Karooryder

It is all a matter of perspective. And opinion. And fitness ...

Apparently the ETA is 16:20... if you are on site would you be able to take a few photos pleaseeeeee

All the talk of Suikerbos made me think now...seems like an awful lot of Hubbers ride there on their own (I, for one always head out alone cause my riding buddies are too scared to join ). It is such an amazing place and such a lekker ride to do with a group. How's about we arrange a few BHG (Bike Hub Gauteng) rides and a quick skottelbraai afterwards and sommer do something that has never been done: get Hubbers together to kuier.

And she's on her way...I am very tempted to drive out to ORT to watch the arrival...

It also depends on whether you head home straight after the Bone Breaker Climb ( a 50km ride) or do the additional 10km after the right turn back to the parking - totaling 60km. If you do the 60km ride 3 hours will be more than enough imo. Pity the gates only open at 7am as I always wish I could be out riding in Suikerbos really early morning.

They should get you into the Press Room LWB! Makes 100% sense and if Joe Public understands the leasing game the A350 acquisition (which is apparently a done deal) might even add to positive public sentiment...

Anyone know if late entries will be available at the start on Sunday?

A few pages back we were discussing the crash where the rider's bike frame snapped - assumedly the result of wear and tear and then a rough road service on the route. This got me thinking and I have a question to the technically informed: Is there any way (which is obviously non-intrusive and would not cost an arm and a leg) to check for minute cracks / weak points on the frame of an older bike as a precaution? My carbon ride is over 5 years old and has - for all practical reasons - driven halfway around the earth. I would not want to be the one to have a cracked frame fail at 60km/h. Thanks guys!

I was thinking the same when I read that masterpiece. And the poorly concealed attempt at a semantic u-turn a few posts later only added to my amazement at the level of arrogance. I love cycling, I love the vibe at events and I love the community but I have said elsewhere on this forum and I will say it again...there are individuals on here (luckily in the minority) with who I will not want to ride my bike. Ever.

Interesting point made on another forum: "If someone arrives at the gate today at say CPT or JNB and the B737 Max of Comair is standing at the other end of the Jet bridge, and they refuse to board the aircraft due to the news doing it's rounds about the Max crashes, do they lose their ticket? Alternatively, will Comair accommodate them on another flight? I can only imagine how many nervous passengers there must be around the world boarding the Boeing 737 Max today."

Believe me, me too!

Indeed exceptional - and also erroneous...Got it from good authority (read: Racetec ) that my Polar was not recording the first 12 minutes with intermittent niggles during the race. A result of 3.30 is still not too shabby all things considered . 2020 challenge accepted!

So much negativity, goodness. Here's my few points on today's ride (which I surprisingly finished faster than last year to head back to the sub 3:30 zone). Spoiler alert: its all positives so you will probably want to scroll past if you haven't had your turn at the Customer Service desk... 1. The wind was not as bad as I expected...I recon all the hype of the past few days and the mini-tornadoes at the start early-on might have created an exaggerated expectation of doom. Starting from 2B; yes there were surges and concertina moves here and there but I noticed something today that I have not ever seen at a race before: proper communication between riders. Every now and then you would hear someone indicating his / her next move, warnings to other cyclists and just general courtesies shown in difficult riding conditions. I liked that. 2. That tailwind straight after the climb to Smitswinkel and the entrance to the Cape Point Nature Reserve was not one, but multiple bike-gasms. 3. Was the wind on our backs up Chappies and Suikerbossie because my granny gear and even it's neighbor remained unused throughout these climbs...? Yet again, I'd been working on a project near Heidelberg the past 2 months and Suikerbosrand became my weekly training ground...perhaps those wicked climb intervals payed off. 4. I realized again today that determination and endurance is not defined by expensive bikes, flashy kits or large legs. I ground through Sun Valley with an elderly gentleman with 22 tours under his belt. His jersey was torn and he had a massive tar burn over his back - obviously a fall earlier in the race. He nevertheless eff-off'ed and I battled to keep up...HUGE resepect oom. 3. Today I was amazed at the "gees" as the organizers so affectionately calls it but particularity in terms of the masses coming out to cheer. I want to give a MASSIVE thumbs-up to Cape Town and surrounds...the support was memorable and you guys made every single rider feel like a world champ today. Late afternoon I took a stroll down the promenade to the finish to cheer on the last riders. This group of supporters had been there since 7:00 this morning and they waited for the last rider to pass after 17:00 before they packed up. This is what it's all about... See you next year CTCT - the best ride in the world. EDIT - racetec result

