I FLY

We rode here on Saturday. It is the driest I have experienced. One small patch of mud and no water in the little rock depressions. Weather forecast shows rains going to start again later this week.

Tony Huglin

A gentleman under a rough exterior.

You are talking to a bunch of cyclists. We understand the practicality of high maintenance

Try living in eMalahleni ( Witbank) - all the bakkies and Fortuners are white. I used to comment that one quick way to clear a restaurant was to announce that a white bakkie had been bumped in the carpark.

It is the Riverfields and you decide on the donation you want to give.

We rode there on Saturday morning. Nothing quite like riding a hidden ( overgrown) singletrack on a tandem to test your stoker's faith in your ability to correct mistakes.

I rode a little single track in Kempton Park yesterday near the R21 . It's 12kms long , only one little patch of mud, nice and flowing with quite a few berms. Nothing overly challenging - my wife and I ride it on our tandem. Entrance is on Blaauwklippen Ave , Glen Erasmia. Fee is on a zapper/snapscan honesty system.

I used a single speed mtb for my daily commute. I think that I did 8000 kms a year. Costs were 4 tyres 1 chain 1 BB 3 sets of brake pads.

Definitely a Marin with an upside down fork setup I rode next to my Epic partner who was on this bike for a week the suspension had an annoying squeak the whole week so I did look at the name on the frame numerous times

I remember having one for an extended trial in 2006. Got many comments on the upside down fork setup. Made me look like a downhiller ( but without the necessary courage or skills)

Five SS bikes ago now. Unfortunately our circumstances have changed and we have moved over to a MTB tandem - no ways I am converting this to a SS

Mine fits neatly in my toolbottle . Takes up less room than the 2003 Topeak multitool it replaced

I do so little private kms nowdays that I don't mind paying the fuel penalty for driving two Subaru performance Suvs. The big smile on my face when I hear the exhausts talking and feel the surge of those turbos wipes out the cost of a couple of hundred rands extra I pay in petrol a month. Plus they are paid for.

I have to give my company kudos for their handling of the COVID lockdown WFH and the future of WFH. In March 2020 the entire head office staff complement started WFH with 2 days notice.( more than 100 people). IT and managers ensured everyone had LTE cards or own home WIFI. Managers allowed staff to take whatever they needed from the offices to work comfortably at home. In November 2021 all Head Office staff were surveyed to see what their work environment preference going forward was. Overwhelming majority opted for continued WFH. So company downsized offices by 90 % and we have the occasional face to face meeting. ( There are some significant financial savings that go with this downsizing - but this decision was supported by the maturity of our employees whose productivity/ meeting deadlines remained high) This has allowed me to work in Somerset West for two weeks a month and in Johannesburg the rest of the month. At the moment I am in Europe visiting my daughters for 5 weeks. I work during the day and visit/sightsee in evenings and weekends. My WIFI connectivity and obviously electricity are much better than that of my colleagues in South Africa. Next year my role changes which means less need for face to face meeting so I plan on spending 3 months in Europe during their summer.

Never leaves the area. We live about 5 kms away and we often see them harvesting the pigeons we feed in our garden. It’s now breeding season so they are territorial and will be so for a few months

Levo Turbo SL COMP - not sure whether the carbon or aluminum . Will only know what's available when the shipment arrives.

Thanks but I know that:- 1. most of these comments are tongue in cheek anyway 2. The proper keyboard warriors won't be on the trails so I will not meet them 3. I grew up in a sport where sledging was a thing before the Australians started playing cricket. I was the team's designated sledger as I was closer to the batters than the rest of the team. 4. I love the sledging/banter.

I have ordered a Specialized 😃

My wife was always the stronger rider but due to health issues she is struggling to do longer rides with me. ( technical skills gained from 25 years of mtbing have not disappeared) .So I have ordered her an ebike so we can continue to ride together. I would be unhappy if we were forced to ride separate events. Maybe this will cause us to stop entering events

Was my 1st taste of XCO racing and I decided Mtb was going to be my new sport

Once again I was humbled by the exploits of other riders this morning. We were going up the Polkadraai hill and I saw two heavily loaded bike tourers. I stopped and asked them where they were going - Cape Town ( overland from Germany) They have been on the road for 9 months and today they will reach their destination 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 They did say that they were going to fly home and not pedal back.

I went home. I cut my early morning ride short as I was clipped from behind by a car as I was turning right at a 4 way stop street. Driver claimed that the brakes failed. Some bruises and a sore thumb from the handlebars whiplashing backwards. Bike looks okay. Not looking forward to trying to get out of bed tomorrow morning

Looks like Somerbosch Winery and the Winelands trails. We are heading back down that way after our two week stint in JHB.

Would this be much of a deterrent? I don't believe that the majority of cars are insured . I know that one has to prove insurance when a vehicle is financed but I have never being asked to provide proof of insurance thereafter.