Paul Ruinaard

I am in Paarl - I had 46,8 Centigrade on my outside thermometer on my deck in the sun at Midday today. 41,5C in the car. Thats pretty much a recipe for disaster. Brutal conditions and really always the back markers who will be out there. Not much moving air and on Paarl mountain you will be baked to well done in minutes.

Maybe its the prominent badge they give you to mount in a place on your bars and display to all your mates which is the real value to the members. Like vanity plates - why ?

HI, i have just upgraded to Garmin 8 and the prices on Amazon.co.za were by far the best. Don't need nor want the fancy bells and whistles like solar and titanium and sapphire etc. Local purchases owing to warranty suport as well. Just FYI - use or lose..

Get yourself the epic ride weather app. Take your road bike an enjoy theres not many bad rides from Kalk Bay but plan so you return with the wind. You forecast a route based on the date, time and speed you are going and it gives you a nice view of what to expect. Being a local now ex Gauteng this app is my bible. And beware under estimating a 12 to 15 kmh SE wind on your return ride if its straight in to you. THe wind speeds in CTN are measured in constant wind speeds with gusts up higher so you will feel the wind much more. Normally the wind is lower in the morning early so plan accrodingly but the SE is basically always blowing so plan out in to the wind and a nice cruise home. Enjoy. Some of the most beautiful routes in the country are there.

Good question and its a bit of an approximation and not an accurate science. I got a digital gauge and compared the readings on the pump vs the gauge assuming it was more accurate and since then have compensated. So for example my floor pump at 2 bars on the dial is at 1,9 on the digital gauge so i assume its at 1,9 and top it up a bit if i want 2 bars. I am not that fast nor is it that important but it can be material. My one pump was very out - like 25%.

WRT Tire pressure and punctures and the like something to think about - my 2 cents worth - use it or lose it. I found this app BTW: https://silca.cc/en-in/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator?srsltid=AfmBOop3BURojAdUumlLtjsRq0_94rSY3ipbUpY6CDQy3bagSwgep-Tj TBH most people over pressure their tires - always an extra stroke or so of the pump for good luck. I was always over pressuring but its a mixed bag with pressure in tires, and if you get it right you should also avoid punctures : 1.) Is your pump guage accurate - most arent and once they have been knocked about a bit with age and the like and they definitely arent. You need to know how much it under or over reads. But its likely its wrong. .2 bar on a 1,8 bar inflation is over 10%. 2.) Do you pump your tires just prior to the ride - most people do their tire pressures the night before and in the morning the tire has deflated a bit especially tubeless. Do it before you ride. 3.) How old are your tires - if you are getting repeated punctures then maybe you are in need of new tires. Normally one plug is okay but multples indicate the tire is toast. Tires also age and crack and certain products make them less pliable. they are expensive but they need to be replaced. If you are racing rather than riding a puncture screws up your race. 4.) As per the other thread what sealant are you using. Stans race is brilliant but double the price. Finally I will say a set of gravel 42 mm tires runnnig tubeless and properly inflated are much plusher and softer on my body as they add a level of deflection which cushions the ride and also allows them to deform around sharp edges. Its crazy good when you get it right but a bit too much turns the ride in to bone jarring and rough. I have broken hubs from very high pressure when the shock just gets transmitted in to the wheel. Use it or don't. Punctures are part of riding. Tubeless solved the smaller puncture dilemna very well but it has its own set of issues. Finally as an old dog you must know how many rides I changed two tubes or more on in the past when you were unlucky. PLugs are so much easier and simpler to do.

me as well

Having used most of them Stans Dart seems to be to me the best ever. Swear by them. But the real thing i found is ensure your tyres have fresh sealant in them - i have only found myslef plugging when i have neglected this.

