BlinkFan

Guess I'll shift all my support to Nino/Buys, Kevins/Max now.

Just saw in the other thread:

Thanks. Tweets like these needed from @AbsaCapeEpic. Difficult to follow at times. Well I guess they are struggling too it seems...

Fedgroup opening a bit of a gap according to live tracker?

Flip! Crazy that it's happening in that area. I live so close. And seems to be such a safe area. Glad he's okay and bike recovered.

Fine by me... IF they want to scare away half the participating field

Oh.. one thing. Please next year just get at least one parking marshall to tell us the parking is full. Was frustrating when we drove all the way in and then found the parking to be full. Ended up parking on the "helipad".

Love this event. Did prefer the April date from last year though. Pity about the route marking. I started in 75 B, and guys in front of me also took the wrong turn but luckily turned around immediately. I can understand the frustration. Hope it doesn't negatively impact the race so we have it again next year. Good waterpoints and a killer route. Singetrack. Technical climbs. Will be there next year. My time wasn't recorded :-( But I guess if I come 95th it doesn't really matter either way.

I think you should be careful of seeing this as an alternative to a dual suspension... "Comfort" is only one of the benefits of dual-suspension.

BTW, was that why Gravel Travel was scrapped? Not enough interest? Pity... And it's really close to the city/suburbs actually...

I agree. How close are the JoBurg events to the towns/cities anyway? I know it gets expensive to do events, but just pick the ones you know will be good and make a weekend of it if it's too far. Tulbagh is worth a 1.5hour drive, or a weekend away. Also, carpool. Or get XT instead of XTR for your next upgrade and spend the extra money on going out riding your bike.

Referring to them as plonkers doesn't really help your own plonker status...

Did our first Argus in 2010. Got new pedals and shoes just two weeks before the big day. Was the first time riding with cleats. Did the whole Argus in the wind and finished battered and bruised in 6:25. Surviving the whole route without having an incident with the new pedals and shoes. Got our Coke and medal and headed home. At the first traffic light we stopped at, the inevitable happened and I forgot I was wearing cleats. Spectacular slow-mo fall in front of hundreds of people.

I'm still not sure I follow... I've been able to remove the drive side by usingthe 8mm (or 10mm, couldn't remember) allan key. But then I can't figure out how to do the other side? Almost seems like I should push the BB from the drive side til it pops out the other side? I don't have the external BB on my bike, so looks a bit different than from what I saw in the the video...

My flatmate had a fall last year. No damage to bike, but almost 5 weeks in hospital of which 3 was in ICU. Spleenectomy and a pancreatectomy later, and his hospital bill came to about R950,000. Still way cheaper than his life. Thank goodness for medical aid!

Which one was "die Bastard"? The steep climb on the gravel road where you duck into the singletrack, do the hairpin, and then back on the gravel up to the tag point?

First time doing this event. So much fun and can't believe I haven't done it before. The graveyard shift was pretty hard though. We were in a team of 5 and I never had to do more than one lap in a row so could punch it every time! Will plan a bit better next year so as to get more sleep and less time waiting around for no reason. Also, invite a bigger support team to braai for you. Also, get more gazebos. Also, make a potjie. I was amazed at how confident I became on the downhill. I'm not a good descender, but surprised myself. Learned the track and really enjoyed giving it a go everytime. That tree in the forest that "hides" behind another one got me everytime I took that right-hander. Still don't know how to do it at speed. "La die da se ma" was probably the toughest part of the course for me. Deceptively steep and feels sandy through those vines even though it's not, and a boiler room during the day. To my surprise my fastest downhill time at night was less than a minute slower than my fastest downhill time during the day. Night-riding is fun :-)

When you enter they say what is included. And a finishers t-shirt is included. So yes you paid for it. Did it last year and my printing also came off after the first wash. Can't believe they didn't learn from it...

I was on Keycare Plus a couple of years ago. I had a tumble one Saturday and broke my collarbone. Here is what happened: Went to an approved Medi-Clinic and got X-Rays. You have a certain number of X-Rays per year they will cover. Think I might have had to pay R300 to see the doc on duty in emergency unit. Had to wait till Monday to see my doctor. You have a doctor in your network that you have to see. He then confirms your collarbone is broken, and writes something fancy on a little piece of paper like "Right clavicle fracture". You don't have to pay for the doctor because you get a certain number of visits per year to the doctor in your network. That little piece of paper then allows you access to a specialist, orthopedic surgeon in this case. You first have to phone Discovery and get authorization. I saw him the Monday. The specialist then asses your injury and books you into surgery (for Thursday). He also tells you who the anesthetist will be. I think he also tells you the operation code etc. You then phone Discovery again and get authorization for your planned hospital visit. You are also informed that the specialist charges 200% of the normal rate and you will be required to pay in. The anesthetist also charges 200% so you will have to pay in. You go for the op and they fix you up, and spend a night in hospital. What I'm trying to tell you is that, yes it is a bit more trouble than if you were on a higher medical aid option. BUT, at the end of the day I was able to go to a private hospital within 30km radius of my home, have an good doctor fix my shoulder, and at the end of the day it cost me R2500 out of my own pocket and not R25000. Even a bad medical aid is MUCH better than nothing. EDIT: This was 5 year ago so my facts might not be 100% anymore, and their policies might have changes in the mean time.

Thanks, good to know. Will do the setup and work on the cadence (I do prefer a lower cadence).

Hi, I did Attakwas this weekend (sorry, just any excuse to say I did Attakwas) and about halfway through the event the back of my knee started to stiffen up. By the end it was very stiff and painfull and I couldn't even straighten my leg. The problem area is directly behind my knee, between the two tendons. Has anyone else ever had this issue? Could it just be a case of overuse, or do I perhaps have a more serious problem. I've never had a professional bike setup done and I've always ridden on feel. It might be time to go for that? Today is the first day that I can't feel it anymore (4 days).

So you're trolling your own thread now for fear of looking stoopid? Just delete it and free up a couple of bytes on the interwebz.

http://www.designerstalk.com/forums/attachments/showcase/11375d1325244221-consulting-website-oh-no___-not-shit-again.jpg

Eish...