Danger Dassie

Sure, but regardless for an event. Despite the hype around the 'cool kid' factor. Wether it's Epic, Comrades, Dakar, SingleSpeeds, Olympics etc .... it's a personal connection people make based on their journey. I might not buy into it, but for them they may.

SSWC 2012 Don't forget Burry Stander and Amy Beth, they both got Single Speed World Champs tattoos.

Kommetjie!

Haha... jokes aside though, Aaron has won some awards. I’ve worked with him from time to time and he’s both exceptionally professional and helpful. That’s become a rarity in general sometimes these days.

Actually yes, in many respects the sport's national impetus was gained by the Cape Epic's reputation and international status. Through that many people, who will never ride Epic, have discovered an awesome sport. Over the years the sport has seen growth and maturity beyond the endurance sufferfest of Epic. A good example is Burry Stander. He was an exceptional XCO racer with many accomplishments ahead of his Cape Epic titles, but he only became more widely known as an athlete and after winning Epic. This also brought XCO more into the fore for riders. Platt is another example, he was a consistent top ten finisher in World Cup XCO, wins Cape Epic and suddenly everyone locally and in Germany know who he is. Cape Epic gave an injection of broader appeal to South African MTB, locally and abroad. This is a fact. It doesn't mean it's central and all encompassing to SA MTB, but it absolutely has played a role in the growth of the sport.

Brazil makes up a significant portion of the entries. SA is still the capital of stage and marathon events, but places like Aus, US and a few Euro nations are also seeing a lot of growth in these disciplines. Marathon World Champs is an increasingly contested event. As far as pricing goes, yes Epic has become the marque event in that respect. Personally I don't feel alienated by the event, I enjoy it for what it is and am grateful that in some part I've been able to make a form of living out of the sport/event. They have their **** together and are a slick organisation setting the standard in international appeal. Thats not for everyone and yes the elitism will be a partial byproduct, fortunately not everyone subscribes to that.

Look to each their own. By and large though most of these cocktails are BS. Speak to any credible GP, especially in the sports area. Dr Jarad van Zuydam and Mike Posthmus come to mind. Some NB things to consider; IV complications like an embolism for example, area real risk, essentially you're subjecting yourself to an invasive procedure. So having properly qualified and trained staff administering this is pretty important. Many of the 'cocktails' on offer are questionable at best, especially in the context of an IV. To have an IV of any kind there should be demonstrable medical requirement under the guidance of a medical professional (Doctor). Ie sever dehydration. Sport, especially cycling has a strict no needles policy. So, anyone holding a race licence and/or signing the T&C of a race.

Little bit before my time then, I arrived late 90's around then and left mid 2000s. Was predominately at Aviation TAS in Kempton.

Small world, possible we've came across each other at some point. Did you ever work with some of the flight and weapons test guys? Wes Lindenberg, Blokkies Joubert, Mike Weingartz et al ?

11 years at Denel/Armscor made this clear. Especially in some people specifically.

Not the cheapest, but there are various options with different pricing. https://soxfootwear.co.za/ I've always liked the feel and both quality and longevity has consistently grown over time, especially now that production is in SA. They truly have become my default sokkie jol. Versus, Falke and some others make up representation too....

A bit, it's pretty warm and durable but thicker and heavier than merino.

If you can source 105 calipers at a better price and then go for Swiss Stop pads with the correct setup, should be a winner!

Have a couple pairs of Mohair socks, best thing ever. Defacto goto when working outdoors in winter!

It's right there in my post ..... don't come with tri stuff now, bad enough that Harleys have been brought into the topic.

Chinese company, Wanda Sports. Which isn't a bad thing, sets a lot of job security for those employed by the event and with the pandemic the ownership very likely saved jobs thanks to having the financial backing. This was always going to be for an international audience, which includes South Africans. Any event that goes international is going to be limiting to many due to both the coast and commitment required, look at the Dakar Rally. At least here in SA we have more events than the world combined to choose from. Even with the ever swirling apocalypse.

I'll them a secret, there really is no need to spend the money on most of the stuff. Most people I've spoken to about Epic have spoken plenty about their experience and not so much the costs.

The DonPin has spoken much truth. Heed it well dirt padowans....

Been recently, plenty good condition and they've done a ton of work around the ruins/bunkers. Particularly for the trail run section, well worth exploring!

Mooist!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2089303887956056/?ref=share https://www.facebook.com/groups/552949068216367/?ref=share

Outside chance that Rush Sports might be able to help you. https://rushsports.co.za/pages/contact

Vac passport and mandates are nothing new. Nor is anti vaxx messaging, which ultimately is based upon selfishness more than anything, and ironically what leads to vaccine mandates. We've nothing to complain about, gov has made significant progress on vaccination sites and the messaging. Over the previous long weekend Gauteng health opened up just over 40 pop up sites. People must now start taking responsibility and stop blaming everything on the gov as an unmitigated disaster. Events must do what they must to ensure their livelihoods and overall safety of participants. If this includes partnering up with pop up vaccination sites, so be it.

M/L

Might as well place this here as well, will be on BH Classifieds soon. Cotic X - CX/Gravel bike. Size M/L A perfect gravel racer and all rounder for commuting and road. Being a steel frame this bike is a keeper for the long term, be it a project bike, indoor trainer or as spare for coffee dates. This was one of the last from the supplier and one of the few that came with a carbon fork instead of the standard chromoly steel one. 15k onco ... feel free to DM