The Bull Shark

Damn snowflakes. They take all the fun out of life.

No, you can't ride past the gate at the top. You can try, but you might find security guards chasing you and then having to walk back down with a broken arm.

One of our Hubbers did an Everest on that climb a few years ago, and I do it occasionally. Proper climb that, especially the first part to the hairpin. And it gets real hot on that climb, so do it very early in the day else your head will explode.

Personally I don't mind being powerless for 2 hours. Forces me to do some other stuff and gets the kids off their computers. Allows me to appreciate the priviledge of having power. So I will probably not bother spending the 100K odd to get a backup solution.

I was also surprised at the latest prices for Meranti when I saw that. There as some other better woods that is available at the same price or only slightly more expensive.

I hate Pinus Crappus with a passion. Only do basic structural stuff with it. And even then it brings out the Frenchman in me. I have a few bananas here that I bought a while ago at Somerset Timbers. Tried a few wall panels with that interlocking planks that they sell also, and it all bent and twisted that the panels is useless as well, panels. Can use it as see-saw though.

Me and the wife started watching it and after 30 minutes looked at each other and stopped watching. To be honest I said to my wife one can see it is a Micheal Bay movie without watching the credits. His movies has almost no plot and neither flow, and not really interesting.

I know how crap it is to be alone on Christmas. Have been there a few times. Everybody is at their families and everything is closed. Strongs to those alone.

Unfortunately I just blew my bonus on a KTM 1290 Super Adventure R.

Finally got to see The Joker with my sons, aged 17 and 19. What a damn movie! And what a commentary on our society where the downtrodden are treated worse than garbage. The music was just damn excellent and worked so damn well with the different scenes to set the mood. I must be a weird mofo because I rooted for him right to the end scene. That walking into the door scene; absolutely brilliant.

They will just increase the per unit price to finance the shortfall. We are heading for a dark Christmas Eve I tell ya. Better leave a flame torch as the gate for Santa. We are about to rediscover the virtues of man's oldest discovery.

Lovely. 'n Boer maak 'n plan when Eskom don't have one.

Thank Eskom for not bothering with lights on your Christmas tree.

Yes, already won his first pup competition a few weeks ago. And very clever. He knows exactly whom he can beg treats from.

At which age should I get our GSD/Husky pup to attend obedience classes? That should be interesting as Huskies are free spirited animals, while GSD are quite receptive to training. Rolo is 8 weeks old tomorrow.

To be honest I feel that Clarens Drive to Rooi-Els is much more safer that the R44. Cyclists have died on the R44, don't yet know of any on the road between Gordon's Bay to Rooi-Els. The road from Rooi-Els to Betties has had an incident where a car driver had an epileptic seizure and rode into 2 tourists on cycles, killing one. That road has a wide shoulder and cars travel much faster on that piece of road.

Nothing beats the smell of a freshly Dubbinned ruggaball when you catch it.

It is because people that have done W2W from the early days mentioned that the quality of food at the waterpoints dropped off. Seems to be that the bean counters have more say these days, and that is exactly how you kill an event that used to be legendary for those small things that attracted riders to this event.

I would also have bailed at the first water point after the climb to the saddle and the descent back to the Lourensford ST. It was bucketing down in the early afternoon. The Lourens River here in Strand was running almost to overflow. Half my garage is a swimming pool.

https://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Western_Cape/Somerset_West/long.html https://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Western_Cape/Hermanus/long.html

Feel for those riders today. It is bucketing down here in the Helderberg. That old pass will be like a river coming down. They will feel like fishes swimming up the river.

Yup. Last year I bailed because of the heat. Maybe in future I will train as normal, and then if good weather is predicted, I will look out for last minute subs.

Hearing great things about the Joker movie. In these days of overblown CGI, this has been praised as an absolute masterpiece. I quote one viewer's review, and please don't rely on media reviews of this movie: "This movie causes the audience to consider many topics on morality, particularly the poor choices made by the Joker. The Joker is more relatable in this movie than antagonists usually are. I think this gives a more realistic view of "bad" people, who are not usually 100% bad in all ways as society often judges. It is important to know when to sympathize with the Joker (towards the beginning of the movie), and when he needs to be identified as a threat (when he begins making certain bad choices). This movie is only suitable for adults who are willing to pick it apart and think critically about it. It isn't for light amusement. That substance is what makes it so good. If you aren't able to ponder underlying themes on your own, and you have to be handed all your thoughts to you, then this isn't the best movie for you." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7286456/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Well, won't bother me too much as I was out for most of the year with that shoulder injury of mine. Only recently started riding again, but it is a massive hill to get back where I used to be. Age and the extra 4 kilos that I picked up is not in my favour. I will probably stuggle to keep up with my newly seeded group anyways.

BTW, saw you okes on Hels this past Saturday. I was test driving the new BMW R 1250 GS.