pezulu

The photo's should be available on www.waterpoint.co.za later during the week. Alternatively you could try and contact deon@waterpoint.co.za to see if he has any photo's of you. At least the riders had a chance to warm up by riding. Standing at the finish line waiting for riders to come in, with the wind blowing and temperatures not really climbing was not a very pleasant experience.

60km starts at 8am

Lets look at the historical facts. South Africa initiated a policy of racial segregation in the 1950's. It was given a name. Apartheid. Before that people could live where they wished, yet most still preferred to live among their kin and kind. In the 1800's the USA initiated a policy of forced segregation. It was never officially named, although it was given many names. The Indian Wars springs to mind. The indiginous population of the USA was forcefully removed from their ancestral tribal lands, and violently moved to reservations. Most Native Americans (Red Indians) still live on these reservations, 100 -150 years after they were formally moved. Was this not also a form of Apartheid? Was the forceful removal by the US Army of these Native Americans against their will not official policy, when the goverment sanctioned these events? What was the idea behind apartheid? Was it to forcefully move people to locations not of their choosing, to thereby deny them fundamental human rights by disallowing them governance in any form, the right to schooling and the right to access to medical treatment? Were the former homelands not situated in some of the best agricultural land in this country? The Ciskei, Transkei, Bophutatswana, Venda and KaNgwane homelands all seem to be situated in the ancestral and tribal areas where the indiginous populace of this county originally settled after they too moved to this country. Where did the black people in this country originate from? Where they in South Africa from the very beginning of time? That being said, this thread was originally started to show sympathy for a cyclist that was shot and killed in the presence of his 10 year old son, who in turn was tied up and left next to the corpse of his murdered father. From there it has become a political mud slinging contest. In which other country in the world do you daily read of the types of crimes perpetrated against its inhabitants? Where do you read of a 84 year old woman that is raped, her hands and feet restrained with wire, then her throat slit? Where else do you read of a 5 month old bady strangled, and his body thrown under a bed? Where else do you read of all the barbaric attacks on the infirm, elderly and helpless? Where else do you read that a person was stoned to death because it was believed that they were witches, demons or that the ancestors had mentioned to someone that they were people hiding in the bodies of goats? You often hear people say that the acts are animalistic or the perpetrators behaved like animals, yet in nature animals do not act like this. They kill in order to survive. They do not torture, maim and behave in the manner in which these acts take place. The sad truth is that 18 years into an enlightened and democratic new country, we have regressed to savagery, barbarianism and unhuman behaviour that has never been seen in history. R.I.P Bruwer Smit. R.I.P Louis Vorster. R.I.P Valter Colmanet R.I.P to all the other victims of this senseless crime that I did not personally know.

The second friend in as many months. First Louis Vorster, and now Smittie. How many more will there be?

Yes

How can a youngster of 23 not have a drivers licence? My son is turning 18 in a months time, and he has already booked the appointment for his licence more than a month ago. Open an accident report at your local SAPS station. In your statement mention that the kid had no licence and didn't want to give his name or other details. They will trace the vehicle registration number. They might even give you the details if you ask nicely, and explain that you wish to get in touch with his parents. If the parents don't want to play ball, there is the small claims court, where you can claim for damages to a max of R5000-00. (Might have been increased, it has been quite a while since I last checked on that one.)

One of the routes seems to be using "smoothing" as there are quite a few discrepencies in the route. The most obvious is the top left portion at the 31/29 markers, and the other between 14/15/15. Don't know it it will give a 3km error, but anything is possible. To get a true reflection, you need a track from a Garmin Edge 500 or similar. If possible, obtain the .gpx or .gbd files and import them to Mapsource / Basecamp, and see what the routes look like then.

