Pall Catt

Does anyone know if this will be broadcast on Dstv? Cant seem to find it on their TV schedule but i find that thing impossible to work with at the best of times.

Hi guys, Not sure if its been discussed here, it's a busy thread so difficult to go back and check through all the posts, but is anyone else frustrated with Supersport's broadcasting if highlights packages for those of us that aren't able to follow the live coverage? Last week they were fairly consistent with a 2 hour highlights package from 19h30 to 21h30 (though they did randomly skip one day). Now this week they haven't had that for stage 10 or 11 (instead its now showing at 11pm, which is also not feasible). Does anyone know what's up with that, or whether its worth it for me/us (anyone else with the same frustrations) to send them an email? They do have their 25min highlight clips on catchup, so fairplay to them for that, but thats just a bit condensed for me and I prefer the 2 hour highlights. I wonder if they couldn't just put the 2 hour highlights on catchup too?

Honest question here, is this really something to be that concerned about still these days? I just feel like there are people committing all sorts of crimes and the prosecution just drags on or falls apart and criminal convictions seem highly unlikely even in some of the most blatant of cases. Not to open up a discussion about Oscar Pistorius, but to use his case as an example, he pretty much got away with it until there was public outrage that seemingly changed the outcome. So it just makes me think, if he could almost get away shooting his girlfriend in his own home behind a closed bathroom door, surely my chances would be better than his in a legit case where I am just an ordinary person who has killed someone in a situation which is very obviously more hostile than the situation he was in (ie. an attempted mugging/attack)? Are there even prosecutors who have time for these kinds of cases anymore?

First time doing this race for me. Biggest complaint was being poorly seeded (my fault - I haven't really done any events for a good few years) which meant spending large parts of the day sitting behind slower riders occupying the only smooth strip of road, and then having to go into corrugations or loose sand to go around them - energy sapping stuff. But other than that, enjoyed the challenge, thought the event was pretty well organised, and I'm blown away by how many people participated in this event given the costs, logistics and toughness.

Hmmm, I only bought my entries on 3 May (so a few days after your post) and I was able to get a ticket for the shuttle back. Makes me nervous that they've stuffed something up and I am actually going to be stranded in Sun City with no space on the shuttle, despite having paid for and received a ticket. [Edit: I've subsequently made contact with the shuttle operator who has confirmed that everything is in order and they actually are still taking some last minute bookings for the shuttles]

I live near Atterbury Value Mart and ride to Rosemary Hill frequently without any problems. Getting to Wolwespruit should also be a breeze. The area around Grootfontein (not Grootfontein itself) has had some issues of late. If you go Spinnekop's suggested route you should be fine (also a route I ride frequently without issues), but if you get lost or go past Grootfontein you could have some trouble. The area around Big Red Barn is a bit of a danger zone at the moment if you ask me, so I wouldn't recommend riding to there.

Hi all, I'm looking to get a bike bag that I can use for traveling with my bike. I have a road bike and a 29er mountain bike and would ideally like one bag that could accommodate either bike depending on the occasion. Is it important to look out for specific sizes of bags or is it generally a sort of one size fits all. Is there anything else I should be on the lookout for?

Sorry man, I didnt see this until now. Definitely could have recommended a route from the Golf Course. This would be a good 55km route that will see you digging deep to get up a really tough climb early on, and but then enjoying a nice downhill pretty much most of the way home: https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/3393583081 It does include about 10km on the tar road between Dullstroom and Lydenburg which is not so lekker. There are ways to avoid most of this but it makes the route longer and there's one section which feels like it might be trespassing though nobody has ever given me any problems. This route could also obviously be done in reverse if you wanted to make the climb longer but less steep.

Hi all, Would appreciate some input from you experts. I want to fix up an old 26er Mountain bike that is gathering dust in the garage so I can gift it to a security guard in my office building who wants to use it for transport. So I'm wondering what would be the most practical arrangement in terms of the tyres for someone who has very little extra money to deal with problems and doesn't have access to decent bike shops. My thoughts are as follows: The bike was run on a tubeless setup. I know enough to restore it to a functioning tubeless setup which in the short term I'm sure should work like a charm. I'm just concerned that in the long term when the sealant dries up or he gets a puncture which the sealant doesn't sort, aside from possibly finding himself bamboozled on the side of the road not understanding this unusual tubeless arrangement, he's not going to have extra sealant to top it up or plugs and I think at some point this just becomes very uneconomical anyway. I could try to source some permatubes. Looks like they are available in size 26 however I've noted the comments on this thread cautioning against it and I also note that they aren't very widely used which suggests there must be a reason for that. Just go with good old fashioned inner tubes and patch kit(s). Possibly add some tyre liners? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

They probably want you to spend your money on a new model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

I see your Fenix 3 and I raise you a Fenix 2.

