Vaultboy

After three years of great memories, my 2020 Cypher frame developed a creak at the headset junction. Titan Racing did a warranty replacement within a week. No hassles. Rebuilt by BikeAddict. The new colour still has to grow on me, but that is simply great service!

Augrabies Falls National Park. Psyched for the TransAugrabies next year, @ChrisF. Going through four driwwe in 4 degree temps is not that pleasant, though! Froze my toes off!

what a finish!

Correct. If you don't get a matric exemption you can't go to university. Just like how if you don't get enough points you can't go to Worlds.

Assuming you were born in 1985? Then you matriculated when the pass mark was 33%, and you were only required to do 6 subjects - with only your first and second language on higher grade, of which only your first language was actually HG difficulty. Being good at your second language was a lot of free points. People misunderstand (and misremember) actual requirements.

Had a Wahoo TICKR fail within a year. It never stopped reporting, but would be out by over 20%; either over or under. I also have TICKR FIT, which has been surprisingly good. Reviews complained about the poor strap quality etc, but I never had a issue. I simply don't use it anymore because I eventually upgraded my watch.

Seems like a recipe for reviewbombing. I would prefer to only be able to review after bona fide sales.

Telemarketers (and failure to enforce POPI) have basically created a situation where no one answers cold calls from unknown numbers anymore. Can't say about emails, though.

...where honour is a distant memory.

What a World Cup weekend for ZA.

I saw she was running sixth at one point, and then DNF. Wasn't sure why. Glad its a mechanical and not an injury, though.

Hatherley with the XCC win yesterday. Incredible comeback from Gaze.

I lost interest in Pinkbike Friday Fails a long time ago.

If you get on at Lagoon Beach in the morning, you're ******. At that point the buses are jam packed. Freuqently had to wait for more than four buses before there was space to get on. Just reverted back to using my car, instead.

I have two indoor bibs, Ciovita and Le Col, and they see about double the volume of my outdoor bibs (same brands). IDT bibs are properly soaked with sweat after each session. I am a salty sweater. The indoor bibs don't the white crack issue, but my outdoor Ciovitas are starting. So I don't think its an IDT issue (although this is a sample size of 1).

Sadly, real life isn't monty python. I used to conduct disciplinary investigations. Sexual misconduct is tough on the accuser. Typically they are women, in a male-dominated workplace. They typically get shamed more than the alleged perpetrator; These things take months or years to play out - and they have to show up for work every day in an environment that turns against them. These cases are also difficult to prove, because sexual predators are clever, and cover their tracks. Invariably, it comes down to he-said-she-said; and men, in a male-dominated workplace, have layers of social protections. But the worst of it all, as an investigator, is when i had to take evidence from accusers - I could visibly see them shrink into themselves and fade away as they had to recount every detail of their experience. Not just once, but multiple times (because I do my work thoroughly), and that's not even going to hearings and getting torn apart under cross-examination. This thing of being falsely accused is just a red herring. Peak Male Fragility. Also, if you go to my manager and accuse me of financial misconduct, he will contact HR within the day. Within 24 hours, my account will be locked. I will be required to hand in my laptop, and I will be sent home. Suspension will follow within 48 hours. If you went to my manager and reported me of sexual harassment, he will first laugh and ask if you're serious. Then he will ask you if you didn't maybe misinterpet something. Then he will deal with it 'internally' by talking to me, and tell me that I need to behave more appropriately. On paper, the procedures for dealing with both these offenses are the same. But that's not how things play out in real life.

It really is this simple. If you get accused of sexual misconduct, you should get suspended with immediate effect until due process is completed, with reasons for the suspension. It is vital, to allow potential other victims to come forward. I find it strange how we hush up sexual misconduct, but if you are accused of financial misconduct, the whole world can know, because God forbid we employ a thief.

I weigh the same, and on my WTB Byway 47s I run 23 front, 27 rear, so I agree with you there. I used my mtb with 2.35s Barzos yesterday, and had 22 in front, 26 rear. I like my rides plush and grippy.

What PSI were you running?

The course was lekker. We actually started on time and without incident. Sand was moist and easy rolling. Wind was less than expected. Cold wasn't too bad. That last watercrossing on the singletrack wasn't filled with shitwater this year (I didn't dare drink from my waterbottles for the last 8km last year; switched to a pack for this year). I heard some complaints about the water stations - no bananas or Enduren (both of which was advertised), and then first-timers complaining that the last waterpoint left 37km to the finish. Was the beer at least free?

Unlucky. I picked mine up just before 19h00. Glad I did it before my other shopping!

This section is only part of the 100 miler, but half of the route looks like this. Whole area got good rains today.

WhatsApp Video 2024-05-30 at 14.37.43_47b9249f.mp4 Video taken just now (by a friend), on the Halfmanshof section. Ons gaan lekker skud, Saterdag! Seriously though, it doesn't look too bad.

You might be thinking about the Skukuza marathon? It's a big annual run. The only Mtbing that I'm aware of is a ranger-led trail ride that you can book at Olifants rest camp. Not an event.

That's an interesting set of 'rules', @ChrisF. I'm just keen to know what's out there, but a big allure for me about Trans Augrabies (which started the idea for this thread) was exactly that it's a route you can't normally do outside of these events, which is why I haven't included Provincial reserves, which typically have MTB trails.