Ashchest

Already fitted and tested

I thought about this - seriaas

Bring some snacks!

GG 08:49 -watch your backs!

I see there are now Late entry fees of R650 - available until the 16th Oct.

How is start time determined for entrees with zero seeding? Alphabetically? By Age? By Gender? By sexual orientation? Race? Religion?

But surely, for example, a first time entree with no seedng who enters in August should get a earlier start time than a similar entree who entered in October? How many of the 23 000 entrees will have actual seedings and how many are just regular riders who only ride the 947 every now and then?

I really hope I get to start a bit earlier this year. I entered relatively early this time - 5th August and hope it gives me an earlier start? ... before 9am

Here you go

Wow, I am sure a week ago it was sittng on only 16 K - also saw this morning it was 19K +

I now reached 1000 km's on my GP 300 and it has been great! I cannot fault the bike or components and just love riding it! The Sram 1 x 11 is awesome. The Tektro Spyre Mechanical brakes works very well and I feel no desire to have hydraulics in it's place. The only "upgrade" I foresee is to put some Tubeless tyres on it but will probably ride another 1 or 2 000 km's before doing so. It was a learning curve to ride with tubes again after so many years and I did get some punctures, but have learned how to prevent them for now. I have been playing around with the setup by making minor tweaks and then taking it out for long rides to test and feel and I think I am now close to a near perfect setup and only have a few more adjustments that I want to play with - amazing how much difference 1cm this or that way can make. I am going to Magalies tomorrow for the weekend to go camping and look forward to explore some of the Gravel roads in the region. So 100% happy with this purchase and what a bargain!!

I love budgies and have 2 of them, a male and female called Kiepie & Kadassie

But 4 hrs should give me more than enough time to enjoy?

I feel lekka fit and ready. Doing 100km+ solo rides every Sunday including some climbs on klapperkop, so the distance and endurance is there, but it takes me 4 hrs - so I probably need to work on my speed a bit ? But I think once I ride with thousands of others I will probably be motivated to go a bit faster and push a bit harder - Love cycling ...

Once encountered a snake -what looked like a Puff Adder? On route to Breedts Nek just about 5 km's up the gravel road from the filling station. I nearly rode over the big bad boy but luckily accelerated very (fast enough) not to cross paths with him and only missed him by couple of cm's or even mm's. I remember my heart rate monitor beeping like crazy cause of the adrenaline rush - ek het my gat af geskrik! I have seen vids and heard of snakes that get caught up in wheels and spokes and believe that if I had collided with him I would have soiled my chamois

Specials?

So on Thursday I picked up a ShockStop suspension stem as an addition to my Gravel bike and to smooth out some of the bumps and make for a more comfortable ride when going for some adventure "go anywhere" rides. I replaced the stock elastomers for the next level up that is recommended for my weight when I installed the unit. After installation the first natural step was to press down on the handlebars to feel the effect - my immediate thought was that it felt like my MTB front FOX fork when locked out - giving that short stiff travel on a locked out FOX to still take the edge off minor bumps. Yesterday I took my GP300 out for a 35 km ride - when I got onto my bike to ride out on the brick driveway ,things immediately felt different - then I remembered the ShockStem. The stem works very well and it makes the ride very smooth on tar roads - but it is when you hit Gravel at high speeds when the real effect is felt - it does what it says and it is good! I am glad I made the investment. The Stem does not remove the large bumps, but it does take the edge off them. I will test the different available elastomers and on a next ride test the lower options that should give even more suspension than what I currently have on - I think the next lower option will work perfect for me because I felt nothing strange or any compromise when riding even when riding out of the saddle. During my ride I definitely felt more confidence to hop off and onto the side of the road "MTB style" to side-step normal traffic and take shortcuts

Ek dink ek sal maar net 'n dubbel brannewyn drink na die tyd?

Great!!

So Sunday I rode with the pressure at 65 Psi but the ride was still very rigid and bumpy. Yesterday and today I rode at 45 Psi front and 50 Psi back and it is perfect! They still roll nicely and fast, but the 50 Psi gives it a very nice plushness and I do not see any chance of pinched flats or other problems at this pressure. I assume the 55 Psi low rating on the tires are for bigger people and that my 78 kg weight could probably allow for lower pressures (with tubes)

That rings a bell.

I actually recall that I had to get off my bike to que in order to get past some of the crowded water points.

I am aiming for a 3:30 time with the 42 x 11-42 gravel frame- that is if I don't start in the 9:30 group, because then I will spend half my time on the brake levers to dodge the party people My last participation was in 2011 on my 26" dual suspension with 3 x 9 and because I entered late , if I remember correctly my start group only took off around 9 am! My time then was 4:15 In 2012 I got engaged and then married and started the baby making process. I started riding my wife and not the bicycle and cycling events not a priority at all This year is my BIG comeback and I am aiming for position 6055 - that is if there are no e-bike cheaters

2 weeks ..... maybe he should learn to sit up straight first? Congrats! My boys first started off strapped into the bike trailer towed by myself, along with riding those annoying plastic 3 wheel kick bikes. The Balance bike is for sure the best upgrade after the kick bike stage. Got my youngest a kick bike on his 3rd birthday because he showed no interrest in the small pedal one's with training wheels. He loves he's balance bike

Thanks! But 3 x is going to be impossible because I will be out of the country and I foresee only being able to do 1 of the races mentioned above - the Rand Water race. Will there be any merit in doing only 1 x? If not then I will just rather do my normal solo Sunday ride of 75 - 100 km's on that day. I see on the 947 website it says races longer than 90km will improve seeding? Input much appreciated