Vaultboy

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.

😅 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.

@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?

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.

@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?

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.

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.

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.

If you're in the Cape: Norco - D'Ville Cyclery (dvillecyclery.co.za) If you're in JHB: Norco (mellowvelo.co.za)

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. 😅

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.

If you're just going to put your head down and Strava PR the course, then sure there's plenty of other places around. There's no other genuine nature reserve in the vicinity quite like Koeberg, though. I was one of the ones who 'campaigned' to get it opened up after covid, but gave up. Ultimately, it is a Private NR, and they don't have to provide public access. A giant pity, though.

How does that work then for XC, where my average speed might be around 16km/h?

Back on topic, I started on Vitality last year, and currently am sitting on 900 points. I get 100 points for activities over 30mins at 60%; 200 points for 30 mins at 70% and 300 points for 30 mins at 80% HR, i.e. everything over 30 mins counts - short rides, walks, or gym/strength sessions....I could probably even get it having sex, although I haven't needed points that badly yet. 😅 I get 300 points any ride over 60 mins, even Zone 2, so I assume that I am on the 'Endurance' option by default? I also assume that 300 points is the max, regardless of HR or time, because I also get 300 points for 5-hour rides.

For years, once a month, my dad went to public hospitals for an eye treatment that takes 20 mins to administer, but it takes the whole day to queue, sometimes multiple days if the hospital is full. But it saved his eyesight and it was free. For me, the biggest problem with the NHI is not the idea itself, which is good. But rather that the ANC have a track record of terrible implementation of many other good ideas. Public hospitals have the same calibre doctors who work in private hospitals; in fact you often get the actual same doctors, but public infrastructure and facilities vary wildly. Post-op care etc are the things that concern me most - My aunt paid R500 for a triple bypass...just imagine! But I've lost family to totally preventable issues of sepsis, etc simply because the hospitals don't have the required equipment and facility management; or they chuck you prematurely because they need the bed space. I think the NHI will collapse healthcare in the country, then everyone except the wealthy are screwed. I mean, we have 800 qualified doctors sitting at home, simply because the State can't afford their wages: I’m a medical doctor who graduated cum laude and I can’t get a government job (dailymaverick.co.za) But back to Discovery: I reckon they are vying to be the administrators of the NHI. I'm not so sure that's going to work out that way....

I have been doing the maths every few years, and last year I finally switched to Discovery, after being with Bonitas for over a decade. Bonitas' value in of savings accounts, co payments etc were always superior to Discovery, to the point of negating the value of Vitality, even if you game it properly with the added products and unlocking the Weltth fund, but that starting changing a few years ago when they slowly started to copy Discovery's benefit structure. Last year was the final straw, with copayments now for everything; dental coming out of savings, etc. Same for Bestmed. They are all fractionally cheaper than Discovery, offering just a little bit more. Discovery, however, becomes a much better proposition once you opt into Vitality and the added products (Particularly Bank and short term insurance). You need to have the extra money to upfront for your premiums to get the cash back, though.

There is also another concern: Unsustainable harvesting. A lot of rastas would have you believe that they are 'in sync' with nature, etc, but this is seldom the case. They're more than likely going to hammer this area, then move on to the next. From a cyclist perspective, that might be a relief: they will only be a concern at Hillcrest for a little while, but the problem will then move somewhere else. The real long-term solution is a collaborative effort between some philanthropic landowner willing to set old lands aside that can be rehabilitated, and used for sustainable harvesting. The stuff that the rastas take out are fairly easy to propagate.

I had this alternative to a rocker plate printed at the start of December, for R500. Works a treat. No delaminating so far, after about 10 hours on the trainer. Free STL file Wahoo Kicker Core - Rocker Plate - Foot - Tennis Ball 🦶・3D print object to download・Cults (cults3d.com)

Yup. In my experience, the biggest issue with a 1x is often matching the speed of a bunch. Then I'm either over or undergeared, forcing me to ride at a cadence that's just out of the comfort zone. Its not hard, but its just one more thing you don't want or need to consciously be paying attention to. This is only an issue racing and in the bunch. But overall, my bigger question to you guys is what about component durability? Having only ridden 8, 10 and 12 speed, I am just not impressed with the limited lifespan of 12x components. 10 speed (and therefore 2x10) feels like the sweet spot between durability, cost and gear range.

Paarl Mountain municipal reserve

I have the Ciovita Strato undervests...Its ok in summer, but I actually prefer to wear it in winter, to wick sweat away when I'm wearing multiple layers (incl a riding jacket). In summer, I have fallen back to long sleeves, in particular my Puma compression base layers. I feel like it keeps me cooler, plus long sleeves are better sun protection.

Sweet. Well then I guess I'll be getting a Switch in March! I just hope the colourways will be lekker.

@Titan Racing Bikes I see that you have been running Microshift groupsets on your lower end bikes. Are you perhaps considering the new Microshift Sword gravel groupset for the 2024 Switch? It looks pretty sweet, for the price.

This is me too. Cramp will hit almost like clockwork after 3-4 hours of sustained activity (cricket; hiking; cycling) regardless of intensity or fitness. Never been able to solve it. I've just resigned myself to having **** genetics.

Thanks for starting this thread and putting this list together. Will you be updating it with the recommendations, and perhaps also indicative dates (e.g. 'early March')? Would be hella useful for everyone, but no worries if that's too much effort.