'Kaze Pete

3 of us set out to do make use of the holiday to do a 120km ride. Covering some Crater Cruise roads plus more. The route (barring start / finish) Some of the photos Those on the Crater Cruise Route: The road towards Venterskroon Venterskroon: Towards the end of "Suikerbossie": And not on the Crater Cruise route: Schoemansdrift bridge across the Vaal Into the valley on what we call the "Klein Crater" route Stop taking photos, I'm still in my PJs! It is a long weekend!

I'm using TrainingPeaks Virtual for days I do not want to venture outside. It is included in a TrainingPeaks premium sub, but that is included in how I use the platform

I dropped 13kg this year. No funny stuff, no funky diets, no books, no miracle cures, no sickness. Just no sugar and minimizing fats. During that I "slowly" started building up my training volume. I tracked calories in/out by logging all intakes on MyFitnessPal, and using a heart rate monitor & power meters to measure training efforts. I'm now at a level where I need to eat carbs to sustain training volume, but I still log all intakes. I reached a point where I need carbs again to sustain my training. Currently have an issue where it becomes a concerted effort to reach my rough requirement of 21000 kcal a week. I try to keep food as 'clean' as possible. Not completely whole foods only, but staying as far away as possible from processed anything. Swapped fizzy drinks (even the Diet/Zero variants) for sparkling water, and yip I stay away from alcohol.

I don't always have the opportunity for an easy mid-week cruise, so another river photo around sunset.

And then there is this, apparently 'a nice day for cutting trees' https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/1jz1huz/2025_barry_roubaix_guy_drops_a_tree_on_a_racer

I did the first one, but had to bow out due to an injury for the others. But...we just did the 'Afrika' route, with some interesting extra bits and bobs 🙃 I think other races went to / started at the other side of town Ross is busy dreaming up another ride for us (maybe not a race) involving some steep climbs on private land stretched over 40km (or so he says).

Had to stop at the river in town around sunset.

Another shout out to Le Tour Cycles! Shaun has become my go to guy for cycling repairs / stuff

We generally start from the Beerhouse in Parys on Saturday mornings. With the saturated soil/big puddles on the gravel roads we've generally been riding to / past Venterskroon the last while. These roads tend to drain much better than some of the others in the area On Easter Monday some of us are doing a 120km ride (Non-ultra preppers) The Saturday after Easter others are doing a 200km (36One preppers)

My go-to response is "Nothing, I just like to be tired" 😀 If you ask me at the Crater Cruise, I might give an honest answer 😁

Is this high? I'm averaging 651 over the past 10 weeks. Past two weeks were 767 & 770

A quiet rural Free State road on a Sunday morning

Maybe he is going flat pedals. @NotSoBigBen, how is the ankle mobility?

I'll skip the bar, been over that - not advisable I'll always be over par doing m*er & soek. No need to walk around following a ball to get dronk. Both are overrated Serious question: I've missed all the seeding races up to now, and will not be around locally in October to squeeze in Shova, etc. Anybody know of any seeding races left / have an idea how to still get a semi-decent seeding for this race. My last "94.7" was done in 2018

The process is as follows: 1. You buy a CSA Membership. For this you first need to belong to a club, because the club admin must approve you CSA membership application 2. If you want to buy a domestic racing license, you first need to have completed done point 1. 3. If you want/need a UCI number to race internationally, you first need a domestic racing license (point 2) Note: Not sure if there are 'dummy clubs' to use to bypass requirements for point 1

2025: I'm stuck between two choice; a rigid 29er or a gravel bike. Let's just call it a shock choice: one or none. I'll leave the SS stuff to Wyatt, et al

This search is becoming more of a what is available than a what I want thing

paid & entered. who'll be there?

Up “the hill” aka suikerbossie. corrugations were nicely flatted out after the rains

This is becoming our go-to non-short option

How to fit 29x2.25 tyres to a Giant Revolt? eg: Vittoria Terreno XC Race

I'm busy going down the Dextrose/Maltodextrin/Fructose & L-wordsoup rabbit hole. Not going far or fast enough to find benefits of more than 60g(20g of each above) per bottle (yet), or a higher Fructose ratio. edit: This is also a whole new topic/chapter, even book by itself edit 2: (NB) For multi day events, or even long single day events, sugars should not be your staple!

Khomas100, in their Rider Guide (https://khomas100.com.na/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rider-Guide-Khomas100.pdf), they list the following as acceptable for their race Will the "once-piece handle bar with short extension" be allowed?

I've only done the half (wet 2023), but the terrain from Calitzdorp to the last waterpoint was way more hilly than what was before. Rooiberg, sure 6.65km at 7% is tough, but you just get into a rhythm and ride it out. Those 'rollers' after Calitzdorp, they are tough. The hills mostly disappear after the last waterpoint 😀 From the last waterpoint to the finish is more of a mental thing than physical and you must just soldier on (ok, I was cold and wet..) As suggested by @fanievb, go tire out your legs and THEN do a few hill repeats! and keep smiling!!! (It hides the grimacing!)

Trek Checkpoint. It looks great, specs seem good. Unfortunately it is a 1x, I'm not a complete grinder/stomper,my average cadence is not super high, in the low 80s. Still think I'm going to need the occasional 'overdrive' not to wind myself Scott Addict. Looks good (also: 2x Shimano) Giant Revolt. Seems interesting. Sadly it looks like a dual suspension MTB without the shocks. The 1x 40t chainring is not quite fast, and not quite slow enough for Rooiberg Titan Racing. Really want to try one, but looks just do not appeal to me, Real life view did not add to the experience. Bianchi. I'm going to feel like a poser / imposter on one. Need to give it a 'in real life look' though Orbea Terra. Need to have a deeper look Cube. Need to have a deeper look Merida Silex. unsure Silverback Siablo. unsure Winspace. Feels like I'm taking a chance