Blokman

So did I and another lady rider. We realised our mistake after about a few hundred metres and turned around. Markings were poor at this spot. But I tend to end up at the back anyway. Not doing it this year. To all partaking. Have a nice safe ride.

To me it seemed that many of the Dutch people are reserved, somewhat aloof . I walked into two bike shops each time trying to make some conversation ."Hallo , I'm from SA, I also ride. Your cycling culture here fantastic......" Blank stare. One guy gave me a one sentence answer and it was over.

I agree. Got to give us a bit more Jakkals . I actually looked for your posts while you where there. I recall something about a bakfiets.

My eldest son, wife and four children have been living in Leiden for the past year. First thing they bought four bicycles. It was hard in the beginning . The kids ,two girls 10 and 8 and 2 boys 5 and 1. Son could cycle, but the rest were shall we say ,just ok on bikes. Problem, they have to ride to school. Dad is at work on his bike. So mom put the youngest in a seat on the toptube.(It also has a windscreen.) Bigger brother on the carrier at the back and the two girls on their own bikes. A steep learning curve, they took to it like ducks to water. Through the winter ,snow and rain. You get special rain clothes for kids called Go Soaky I think . Kway werk nie. Date night mom and dad dress smartly and go to town on their bicycles. Commuter bikes everywhere in their thousands. Women dressed smartly in office clothes with high heel boots pedalling their bikes. An eye opener. One of the bike sheds at Leiden Station Fold up bike on the train .Out the train, ride over the platform ,into the lift , out the other side through the station into the street. Leidens Ontzet. Big parade . Huge party. Was this chap famous once ? A mother with two kids and plenty of groceries in one of these is not a strange sight. About 4500 Euro. Brand new . 1450 Euro. They also had a few racing bikes. I tried to make cycling conversation. Didn't work. On the train.

He was part of a weird boere punk type band called Koos.Protest band. Songs titled Tsafendas and Sing jy van bomme. But very much on the fringe.

Somebody gave me a box with old books . Amongst them one, in tatters, titled Old Fourlegs by JLB Smith. This man had unbelievable drive and passion. The book gives you an idea what Knysna was like in the '50 s. After identifying the first Coelocanth caught in East London, he let nothing get in his way to find the colonies of live fish that he knew existed. He asked two prime ministers for help with aeroplanes at very odd hours. Smuts , who refused a plane to take him to South West, where he wanted to identify thousands of fish that had washed ashore. And an unwell DF Malan who said yes when he phoned him on Christmas to get an airforce plane and crew to fly him to the Comores. Smith's dropping of pamphlets paid off. For his trouble Malan had a fish named after him. Sadly the professor took his own life at 70 by drinking cyanide.

Woodstock 50th anniversary a few months away. August I think

Nice bike , isn't it ? You won't believe it but I actually own two (a long story and there was red wine involved). A Spectra 1 and a blue and white Spectra 2. I love my bikes and won't sell them as I have grandchildren growing up. My son recently went from a HT to a dual sus, and he says it makes a huge difference . As far as the Atta goes , I got one comment at this years finish . Backmarkers - we just worry about the cut off.

Many ,many kms in the hills North of Grootbrakrivier on this guy. Right at the back in four Attas and two Magalies Monsters. Maybe time to upgrade.

The older guys will know , but just for interest .John Kongos had a band in the 60's called Johnny and the G Men. He then went to the UK and had a hit called He's Gonna Step On You Again. This was remade by Happy Mondays into a song called Step On. His son now has a band called Kongos. His mother started Casbah (in the 60's ?) and is the originator of the Blondie dagwood. Johnny recently took over the running of the roadhouse according to an article in Beeld a while ago.

Die CD 7 jaar van Jan Blohm. As ek so nou en dan vir die wêreld die bliksem in is.

I bought one at the 94.7 Expo. Used it a few times. A week ago charge indicator not coming on. Light lasted the whole ride, so Im not sure if it actually charged or not. Going to run it down completely and then plug it in and see.

