Karooryder

Agree 100% with you, I have also only encountered super pleasant hubbers in real life. For me that's different from the online world that is The Hub (or any other social space on the interwebs for that matter...) and personally I prefer to rather invest friendship in these real life relationships.

Fair enough and heads up dude. I have a question: How do one become so emotionally(?) involved in a virtual environment with virtual characters (because let's face it, that is what we all are) that you feel driven to write an apology like this and put it out in cyberspace? I mean, this is the kind of rethoric that I would use to apologise to a best (real life) buddy...or, mind you, perhaps not even... Maybe I'm missing something here.

@ Helpmytrap, well done dude, I was wondering if you would give those KOM's a go! Yep, a tough day, I managed to split my helmet in half down the Rollercoaster with a very silly, but luckily quite a graceful fall. The rest was faaaarkin' hard work but awesome fun. Absolutely agree with HmT above, this race was a hard but very neccecary reminder for me about the level of my technical skills...I but like a Mtb master class! All in all I had a good race, my training mate fell just after the 50km mark and broke his arm and I helped him to get to a medical station which took just under an hour, otherwise I would have come in at around 4hours. But, at least my buddy is ok and that is what matters!!!!

What a day out! Crazy! Would be interesting to get an injury count for the race (my training buddy broke his arm). But, greaaaaat fun!

Is this still going on???? I want to repeat what I said about 6 pages ago... Don't want to play Devil's Advocate here (and, ABCO, I'm not referring to you as the Devil, per se...haha!) but am I wrong when I say that ABCO doesn't have a problem with the original and essential message of the post - rather with the way it was transferred. I.e. in a way which might be perceived that the OP is applying the same kind of stereotype(s) about cyclists (more specifically, "roadies"), that he is implicitly accusing the "roadie" of perpetuating. Yet again, change the thread title to "To the Tjop on the West Coast Road Last night"...and this thread would not have reached 3 pages....methinks... Or am I wrong?

Moer mekaar Friday is starting early this week .

Then perhaps the thread tagline should read "To the Cyclist on the West Coast Road Last night"...? I'm just wondering if you are not applying here the same stereotype about cyclists (more specifically, "roadies"), that you are implicitly accusing this dude of perpetuating. Just saying...

Do you also fail to see my weak twenty-past-three-pee-em-I-wanna-go-home-and-snooz attempt at wordplay?

Well Hairy, let's face it - what you have encountered here happens every single day on South African roads. Kudos, obviously, for voicing your concerns to the oke about his safety as well as the bad reputation that this idiot perpetuates about cyclists. Unfortunately, he seems to be one of those hardegatte who will (sadly, perhaps) only learn the hard way but let's not turn this into a roadie / MTB, pro / no pro issue, which it is obviously not.

Yep...what I don't get is thread-ening the poor show-off (see what I did there B)). He will probably not be reading this and he does, I'm convinced the thread will only encourage his arrogance.

Totally bummed that I missed the entries - if anyone knows of a 175km entry seeking a loving home please pm me.

Some time ago someone on this forum was talking about the same kind of thing and ended off with this jewel: "..but you have to excuse me now. I'm off to go spend thousands of rands on gear and tens of thousands of rands on a bike to go impress some people I've never seen before, and probably will never see again, at a cycle race which will earn me nothing more than a medal and some good endorphins...". I like it.

Sould add: Road Race - Best Vibe and Kuier: ARGUS

Worst one day MTB race: Sondela MTB Classic.

Welcome Shani! Enjoy the madness that is LeHub!

Nope, further down Lynnwood Road towards the Toyota Garage, next to Full Throttle (across that massive new furniture store).

Bitter mooi pix!

...and the Tankwa Karoo.

A few December shots around the Karoo and the West Coast.

This is still so unreal. Damn...

I only learned of Burry's death towards the end of the weekend after returning from our family farm near Sutherland in the Karoo where we spent the holidays. On Thursday afternoon, at around the time when Burry's accident must have happened, I was out riding one of my favourite routes on the Nuweveld Escarpment towards the town of Fraserburg when the skies opened up to a majestically surreal sunset. I was standing there, Mumford & Sons’ "Awake my Soul" playing on the headphones, absorbing this wonder. And I can distinctly remember this unexplainable feeling of emptiness and overwhelming sadness, to the point where I was left teary eyed (which I then attributed it to the richness of the moment). Only now do I realise that, perhaps in all that beauty I somehow unknowingly sensed something of the tragedy of my greatest cycling hero's death…or so I prefer to believe. Heading back to Gauteng yesterday, alone in my car and the endless plains of the Free State around me, I cried unashamedly about a guy I never knew, never spoke a word to and sadly will never know. Call me a big sissy...but the loss that I feel is as vast as the unexplainable sadness and sorrow that twists my guts every time my mind returns to Burry, Cherise and the Stander family. I took this picture of that Karoo sunset on the afternoon Burry passed. In my mind I can’t help but see him ride this dirt road, gracefully disappearing into the sunset…

Please don't turn this into where it's undoubtedly headed.

STAY AWAY!!!!!!!! I repeat…!!!!!!! About 2 years ago I assumed the bandwagon as well and got me some USN PhedraCut to loose the last of my student-days boepie. Used the stuff once, and after about 6 hours I felt like death warmed up; started with my first (and last) ever panic attack, serious depression and mania (I really felt like I was going nuts or something). Later that evening I woke up in cold sweat with some freaking scary heart palpitations, nauseous as hell and super anxious. My foolish use of this crap ended in the Emergency Room of Wilgers Hospital at 4 the following morning – where my brother (an orthopaedic surgeon) incidentally (and luckily) was on call. When I described my symptoms to him, his FIRST question was whether I had been taking any kind of pseudoephedrine-containing product and his second question was if I have a funeral plan…(he almost moerred me when I told him that I had taken PC). Given, I probably had a severe clinical reaction to the stuff but one should remember these products are NOT independently tested and NO data exists on how it reacts to specific and individual medical conditions. It goes to show because the suppliers go to great lengths to indemnify themselves from any kind of repercussion that might emanate from pseudoephedrine use. Personally, I NEV ER ever again want to feel the way a felt that nigh! But decide for yourself if you want to put something in your body that, according to its manufacturers, might cause (and I quote the PhedraCut leaflet): “Dehydration, constipation, nausea, depression, dependence, anxiety, addiction, tremors, insomnia, palpitations, irritability, psychotic reaction”…amongst others.

My annual retreat to our Karoo farm, away from cellphones and news ended this morning with probably the saddest and most upsetting news I have heard in a very long time. I wish i could go back to the farm, back to not knowing that my MTB hero has been killed in such a dreadful way. I still can't believe it but I can feel it, and its freaking sad. I salute your memory Burry. And prayers to Cherise.