tubed

Jip the T Shirt was going to get some comments - but when you get something for free you wear it - guess JZ knows that too. He now has a running vest, some socks and shorts too. The guy has some serious talent.

A good news story. Last week I posted here the story of the runner I pass on my commute in the evenings, the guy running 30km a night in work shoes, I asked if anybody had a pair of no longer in use running shoes they could donate in his size. http://www.thehubsa....e__hl__commuter Pieta not only donated a new pair of very fancy race shoes, they were brand new. Below are some pics of a very surprised young runner. Keep a look out for you Edno if you commute/ train/ drive past Camps Bay to Hout Bay in the evening. To Pieta: you made a real difference not just to this guy, but your kindness went noticed far beyond where you can imagine.

commuters get a double dose, mornings and evenings - (looking forward to this evening a special handover of some new kicks taking place)

always wondered what on earth those black and yellow elbow guards were for....

Hi Slowbee, I appreciate your point and your constructive contribution and I think we are on the same page - but certainly my point was also that Sanparks cannot do with the land as they please, this would mean that they could sell it/ develop it as they please, this is not the case, they are custodians of the land on our behalf subject to a broad mandate and an Act of parliament - in my view it is simply that they cannot manage it in respect of mountain biking right now so they disallow the activities (which is when they evict riders) - it is not that they are opposed to mtb per se. I guess the best illustration of my point is probably that Christophe tresspassed by jumping the fence, while my riding in Cecilia would constitute a non-permitted activity - but I don't need permission to be there. I will conceed that some of the officials we have had to deal with in the past have acted like they own the land - but when it comes down to a sensible process to advance the use of mtb in the park - that heavy handed approach doesnt cut it. Time and the efforts of people like Rob will change this.

Hi there, I am not trying to be obstructive - just trying to clarify something because I think it is important. I am not sure that this is legally correct your assertion that Sanparks own the land, Sanparks may be the registered title holders of the land, but they most certainly may not do with it as they please, in fact as I understand it they have a specific mandate to protect and conserve the land and within this allow public use of the land in a sustainable manner. I think part of the problem is that Sanparks are forced to operate as a commercial organisation which is in part in conflict with their mandate, so they give preference to issues which generate revenue in a sustainable manner and those which require priority. Mtb has the potential to generate revenue in a sustainable manner, but at the same time uncontrolled use can lead to lead to negative impact so it is a priority to control it. An interesting analogy would be that of Chapmans toll plaza, clearly there Sanparks were held to account for acting outside their mandate as custodians of the national park - the fact that the action failed on other grounds is another issue. I think Rob's approach with Sanparks is the correct one, it requires them to act in the interests of all users, including mtb and to respond to legitimate requests for the use of the park, my point is I dont think they should be dealt with as owners, but rather as an organisation representing us as the public, they should be held to account and be dealt with firmly - but we also need to bear in mind that we are not the only land users with a legitimate claim and our requests need to be balanced within the broader mandate they have. My 2cents worth. Keep up the good work Rob

Long story short: Marco and the guys managed not only to get my locked pedal out of the crank, they discarded the old now wrecked pedal spindle and replaced it with another spare they had. The cost = R100. Best part is the efficient and friendly service and then the call to tell you its done. Don’t worry about parking problems off Waterkant pedestrian mall, they have 20mins free parking in the parking garage 2 doors down in Waterkant – just tell security where you are going. So if you need good service, proper technical advice and guys who really know mtb’s give them a try.

You might get a LOT of freedom challenge questions though. here's one quick answer to a question I thought you might ask: check out this boermaaknplan meets Shimano Japanese precision engineering on the FC: lost plastic screw-in thingy which keeps crank in lateral tension, still 1000km to go, crank kept falling off, the farmer engineers a threaded bolt through the spindle/bb, held in tension by two ex car shock rubbers, two large washers and two number 17locknuts, it worked all the way to CT, this is one of just many stories this race dishes up PS: Marco got the pedal out this morn, he eventually filed the pedal spindle to accept a wrench and it turned out, he then rebuilt the pedal with an old spindle they had. 100 ronts is all he accepts - again I cant say enough about these guys as a proper bike shop Thanks Action Cycles and Marco

"Did you put grease on before you put it on" yes I did, but clearly not enough, user error! given the abuse that Freedom Challenge inflicted on it its a wonder that not both are seized am interested to try the heat option if the other options dont work - there is certainly sufficient commentary to suggest that its worth a try

wierd I have the same problem - tried most of Sunday to get it loose to no avail - tried everything other than heating it - lots of advice on that on the web - dont know anybody who has done it successfully people used to talk of 'cracking' the seal on a pedal, think thats where the the hitting it with a mallet comes in to break a seized thread I dont like the 8mm allen key on the end of the spline design - seem to think the older pedal wrench on the spline was a better design dammned if I know how it got so tight, I simply put it on with a multitool its now with Marco at Action - lets ee what he can do - even his initial attempts failed it may well be a case of those cranks and pedals are mated for life, especially if the allen key thread strips would be nice to hear if Johan Bornman has any advice here

The lamb and the kid - both found good home - we hope.