Also did the facebook thing a while ago. These were my top ten. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd Harvest - Neil Young Cold Fact -Rodriques Moontan - Golden Earring Who's Next - The Who Aqualung - Jethro Tull Road to Hell - Chris Rea Rumours - Fleetwood Mac Pinups - David Bowie Crime of the Century - Supertramp Also in the running were Suitcase Vol Winter - Piet Botha Ma - Rare Earth Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band Tapestry - Carole King Brendan Croker and the Five O'clock Shadows LA Woman -The Doors Led Zep 3. And Led Zep Early Years Compilation Boston - Boston Songs From a Room - Leonard Cohen. Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper Abbey Road and Beatles red and blue albums Loud and Proud - Nazareth Exile on Main Street - Rolling Stones And a few others, but to my own surprise not one Deep Purple or Black Sabbath album. There are individual songs that would make my list. I really like a good hard rock song , but looking at it, I seem to be less of a rocker than I thought. For what it's worth , I do look at some of the artists posted by hubbers, some you keep , some you don't . I've come to realise that there are some real music buffs here, and that I have a lot to learn.

I am not a big fan of tribute shows , but as a gift I received tickets to a CCR tribute at the Emperors Barnyard , and I really enjoyed a band called Clint & Co doing the Creedence thing. In their heyday CCR was a very popular band, but I think some may regard them as a bit 'backward' . Songs that people played at garage parties and campsites with Klippies and Coke. Maybe time for a more modern band to reinterpret some of their work. They also played at Woodstock, the 50 th anniversary coming in August. This is one of their lesser known songs.

We just drove past it yesterday and it gives me the creeps. As a high school boy we watched it being built. Mate of mine lived in Hillbrow. It was initially designed as modern , all in one , hip place to live. In the early 1980's I worked for a flooring co. that did some repairs and tiling there. Looking down fifty or so storeys into that dark core scared the dinges out of me. You see the actual rocks of the koppie it's built on in the middle. For me it was like something out of a dark futuristic film.

But people had a bit of inside knowledge right? I hope so. Otherwise my English literature teacher was correct. No hope for me.

Am I the only one that does not have the foggiest idea what is going on here? It reads like a translated poem by Gert Vlok Nel. Nice actually.

MTB.Road I hardly ever go longer than 4 hours.

I have a drill and a verrry old pair of Olympics .......

Question. My cleats are as far back as my inexpensive mtb shoes allow. Is there a way of putting them a cm or so further back withot destroying the shoe ? I have issues with pain in my toes on one foot after a few hours riding. Putting the cleats back seemed to help. Would like a cm or so more.

Eish . Advice to myself . Don't try to give advice to racing snakes. May you all have a good , safe , lekker race.

From a not too skilled rider right at the back. After WP 2 , you get the KOM gazebo and then a few rocky sections and some loose rocks on the descents. Somewhere in this section a path of smallish round rocks that suddenly curves left. Can overdo it on the turn. Just before WP 3 a steep downhill rocky section. The better okes just barrel down. I go slow choose my rocks choose my line. (That's what I tell myself anyway.) Just after WP 4 . A section of cattle path , steep down and narrow . Just before WP 5 a steep downhill with turns. Some ruts from rain running at angles across. I'm careful here. Right at the end, a short steep downhill before you turn into Pine Creek. You've kept it together for 120.50 kms. Don't lose it here. Overall It's not too technical. But the climbs, oh the climbs . After WP 3, it never ends. This is more of a talk to myself . The sections that worry me. Don't you worry too much , you will be all right. Edit: Babse ,read your post again. The climbs up to WP 3 are gnarly and hard , but not really technical. Backmarkers push up them anyway. From WP 3 onwards they are on good roads but steep.

Does not look right. Don't worry too much. Climb at the start . At the top a T junction . Go left. You are now on a dual road . Traffic both ways. Over a steepish hill, there's a turnoff to your left. Go left again . After many climbs you will get to the south gate . Carry on . More hills , a deep valley and then THE climb. Now you have done the big loop . Keep going you are back on the dual road. Keep on straight. Go past the place where you made the first left turn . You are now on the smaller loop. Big downhill , small climb , t junction , turn right and you're back in the car park. I'm still in December mode. I hope this makes sense . Edit: Hoekvlag did it the easy way while I was typing. Straight at the arrow.

Pleased that I could help Tim. Leeukloof is nice and who knows, with internet you can work from anywhere these days.