I would debate your assertions also having done many years as well on many formats and also seen the stats on the road about the majority is the guy who did not see you from behind something like a Garmin Varia makes a hell of a difference. Because it changes pattern and intensiies. Same with Garmin headlights. Clearly you cant avoid a distracted driver or a person who conciously decides to ignore you - lights arent going to help much. BUT my experience has shown lights during the day makea difference - especialy strobing lights. Just this last weekend I had a car pull out to overtake in to the group of oncoming cyclists I was in which then aborted and i can only assume it was because of a strobing headlights. Decided against it. Without the headlights the chances are he would have gone ahead as maybe he had not seen us. Its like the guy says - you can't stop and ask him whether he would have done something that would have hurt or killed you but you also may have saved that from happening and for me that is enough. However having spent lots of time on motorbikes you learn front lights make a difference. Hi Viz vests etc all add to it. As do different coloured lights outside of what you normally expect oncoming or receding. Defensive rdiing also teaches you that people pay attention to strobing lights or lights that move side to side - which is why advanced motorcycling tells you to waggle the steering slightly and move your lights when approaching an intersection if there is a car crosisng from a T junction as this will get the atention of someone who may be tired or distracted or not paying attention. If I flash a light at you or move it side to side you will likely pay it attention and notice there is a bike behind it or a group of cyclists and that may make you think twice about running the light, stopping or overtaking. And that may be all it takes to avoid the next possible outcome of an accident. TBH I dont know how many times my little front strobing light has saved me - maybe none - maybe many times. Thats okay. One is all I need. Given that in the eternal war between cars and bikes - cars will always win in an accident, you need to do whatever you can to improve the odds in your favour. Ride with headlights and tail lights. I can assure you that the one time the strobing head light gets notice may be the one time that its needed and it saves your life as there is never a scorecard where you know about the times it saved you and the near misses your precautionary actions averted. Thats why 19 year olds go to war - its because they believe its the other guy who gets killed. Rather than rely on opinions or pop culture which are really not backed by fact, why not stack the odds in your favour just a ittle bit and add a bike headlight that strobes and also has a changing pattern. As I said one save from a life altering or fatal accident is all I need to justify my use.

Pity there is no slow mo video of that as the view of how the suit came off would be great to see.. I do recall a mate who fell at high speed on water skis having lefty the size of a purple tennis ball and bruises from under his thighs to up his back that were a lurid purple. Nothing broken but the pain was in a whole new league. Water is very hard at high speed.

I havent got the MRI and CT Scan of my head any more but if i had i am told it showed bleeding on the brain after an OTB crash at about 45kmh some days before. Long story but ended up on a ventilator in ICU for 4 days, I had to cancel a wedding and wasnt allowed to drink for 6 months whilst also having a very funky EEG. Learnings were to always get xrayed if you are feeling vague after a big crash and a broken helmet and secondly that you can drink virgin mary's on honeymoon whilst your new wife parties. Oh and the Doc also suggesting to would be a bit of a bad idea and maybe "dont get too excited" and try to consumate my marriage as he wasnt sure what else may go pop if the blood pressure went too high....

I have a lot of cycling kit lying around i dont use - happy to contribute it to a cause like this - DM your details and I will put. abox together and send to you - handlebars, saddles, pedals, etc. all sitting around just in case i need them.

MIPS is a good idea so thats a starting point - but like the 70's very famous bell helmet ad - if you have a 10 buck head then wear a 10 buck helmet. Specialized is reputable and widely distributed and a crash replacement policy is cool as well.

My Specialized Range Extender battery has become faulty - unequal discharge. I know there was someone who once posted about a shop in Tyger Valley/Belleville area thta was able to rebuild batteries - I dont have the expereices but its apretty easy to do as far as i know. Otherwise i have just got myslef an R 11k doorstop. Anyon know of a shop that can repair ebike batteries in CTN area.

I was involved in a simmilar string about 3 years ago - its a long story but basically i was of the same opinion - i can fit myself and with age and growing degeneration you must just suck up some of the pain. Anyway after much back pain and back and forth with some of the guys on the hub that are in the trade i was convinced to go to Richard Baxter for a fit. He did pressure on the saddle and also fitted for a person my size i.e. a prop forward rather than Pantani. I ended up with Pedal extensions for Q factor of 20mm as well as looking at saddle pressure and bringing me more upright as, lets say, i have spread out a little. First ride out the Garmin indicated an increase in VO2 max and FTP. Both went up about 10%. That was week to week on a route in the cradle. This was all from a bike fit - i changed nothing else and it was over a weeks period. As they say the data doesn't lie. I would say i got a bike fitter that understood what i wanted and wasn't using a series of formulas from a manual but focused on me. Do some research and get a good fitter. Its worthwhile.