Sportsmans Warehouse, Outdoor Warehouse, Game, Makro and Dions Wired are all part of MassMart Stores, and as such sell much of the same stuff. People tend to think that because they are a large retail store their prices should be lower than your average bike shop. This it nominally true, as walking into your LBS, and comparing prices of the bikes with what you can buy at any of the MassMart stores. Then gain some knowledge, and compare the prices again. What you at first thought to be a prohibitively expensive bike at your LBS is suddnely not so expensive compared to the bike standing at Sportsmans Warehouse, where you will have to upgrade all the components to get a comparable bike. Because they are a large retail store, they have huge overheads, which have to be paid for by someone. That someone is you, the buyer. They might get a better discount from a manufacturer, but because they have such high overhead costs, there is no saving passed on to the customer, as they have to levy higher mark-ups to cover those overheads. Their staff are normally also not trained in the various specialities available in-store, and it is often only through self study that you will get a salesperson that has any useable knowledge regarding their items on sale. We went the same route when my son first showed an interest in cycling. We visited a LBS, had one look at the prices, and ran away screaming in terror. A visit to Game, Makro and Sporsmans Warehouse, and we bought him a "mountain bike." A week later we had to take the bike back, as the back wheel was wobbling so much it threatened to throw him off the bike. They exchanged that bike, and two more, before we decided we wanted our money back, and we went back to the LBS. After speaking to some of the personnel at the LBS we bought a second hand bike at the LBS for the same price as a new bike at Makro, which we still thought was expensive, until we realised that we had not had to take the bike back to the store to have any wobblies, shakes, rattles or snaps repaired in over 3 months. From there it was a slow learning curve finding out all about the various thingamabobs, whatitsnames and thingamajigs that make a bike not just a bike, but a racing machine. We still don't know it all, and probably never will, but at least now when we walk into a Sportsmans Warehouse we can laugh inwardly at the pearls of wisdom that a salesperson will drop to try and entice us into parting with our hard earned money on something that we know he has no clue about.

The OP asked "I want to buy a Garmin or something similar that works on satellites..... where I can change the bike settings easily as I am not the most computer literate person....." It seems that the original question has been overlooked and turned into a flaming contest regarding GPS capable cellphones and the various dedicated GPS devices out there. Can a GPS enabled cellphone handle profiles for different bikes? To me, even if a GPS enabled smartphone is insured, it makes no sense riding with something that will break the first time you take a tumble, and the cellphone hits the ground. It was not designed for that. It is first and foremost a phone. We use a Nokia 1208 that cost R80-00, and has the basic phone features (make and receive calls, SMS) for a phone when riding, loaded with a prepaid SIM and enough airtime to make the occasional call if needed. That way I know our smartphones won't be damaged, broken or lost. I have no experience with Bryton, so can't comment on it. What I have heard is that it works well, and most people that use them are happy with them. We have been using a Garmin Edge 500 for about 2 years now, and are very happy with it. You can set up 3 bike profiles on it, and give each profile a custom name. It is therefore easy to clip the device to a bike, and change the profile to the relevent profile. Sitting down with the device and programming all the various options may take a bit of time initially, but once that is done, you hardly ever have to set anything again. The battery lasts well, but having never done races longer than 2-4 hours can't comment how long it lasts after that, except to say that it can be used for quite a few rides/races before it needs charging. Using Garmin Mapsource we have the abillity to view any route and profile on a PC screen, which is great. Garmin Training Centre, Garmin Connect and various other PC based programs from Garmin, Google or any number of other sources are also available to view routes and other information with. My advice? Check the various devices available on the market, and then get what you want. Whatever anyone else says is just their opinion.

Why did you have to buy day licences every time you did an event? When you join CSA you get a membership card, that you carry in your wallet, and produce as proof that you are a member of CSA. No day licences therefore.

The Spectrum Sport Timing system crashed just before we were to hold the prizegiving on Sunday. They mailed the results through to me on Sunday night, and I signed them off. The results will probably be on the website shortly, if nothing catastrophic has happened. If you can't wait for the results, PM me and I can mail them to you.

The type of bike carrier, where the bikes "hang" on the carrier should carry a warning that you will be breaking the law once you attach your bikes to it, as they hang down, obscuring the number plate and lights. Not only is it against the law, but very dangerous. Unfortunately they are also relatively cheap, and often end up being the first type of carriers that many people buy. The type of carriers where the bikes "stand" on the carrier usually have a light bar, as well as a number plate holder. Have an extra plate made, and attach it. Lights are visible, number is visible, and bobs your uncle.