Yah this is gonna hurt...be safe out there all!

After doing the usual seaboard warm-up ride to Llandudno this morning, I have come to the conclusion that tomorrow will be like eating bean soup... windy but nice! ???? Have a safe ride all!

Ja nee. I remember last year a good friend of mine, an FO at one of our local airlines, warned a few days before that their sooper dooper aviation weather predictors said that 2018 race day would look like a kite festival in Port E-wind-lizabeth. And we all know how that turned out...Hey but I think these kinds of wind whoo-haa's precede every single AHGUS and for me that's part of the build-up to get the adrenaline pumping! I am MOS the eternal optimist and I believe the weather on Sunday in the fairest (and most unpredictable) Cape will not subtract from an amazing experience on the bike...I can't wait!

Ah my bad! Thanks!

Was looking to get a last minute entry, the R460 fee quickly cured the FOMO. I can't seem to open the route on their website; I guess there's no chance of a training ride anywhere near the cradle on Sunday as the race uses most of those roads?

How pretty is this retro BA B747 painted in the old BOAC colours as part of their "100 years in the sky" celebrations. Between this Queen and the well-known Lufthansa retro B747-8 it's hard to choose which is cooler...

Man I enjoy this thread. What are all your thoughts on the demise of the A380 program? Sad, even though it was sort of to be expected I suppose. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/business/airbus-a380.html

Julle moet dit waardeer! The best we have up north is the Crade and Suikerbosrand which are - mind you - A LOT like the Argus route, minus the ocean...and the mountains...and the seabreeze...and the beach...and the hundreds of caffeine stops :P. See you in March !

Not only the thread but the entire event... A few years back much of the Argus was a mission (but a lekker mission I have to add), from entering to getting reasonably prices flights (for those of us inland), from getting car rentals to number pickup and the expo...even getting a seat at Vida for a coffee on the traditional Saturday warm up ride down the seaboard was a kerfuffle. I think the event has entered a new season - kind of like a tumultuous teen growing into a more chilled adult...and I kinda like that. I recon we will not see the maxed-out entry numbers anytime soon again and I think it's a good thing, in a way returning to the heart and soul of the event. Speaking of which (and digressing from the philosophical for a moment)...initially we were a group of 5 buddies entered for 2019. Slowly but surely the soldiers pulled out (in all cases, for financial reasons) until only I remain...but ride I will, and I am oddly excited to just "do my own thing" this year...yet again, for me the Argus was always a bit of a personal spiritual experience...aching legs, ocean mist in the eyes and the most beautiful scenery there is simply no better sensory overload!

Anyone know what's happening at ORT? Looks like all incoming air traffic is holding (check Avcom, quite spectacular!). Weather maybe?

Yup...with cost. Probably the end of their SA commercial passenger operations - some are saying that they will employ much of their local fleet up in Africa to expand existing operations there and move away from the SA industry. Sad still, livelihoods lost and one less operator (however small) in a highly competitive industry is never good news for the flying public.

Yap, hard to see how they can survive this in terms of public perception and trust. They are pretty much disposing of their reputation through this and their lack of communication and break down in future support from loyal customers. Financially, the operator must also be on their knees - the commercial airline business in SA is so marginal that these downtime losses would be very hard to recover for a private operator unless they have deep deep pockets which is doubtful considering the shortcuts they seem to take to stay in business and make money.