Stretched@Birth

So my Rapide' was stolen, and the general parts availability plus pricing of new bits and pieces plus time to get back in the saddle led me to buy a used full sus plastic bike as opposed to rebuilding what I had. When the time is right (shall I say when the budget allows), I will build another Rapide' but in a bit of a different guise. My last one had 140mm fork, big wheels, big tyres and took a lot of effort to pedal uphill, but was a blast on the downhills. My next one will likely be rigid and SS.

I'm just curious, as I have the problem on my flared drop bars, can you reach the brakes whilst riding in the drops? I'm considering changing out my flared bars for more conventional road style bars.

Not a purchase, a gift from my 14 year old. Some years ago, my wife bought me a Singular Griffin that came with a Charge saddle in brown leather. I've held onto that saddle and transferred it from bike to bike. When my bike was stolen in November, the saddle went with it, and I was obviously very disappointed. My youngster made it his mission to find a replacement, that arrived yesterday for my birthday!

Happy Birthday!

This is quite cool, electro music mage with real instruments...

Been a lot of changes at Thaba with the new Balwin development going on there. The whole white house side of the trails have been cut out for now, hopefully they will be included again sometime in the future. The DRI line is also very overgrown. Going to be interesting to see what become of Thaba as a riding spot in the next 18 months.

Watch the bass player...!

I might as well go all out, Joseph is fairly loud already, the Ti bolts will fit in perfectly...

Where did you buy these? They will match the paint scheme on Joseph (my technicolor dream bike) perfectly!!

If only I had seen this sooner...

I just upgraded to a 5X Plus...

I know the 7 just came out, but for what I need, this will work for me. Bought here on The Hub. 5X Plus Sapphire

The comment at 3:53 sums it up for me, Andrew has to shuttle, Greg uses his e-bike. If you are more into the gravity type riding, then an e-bike makes absolute sense.

👍🏻 I have the same bike in XL. Was initially wanting something with 150mm travel, but must say, I’m very happy with my purchase. If I had the $$$ to spend, I’d be buying this one for my youngster.

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/525049/giant-trance-advanced-pro-1-small?referrer=homepage

That bike deserves a dropper post... Nice looking bike!

😳, thanks! I must say, I’m really liking the latest one. Was unsure about the purchase, but am happy I bought it.

One of the lingering issues I didn’t mention is the hurt I feel when drinking alcohol. I get an ache in my kidneys after even a half a light beer. And the hangover effect just adds to the tiredness. Not that I was ever a big drinker, but now I just avoid alcohol completely. Not a bad thing...!

A lot of useful feedback and insight here, thanks all. Seems like the general consensus is to go Garmin, so I scratch Apple off the list. The Fenix 6’s, though some specials are available, are still a bit above my budget, but may come down in price. I’m not sure I want to wait and see. I’m considering a 5X Plus, a few things are making me think twice, the size and weight, it doesn’t have the body battery function, and is now a few years old. Is it perhaps worth rather buying the Venu 2 for similar money. Decisions decisions. Too many choices in the Garmin range.

Yup, have to prioritize your energy expenditure, so work and home life comes first, often leaving little for exercise and training. It has had some positives, I now walk with my wife, rather than hard rides.

Some ramblings about my experience - I landed up in hospital in June 2020 with suspected heart issues, probably largely stress induced, Cardiologist checked me out remotely (was a weird experience, Face Time with the doc while his assistant operated the equipment for the ECG, sonar, pressures, etc.). Ended up on some BP meds for high BP, and 2 weeks later I tested positive for COVID, so I suspect I picked it up whilst in hospital. Wasn't super sick, few days of the flu, slight fever, but lost my sense of smell and taste. Prior to this, I was relatively fit. Post COVID, any form of strenuous exercise has become a chore. A 30km ride is followed by a 2 hour sleep, and feeling completely wiped out for the remainder of the day. In Jan 2021 I had a follow up with the Cardiologist (again, remotely), stress ECG, and a battery of other tests showed all ok, he says my heart is strong, stopped the BP meds and says life must carry on. My smell issues, the tiredness have remained with me, and we are 18 months on. So finding any motivation to ride has been difficult. Towards the end of last year, I thought it's time to pull my finger out of my dark place, HTFU, and do something about my fitness. The rides that I have done still leave me feeling super drained. A few weeks ago, I pushed a bit harder than I should have, forced myself to finish the ride, got home at about 10:30, heart rate 120bpm, showered, 114bpm, crashed on the bed for about 45 mins, my wife woke me, 110bpm. It was only after 5 that afternoon that it dipped under 100. This has become the norm with my rides, though the recovery time seems to be improving little by little. Bottom line I suppose is that everybody is different, we experience COVID differently, and each of us knows our bodies best. I've decided to ease into it, I'm only competing with myself, and that it is going to take time to build back my fitness. Some are very fortunate to recover quickly, some, not so much, Long COVID is a thing. Some are even less fortunate, I've heard of a few guys in my age group (40-50) who have had heart attacks, post COVID and Post Vax. Look after your health, listen to your heart, and no exercise goal is worth it, not even the free coffees on Vitality...

Nope, not another Rapide, part availability and time to build made me decide to buy a complete bike from the classifieds. and seeing this is the Where did your bike take you thread, here it is, at Thaba Trails, first time out on a “proper” ride!

Every time I see a pic of your bike my heart skips a beat and I have to do a double take. I still wonder who is riding mine and how they are wrecking it. 😢

I’m in the market to buy a GPS Watch/Activity Tracker. I can’t bring myself to spend in excess of R12000 on the Garmin Fenix that I want, so am wondering what to spend my money on. I have to get do something about my general fitness, post COVID I’ve been battling and feel I need to become a bit more scientific about my training. In this me gone by, I’d start Strava on my phone to just track the activity. Activities are mainly cycling (MTB), a bit of running and swim tracking would be nice too (I will still swim Midmar before I die...) Is the Apple Series 7 worthwhile? What are the shortcomings for cycling? If not Apple, what is the alternative? Garmin 745? Budget up to R8k Any input and advice will be appreciated.

New (to me) bike day! Replacement for my bike that was stolen out of my garage! With the obligatory couch pic!