CharlieBrown

What a ride and experiance. I did the 35 and was going very well for me. Then my bottom bracket broke. I decided to walk backward as I knew the runway was about 7 km back. Had all the backmrkers passing me for the first bi but then I was alone, walking in a game reserve. I saw a stack of game since the crowds were gone. So not the best cycle but a seriously awesome experiance that I probably will not get again. I will definatey be back next year and maybe for the 80.

I did 1:57 for the 35KM. For me that is awesome. I loved the course, its really fast and challenging.

Did the Babbas ride yesterday after a 2 year break. What a race, great course and ever better organisation. Everything was just fantastic. I must say it did confuse me. I paid R100 for the 35KM. For that I get a great event, well organised and even a t-shirt. Most other races are almost double that and you get nothing, bad courses and even worse organisation. I think a lot of other organisers need to go get some training from these ppl. I will definatley be back.

Are X-Zackt brake pads any good? They are half the price of shamano so very interested.

Two quick things for beginners to think about. Firstly, getting your bike set up properly. A friend of mine went to Aaran Brown (http://www.cyclefit.co.za/) a while ago and told me I should go. As a beginner with a bike that still was less value than my car I believed that it would be wrong for me to go to someone like Aaran. I finaly went (sort of because I got a new bike ) and what a great experiance. Aaran must be one of the friendliest guys I have come across. Not only did he sort out my position on the bike the whole time he explains what he is doing. This helps you as a beginer to understand some of the fundimentals of riding. To say this has helped me is an understandement, my times on both my MTB and road bike have improved by at least 15% and for me the best is I am able to climb strongly now. So all I can say about this is if you are starting do yourself a favour and give Aaran a call and get fitted, it is the best money you will spend in cycling and will save you years of pain and frustration. Secondly I would like to thank all the hubbers who suggested to start servicing my own bike. I decided to take the plunge today and am about 50% through dismantling and setting up my MTB. What fun and besides my tubeless tyre bursting because I left the wheel in the sun, I think I will be saving thousands. Again I suggest this to any beginner as while stripping a bike you really get to understand how it works.

Based on the posts on the Hub and the fact that I want to stop being lazy, I would like to start servicing my bikes myself. Can anyone give me some good links to sites on the Net that can give me information and guidence.

If you chat to Kevin from Cycle Fusion in Weltevreden you should be able to get a good deal (about R18.500) on a Silverback Mercury 2.