-cK-

On my training bike 32T Absolute Black Oval Chainring 11speed GX Cassette PC1110 SRAM Chains Doing the same with my XX1 combo on my XCM race bike granted the mileage is lower due to only using it in races but on at about 3500km and still on my 2nd KMC chain only (close to swapping to 3rd though)

Running on a 3 Chain Cycle per cassette (Meaning swapping chains 1-3 at 0.5, then restarting on the 1st chain and swapping at 0.75 and then an additional 1000km per chain again) Currently at 13500km with 2 chains still left to complete their 1000km cycle so should get about 15000km out of the combo and still no slipping gears due to the chains being in sync with the cassette wear

Just watch out for that random tree 7km into the race that likes to jump out in front of people

Hi They will be posting all of the photos to their facebook page

Please note the starting times of the different distances: 90km- 08:00 58km- 08:30 22km- 09:00 31km MTB &Trail run 11km/22km-09:15 https://www.facebook.com/hopefieldmtb/

@wacalitz Mostly random lifebehindbar stuff (well most of the time )

Uhmm might pitch for this one to transition to my Road season

Proper tough day out there today. Route markings was top notch The only negative I had was getting stuck in the car park when I got there and then after a hard day in the saddle the first message you read is this picture of your car... http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii13/wacza/WhatsApp%20Image%202018-07-14%20at%2011.23.31.jpeg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii13/wacza/WhatsApp%20Image%202018-07-14%20at%2014.01.37.jpeg

Routes had to be diverted and shortened due to the heavy rains that caused problems on the trails. 60km got trimmed down to 48km but still tough as nails with the conditions being what it was. Did not expect the terrain to be that rocky though . Made for some tricky climbing on certain spots to keep momentum and grip... Still was a fun hard day of racing...could just have done without the slow puncture on 15km to go ...nursing that home without stopping on that gnarly terrain was...well...perhaps stupid on my part in retrospect but then not knowing the route and terrain that was the gamble I had to take. All things considered still happy with my result...

HAHA no, it is a local wannabee KOM-hunter that goes out when there are a storm or a massive 60+ km/h tail wind on like a 10km or less ride just to try and claim a KOM. His "Christmas gifts" are racking up though

You wanna see weakness/in bad taste. Had this one "boks" that "claimed" some of my KOM's from me one day and he had the audacity to go put in his title to his activity "7 KOM's - You've got Mail". This just after my dad passed a week or two earlier and he knew that as well. Needless to say that totally pissed me off and got under my skin as that was just in bad "flagging" taste on his part considering the circumstances and my head-space at that time... Needless to say I have since gone dark on strava... My race results will speek more volumes than some random ass KOM's from this Stravahole...

Route markings could have been better in a couple of places. Started in B Batch myself and nearly missed the same turn as the A Batch okes did because when I came past that spot the split board was next to the road up against the fence instead of in the road. Luckily I saw a black/yellow arrow in the field when I glanced back to check the gap and made a quick U-turn, it was only then when a marshal saw me riding wrong that the board got moved to the correct spot. The other one that p!$$ed me off was that one before you had to turn down to the DH in the trees where everyone seemed to cut across the grass. The board was pointing to the field (which was wrong and misleading). There seemed to have been a chalk line one upon a time (that is why I hate it when they use chalk, it doesn't last) to guide you to go down to the DH section. Doing the full route and then finding yourself being passed by the okes that in essence took a short cut and not correct their invalid spots kinda p!$$ed me off and invalidates the results. Adding to the above was the fact that I also kinda got stuck in the very last bit of single track behind a short route rider as the tracks merged in the reeds (luckily it is a short section but still something the guys doing the full route had to content with that the short cut okes didn't). But yea it is not ideal to have long and short distances merge into single track close to the end of a race as you will inadvertently end up with a bottleneck situation and possibly p!$$ing people off.

