Grogs

At the risk of “moralising” - just look at the Rands and cents. If I get a Wesbank loan to pay for a 30k bike over 2 years, I’ll get an interest rate of 24.5%. Initiation fee of R1200. So my principal debt is R31200. Monthly repayments on that are around R1700 (don’t have my HP12C handy, but sounds about right). That’s what they’ll quote you. But they’ll add to that a monthly management fee of about R70, as well as group life insurance of about R110. That pushes the repayment up to around R1900. Sure, you can make extra repayments that will reduce the capital (and therefore interest) and the term of the loan. But just remember that even if you do, the monthly fixed fees (the management fee and group life insurance) will not be reduced. And that’s how they nail you by way of an early penalty. So if I get the bike now with finance, and pay it off within 3 months for example, my finance charges (interest, initiation fees, monthly admin fees and GL insurance) will probably effectively be the same as paying an annualised 60% interest rate on the debt for those three months. I also hate the feeling of being shafted by large financial institutions. Again, I’d rather buy something cheap and nasty and save by upgrading components every couple of months. Before you know it, you’ll probably have upgraded every single component on your bike. You’ll appreciate every upgrade, and really make your bike your own by choosing every bit and piece that goes into it, and save a crap load of money. A lot more fun than having a new flash bike one day and then being a slave to a financial institution for the next two years.

Rather save up. Interest rates and financing charges on financing a bike are crazy stupid. Take whatever you would like to spend on a monthly instalment and put it into your bond for 6 months. Then take the savings on your bond repayments and what you put into the bond and buy a bike. That will probably be a year of instalments on a financed bike. Been there and done that, and I would rather have ridden my Raleigh RC6000 for a year longer than be put through the pain of a 24% interest rate + R1200 initiation fee + monthly account fee + monthly life insurance premiums on the debt. You end up paying double for your bike.

Anyone done this recently? I’m looking at making last minute plans to leave Knysna for Stellenbosch on 18 December, to arrive on 24/25 December. Would be good to have feedback from anyone who has ridden it more recently.

Phew - I thought the LCHF brigade were the ones that were a bit overly excitable about their diets!

Carnivore diet has many proponents, and I do believe that it could have a place (e.g. to treat disease or other chronic conditions). I'm not about to try it. We're learning all the time about nutrition, and I really think that we still know very little about it. I really don't think we know enough to simply say that the carnivore diet is "a dangerous fad led by halfwits". Sometimes the less you know the more you think you know.

What deanbean said.

Oh - and after battling depression on and off for over 15 years, I'm no longer depressed (and off all anti-depressants since September last year).

Intermittent fasting has done wonders for me in terms of weight loss - I do a 18:6 fast about 4-5 days a week (i.e. don't consume anything besides stevia-sweetened black coffee for an 18 hour period, then eat - usually only 2 meals - in a 6 hour window). If I'm exercising for more than an hour on any day, I don't do the fast on that day and do my normal three meals. This has helped me lose an extra 6 kg in the past 2 months (on top of the 12kg I lost between July last year and March this year from going strict LCHF). Started on 90kg, now at 72kg (1.75m tall). And strongest I've ever been on my bike (at 45 years old) over 100 - 150km. When fasting (always during the week) and when I exercise (no more than 1 hour on a fasting day), I do my session (HIIT - on my smart trainer) at the end of the 18 hour window, and then eat immediately after exercising. When I first tried this, I thought I'd suffer through the one hour, but I found that I was surprisingly strong. I think once you know you're fully fat adapted, its pretty easy to do the intermittent fasting (I'm never hungry during the 18 hour periods), and it does wonders for autophagy (getting rid of all the rubbish in your system). I do find that when I have a fasting day and an exercise session, I need at least 8 hours of sleep that night (my usual need is for 7 hours of sleep). Google Peter Attia - there are plenty of podcasts/Youtube interviews with him on the benefits of intermittent fasting, especially in endurance sports.

Jeez I wish Liggett would retire now! There are SO many great commentators nowadays who actually know pro cycling and the World Tour.

Paid my extortionate race entry fee. Number collection is not possible (I work for a living, and can't drive across the world for a piece of paper). ASG could have made a better plan (but that would be asking too much of them). I'm going to pitch on Saturday without a number and ride without it. What time does A batch go off?

