have heated water - it's not hot, but not freezing. It was great to have a shower before travelling - will do the same again this year.

I was also disappointed to find the attached graphic when I looked into why I wasn't accumulating Miles as fast as I usually did - annoying that this wasn't made clear to begin with. I suspect that Woolies and fuel discounts also only apply when using the main card - so I'm not getting anything for my wife's swipes on the secondary card. I haven't confirmed this yet though and haven't been able to find anything about it in the fine print yet.

I've run Aspens front and back - very fast and served me well on the Trans Baviaans. I haven't had any issues with punctures. Things get a bit hairy in loose gravel though and I find they wear quite quickly. Currently run an Ardent Race up front with an Aspen at the back.

I'm looking at something similar. I'm going with Aspen at the back though. Based on what I've read, as opposed to ridden, it should work. Comments from those who've ridden these tires welcome.