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Vaultboy

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Everything posted by Vaultboy

  1. Nino's so bored at the back he has time to fool around while Fini is struggling, shem.
  2. I'm also in this boat. I hit my goals pretty much every week, and cap out my 30 000 points for the year, but its only good enough for Silver. At Silver, you only get 25% off flights etc, which isn't bad, but I've found similar discounts elsewhere. I reckon spouses need to earn at least 15 000 out of the available 30 000 for the year to make it into Gold, which is where the benefits get good; plus they at least need to do the annual health assessments. I even struggled to get my wife to do that, but she did in the end. that said, even at Silver I get at least R1500 a month back for my R465 monthly vitality fee, so its still worthwhile to jump through the hoops.
  3. You are correct. You have to use your Discovery account to make payment, so you need to preload it with the balance (after subtracting your miles).
  4. I've got a free account. No banking fees. Its a virtual VISA 'transaction' account; its not a credit card, i.e. it always has to have a positive balance, but I can enter the card details into any credit card payment facility. So its like a prepaid credit card. You also get a free savings account bundled with it, with a 5.9ish interest rate. Its just Discovery wanting you to give them more money to pool.
  5. Yup. They are all slowly but sure migrating to Discovery's structure. I used to be with Bonitas, who offered superior cover, for far less. But now its pretty much the same as Discovery, without the benefit of Vitality. So it was a no-brainer to move. (I did the math on Vitality long before I joined). Bestmed still looks like a good alternative, but they're also offering less cover for more fees than last year. They will get to parity with Discovery soon enough.
  6. Genuine interest: For how much of that time do you feel like you're on the verge of puking and how do you deal with it?
  7. @Titan Racing Bikes when will the 2024 alloy Switch models be available?
  8. Your initial post below indicated you were thinking of buying two bikes - either Gravel+Hardtail; or Road+Hardtail. I expected you would keep that nice Titan Cypher you built, so I suggested only buying one bike instead of two - a gravel bike, with an extra set of roadwheels. If you need to sell your Cypher to fund the purchases, then I would suggest a get a trail hardtail and a roadbike. I imagine you want to be able to do XC, gravel and road riding, so I was thinking of two bikes that cover all three disciplines.
  9. Honestly, if you go to the south of Italy, you would think you're somewhere in South Africa. Potholes; faded road markings; trash on the side of the streets. No working public trains. I felt right at home.
  10. You've already got a very nice dualsus, so instead of getting two new bikes, I would recommend getting a really good gravel bike, with an extra road wheelset. Then you're set for XC, gravel and road.
  11. I am aware. I prefer a totally separate account.
  12. Exactly this, provided that the behaviour modification is worthwhile. Getting a free bank account was a plus for me - i treat it like a petty cash account, linked to my phone, so that my primary credit card is safe(r) from fraud. I was already house-trained to fill up at BP from my prior rewards programme, so being able to fill up at BP and Shell opened up options. I already shopped at Woollies and Clicks. Already primarily ate out at Kauai, etc. So there was no behaviour modification required. So, Vitality looked like a no-brainer. For R450 p/m, I would get at least R1500 back per month in miles. My miles go straight into vouchers, so its literally disposable income.
  13. I saw quite a few ebikers pass me who did not have the orange ebike sticker on their bibs. So a number of them won't even be picked up by the organisers. Also, what does the penalty of a DQ really mean? You will get your medal before the DQ is implemented. It's not as if you get yanked out of the race. You will get your Discovery refund for finishing; (and even if you don't, what is R400 when you can afford an ebike?).
  14. Got a cut in my rear tyre on my shakedown ride. Plugged it....had to use the biggest plug in my kit. Should I ride with a plugged tyre, or use the mtb tomorrow? I don't have a spare tyre, although I have tubes. I haven't ridden a plugged tyre for a whole 100km before.
  15. 😅 a bag of Fritos , a Bokomo protein bar, (both only expiring after May) and a small pot of Arnica. All actually stuff I'll use. Goodie bag is meagre, but not bad, compared to last year when I got an expired chocolate and a bag of simba chips that was open.
  16. @Gershom Basson I looked at the Dust, to replace my Rook Scout, but the groupset put me off. I think the Dust has a superior frame to the Estrada, and looks to be better suited to gravel. I've ridden the Estrada, and it struck me more as a road bike with gravel tyres? I am waiting for @Titan Racing Bikes to release the Sport and Expert models of their MY24 Switch. Hopefully that will come with a Miscroshift Sword groupset, which I reckon is vastly superior to Ltwoo. I think you have a Microshift R9 on the Estrada?
  17. For me the timeslot was perfect - the week leading into the June holiday means exams are done and I can pull my kids out early; and not stress about the park being booked out. I was just about to make payment when I saw @ChrisF's post about it being cancelled. At least now I can plan better for 2025. The start of this year was just a bit too rough to pay registration and book accoms in Jan/Feb.
  18. @sierrrd Amazing! Well done! Ok, so we have to apply for the annual permit between 14h00-16h00 on a weekday, but during what times is it open to ride? Sunrise to one hour before sunset like before; 14h00-16h00 on weekdays; or a new arrangement?
  19. Oh, I didn't know he's still around! I had heard that he moved overseas. I went to him a couple of times when he was based in Montague Gardens. Very good experience.
  20. I would rather have been walking up hills instead of blowing out a tyre after 11km and sitting on the sweeper bus, tbh. Spent more time in the starting chute than I did on the road. Extremes, indeed.
  21. I gathered that B had to stop twice, to allow A to overtake them after the crashes. I rode back in the sweeper with a guy involved in A's first crash, probably around the airfield. He said a marshall on a motorbike stopped in the middle of the road, and they clattered into him at 60kph.
  22. If you're in the Cape: Norco - D'Ville Cyclery (dvillecyclery.co.za) If you're in JHB: Norco (mellowvelo.co.za)
  23. I'm 1.79, and this is exactly my problem. I am partial to a smaller frame though, so even on my current gravel bike my seatpost is at max extension and I have 4 spacers, so I have the fugly bar ticked already. I am still leaning towards the increased comfort of a rigid hardtail with drop bars, but in terms of compromise, the big question is just exactly how much worse is it at climbing than a gravel bike? I guess I'll only know if/once I do it. 😅
  24. There's plenty of gravel riding options - a nice 20km loop around Kasteelberg itself, that you can combine with rides out to Moreesburg (on the Malmesbury side) or out toward Tulbagh. Just note that the Rustfontein gravel road outside Malmesbury is being turned into a bypass, so avoid that road. Here's a 100km route I did a while back - just cut out the 20km loop down to Malmesbury. 2023-02-28_1041000767_Riebeecksrivier Gravel tour.gpx I'm not familiar with trails that side, if that's what you're looking for.
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