Nope. CSA membership costs you R75-00, You can join CSA on their website directly. You do need to add a club though, but there are clubs available cost as little as R25-00 to join. R425-00 buys you a racing licence, which you need if you want to earn UCI, National or Provincial points.

Why not spend R75-00 for a yearly CSA membership licence? If your do 2 events a year it will already have paid for itself.

Really glad things turned out they did in the end. There were a few heartbeats missed just before the first event started, but from there everything was smooth sailing. Congratulations to Pierre and the boys for putting up a great event. I look forward to the next event.

Online entries have closed. Line entries will still be available.

Comparing a race in Europe to an event here is not really comparing apples with apples. Some of the costs involved in hosting an event... Timekeepers Marshalls Ground owners Traffic police CSA Medals Medical personnel Cleaning crews Security staff Those are just some of the expenses I can think of. There are bound to be more.

You evidently don't do the event that often then. In the 3 years that we have been there I recall it happening twice. People have also been warned to not swim in the dam, as there are crocodiles. I have never heard of anyone encountering a lion or crocodile while riding there though. The route has been changed in the interim, with the lion enclosure section now not being part of the event.

4 perps threw a rock at a biker, which hit his bike on the light housing. When he stopped to inspect the damage, they attacked him. While he was wrestling with one of them, a passing vehicle struck them both. The biker was killed instantly, while the attacker died a short while later. The other 3 attackers fled the scene. all they wanted was his rucksack with an empty lunchbox and dirty overalls in. Not exactly 20 words, but that is the gist of it.

Why would that be?

The event is going ahead, with full CSA Sanctioning in place. I will be the Commissaire at the event. There will be no penalties, fines or any other actions against any riders, as this is a sanctioned event.

That might be best. Don't let it worry you until you need to worry about it.

Maybe I should enter the SS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS? I already have the build of a beer drinker, I have racing in my genes (passed it down the line) AND I can already see myself crying like a baby when they tattoo me. Perhaps dressing up as a fairy is taking it a bit too far though. Anyone have a Suit of Armour lying around somewhere? At least I won't get hurt too badly when I fall over all the time after consuming one too many.

Event Name: Babbas Lodge Big 5 + 1 When: 29 April 2012 Where: Babbas Lodge, Gauteng Category: MTB Category: Mountain Biking Events Event Date: 29 April 2012 Online Entries Close: 26 April 2012 at 12:00 Venue: Babba’s Lodge, Bultfontein Province: Gauteng North Distance: 70km (R130), 35km (R110), 12km (R60), 1km Brats (R30) Starting Time: 08:00 Timed By: Spectrum Sport Timing Number Collection: At the venue, Babba's Lodge, Bultfontein; Sunday 29 April 2012, from 06:00 Additional Information: You will be required to produce your valid CSA license at registration or you will be required to purchase a day license. Results will be listed HERE To enter, click HERE Go to Event Page

Having ploughed through 9 pages of "I want" and "I don't want" I deserve a medal.... Seriously though, medals are worth keeping. I have only ever done 1 comrades, received my medal, and was proud of it. Unfortunately it got lost somewhere between moving and the 23 years in between then and now. Same with my gold for competing in the SADF athletics champs way back when, when I could still give a decent sprint of speed. My son is now the sportsman in the family, riding like the hounds of hell are chasing him. Each event and medal is special in some way. We note the date, and place he came in the event, on the ribbon of each medal. He has quite a few MTB handlebars mounted on the wall of his room, and all the medals hang there. Some events he did not receive a medal, and those times the dissappointment on his face is a memory in itself. His first "big" event was the 40km Induna in 2009, where he came in 99'th, placing him in the top 100. No great achievement by todays standards, but at that time it was a big deal. The spot where that medal should have been still hangs empty on the handlebar. The organizers had decided to hand the money they would have spent on medals to a local school. A good deed in anyones' book, but then again the school receives financial assistance from the goverment, while that medal might just have meant a lot to a 13 year old boy. Some medals mean less than others, some more. Yet everyone of them tells a story. What do yours tell you?