Andymann

Was able to leave a bit later for work this morning so we had some playtime before I left. Here's the face I got though when I eventually grabbed my wallet and housekeys....

Ok - so which one is it - did this doper suck, or didn't she

Oh, and if Kulula turn your bag upside down on the way back from 70.3, and all your Futurelife spills out of the box, here's a handy tip for getting your bag clean...

Apparently, our other dog's cushion, my Kale plants, and her cushion also needed "adjusting".....

Very old and hard! We just need to get the bike into a safe enough state that we can take it for a ride to see what the motor is like. Only then will we be able to make a decision on if it's worth throwing money at it and doing stuff like new sticky tyres!

New year, and garage in the new house finally sorted means work can start on the Norton again. New Kickstart made from old ones (the previous owner clearly hadn't been too worried with starting it!), gearlever also sorted. Footpeg plates are now installed and the footpeg position is really nice and comfy. We have a bit of a problem with the rear brake linkage - the original owner used a cable which passed over the Exhaust pipe outlet so we decided to use a rod rather - it's ok, but the angle is steep - we might need to re-look at it sometime. Front brake is also sorted - I had to bring in the right 2TLS lever to match the Suzuki brake, and then took a few attempts to get the cable's sorted and the brake set up properly, but it's nice now. Final issue before we can ride it, are the timing chains - both are really badly worn, and not available in SA so that's the next challenge.

I've noticed hey - about 30mins of playtime at a time and she goes to lie down. Even at Puppy School - after about 45mins she starts getting a bit bored.

Wow that's interesting - I wouldn't have thought that long, but really good to know. Lucy(fer) won't be doing a Cowhouse Trail run for a while then.....

In everyone's humble opinion, how long do pups need to develop before we can start taking her for longish (>1km runs) - I'm of the opinion she needs to be about a year, but would be good to her what others think

ya those dog gurus are something else hey. We struggle for half a class to get her to sit and stay for 5s. The trainer comes along and manages to get her to lie down and stay like that for ages. I'll be happy though if at the end if it, she just doesn't run away when we take her off-lead!

She's odd - this has become her place. Fancy dog hammocks, plush cushions, the Futon... And she heads to medicine ball under the sit-up bench.

We were practising Sit and Stay on the weekend. So much so that I could get her to stay long enough to put a VR46 can down, take a photo, and abuse my Cape Town family who are big Marc Marquez fans, about how smart my dog was and how thick theirs are.....

Someone has discovered the upstairs Gym....

Stop blowing your own Trumpet

I thought of sharing the link but didn't want to upset Admin - wasn't sure if it was allowed! - but if everyone is ok, here it is: https://www.entryninja.com/events/event/62502-blyde-triathlon-aqua-bike Yup - it's in the big lagoon. 3 laps of around 200m each.

For those who are looking to do their first Tri like I did, or for something really different to the norm, there will be another Blyde Balwin Triathlon on the 9th February out near Mamelodi. The one we did on the 5th of Jan was basically the test event to see if the venue was feasible and to iron out any glitches so I reckon the one on the 9th will run a whole lot smoother. Space at the venue for transition is limited though, so the race is capped at 150. I've already entered ;-) - the goal will now be to try and swim the entire 600m without stopping.....

All the mags and articles I read of late are talking about buyers wanting bikes which are simple and back to basics. The Millenials aren't interested in biking and the guys who are, don't want crazy superbikes anymore. There's a reason why the Z900 and new Katana are so popular. If I hadn't bought the TRX I would have been shopping around for a good XJR1300

I need to put an extra front light on my 1935 Velocette so that it passes scrutineering for the DJ Rally next month. Most of the guys just put on MTB lights because the old bikes are all 6v and their charging systems are sketchy at best! Any recommendations for a decent light out there - I had a Lezyne which was great, but the batteries failed and you cannot get replacements so I had to scrap it which was pretty disappointing.

You forgot the Speedo

Ja - it's impressive hey - I'm currently hovering around the 2:05/100m pace, but when I do all the stuff she tells me to do it instantly comes down to 1:55/100m. Problem is being a male I can only manage one thing at a time so it all falls to pieces after 100m.....

Thanks - i'll give it a look. I'm really lucky though in that my wife is a SwimSmooth coach so she's really helped a hell of a lot - on the first of December I genuinely could only do 75m of the VA Pool. On the 5th Jan I completed the 600-ish needed at Blyde. It wasn't the fastest I'll be honest - but I wasn't last out the water either and I made up quite a bit of time on the bike and the run. Was smashed the afternoon though - Duathlon during the race I found much tougher, but recovered much faster - the Tri really took it out of me later in the day.

I'm also super stoked that she and the other two dogs have managed to sort out the pecking order - we were a bit worried with two old dogs and one puppy with attitude who challenged them. Took about 3 weeks of growling and one episode each of a real bollocking from the older dogs and things have settled down perfectly. Dude aka "The Fun Police" still still keeps a wary eye, but the other two are playing up a storm.

So after one lesson of puppy school we have mastered the art of Sit, Take Nicely, down and heel. GSD x Sheltie makes for one incredibly clever dog. Worthy of the name Lucy. And then playtime happens and Lucy turns into Lucy(fer)

So after taking part in Triathlon's ugly sister Duathlon for the last 8 years or so, promised to do a Tri in 2020, and my first one will be on the 5th of this month out at The Blyde Balwin (give it a click - pretty impressive https://www.balwin.co.za/developments/the-blyde-pretoria-east/ ) Admittedly it's no 70.3 or 5150 (600m swim, 18km MTB and 3km Trail run), but for a beginner like me who managed to only swim 5 laps of Virgin Active's pool in the 1st December, a 600m swim is pretty daunting! I still can't do the full swim without a rest, but I figure that the race swim of 3 x 200m lengths should be doable!

Rest assured we will never again be bothered by rogue Vines....