maidenmole

Well not really. BicycleLine is another shop in Atlasville hosts the biggest Benoni group rides on the East Rand - they do a Mielie Run on Saturdays. Richard Dawking and the Rough Riders organise rides from Mercury road. Also ask guys at the Pain.Cave on 11th Ave in Northmead, there are bound to be MTB rides organised (and sometimes long ones to Loskop every now and then). But ja, hang around at BP O'Reilly Merry anywhere between 5am and 6am on a Saturday and you'll find people to ride with.

t-minus 3 weeks.

http://www.desertdashnamibia.com/news/images/news/Statement-doping%20AAF1811final.jpg

Noticed that this dropped into the news section of the website ... http://www.desertdashnamibia.com/news/images/news/Statement-doping%20AAF1811final.jpg The strange XXXXX marks have already started appearing on the results page too.

Ah, the persistent nagging of the 1x doubts. Tell ya, ride a 2x and you never have to worry.

t-minus 5 weeks.

Compared to last year, I would say a fair side better from a corrugations point of view. Didn't notice much difference in the first 50kms, but between CP1 and 2 the road is MUCH smoother. That rollercoaster section is super fast. Once you're in the reserve it's pretty loose and rocky as usual. Fang 1 ain't so lekker, but Fang 2 has those concrete block sections, so that's sharp. MAC is as it was last year, but the Big Dipper is smooth and very fast. Coming closer to J-bay we had some muddy patches and the railway singletrack was pretty messy and sketchy at times. That should dry out if there's no more rain.

There’s normally a host of cycling retailers outside the Town Hall at registration, with the official kit on sale too.

Finish line action already from the organisers. https://youtu.be/9GlTDugKuAg

Soggy Bottom Boys. Pls send us the link to that Random Race Name Generator. kthx.

[quote: Perhaps one should request that the orgainisers divulge more info regarding their ocmpliance with the relevant Acts, or perhaps their risk cetificates from SAPS should be displayed on event websites or something...??? Good idea. Gonna pop an email off right now to next event organisers. Will see if they respond. Would be cool if enough people asked so that organisers share this stuff willingly on websites.

So, in your esteemed opinion, my learned colleague ... we should sign them as they are if we want to participate?

There are too many "shoulds" in this legal compliance game for my liking. But again, when do we ever hear from an organiser that an event is compliant and that they're committed to our safety (beyond the inherent risks of the event of course). Could be as simple as having a short statement on a website. Same statement on the indemnity form, that says we're committed to etc etc.

Sure they can be held for gross negligence in a court given you're up for the fight and have the cash BUT what if you're effing dead because of the gross negligence in the first place?

Thanks for contributing from the other side of the coin Good to hear you've got a commitment to do everything you can, so I'm curious as to how you could provide assurance to your participants of this? I suspect most organisers just take a chance with such wide ranging waivers and know that when even registration comes we'll just sign and not put up a fight.

Ah, so this issue is also a question of assurance. How do we, as riders know for sure that race organisers are indeed complying with prescripts of CSA, local by-laws, land owner requirements, sporting acts, etc? We don't. They don't declare it anywhere. Unless being a CSA sanctioned event means CSA have done the assurance of risks etc and we can rest assured they've got everything in place to put on a safe event?

Here's a beeeyaddaful one from the same form quoted above: "I acknowledge and understand that whilst participating in the Event: There may be no or inadequate facilities for treatment or transport of me if I am injured."

I nested issue is whether even organisers take out liability insurance. If they do, then they're preparing for these signed indemnities to be ignored/challenged in court in the event of something serious. But this is not the type of question we ask organisers. We press enter, pay and go ride with massive faith in them knowing what they're doing to a standard that won't put as at anymore risk than what we're already going to face.

After a set of unfortunate and dangerous occurrences at a very poorly organised event recently, I'm now looking at event indemnities and waivers a little more closely. Is it just me, or are these not ENTIRELY favoured to event organisers REGARDLESS of their organisational capabilities and the commitments they should be making to us as riders to put on an enjoyable and safe event? I'm yet to see where event organisers place in writing what they commit to us as consumers and participants? Surely this would balance out what we indemnify them against? So my questions are: Has anyone been refused participation by an organiser at event registration for not signing? Has anyone been refused participation for redacting clauses such as below?Here's en example from one I've just been asked to sign for an upcoming event: I agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Event Organisers, its officers, employees, agents, volunteers, contractors, public bodies, landholders and sponsors, from and against any and all claims, demands, right or cause of action, suits, expenses, costs and proceedings of any nature whatsoever which may be made by me or on my behalf or by other parties for or in respect of or arising out of any injury, loss, damage or death caused to me or my property as a result of my entry or participation in the Event whether by negligence, breach of contract or in any way whatsoever.

Long range forecast for Baviaanskloof farming community. 13mm of rain this Sat. 19deg max on race day. WNW gusts of 59km/h.

Snuck out in a TB newsie this morning.

What do the weather god followers see in their orb? Some few rain in lead up to Race weekend.

Ja nee.

Could it be that there isn't already a topic for this event? 2 weeks and counting.

We could see who's racked up the most km's on their respective VIPAs as a way of saving Mr Momsen the hassle of choosing between us, but I'll stick with I PUT MY HAND UP FIRST SO BACK OFF!