Paul Ruinaard

I brought some US $ in from overseas - it cost me $ 25 per wire in from the source and R 675 per transfer locally (charge from my own bank - RMB) For submitting an electronic transaction. This is as simple as going to an ATM and drawing money - all done on the web. R 3075-00 transaction fees in total for 3 x transfers. Roll on the day they close bricks and mortar banks - this is usury. Banks are a social tax

The last line kind of encapsulates my feelings as well. I was struggling to understand all of this when i saw the FB post and get in to his mindset - you put it very well.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/soekoe-bicycle-company-to-launch-vintage-look-electric-bike-for-export-market-2019-03-11

When i met my now wife (which happened not long after my divorce was final) some of my mates were pi##ed off cause they were all enjoying my dating stories and living vicariously through my ups and down. One went so far as to express his displeasure to my now wife. Was a bit uncomfortable explaining that one...

Some observations on the comments wrt EBikes and the race etc: 1.) E Bikes: Can be throttled on time so you can say i want it to give me enough support for 4,5 hours and it will allocate the battery accordingly. so you only use one battery and have optimal support for your ride 2.) EBikes: Can be hacked especially the Specialized - i have set it for 40 KMH and it goes like the blazes. WRT the race: It was my 18th. I am not at all fast and had a jol but i trained hard and raised my fitness and commitment was required to get there. In the past i have dieted and trained for 3 months to chase the elusive Sub 3 (never got it). I know how much work it took and how much effort i put in. Even this year. I would be gutted if an ebike was included in the general chutes and then beat me by relying on the battery and motor in the overall. You cant mix the two easily. I know, i have one. I could easily have slipped it in to the mix and just ridden it without saying anything but for me it would break the whole ethos of the commitment to doing it self powered and the training i put in on the bike to get where i did. Its so easy to just push the turbo button when the wind is head on, like it was, and use the motor to pull you through. But you know inside yourself that it's the motor that did it. Its great fun, dont get me wrong, but its not honest and its not fair on the guys who have trained. I dont know how you integrate the ebikes but i reckon it has to be like an hour after everyone has started in a tourist class with battery packs positioned at the water points for the bikes. That would IMO be fair. No timing, no places just a ride around the peninsula when the roads are closed. EBikes are quick. You could use one to pull a bunch and make a huge difference to the person in the slipstreams results. Its only a matter of time before this abuse happens... My 2 cents. Until this is sorted and agreed i am not sure they have a place in the starting chutes on timed events.

Data doesn't make sense. There were not 33000 finishers in 2018? Maybe some double counting on the original data sets - tandems wouldn't be enough to make that big a difference.

Wind guru looks evil for Cape Point. Double bowl of oats for breakfast tomorrow as those calories are going to be needed. Good luck all have a safe ride.

Agreed - i was thinking more in context of 94.7 which is really just an up and down type race. I wouldnt like to do the new 94.7 on a tandem. Did the old one on a tandem with my wife and it was tough. Sadly I have never done Argus on a tandem but always wanted to. Tandems aren't faster than the riders on them, but i suppose a tandem powered by big strong guys (not climbers) motoring down blue route or on the flatlands is a thing of beauty and racing them when you are built to ride at 45 kmh on the flats and pull the bunch rather than 20kmh up the hills when climbing is what i had in mind. I loved the tandem and would happily race one again - it's not easier than single bikes though.

Tandems are fast on the Argus route as its pretty flat and fast. 1100m climbing over 109kms isnt too much up and down. You can really work into the wind much better on a tandem as you have double the power but the same frontal area. Its then really all about seeding and bunches to work in unless you time trial it (and you will ahhve a **** load of wheel huggers, me being one of them if i can catch you). The flatter the route the faster the tandems are as they can maintain a higher average. For example i was a B maybe at the best an A group cyclist. I was pretty fit and did the old hyper to hyper (now the Fast one) on a tandem with a strong mate. We averaged 44,7 kmh for a 103 km route. I nearly threw up a couple of times and also saw black dots in places from oxygen deprivation but we did it. 2h14 for 103kms. Gives you an idea. Get one - but with two big boys on a tandem can get it motoring so make sure you have big discs and strong wheels - and hydraulics to boot.

