Blokman

Sorry , thought this thread was dead and buried . Did not ride today but I know of some groups that started going 7.30. Mods ,can somebody please remove that 'S' . Should be Group rides in the thread title.

Ryan Butterworth. Alberton. 011 867 5848

I was cheated at birth , when I got weak legs and lungs like a sponge in an oil slick. So ag sorry man ,I cheat back.

Same here. Maybe Kruiwa can find out for us.

That is a roadie that starts riding dirt. There are hundreds of new MTBers who have never been on any kind of bike.We are nice . We have no name for the "woer woeries " that we find on tar uphills.

Short for Suikerbosrand . A nature reserve south of Jhb .Highest point in the Witwatersrand. About 1200 m climbing in 58 kms. Tar road. Just about no traffic. Thanks for the ride. And for being nice to us slow guys.

The bigger the wheels.......

Just a small old joke not too far off topic. Van is a war hero. Flew planes for the RAF. He's getting decorated.The general is old and a bit senile. " Well done done Cpt. van der Merwe. You uhm.... you uh... shot down a plane. " " My General ,I do protest. I shot down TEN Focke Wulfs." "Well .....you're only getting ONE focke medal.

I've threatened for months to buy a MTB. Funny thing just today spotted a Silverback Spectra 2011 model. SLX ,Recon Gold shock .I am seriously considering it.

Yip ,he's funny. The hubbers with mentally handicapped family are all rolling with laughter.

Mtbvip apologies did not see your reply to my post untill today. So it caused a bit of a spat. And I (midpack roadie ) was dishing out advice to people who know more than I do about the subject. Have the contest , have the beer , have a good laugh afterwards.

Suikerbosrand Wednesday. This guy just basked in the sun . No chance of getting used as a tube. Wrong size

Is a mountainbiker on the road a roaddirty ?

Right . This is awesome.Ian Anderson ,strange guy. Remember discussion about satanism in bands etc? I bought Tony Iommi's biography Iron Man about Black Sabbath. Turns out he played with Tull for a short while. Band members weren't allowed to eat at the same table as Anderson. Sabbath the band were sh*t scared of real satanists. One night they all slept in a room together 'cause the castle was haunted.

It's obvious from the video that he was distracted and she was behind him, with people closing in in front of her. I've been trying to ignore my kids for 30 years.They always catch up.

Just about spot on . Just double that hill second from last . Edit: With all the hoohaa I actually read the pamphlet I got at the gate ages ago. The beacon on your left before the descent to the dam is the highest spot in the whole Witwatersrand area

A few pages back is a photo of junk that I picked up yesterday.But granted the place is not a mess. Original post mentioned antelope ingesting gel packets and dying as a result .You only need one . I agree that by far the most cyclists are well behaved , but one guy behaving badly and we all get tarred with the same brush.

Paid a visit to Suikerbos office this morning.The person I spoke to is in management and I was well received. The news, it would seem, is good. No we will not be thrown out and the reserve is not closing down. From our little meeting (very informal, and I made a point that I came as an individual) I gathered that littering was a problem . But if there is something that really irk these people it is CYCLISTS ATTITUDE. When an official or a person in a bakkie is trying to communicate some minor mistake to you,it is of no use to tell him that you have been cycling there for years. I was told that the past weekend some cyclists were told not to ride the wrong way. Their reply was, " There are baboons living in the cliffs here , why don't you go stay with them". That's really making friends. We need less "grootmeneer" and more cooperation . And eating a bit of humble pie instead of trying to prove you are right all the time. Would it not be much nicer to be seen as people who they don't mind having around ,rather than being perceived as a nuisance. I am planning to follow up .There are some good ideas here on the hub. Maybe we can PM and get some things in place.( We have jobs as well) Maybe also a committee of sorts to give the reserve a point of entry should they have problems , instead of letting something stew for months. PLEASE GUYS AND GIRLS KEEP YOUR EGOS AND YOUR GEL SACHETS IN YOUR POCKETS. Don't ride against the traffic. Be friendly to the staff. Thank You

Hi guys. I did not want to post anything until I had more info. I have phoned one of their officials and he asked me to E mail him with details of what we had heard about the closure. He said he knew nothing about this. I have found out that he is in management and I will mail him with our concerns.Maybe see if we can get a bit more info and understanding of the problem. Idea of flyers is a good one,would just like to talk to management first to find out what their concerns are so we know what to put in. Meantime may I ask that if you see any papers lying around,stop and pick them up. Even if they are not ours. You know the Scouts ,Voortrekker thing . May slow you down but you'll feel good.

Don't know if there's a test for ignorance, arrogance ,don't care attitudes. I'm not the type but I feel a crusade coming on.

This is the trash that I picked up on my ride this morning. Some of it may belong to road runners who had a race there two weeks ago.In relation to everything that gets dropped during a race it is very little .The organisers must have cleaned up.I'm just mentioning this so that us cyclists do not use it as an excuse. The first tube I found at about 30 km and the second plus the bomb at 34 km. The 2 Turbovites as well as the energy bar were dumped very recently. Hammer sachets etc.Could only be cyclists. Look at the first post . We are going to be thrown out of this place and we are not doing anything to strengthen our case. If I see anybody throwing anything away I will confront you .I will check what you're riding and post it on the hub.

One of the principles of training is specificity.Joe Friel advises athletes to cut non specific exercises as their training progresses . This could vary as we are all different.( Another principle is individuality.) So with your last sentence I can agree to some extent. However.If you apply the same principle, you ride hills to improve your climbing. You sprint to improve sprinting.That is a no brainer. Some of the " nonsense " advice were given by cyclists that really know what they are talking about. (They are dof on other subjects.) I have not read many, but I have yet to come across any training manual without at least a chapter just for hills. Sure some of the power that you apply on the flats will translate into better climbing . But I cannot imagine the peloton going up the Col de Tourmalet on this advice. Or anybody tackling the Epic with it.

If you make them triangular you will eliminate one bump.( Thanks to a very old comic strip called BC)

Even if Suikerbos is out of your way ,it's worth going once just to check out those climbs. Even if you're not fast no hill in Jhb will scare you again. Road that is , but must work for MTB as well.

Where is this , somewhere South ? Am I reading this right, you hit 90 on the downhill? Sorry I'm tech challenged . What is the scale at the bottom ? Edit : Thanks Edman : The X axis.