Think it is about 1450m Profiles I received can be found here https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ChDYA2RQOgLZ7UEa1sV-YPfQsskUjj_M

The only time I got a flat on my road tubeless was when I hit a piece of metal in the road that cut the sidewall to shreds (actually had to patch the inside to be able to use the tyre with a tube at least as it was a brand new tyre on its first outing ) The only other time I'm aware of that I got a puncture that was an "issue" was once. It sealed up and I got home (only noticed it at home as well) but anything above 4bar the seal would break that was the only one that required some attention after I got home. Other than that no hassles when I'm out on them but ja if you do get a flat on them it's gonna be a bit of a pain to fit a tube (besides the mess those tyres are a to fit over the rim )

Since when do savages wait

At that point we were all right on top of each others wheels. A rider was passing us on the right. He gave us a proper wide berth passing and in that split second of noticing him the lead rider at the time brushed the aforementioned tree branch with his left shoulder sending the branch flying back at me. To be honest that tree branch was the last thing any of us expected to encounter on an wide open road. Being so close to his rear wheel I was focusing more on not hitting his wheel at the time and trusting the line he was picking, by the time I saw the tree branch was when he already brushed it leaving me with virtually no time to react. According to my Garmin/Strava data we were traveling round about 33 - 34 km/h just before the crash. The tree branch unfortunately ended up yanking my handlebars and I lost control plummeting down in front of everyone becoming an instant obstacle that resulted in the pile up. :thumbdown: Not a lekker moment :thumbdown:

This needs to be a sticky topic Sprung a leak on my M785's found this topic, stripped down my old M395's that I kept as a back up and boom piston is a perfect match. Bled the system last night and checked it this morning and no leakage visible so far. Will refit the brakes tonight and take it for a test spin tomorrow. So here is to hoping this just saved me from having to fork up a lot of $$$ for new levers/brakeset. Oh and I'll post some pics later tonight but considering the issue described and looking at the original piston of the M795's that is made of some sort of plastic/Teflon compound I much prefer the alu piston of the M395 I scavenged as it feels much smoother and snapper than before. Oh and for the wight weenies the Weight penalty is negligible imo If this works I might just end switching the other lever's piston as well.

Event Name: Patrysberg MTB Funride When: 29 April 2017 Where: Patrysberg, Western Cape Category: MTB Patrysberg MTB is hosting its second year of its annual Funride/Trail Run day. http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii13/wacza/Misc/Forum%20Posts/flyer%20webpage111.jpg Date: 29 April 2017 Location: St Helenabay Website: http://patrysbergfarm.co.za Come challenge yourself with what is probably the toughest route in the West Coast with the long route for 2017 sporting some new and exciting additions. The guys of Patrysberg is working hard at clearing the long route that has been extended from last year’s 27km to 34km and the elevation is upped from 600m to a whopping 925m. The route will take you all round the farm of Patrysberg with beautiful views where you will see St Helena, Paternoster, Vredenburg and Velddrif from the highest points of the route. The route will start at the Patrysberg Butchery/Stores. The first 8km of the route will take you round the farm to the highest point of the farm with a gradual climb all the way. This will then take you to one of the first descents in the race of which the second part has a negative gradient of -7 to -10% making for a fast descent but requires you to keep your wits about as it is not all smooth sailing down here. You will then make your way to the first split of the 15/34km routes. The 15km will go left to the antenna and the 34km route will head on straight to the first new section. Here you will hit the first single track network and this section will have you climb back up the hill with a gradient ranging from 6 to 10% making it one of the first tougher grade climbs of the day. After reaching the top of this climb you will have a fast descent down again with a gradient peaking at about -14% into the ravine area. After a few kilometres you will then hit the quarry section taking you on some single track close to the edge of the quarry and edge of your seat. After this thrilling section you will have a small breather with an open road descent before turning back up the hill. Here you will encounter some rock sections to negotiate through. After this you will hit the “evil” twin of the Patrysberg Monster of 2016 with the climb being only 300m long but ascending 65m making it one of the toughest climbs on the route averaging out at a 16% gradient. After this you re-join the combined long and short route section for a little breather until hitting the next split of the long and short route just after the farm house. Short route will turn left at the markers heading down their final descent before heading to the finish area. The long route will however continue straight onto the second single track section. This section might only be 2km long but has some short power climbs and steep short descents before heading back out of the ravine to a little rock section and linking up to the descent of the short route again. At the bottom and in the tree line the long route splits off from the short route for a final time. Here you will find one short power climb before heading up to the Patrysberg Monster of 2016 and just before you hit the last big climb of the day you will have a flying descent section with a max gradient of -17% (but be cautious as there are water erosion ruts here that can catch you off guard and you will be doing a superman without a graceful landing). After this adrenalin rush you will head up the last Monster climb of the day with an average gradient of 13%. Once you summit the climb you will head back down again to have a second pass on that adrenaline rush of a descent just before the monster climb (it is so much fun we let you do it twice). After this you will turn left (unless you want to have another go at that Monster climb ) and head back to the finish area with all the hard sections done and dusted and the finish line being on a slight incline but nothing to serious The long route will really challenge you and should not be underestimated but the rewards of conquering this route will be worth every drop of sweat and “gevleuelde woorde” Hope to see you all there for a funday of some proper MTB'ing fun! ----------------------------- The entry forms can be found over at http://patrysbergfarm.co.za/CONTACT/ alternatively entry forms are also available at the Patrysberg Butchery Entries and payments can be done before the time to help streamline the registration and number collection process on the morning of the event as registration and on the day entries will start from 06:00am that morning. Kindly see the above link for the banking details as well as the email address where to send your registration and proof of payment too. Below is the route profile for 2017 http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii13/wacza/Misc/Forum%20Posts/Profile.jpg Go to Event Page

