Max Headroom

Thanks Guys ! Great suggestions, thank you. I think the Malmesbury, Hopefield, Vredenburg, Stompneusbaai - basically the R45 looks like an alternative to the busy coast R27 road. I like the suggestion of going via Malmesbury, Darling and West Coast Park - but I ...time/distance makes this a maybe.

Great thanks !

DM me too please. Thank

Going to road cycle to St Helena Bay. Looks like the R27 is the only sensible direct route. Did a ride out to Yzerfontein some years ago, and seamed to be ok. Any advice on safety or any other thoughts ? Thanks.

I agree with the comments re 3X front means you don't normally need a bigger cassette. If some steep hills are too much for you - and you have a 24 upfront, then a 36 at rear was popular. And , yes, a 36 cassette will fit because of your long derailleur cage. But you could also change to a 22 up front - Still cheaper that changing cassettes. Personally, the cassette in the pic still looks good to me.

.....Biggest problem is the Police. I am trying to get them to be pathetic, ....😂 They are already pathetic

Yes. Commentators doing their best - but, that doesn't mean it's any good, Gerald needs a speech therapist, listen to him - cannot concentrate, so he fills the simplest sentences with 'erm' every second word. Cycling needs to find someone better or get him therapist assistance. (And the; it's 'free' viewing comments, are nonsense. )

Hi, going up to Jo'Burg for a short visit; Any suggestions for good fun trails - (staying on kayalami side of town) :- I will be riding alone - so prefer : Very Safe area/trails Lots of single-track Minimum 40km (or more, but under 1000m ascent) (I'm from CT area/trails - so please not suggestions like Steyn-City - made that mistake once on the pre 94.7, mtb event)

Lourensford Classic April 2024- Wine Estate Class Distance Price (pp) Classic 59 km with 1600m climbing R 700.00 Maxi 40 km with 900m climbing R 600.00 Those prices - I assume it includes an e-bike rental !

Yup, Recently, Gerald hosted at the PE2Plett and listening to him at the nightly briefings, gave me hope again - I thought he sounded normal and capable of having a smooth discussion. But what a failure yesterday. The problem is, he can't concentrate - every simple sentence is mostly filled with 'erm' 'ah' 'eh'. He needs a speech therapist.

Sorry, if you don't believe in science; I can't help you. (If you are really interested, you don't need me to find research that comforts you: it's everywhere.)

Yeah, I know - it's the story of 'if the sun doesn't kill you, the washing machine will' My OP was not a crusade to convince anyone — but rather, that it occurred to me, that I need to also consider scientific proof re plastic dangers: in a cycling context. The point was that we try to avoid or eliminate the bad stuff (like your wife and doctor tells you):- do more exercise, eat less animal fat, use low fat dairy, eat more fibre etc etc. But, when it comes to continually drinking vast amounts of water etc out of Plastic bottles: we say ah, what the F*#k, I'm going to ignore science (that shows we vastly underestimate how seriously plastic affects our bodies) It's similar to smoking; if it doesn't kill you instantly, it can't be that bad ! Right ? Anyway, I think we are all tired of this topic now.

Oh, you are such a loafer - this is what HR average should look like : 😇

They look like a good option to me, of course nothing is as easy, cheap or convenient as plastic (for almost all daily-use items), but isn't this basically what guys cycled with before plastic? I do hate the idea that you cant sqeeze it !

Oh, there are many - just google 'is BPA Free - safe' Here, in no particular order, a couple :- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200218182202.htm https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/news-BPA-free-plastic-safety-chemicals-health https://www.livescience.com/63592-bpa-free-plastic-dangers.html https://www.greenmatters.com/p/bpa-free https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(16)61382-1/fulltext https://www.nature.com/articles/jes20168 https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/3/9/1715/5537531?login=false https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bpa-free-1.5404149 https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/many-bpa-free-plastics-are-toxic-some-are-worse-than-bpa https://www.tonyrobbins.com/health-vitality/plastic-water-bottles-safe/