Gawie (left) used this carrier on his belt driven singlespeed (no shocks!), he strapped down a wet/dry bag with clothes in it, pretty effective, although the bag will chaffe so make sure it has some sort of protection, the carrier was light and didnt impede his handling or ability to carry the bike for portages. As an aside this dude rescued a lamb and a kid on separate occasions and either put them under his arm of stuffed them down the front of his jacked he rode with one hand on the bars through the roughest single track and rivers to deliver the animals to the nearest kraal, first time was about 8km and the second time was about 25km through Anysberg - guy has some skills! Consider that there are no gears and no suspension on the bike.

Lying in bed at support station Toekomst 12 days in knowing I should be asleep, but following Martin and Alex on twitter - all I can say is that the achievement is simply phenomenal, to finish this thing is monumental, but to do it in under 10 days is hard to fathom. Martin came past us at Ntsikeni - a true gentleman and a dogged competitor - Alex too.Take my hat off to them.

My thoughts on the event. Very chuffed to have had the opportunity to have done this, superb organisation and route - just enough attention to detail in the right areas – hospitality like you expect to find in that part of the world. Suppose you know you are on to a good thing when there are no start groups, just a line in the grass!, it means everybody is chilled and over 160km you should be. It was damn hard (no pretenders need apply – you will get your ass kicked) – especially if you get too enthusiastic early and you will pay for it later, but it is so long there is enough time to recover en route. This is about as close as most of us will ever get to the Hell of the North – it has all the elements – longer than comfortable, muddy, dusty, cow crap, rolling hills, silos, backroads, enthusiastic farmers – for that matter I would finish it in Malmesbury on the rugby field. Nice touch the free photos and a decent long sleeved shirt – doesn’t make you enter – but you do feel like they went to a lot of trouble to make you feel rewarded. Only suggestion is that the komentaar must be Grootlem, ( think he may have been in Bloem), but it’s his neighbourhood and he would have been better, hell he would even need to pretend to brey Thanks and well done to Meurant and the Amarider team

great photos from a great day out - some the landscape ones are spectacular with the sky, clouds and fields well done Chris

Rode to work this morning from Hout Bay to Town - sadly the pristine route is marked with sachet packets - the rest of the cleaning up was actually pretty good, but these seem to be left for the wind, it gets worse every year. Seems to be part of the self-absorbed psyche which pervades the event now in certain categories. Mostly the placebo effect in those packets if you ask me.

Did 3:35 on mtb yesterday, stopped a couple of times and enjoyed the ride/scenery. Ended on 150km for the day after riding to and from the race. Respect to the lady who passed me at Redhill on dual sus. PS: if it has slicks its not a mtb. PPS: it doesn't surprise me that the fittest cyclists are racing mtb - the road race results show it too.

Nice pic - imagine if that path kept going and joined the old path above the Apostle Battery - oh boy that would be a treat - hopefully still in my lifetime! Its not actually that difficult for them to do on the contour.

sorry doff of me - should have recognised the tongue in cheek I did notice though that they called off day 3 cause it was muddy - oh boy I hear howls similar to whine to whales - guess we did have about 2mm overnight on Fri - wouldnt want any equip failure or injuries

**** south african cyclists say: take two wonder what Chris is saying to Burry in the photo? Chris: "ja man you remember when you rode a GT?" Burry: "ja some of the okes tomorrow are probably still riding GT's" (sorry Olli - hope you pin it tomorrow on your GT!)

is it not it endorsed and organised by Epic via day trippers? so that they can see if celebs are going to make it come race day, if you had the cash you could have done one of the other earlier day tripper camps on parts of the route, that story of "all about partnerships" - event promotion etc

this is worth a look at http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2011/10/inside-the-crocodile-trophy/ doesnt look easy to me - looks lekker though

Interesting Koukie - perhaps this year is different as it seems now they would not be able to sell it given the number they are sitting with at present. Too late to give them to celebs too....

In answer to the question, I dont see the Epic buying back entries at any price, I can confirm that they are sitting with in excess of 30 they would like to find entrants for - there is no provision in the rules as I can see it for them to purchase entries. To clarify another issue they have their money, so I would imagine all they wish to do is make sure the field is full from the outset - it gives a better impression and if Dr Evils tweets are to be believed they should have a high enough drop-out rate after day 2 to 3 to be a bit concerned about a diminished field. In terms of sellers hanging tough for a good deal it certainly seems to be the case, especially with the local sellers - perhaps they are right, the number of views seem to suggest that there are a lot of people sitting on the sidelines looking at the entries, but not offering at the going rate. Similarly I indicated on another thread I was looking for an entry - not a single enquiry from a seller. So I still think it is a sellers market with 55 odd days to go. I do think the real losers here are the okes like thiartc - sorry about your arm - that really really sucks. The one I cant figure out are the overseas guys offering entries now - they seem clueless as to the process and the market and I can only imagine how much a campaign from afar must cost - I think they are the ones mainly looking via the epic office and relying on that as a source of late entrants. Finally one has to factor in the change costs, they kick up to R5000 for a team change just before the event.

OK lets settle this - I will swap my Argus Entry for your Epic Entry..... seems like thats the trend to me - Argus entries wanted Epic entries being flogged. Sorry couldn't resist....