You are correct. Bike + packaging + delivery charge = USD2139 + USD 16.90 + USD 299 = USD 2454.90 = ZAR 29458.80 (@ZAR 12 / USD 1) Add SA VAT (at 15%) and SA customs (for a complete bike, I think 15%), and you’re looking at around ZAR39k (assuming the exchange rate stays the same between time of purchase and time of delivery). Crazy that guvmint gets nearly ZAR 10k of your hard earned just because you buy a bike from overseas instead of from SA (where it isn’t easily available)!!!

What about the Canyon Grail CF SL 7.0? Hydraulic discs, Shimano 105. Comes in a bit over R30K (after VAT and duties). I really don't think you'll get better value.

They probably try it, but get frustrated in doing so by other teams that are expecting it. Nibali had the element of surprise in his favour yesterday - no one was expecting him or his team to make a move like that.

Any news on Cavendish?

What a win!!!! Not a Nibali fan, but that was BRILLIANT!!!

Only if you wear your cycling shoes and cleats.

Thoroughly enjoyed my ride. Well organized event. Thanks Value Logistics!!!

I concur.

Those who are being audited or have been asked to submit supporting documentation: They have 21 working days from when you submit your documents to finalize the review. After this 21 days, they can escalate the audit, and they then have another 21 days to finalize it. If they still haven't finalized the audit after the second 21 day period, approach the SARS CMO (Complaints Monitoring Office 0860 12 12 16). Phone SARS after the expiry of the first period and again after the expiry of the second period, and ask about the progress of the audit. Take down the case numbers you are given so that you can give them to the CMO when you go to them. I have been audited every year for the past 10 years, and always only get my refund once I've contacted the CMO (and within a couple of days after that). It's like Groundhog Day.

Tom - there's f$&@ all they can do to you for underclaiming. If they're auditing you, all you need to do is request a correction to your tax return (you can do this on e-filing) and submit the corrected details. Now if you had overclaimed, that might be a different story.

I have it on VERY good authority that SARS is a complete mess at the moment. And it's operations are on a downward trajectory. Bad management, political interference, etc etc etc. There's some pretty sordid stuff going on (not going to say anything more than that, but the incident with Vlok Symington, one of the good guys at SARS, recently being held against his will in an office at SARS by some of the Commissioner's heavies is just one example that's in the public domain). Our economy isn't growing (so tax payments are flat), but the government's need for cash is. So SARS has to squeeze every cent out of us. All of the good people at SARS are leaving in their droves, and SARS is employing goons who are just debt collectors with no knowledge of tax principles. Their auditors (who should have a basic grasp of said principles) simply don't know what they're doing (I have first hand experience of this). Case in point: the Commissioner himself (who came from - wait for it - the Department of Correctional Services). The biggest problem for me in all of this is that they're going after the wrong people - people who are employees and have PAYE deducted from their salaries every month and provisional taxpayers who make all their payments on time. They should be going after those that aren't registered and are self employed, who run cash businesses. The Porsche garage in Fourways apparently sells more than 100 cars a month. It's the biggest Porsche dealership in the Southern Hemisphere. These goons at SARS chasing compliant taxpayers and withholding small refunds under the guise of verifying bank details would use their time far more productively if they just set up a desk outside Porsche and did lifestyle audits on its customers going in and coming out.

I had lots of Lego when I was a kid (started playing with it 35 years ago). A large (50 liter) bucket full of the stuff. Never got rid of it, and my nephew and niece grew up with it. Now my 3 year old has started playing with the same blocks. I'll make sure she keeps it for her kids.

Apparently (read on a website somewhere last night) that the power meter will only cost an additional +/- USD 600 extra - so very competitive with the Powertap Chainrings. Also (read on the same website) that the 9100 and 9170 will likely be similarly priced to the 9000 and 9070. Not confirmed by Shimano yet, and even a few extra dollars makes a difference in Rand terms. Although the new look is probably not for everyone, I for one think the crank and RD look BADASS!!!

Apparently (read on a website somewhere last night) that the power meter will only cost an additional +/- USD 600 extra - so very competitive with the Powertap Chainrings. Also (read on the same website) that the 9100 and 9170 will likely be similarly priced to the 9000 and 9070. Not confirmed by Shimano yet, and even a few extra dollars makes a difference in Rand terms. Although the new look is probably not for everyone, I for one think the crank and RD look BADASS!!!