While washing my water bottles and cleaning the tops - after yesterday's mtb ride, I started thinking of the plastic related risks. Plastics are ubiquitous, cheap and convenient, but they leach chemicals that contaminate our food and drink. Scientific results to-date linked plastic to serious health issues such as endocrine disruption, weight gain, insulin resistance, decreased reproductive health, prostate and breast cancer, various diseases, disability, diabetes, cardiovascular health risks and premature death at every stage of its life cycle. We are all aware of the plastic dangers, yet we spend hours on our bikes (often daily) drinking from plastic bottles and hydration packs, and seldom think of the plastic leaching into our bodies. Even when it is considered a 'safe plastic' bottle, other conditions like the sun/heat or the cleaning-scrub of the bottle affects the plastic breakdown. (I have had bottles getting so sun/road reflection heated that eventually they were impossible to drink) I checked the ratings on the bottom of my bottles for some comfort of the plastic rating. "BPA FREE" are the common keywords we now expect to see. Although Science shows that some BPA-Free plastic is made of BPA substitutes that are just as harmful as BPA. (Water bottles and food containers are often labelled "BPA-free."; However, scientists warn chemical alternatives, such as bisphenol S (BPS), aren't safe for people to use.) I noticed my bottles from the * CT Cycle Tour, * Ride Jo'burg, and some others had a Triangle with the number 4 - The symbol we associate with safe or BPE free, However, the bottles from USN, W2W, Biogen - had nothing on the bottom - therefore I have no info on the rating - (or the manufacturer) Are these bottles Safe ? Are these cheap imports ? Are our cycle bottle 'suppliers' negligent ? Are we killing ourselves while trying to stay healthy ? What alternatives do we have ? Ok, I'm going to go ride my bike now with the knowledge that we are all F#%*ed in so many ways.

Perhaps you rag was too synthetic / nylon - and slips. Try cotton rag. This process has never failed me. Actually, your sealant pic looks 'oily' ? I use Stans, Enduro or my home-made, all are/have latex that comes off with friction - which is why my method works for me.

If we assume it's not this guy - how did the perp. get this photo ? This guy is a stuntman and can be found on various websites. But is it him, or someone else using this pic as a ID ? Looks like a selfie - from lost/stolen phone perhaps ?

Here is what I do , wrap a rag around screwdriver handle, insert screwdriver in electric drill. 20 minutes to clean a very heavily packed tyre. No worries about chemicals like acetone effect on rubber etc. 20231217_153419_001.mp4

Yes, thanks I did see that - but I was hoping to get more info ..i.e. see the rider list on a Munga site with rider 'about' info etc.

Where does one find the list of riders ?

I'm really enjoying reading feedback from hubbers on their experience, so I decided to give my story as well. Entering the Race - Admin Balls up 1 : I have done all the 94.7 events since the start in 1997 - and after the 2022 finish I received an email personally addressed to me (from organisers) offering me an early entry at the old price - so of course I entered 'early' Some time later this year 2023, I again received a directly addresses invite to 'remember to enter'. Because I am an idiot, I entered again (in my opinion a flaw in the entry system which should have shown I was already entered) - and I was surprised to see I now had two entries. Substitution - Admin Balls up 2 : So, decided to get rid of the second entry. Race Admin twice confirmed the entry had been transferred to the new rider - but he still had not received any confirmation - so over 12 days of begging and 14 emails from me and a few from the new rider - it turned out that the Race Admin still didn't/couldn't get it done by race day !! ?? and the entry was wasted (aaargh !) So pathetic ! Please come back Tanya Harford ! (original 94.7 organiser who was excellent !) Seeding - Admin Balls up 3 : I received my seeding whatsapp advising I was in Group A - I knew that was a mistake - and later received an apology and was told, I was in fact reseeded to Group M. The first 'A' allocations was very optimistic / obviously wrong, but 'M' also didn't seem right either. I was eventually given seeding as Group H (which I was satisfied with) Parking at start - Admin Balls up 4 : Someone decided that without supervision - the attendants 'car guards' could/would control the directing of traffic and organising all by themselves. Like other hubbers mention, it was a mess - instead of standing at the corners and directing traffic, a traffic jam was created by every guard selecting for himself a car in the queue, running alongside and then insisting that he found your spot and therefore had to be paid - and no matter what was said, they would not go away, and were joined by other guards insisting payment was due. All in all, by the time I left after the race, I had given four different guys money - I just couldn't risk damage to the car (or myself) and couldn't take anymore fighting and screaming. My Ride Jo'burg : I agree with previous comments that the route was harder in the past - but I was younger then ! and I found this year's heat and hills tough going. The mistakes in seeding were apparent when we passed so many riders with early seeding that obviously were not capable of those group standards - and why why why do these people have to ride slowly (often two/three abreast) in the middle of the road, specially on the outgoing highway when the bunches were flying into them. I always love the bunches and speed from the start out on the M1 up to kayalami - but suffer on the major climbs back. Anyway, every year I get older and a few extra minutes added to my time - Last three years - 3.21 then 3.31 and now 3.35 (how I long for those days when I could do 2.42) Old age is not for sissies. Every ride without a major incident is a pleasure - so I will probably be back again in 2024. The supporters as always were fantastic, and its such a wonderful sight to see how the once white sport (in my early days) is enjoyed by so many fellow south africans and so many enthusiastic ladies. A Big thank-you to the "Karen R" (bib-number-name) that caught me again and again on the hills - and inspired me to go harder just to stay within sight of those absolutely Marvelous legs.

In Fantastic state

I'm retired 😛 ... so no problem with that 😎