Jigghead

So, as soon as entries opened, I submitted and paid for my entry to what was going to be my second Bela Bela 5i50. Was looking forward to ensuring that my preparation was 100% on track. However, I suffered a little oops and fell off my MTB last month, fracturing my ankle, thus putting an end to my aspirations. I then contact the race office and plead my case. I do not even want a refund, but rather asked if it would be possible to transfer my entry to the race (also a 5i50) in Germiston at year end. The answer was not even a "let me think". I'd barely even finished the sentence when the "no" came out of the mouth of the lady on the other side. I was told that all was not lost though, I could still get around R200 of the R800 or so I paid back. Now I can understand that these things must be kept honest etc., however, under these sorts of circumstances, having offered copies of x-rays and medical reports from the specialist, should some sort of exception not be made? I'm not a piss taker. I entered the 70.3 in Jan and due to not being prepped enough for various personal reasons, I forfeited my whole (around R2K) entry for that. I just feel, so far from the event and given the circumstances they should have made a plan. Am I wrong here?

Wanna buy some of those for my single speed.

You want 'em? I'll have to start charging storage tho

OK, one more time...

Where to from here. Do I buy a complete bike and use the wheels or should I go Chinese carbon frame and build from there? Can anyone vouch for the Black Spade roads frames at all? This will not be a bike that I ride very often, and am prepared to go to around R30K total if I must, wheels are bought and paid for and don't form part of the budget, bought them first 'cos I got them for R5K.

maybe dipslick can't correlate the uppercase letters printed on his keyboard with the lowercase that comes out on the screen? should we not chip in a few bucks to get the keys reprinted for him in lowercase?

This sucks, what a crap ending to what is usually an exciting time, coupled with a longer than necessary wait. Hope he get's it back. Hope the thieves have a serious off and impail themselves on a broken spoke!

You need new tires, not sure your mechanical work will solve that. I still have a brand new set of tubeless ready racing ralphs for your if you need them.

Ah, well one learns something new every day. We had a guy at school whose surname was Cunnington. Needles to say, it didn't take long for him to be nicknamed cunnilingus, which has now, 20 years later been pimped to "Muff Daddy".

SHEEESH, ONE GOES AWAY FOR A SHORT MEETING AND RETURNS TO THIS? THE MIND BOGGLES, NOT EVEN SURE HOW IT STARTED AS I WENT QUITE FAR BACK AND COULDN'T FIND THE CATALYST. JUST SO WE KNOW, IT'S NOT CALLED A CARPET MUNCHER, BUT RATHER A RUG MUNCHER, ROLLS OF THE TONGUE A LITTLE EASIER IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN... :ph34r: :ph34r: POPCORN ANYONE, WHILST I'M UP? caps off...

I had two years and many 1000's of happy kilometres on my MATTS TFS300. I abused it and it just kept on riding and riding. It's hard as nails and cheapish on maintenance.

I upgraded from a 26er hardtail to a 29er hardtail. Loving it and don't miss the lack of suspension on the rear. I rode the softer version of my bike a while back and do not regret the decision at all. Only go dual if you don't have enough padding on your rear :whistling: I got a fat ass.

love your work rad006

This is how he rides, I would have thunk that they'd have more of a problem with a lack of helmet than anything else?

Tube Bombs Plugs + all the stuff need to make all of this work

I did my first one on a mountain bike and it was no problem, I rode really slowly 'cos my wife had only ridden 400km total prior to the race and she wanted me there. We still did 5hrs 25mins and it was fine. Depending on when you start, it's going to be hot, so drink a lot, they have loads of water stations along the way so that shouldn't be a problem. It's a fun day, so as long as you don't loose sight of that, you'll do great.

What next, I think it's a cool idea. Taken from News24: "Duncan Alfreds Cape Town - A rhino campaigner has been banned from the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour because of his outfit during the 2013 race. Steve Newman, also known as the Naked Skydiver, has been running a virtual one man campaign to raise money to fight rhino poaching. His stunts invariably include him being near naked, but he said that concerns about his state of undress were unfounded. "The only reason I've been doing it naked is that everyone seems to be really shy, but we've all got the same bits. So it's not that much of a big deal, really, and it gets noticed," Newman told News24 recently. He participated in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and the 2013 Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour wearing his "horn" to raise money to fight rhino poaching. Formal complaint But his stunt at the cycle race wasn't taken lightly; the organisation sent Newman a tersely worded e-mail. "Please make representations why your entry should not be refused from future Cycle Tours in light of the apparent deliberate breach of the Rules of the Cycle Tour?" the message in possession of News24 says in part. The Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust said that it received a formal complaint on the attire that Newman wore at the race, though the complainant acknowledged that she saw him after the race, not on his bicycle. "For the last two or three years we've had a number of complaints from the public about the attire at the event, so the Trust took a decision to publish an article The Seven Deadly Sins in our magazine that went out to all participants in this year's cycle tour," David Bellairs, Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust director told News24. He pointed out that the decision to ban Newman was not taken lightly, and added that the ban was only for the 2014 race. "He hasn't been banned for life; it's simply for next year." Bellairs said that the Trust was intent on building the tolerance that Cape Town is known for, but had to be sensitive to those who might be offended by participants' behaviour. Awareness "We encourage the creativity that is typically Cape Town - no question about that - but the difficulty for the Trust is retaining some form of dignity. "We live in a multi-cultural society where nudity of that nature is offensive to certain people, and we must be sensitive to that." For his part, Newman responded that he was interested in raising awareness about the plight of the rhino. "It was never my intention to embarrass the race organisers nor to act in a manner that was indecent or inappropriate. I am honestly attempting to educate and create awareness for the plight of rhinos in South Africa. "I go by the pseudonym #NakedSkyDiver and have to date raised in excess of R60 000, all of which has been donated to saving and preserving a dwindling and exploited natural resource." The tour accused Newman of deliberately ignoring Rule 2.15 that says a rider is expected to wear "clothing appropriate for a family event at all times"."