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Mark James

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Everything posted by Mark James

  1. Really interested thread, and I have been reading the comments as I have been considering getting a road bike OR a gravel bike, but not sure which is the better option... ??? I loathe having to load my bike in/on the car, and "drive somewhere" to "ride somewhere", so tend to ride from home in search of MTB trails nearby home, which tend to be around Lions Head or Table Mountain. I am spending half my time riding on tar, and figured it might be time to buy a cheap bike to ride on tar, and figured a gravel bike would be the better choice, as it would still allow me to veer off tar roads when I see dirt, or when planning that weekend away to small towns (that never happens) After reading the comments, I think it would make more sense to have a road bike for road riding (fitness/training), and use the MTB for everything else. thoughts?
  2. Ja, I was hoping that would be the case, but it says on the blurb: "Number Collection Entries are only going to be accepted online and there will not be any late entries available. Number collection will be held at the Specialized-Paarl Store (Pieter Hugo St, Courtai, Paarl) on Thursday 29 April (10:00am – 17:00pm) and Friday 30 April (10:00am – 18:00pm). No number collection or substitutions on the day of the event. " Would be good if anyone could confirm that number collections on the day of the race (Saturday) will be allowed
  3. I registered for the event last night before seeing your message, and reading online that entries need to be collected in Paarl. There is no way I am driving 2+ hours to Paarl and back on Thur/Fri to collect my entry, and then drive back there early Sat morning to ride. It is unfortunate, as it would have been an enjoyable ride. Pity the organisers couldn't have made it a little more user friendly...
  4. Thank you for the .gpx files!! A little far from CPT, but definitely added to the "want-to-do" list!
  5. Beautiful photos that makes you want to get out and go for a ride on your bike, like now! After seeing the photos, I would love to sample some parts of the route. Does anyone have a link or details of the exact route that is ridden?
  6. Brandon Semenuk, WOW! So technical in his tricks, looks like Tony Hawk riding 2 wheels instead of 4...
  7. Hi JF. I recently fitted Specialized Ground Control "Control" 2.3 on the front, and Ground Control "Grid" 2.1 on the back of my bike. The Grid was on 50% off at Specialized, and I paid about R300, and the Control was more expensive, about R800. I mostly ride XC type trails, mix between single tracks and jeep tracks, and about 50/50 split between tar and off-road. After about 400km, my 5 cents as follows; The Control 2.3 tyre offers EXCELLENT grip in soft dirt/sand, and has hardly worn (there are still those little pointy bits on the centre/sidewalls of the tyre). The rolling resistance is a little heavy, but a small price to pay for extra grip and control... Worth the money in my opinion The Grip 2.1 tyre is pretty fast rolling, but it does feel loose sometimes on hard pedalling or inclines. The only downside, is that it has clearly worn quicker than the front tyre (to be expected), but it was only R300, and still think it will be good for many more 100km's... Overall, happy so far with both tyres, and would definitely fit the same set-up back/front again. Hope this helps
  8. Kudos to you for the ride, and thank you for sharing the blog. Really enjoyed reading it, and inspired me to do something similar!
  9. Good on you to have done this for her. I did the same thing, but a few months ago when my wife was pregnant (baby is now 3 weeks old), and it means that for the time being I have 2 bikes to ride I would definitely take the bike back to the shop and make them aware of what happened, and ask them nicely to please sort it out for you. I would be very surprised if they don't assist you. Best of luck!
  10. Mark James

