Cranky

As a Gauteng-based mountain biker I'd only get a discount of "up to 25%" at one mountain bike race (Babbas Lodge) in 2015. Country-wide there are only four mountain bike races on offer at a discount. A really poor initiative!

Sondela 3 day Family Stage Race, 5 and 6 Dec (only two days listed on their events calendar!)

We stayed, a few years ago, at the Beecatcher Guest Farm. Very pleasant.

I got the MJ 880 from Magicshine in SA. Great light, great price and service from Magicshine with delivery next day. Runs just over 2 hours on full power, which is incredibly bright. Can easily run it on 50-70 percent max and get much longer duration.

If you're near Norwood Mall, you're only about 15-20 min from Modderfontein. You can ride there till late on Wednesdays. The KIA Over the Moon night race on the first Wednesday of every month is great value and fun.

We bought a Thule trailer with 4 Thule bike racks fixed above on a frame, second-hand. Thule racks are great because they can be locked and bike wheels don't have to be removed. A normal trailer is better than a flatbed because you can pop in a lot more for holidays, even camping gear.

Thanks. Really pleased about the postponement. Its far too wet.

I have this on my to-do list for 2015 too. I am organising a conference this year at that time. Looks incredible.

Loved the last one. Entered too. Bargain price for a great event. Bit of rain forecast over next week. Hope the muddy bits are not too churned up.

You would need to give us the links to the adverts but the Giant should be much better. I searched gumtree and only found a 12 inch Giant Animator.

The night race on Wednesday was fine despite heavy rain on Monday. Some short muddy sections but easy to bypass on grass on side or middle of track, even in the dark. It was great to ride on some of the newly cut trails. We bypassed the section by the river and reeds. Hopefully USN race does too.

Such good fun. Mud not too bad, great route, great organization. At R60 an entry with a boerie roll and beer, a bargain!

This issue has been discussed here before. There also was a Business Day report some time back arguing that the whole Chinese deal could still fall through. The Chinese company that plans to but the land (they haven't paid a cent yet) is smaller than the company here developing Waterall Estate. Modderfontein will be developed eventually, but we're likely to have the trails for at least 5 years more, and probably much longer. There are lots of good plans for the trails, as per the other posts, so keep enjoying.

I rode a whole race with a big fever tree thorn in my front tyre. Rather disconcerting but no problem. When I pulled it out at the end I had major problems stopping the leak.

For 1.5 K more I'd take the 2013 Advanced. Haven't ridden it but love my carbon Epic with Reba shock. Extra stiffness in front triangle should make the bike more responsive. Might be useful in moving from 26er to 29er.