BuffsVintageBikes

Just me reading between the lines on social media. It seems like Tom is not the easiest of guys to work with and I gather he's not the best team player in the game. The guy has a huge amount of natural talent but that's not enough on it's own in the Pro ranks. He might just be better off sticking to MTB & Cyclocross but that's not where the $$$ is.

I'm suspecting Pidcock's will pan out the same way but it appears no one wants to touch the Pommie with a 12foot barge pole. I'm guessing they have valid reasons 🫣

Check out the entry fee, you might change your mind again.

Outstanding. Once this sport is in your bloody it becomes part of your DNA. Wonderful to see you enjoying your freedom once again 🤙

I bought myself an Orbea H30 around 2 years ago and I've been very happy with the bike. I raced it in the WC Marathon champs series last year and it never disappointed. To date I've had to replace nothing besides tires. I looked at a few bikes at the time but the lifetime warranty on the frame won me over. I used to race an Orbea dual in my younger years and cracked that frame and had zero issues from Orbea with a full frame replacement. That gives me peace of mind 👍

This was a "cheap at the time" schoolboy type bicycle which has probably just had some CWC stickers added to it. It's in bad condition with low end steel components. Sadly not worth much more than R500 in that condition.

But when a cyclist retaliates and shoots one of these thieving sods then you'll see how quickly action gets taken... against the cyclist. It's just a matter of time before they target the wrong rider.

I hear you but if someone is letting the banter of a little race around Swellendam cripple them then maybe the issues are deeper rooted and they need some help? I don't mean that in a hurtful way. Let's face it, cyclists are just plain ruthless when it comes to banter, especially body or fitness shaming. I had a friend who used to play golf with me who got so upset with the banter that it affected his game tremendously and so to his demeanor on the course. He eventually stepped away from the game because he couldn't control his emotions. He should have gone for counseling because the banter is always going to be there, in some form or the other.

Or just ban the racing and make it a social team event because I don't hear any social teams bitching & moaning?

So just enforce the full rest period, so 1st = 1st out

Maybe they should let the 10 top teams leave with 10min intervals in between the social teams, would that help with the drafting issue?

Stops were brought in as a safety measure to stop teams feeding on the road and having following cars holding up normal traffic. In the old days it was pretty chaotic, even the back drivers wanted to moer each other, never mind the riders. Strings of cars passing bunches was just downright dangerous. From a 12 rider (social) point of view, I think the event has improved a lot. Even our backup team had a jol and made new friends in the feed zones. "Teams that start and finish with all 12 riders, with the last rider finishing no more than 10 minutes later than the first, earn a special medal in addition to their normal finisher’s medal."

Interesting reading the war stories. Have to admit that when Mother caught and past us it was at the circle turning left at Robertson and they were leading the bunch at that stage. It looked to me like they had put in an attack and were getting closed down. Reading between the lines, that's clearly not what was going on 😄

Damn right, 1st rule of Fight Club 😄

What an incredible event, there truly is nothing quite like in on the calendar. After a 17 year hiatus, to do it this year with this tenacious bunch of DC virgins was quite special. Sometimes, we tend to get complacent due to familiarity and don't appreciate what we have available to us. Saturday made me realize that I need to stay well grounded and thankfully for good health, great friendships and well organized events. The value you get from this event goes way beyond a great goodie bag and braai pack, it touches hearts and strengthens friendship bonds (if you've done it right). Well done to Old Mutual Wealth, Food Lovers Market and the rest of the sponsors on an incredibly well organized and enjoyable 2024 DC. God willing I'm be back again in 2025 because this event cannot be missed ever again. We weren't the leanest or the meanest but we all had a common goal and worked towards it so beautifully that at times in the ride, I even had goose flesh, van lekker kry 😄 Hearing a DC virgin shouting out "Twaalf manne, ons is Twaalf" as we crossed the finish line had me quite emotional. Getting that Charles Milner medal was the single biggest goal. For each person in our team, it meant something different but equally as special !!!

With the "new" compulsory feeding zones it adds an interestingly dynamic to the race. For weaker or heavier riders dropped on Tradouw or Op de Tradouw, the 1st rest stop gives them 40mins free time to get back in the game. That's if your team decides to use the full 40mins allocated to their rest of course. It does however mean your rest will be a lot shorter but 40mins is a long time. At the 2nd stop you get another 30mins to latch back on. So it's always a good idea to never give up if you still have legs as you might still be able to be of use to your team in the race.

Yup, Dudon and one other are the only experienced DC riders there, the rest are all DC virgins 🤭 He's an experienced and strong rider, he's put in some solid training miles.

I love cycling but I still manage to resist going to a braai in cycling shorts 😉

My last DC was back in 2007. Back then there was no compulsory rest stops so this is going to be a great new experience. Racing with Team Shifting Hearts, an NPO raising funds for school clothing and kit for local farm school children on Bottlelary Road. Starting nice and early at 5:32am and certainly targeting a Charles Milner Medal. If all goes well it will be my 9th DC, all with 12 finishers, which to me is what this event is all about. Weather prediction is looking great so far, let's hope it holds out. The hard work is done, now it's an easy taper, eat well and try stay healthy 🤙 See you guys & gals out on the road, say Hi when you breeze past 😄 2 of our "out of towner" members not present in the Team pic.

Only R54 per kilometre, it sounds like a bargain 🤭 At that price the CTCT would cost you R5 940 per entry but of course you wouldn't get fed & bed 😉

The Elsenburg drag... I absolutely love that piece of road on a quiet day 🤙

Our annual 2 day trip to Riebeek Kasteel happened this past weekend... pure gravel riding heaven. We call it the Riebeek Roller.

I can vouch for the SP Connect product. I have a phone mount on my adventure motorbike and mountain bike and it's performed outstandingly over the years despite putting it through some hectic terrain 👍

Yeah, my wife asked me over the weekend, what am I going to do if I'm out in the hills alone, an hour or two away from home and get bitten by a Cape Cobra. My answer was simple... "I'm going to die babes". That's probably the reality of it because you can't just go lie down and hope someone comes riding past, especially if you're in Bottelary Hills. It's also one of the reasons I prefer riding early mornings in spring/summer, just to reduce the risks. I've seen enough of them on the trails to make me wonder how many I haven't seen and just missed 😲

Don't be, it's for the Social Elite 😄