deanbean

Completely new route on Day one this year. We'll be going around the back of Cathcart, so as Fanie reminded me, you will be able to make a short 1500m detour to get one of the famous Cathcart Windmill pies. So for a little detour , you'll get a whole lot of goodness

I've got a Mountain Reedbuck fillet in the freezer, I must try this with it.

Sorry Slowbee.I cook the weekend meals for our family, and often when we get guests. Tonight was braai again, a recipe from Wendy Toerien's book "Cellarmasters in the Kitchen". A recipe from Paul Cluver's Andries Burger, also a cyclist btw. My version of his Grilled Kudu Fillet, with Beetroot and carrots and mash. Marinade the Fillet in red wine for 2 hours, roll in crushed pepper, coriander seeds and cumin. Braai the fillet to rare, slice and serve with veg, mash and a red wine reduction. Yum

https://www.jacarandafm.com/news/news/eskom-should-scrap-tarrif-increase-request-ted-blom/

A mutton leg on the weber rotisserie, flipping lekker

I found a recipe for fillet in Justin Bonello's "Cooks for Friends". Smoked fillet in a kassie. I didn't take pics. Rub the fillet in crushed coriander seeds, mustard seeds, salt, peppercorns, garlic and olive oil. I use an old blade coffee grinder to mix the spices. Sear the fillet while the wood is still burning, pour oil on the fillet to get the flames up there, and turn every 2 minutes. When it is done to your liking, my family has no choice, It is rare, rest for about 5min, and then slice into decent chunks. I use a weber to smoke the fillet. Take the coals off the braai, and into the weber, put a good amount of sawdust onto the coals, not too much otherwise you smother them. then meat into the weber and cover for 5 minutes. As he says Take off and serve, it is delicious. I do it as a special treat for my daughter just before she heads back to Varsity.

The reason we leave the piggies in peace on our farm, so the Martials and lynx leave our sheep alone. That's a young martial, an adult would have flown away with the pig

The big thing about riding with flats is technique. Keep your heels down, and you'll be okay.

One of the biggest myths is that you have to ride with clips. If you are a pro then by all means ride with clips. Proper flats and shoes are great for learning skills. I ride flats about 1/2 the year, and find no difference in my speed.

Well done @Fanievb, lekker to have you riding again this year

Gxara Falls

A few rides over the Christmas break. Struggling with Bronchitis so limited the rides until Thurs 80km shock to the system and a slow ride into the Transkei to the Gxara Falls

Don't Orange make a 29" single pivot

I wouldn't think so. Also was fully LC then slipped off the wagon. Back on kinda, now and have lost weight and back at 75 to 77kg, and I'm 55 now.

Hey enough now Fanie

I will do. Just first need to organize a ride from Gubu to windy ridge and a braai after.

Are you living in Hogs. I have a manual dropper. I stop and drop my saddle[emoji6]

And the beer, don't forget the beer[emoji23]

We've got a group that rides between Cathcart and Stutt. Send me a PM when you get a ride togather and we'll come and join you.

I've got a 40ha piece of forest that my grandfather set aside and fenced off in the late 50's as a preserve in the middle of our farm. Probably the main reason that we have so many wild animals on the farm. edit No livestock permitted in there

Jaegermeister gives you superpowers :clap:

Rather here than what are you listening to or makes you want to ride threads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7wCswGUsKs

You can get far closer to a prey animal on a vehicle. It doesn't give the animal a chance. I don't shoot further than 50m, and will take most at between 15 and 20m. The whole ethics is about giving your prey a chance. I'll spend an afternoon stalking a single animal. I put more value on the experience the harder it is. That sounds like I like hunting. I'm not mad about it, but i love venison, and so do my extended family, so I get pestered from May for biltong. They didn't get any this year. I'd rather ride my bike on a Sat tbh.

I farm, wool sheep and beef cattle. There is space in the system for blesbuck, which I introduced, and springbok, which my neighbors have introduced. That's 2 species that have been reintroduced into an area where they have been absent for many years. I've got friends that have done the same, but with buffalo, eland, kudu and sable. These animals would have not been stocked without the hunter to give them value. I also have game that were always present on our farms, but my management protects these animals, and I guard them against poachers. My reason is 2fold. 1. I love seeing them around, and hearing them, last night i was woken by 2 bushbuck rams barking outside my house, that is so awesome. 2. I dont hunt bushbuck and duiker,because they are the food for caracal that would otherwise eat my sheep, a long with Bush pigs. Mountain Reedbuck are also multiplying hugely now that I protect them. I do hunt them, but only 1 or 2 animals annually, on order, because they breed faster if the population is under predation pressure. Blesbuck I have to hunt every year, otherwise they get too many. I invite a few friends around, and we walk and stalk. Every shot has to be a head shot, otherwise they won't be invited back. NEVER hunt from a vehicle, its unethical. All the people I know who hunt only hunt for the meat. I wont say no to trophy hunters either. We use the meat too. But if they wound an animal, they won't be invited back. If you wound an animal you HAVE to find it, that entails a lot of walking. I won't let that go.

Joined the Thomas River MTB trail chief, JG, for a ride around the 40km route for 27Oct. Lots of work to be done. We'll hopefully be including sections of the route in next years Great Kei Trek. A section to be included next year, "What the Kiepersol" and a little Greater Padloper.