Event Name: Thys Du Toit Memorial MTB Challenge When: 27 August 2016 Where: Hopefield, Western Cape Category: MTB The Thys du Toit Memorial MTB Challenge (previously Hopefield Fynbos MTB Challenge) is a yearly MTB race held in conjunction with the Hopefield Fynbos Show. Thys du Toit was the eldest child of Jan Kwak and Tikkie du Toit from Hopefield. He was born and bred in Hopefield,went to school here from G1 to GR12- Headboy of the school in 2013 and also passed GR12 with a "A" average. He was also part of the 1ste rugby and cricket teams of the school. Since January 2014 he was a junior accountant at Fourie Oberg AND de Bruyn in Moorreesburg. He passed away on 14 April 2014 on his way back to Hopefield to attend a Church service as it would have been his Grandfarther's birthday. He left behind his mom, dad, brother Charl(17) and sister Ezelle(15). This MTB race and all others will contribute to the Thys du Toit bursary fund that will be given to one child of High school Hopefield to further their study's. Description Event Name: Thys du Toit Memorial MTB Challenge Where: Hopefield, Western Cape, South Africa, Western Cape Category: MTB Saturday 27th August Distance Amarider & Tag Holder members: Pre-entry Fee (ONLY) Other Pre-entries Late entries Provisional Starting times 15 km - R 150 Amarider Pre-entry - R 170 Other Pre-entries - R 200 Late entries - 08:30 Starting times 28 km - R 200 Amarider Pre-entry - R 220 Other Pre-entries - R 250 Late entries - 08:30 Starting times 54 km - R 250 Amarider Pre-entry - R 270 Other Pre-entries - R 300 Late entries - 08:15 Starting times 85 km - R 300 Amarider Pre-entry - R 320 Other Pre-entries - R 350 Late entries - 08:00 Starting times For More Info Contact: Willem Schoeman 082 923 2553 022 723 0024 topsecurity@sandveld.net Online Entries: http://www.amarider.co.za/ We will be adding additional info in due course so watch this space or like and follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hopefieldmtb http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii13/wacza/Misc/Forum%20Posts/Hopefield.jpg Route Profiles to follow in due course... Go to Event Page

I'm on the fence for this one at the moment. It is sort of local but I'm so not into that 50% tarmac I can go enter the reserve for for way less on another day and do about 80% gravel roads and that is a complete loop from LBN to that turn around point and back, 80 or odd km. This might be more of a CX race than MTB

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The start will be at 8:00am Entry forms can be found here: http://patrysbergfarm.co.za/ENTRY-FORMS/ Entry on the day can also be done

Hi the total elevation of the 27km route is about 600m. The profile can be found here: http://patrysbergfarm.co.za/VENUE/ Note that there are just two changes on the route not reflecting on the above profile yet, one of which is the elimination of 95% of the 2 way traffic that is highlighted in yellow. The other one is just a slight change on one of the descents off of the main farm road to a "veldpad". The toughest climb will be the steep section close to the end of the loop. https://www.strava.com/segments/10745814 0.8km 102m 13%grade Also a point I just wish to mention is this will not be a timed event but a fun ride/open day (Racesnakes are of course welcome to come and set some stellar strava times and race each other ). This is a fundraiser event and the opening of the new trail (the current layout is also just the starting point for us, we will be adding additional sections with time to the trail as development progress as there is a lot of potential here for a lot of fun and challenging trails for the future) Regards

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