I tried but its very complex and costly. Rather hire local bikes. Airlines will not let you fly with ebikes with batteries attached and to ship them separately is very expensive. You have to get them on a fright only flight and then they need to be specially packed and handled. I was trying to get an extender alos during COVID times. Good luck but its a mission.

arent there roadworks on the R 301 past Boschenmeer on your route ? Too many amateur rally drivers with potentially alcohol enhanced abilities over the weekend IMO so would it not be better to choose a weeknight...

always look forward to your photo posts of your weeknd on a Monday morning. Seems like you just always riding in a picture skew part of the world or you are a damned good photographer

Between 2015 and 2025 it doubled in price. It would be really interesting to map that against entrants, although i think the peak years were earlier. 2020 seems to be the time they thought screw it lets squeeze the lemon.

Did all of the above - Oukaaps, Cape of storms and then both the short version and the cancelled version. Cape of Storms in 2009 which was a tough day in the saddle. I had gone on an MTB bent so had lost any seeding indexes I had and started about 9:45 am in the teeth of the storm, about an hour late. Nothing like being on a start line at a race when the blue portaloo rockets come blowing on their side down the road when you are going in to the pens, and then at Imhoffs I had my front wheel switched out as i was third in a line of guys and went OTB and trashed my helmet which i had just bought the day before at the expo. I finished but i wonder why, Clear memories of pedalling down Boyes drive having to stand on the pedals in to the teeth of the South Easter when going downhill. We went over Boyes as the road was being fixed through to Muizenberg. Just for sh!ts and giggles. 47km Short version was on a tandem with my wife whose birthday was on the day so she spent most of the race socializing. I pedalled her around the peninsula that day. I am glad it was a short ride. The cancelled one: I had a new Roubaix and wasnt that fit so i kind of figured "look i am here and came all the way from Jhb so might as well ride" but knew I was in for a very long day from the cape of storms experience and as i was much less fit than 2009, I decided to carbo load and load every fuel known to man in to me just in case. So equivalent of double breakfast and 4 x caffeine sachets in me. Then as I am resigned to my fate and am walking out the door with my eyeballs bouncing up against each other because i am so wired to go my wife says "its been cancelled". Took me about four hours to come down from the rush of sugare and caffeine. My 21st ride was in the peeing rain three years ago as well just to add insult to injury. I hated Oukaaps - it was IMO a very tough route - i was the fittest and fastest i ever would be but that route was my undoing....

Entered already but they are definitely riding on reputation or maybe my level of excitement with the event has diminished now i live in the Cape. Its now easier to charge the battery on the ebie than put in the Kms that are required for the fitness i need. Will be #23. I need something to jolt my fat self in to action.

Been here 16 years. Eventually switched from an alias to my name as i felt if you are willing to have an opinion behind a keyboard you must be willing to back it yourself and not hide behing an alter ego (like most keyboard warriors IMO) You need to own your points of view and that certainly tempered my willingness to fly off the handle. Started as IQof2. 16 years = Thats a long time in any ones books especially mine. I arrived here after a lot of us migrated over from a forum in Jhb called Spinman - I think it was a guy called Terry who ran that - that forum was properly crazy. When I got here i was quickly taught some house rules by the "sheriff" and his posse. I have had my fair share of scraps in here with people on technical topics and many other areas which are completely cycling unrelated. The details fade but the feelings remain. We have counselled people through divorce and crashes. Advocated for discs and tech vs old skool. The epic threads fade from memory but the ones i still have saved somewhere are the ones about needing to stop for a "bossie" after the carbs skommel up in your stomach after day 2 of a race and you are 6 hours in. What do you use for wiping? I still to this day ride trails looking at furry leaves and grasses and thinking about whether they would be appropriate. The post about the furry leaves not being a good choice and the rash that resembled baboon butt for a week still make me cry with laughter. We had some people here who could write..... Its changed a lot and become commercialised but I suppose everything has to pay its way. I have in my mind how some of the people here became like a family to others and helped many people out along the way without knowing them from adam - just an online presence- definitely a sense of community here and some good things that have been done from it. Also sold a ton of goods here and shipped to others - never had a bad transaction and have literally gone on faith many times. Well done guys - hopefully here for another 20.

I empathize. I also tend to go real estate shopping, especially when on my own and attempting something i will easily ride and normally fall my ar$e off and get to sit in the flowers licking my wounds on my own. I am sure its about doubly as painful when no one sees you.

where do you get said 1,85mm spacer ?