Same with me on the first 94.7. I did it - was my first cycle race ever and i sure as hell nearly died. I didnt read the bit about it being called Jhb's toughest race. Never credited me for it even though there was no timing on the course at all. Now they wont add it to my tally, although the 94.7 is, since they added the highway, a crap route so i am not too concerned,

For me its 18. I want that 21 jersey though. I skipped 3 years when i was big in to MTBing. Now i basically do max 2 to 3 races a year. Ridden in rain in the first one, did the Cape of storms and the fire year as well a s the cancellation year. I was aware it was going to be hard before i left the flat in Sea Point for the year they cancelled so i had filled myself up to the gills. 2 x bowls of oats, 4 x caffeine sachets and 2 x bananas with 2 more in the jersey pockets. As i was walking out the door the wife says to me "its cancelled". I can tell you i wasn't hungry until late that evening...

Wind speed at Cape Point in KMH from Windguru for Sunday. Seems like the okes starting later are going to have an advantage :-). Going to be a fast ride back around Imhoff and to Little Chappies. Big bunches in to this wind on the wya out. Suits my riding style...

Agreed i have done that one too many a time. 100kgs of me and bike was picked up and tossed around like a toy. But the organisers have i think learned their lesson. and FWIW if there is a raging South Easter you aren't going to see me on a bicycle - more like a wine farm in Franschoek :-).

Always remember the South Easter blows you home. Just saying.....

I am so looking forward to Strada Bianchi. Last year it was run in the pi$$ing rain....

My wife now has my Bose. Sony now my go to headphones. Very good and their wireless bluetooth setup is excellent. WH 1000's i think they are. All are pricey but if you travel a lot you only need one flight with a baby that can't equalize to be willing to lay out top dollar for the best you can get.

Nice bike However is it just me that worries about the increased chance of being unseated and ones crotch then coming in to contact with a rear tyre and an injury that will make a kick in the nuts look like a Xmas party? See these Cafe's all the time. Just wonder about the sanity of the seating position and sans mudguard...

R240 to ride around Northern Farm?

Never good to hear this. Maybe you were already in a bad place and the thread helped you to make some choices that were going to happen anyway. Longer term you probably could be in a better place in a couple of months from now. Be prepared for some bumps and bruises and go back to the start of this string and re-read the posts that you identified with - likely there's some good advice in there somewhere that you can use. You're Not the first - you won't be the last. It hurts like hell at the start but it will get better over time...

Google Billy Gundelfingers. The nastiest divorce lawyer in SA. He wrote an article now that was on news 24 about how his office goes crazy in January cause of all the divorces that start now. Me it was also 8 January. It's worth taking a breather and letting things calm down and then getting some good advice from counsellors to ensure you really ant to go through with an actual divorce is his advice. You can imagine that from him that is not what you would expect. And most of the people here are more experts on divorce that relationship counselling - just saying...

Having to print your slides from Powerpoint on to transparency and then presenting using an overhead projector.... I once got it wrong and tried to print transparency on a thermal printer and melted the transparency sheet to the drum of the printer late one night. We had to cancel the presentation the next day and explain to the boss we had screwed up the printer

Wolfenstein was the first multiplayer game we had. Used to run it over a 10 Mbps Ethernet at work after hours because during hours it just flooded the network and we were banned. So we used to stay late after work and then once everyone was gone we all logged in and played a game. It sometimes ended very late.. Duke Nukem was just awesome - so far ahead of its time - i think Doom came out prior to it. Doom lead me to buy my first sound cards and build a gaming laptop. Prior to that i played a DmD maze game called Moria - - all with text characters. It was amazing how much time i could while away in that maze.

Clark Mckay on Springbok Radio - or was it the Gruesome Gresh?

So have the Specialized Levo in the garage (Bought it for my wife of course ) Its going to be ridden for the first time this weekend in Dullstroom. But i have to say these things are just mentally good fun. I have yet to see a guy come back from a ride without a huge silly grin on his face from when he goes up the first hill and the motor kicks in. I can see what this is all about and why they are so popular. Haters are gonna hate. EBikes are the future

Ja i hear you. Ive been doing the breakfast run on and off since Fourways was a dusty cafe and a stop street out in the middle of the gramadoelas. It's always been the same. Heres a blog from a mate of mine that i really liked - wasn't quite like this for me but wasn't far off. http://blingkingbikes.co.za/how-am-still-alive/