    Cape Grit

    And a LOT warmer than the Cape is currently!
  11. Hi Guys. Another option is to buy cheaper bibs, knowing that they have a limited life span. I have a really nice R2500 bib, but recently purchased 2 pairs from Mr Price Sport for R399. They do the job surprisingly well, and I would be hard pressed to find a significant difference when comparing them to the R2500 bib I have. And at R399/pair, I don't mind too much if they die after a few months...
  12. And here I was sipping on a G&T wondering if I now still have to wake up early tomorrow to go train... Habits die hard, so alarm clock already been set! lol
  13. Hey Jewbacca, thanks for that I think this is where it is unclear, as many sporting events are still taking place, in cycling, and other sports. I looked at other cycling events taking place around the same time (end April), and on the Amohela MTB website found their official statement WRT Covid: "THE COVID-19 EVENT UPDATE – We have the green light to go ahead on the 24th and 25th of April 2021. This will obviously be under certain Covid-19 compliance regulations that we will inform you of in the run up to the event.. We can operate to full capacity safely at level 2 and lower" So this is where I don't fully understand why some events are being held, and others are being cancelled. It was also my understanding that when SA is in level 2 and lower, events can still be held? This also probably explains my cynicism when events get cancelled. - Mark BTW: I was stuck in Indonesia last year for 10 months from March - December. We went there for a 3 week diving holiday, got stuck there, and were only able to return to South Africa 40 weeks later... So "fortunately" I did not have to endure the high levels of lockdown that you guys were experiencing back home in SA.
  14. A small whine of the day... I had entered the Savanna Origin of Trails MTB Experience in Stellenbosch on the 24/25 April, and was REALLY looking forward to participating in my first MTB race. I received an email today notifying my that the event has been cancelled due to the pending "Covid 3rd wave lockdown", and moved forward 6 months to November 2021... https://www.stillwatersports.com/news/savanna-origin-of-trails-moves-to-november/ Interestingly enough, other MTB/Cycling events planned for April all seem to be going ahead (including the Amohela classic in Clarens - also the 24/25 April weekend). There is nothing in the news about an immediate 3rd Covid wave, nor a pending lockdown. We are in level 1 currently, and its is my understanding that even in level 2 an event can still be held. So why has the event been cancelled, and moved forward 6 months... When I went past Stilwater Sports in Stellenbosch 2 weeks ago they told me that they were thinking of cancelling/moving the event "due to Covid reasons". My guess is that this has more to do with giving the organisers another 6 months to fill their entry books, than anything remotely related to Covid lockdowns and pending 3rd waves... With the entry fee being R1600-1800 for a 2 days event, I'm guessing that they haven't had a stampede of people entering, and this 6 month delay buys them enough time to re-promote the event. I have requested a 75% refund which I am entitled to (I do get to keep the goodie bag I was sent with a cycling top and socks, which is pretty decent and fair of them) Unless I am horribly wrong, and we do enter a 3rd Covid wave (and move to level 3 lockdown), I am still pretty bummed that the event has been moved/cancelled, with the organisers blaming it on Covid. I will now be looking for another ride I can enter end April to put the last month of training to good use!
  15. And there I was wondering early this morning why the "link" was taking me to YouTube... duh!!?? lol
  16. It is stories I have heard...
  17. I see some of the segment times on Strava from around my local area (around Lions Head / Table Mountain), there are guys that are not 5-10% faster, but like 40-50% faster than me - Although I am fairly rubbish, I know I am not that rubbish, lol Yet when you look at their listed "gear", it only has the bike brand, not the model, so no idea of knowing whether or not they are not e-bikes (but my naive guess, is "Duh, of course they are!!") I read recently that Strava are looking at introducing an e-bike dedicated app, which would probably change up a lot of things. The problem is that Strava segment times are like guys at a bachelors party laying out their willy's on a table to measure... You know it is silly, but you still can't help comparing...
  18. Or she was on a pimped e-bike...
  19. Interesting, and maybe I should try include 1 lighter leg work out per week (not on days before I ride) and see how this helps my riding... I previously trained legs fairly heavy (150-160kg bozo ball squats, 500-600kg leg press), so have a lot of inherent leg strength, but it has (and still is) been an adjustment transferring the leg strength to cycling. Thanks for the tip, will definitely start adding some leg work into my gym training
  20. The newfound dangers of bike riding, and why you should always follow the signs... lol
  21. I am 46, and used to ride a lot when I was younger, but have mainly done weight training for the last 25 years, so the biggest challenge has been dropping body weight. For every single kg of body weight that I drop, I can feel the difference in my climbing and riding ability. BTW: I was weighing about 102kg, and am now weighing about 95kg, this progress has been over the last 8 weeks. My body fat has also dropped from around 15% to 12%. These are some of my own observations to getting fitter, leaner, and dropping weight whilst riding and gyming. My goal is a 2 day stage race end April, albeit not nearly as gruelling as your ride in Italy!!! - I still gym, but only 2X / week, and ONLY do upper body exercises. I find the upper body strength really helps with coordination, and on tricky technical MTB accents/descents. (Probably less relevant on a road bike) - I find training legs (lower body) in gym is counter-productive to my riding, and my legs feel like jelly for a few days after, so I rather leave the leg workouts for when I am on the bike... - I try ride 3X/week, 2 shorter more intense rides during the week (1 hour, 400-500m climbing), and 1 longer ride on the weekends (2-3 hours, 1000m climbing). Nice short video about how to Improve Endurance without Doing Long Rides - I have also been gradually increasing the work-load (ride intensity/time) by about 5-10%/ week. - I have been following intermittent fasting (So I eat for a 6-8 hour window period, then don't eat for 16-18 hours). I have found this to be REALLY beneficial in shedding extra kg's. There are loads of information on the web about IF, and exercising/cycing Hope some of these tips help, and good luck for the ride!
  22. I think I might have just been shafted... I entered the Savanna Origin of Trails in Stellenbosch over the same weekend (24-25 April), and that was a whopping R1400, although I did receive a goodie bag and a cycling top... (Guess it is too late to cancel and change, lol) Weirdly, there are several stage races over the same weekend of the 24-25 April, and it is interesting to see the wide range of entry fees for similar races/distances, ranging from R500 to R1500+ for a 2 day race... So as others have said in the thread, some of the organisers are making serious $$$ - normal I guess, as the organisers are running a "for-profit" business... Races are also a great way to gage your fitness levels in a competitive environment (other than Strava). In my case, I have recently started riding again (1 month ago), so entered the ride as a fitness target to work towards. Having entered the race and paid for the entry, it now kind of kind of forces me to do some time in the saddle, and am excited to be doing my first bike race in over 25 years
  23. HAHA, liked reading that you enjoy the Coffee Steri-Stumpi... I was involved in the flavour development a few years ago, and was one of the most challenging flavour developments we ever did. Definitely a great flavour! lol
  24. Well done on averting the attack, which was a result of your quick thinking and being prepared... Thank God you are safe, and live to ride another day in this crazy land of ours...
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