Since you're asking about the consensus, for what it's worth, that is certainly not my view of it. Personally, if someone is trying to break a world record, whether they shout it from the rooftops or keep it to themselves has no bearing on the way I feel about the attempt. If I think its lame, then its lame regardless of how much they promote it, and vice versa. I think most of the hubbers on this thread actually just dislike the personality and are looking for as many ways as possible to validate that dislike, and this is one of them. If it was a more popular character, you would probably find the same hubbers commenting how cool it is that their idol is sharing this journey with them. People evidently aren't very good at being objective and this entire thread is riddled with emotional responses. This thread is the wrong place to be looking for logic or reason.

Good idea.

For anyone looking for more routes, here is also a decent route the other side of Dullstroom (towards Machadodorp): https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2451241099 77.65km with 1,051m of climbing. Head out of Dullstroom towards Belfast. Take the first tar road left towards Highland Gate. About 7.5km down that road, roughly halfway down a major descent, look out for the gravel road to the right, I think its signposted for Elandsfontein. Follow that road for about 6km till its end, then turn left. About 8km further you reach an intersection where you take a left towards the big Maraiskop tower. Here a nice big descent starts, but be on the lookout for a turnoff to the right about 4km after the tower. Take this turn and follow the normal course of this road till it ends at a T-junction after about 8km, turn right and follow this road for about 9km to an intersection where you turn right again and you're now starting the long slog home where you'll just follow this road all the way for 20km till it ends at the tar road between Belfast and Dullstroom. Turn right to head back to Dullstroom. Note though, this last section of about 8km on that tar road is not so lekker with not much of a shoulder to hide from the traffic.

Havent gone far beyond the R555 intersection myself, but working from your description, I take it this is the route you are talking about? Is it an out and back route if you dont return via the R577? https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2451227074

I hope it survives. Its something I've been keeping one eye on for a long time (makes the mission down for CTCT more justifiable in my opinion) but just havent been able to pull the trigger yet, but I like to think that someday I will. Until then I need you guys to support the event to keep the organisers interested ;-)

Lekker Willie! Good to see you are so unaffected by this nonsense.

I think a lot of people underestimated that first bit - when I started the climb there were at least 2 people who were stopped in their tracks by the gradient, obviously much quicker than expected, and then couldn't suddenly uncleat and just hit the deck. I'm sure there were many more of those.

Very lekker route and event. Well done to the organisers. Please do it again next year. Tom Jenkins was carnage

I've ridden with Gert a few times (or should I say, I've hung onto his back wheel a few times) and so I definitely know just how much of a beast he is, but I've got to say I was a little underwhelmed by this result (Bradley Wiggins went a whole 16% further). But then again I appreciate that I know nothing about track riding, and I'm sure there are a lot more factors at play than just the rider. So I'd like to know from those more knowledgeable about these things, factoring in all the less than ideal elements that Gert had to contend with, just how impressive would you say this is on a global scale? I also checked the strava file for this effort and have to say I didn't think the power readings were all that outrageous (he's not a small guy). https://www.strava.com/activities/1912915801 Its not that I think I can do better, its more a case of I expected his result to be better. Edit: An awesome achievement though and kudos to him.

Navworld are no longer doing Garmin repairs. You have to send the device back to Garmin, preferably via your retailer, or, if you're in Joburg, you can take it to their offices.

Lekker, Rob. Nice pics. Glad you had a good time. That climb is a really tough one so dont feel bad, but luckily there's beautiful scenery to take some of the pain off. For future rides, if you wanted to soften up the climb a bit, you could do version 3 of the routes I suggested and do the climbing on the tar road from Highland Gate Golf Estate. I know mountain bikers like to avoid tar roads but this one is a really nice tar road, also with great views.

Sure, Before I get into the route options, I should mention (although you may already know this) that Walkersons is 10km outside Dullstroom on the tar road between Dullstroom and Lydenburg. In my opinion its not a great road for cycling because there isn't much of a shoulder and there are quite a few trucks, but with that said, I still often see cyclists there and havent heard of anyone being knocked over. There are sections where you can ride on strips of gravel next to the road. But my point being that staying in Walkersons, you will have to do parts of this road for any route that you are going to do. So here are 3 variants of a similar route: Version 1: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2011024018 Version 2: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2011025263 Version 3: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2011026160 These all start by turning right out of Walkersons (towards Lydenburg) and then turning off almost immediately (after just over 1km) onto the gravel road that runs along the railway as it curves down the contours of the mountain. From here you will be looking over Walkersons. At about 11.5km you turn right onto another gravel road. Note that pretty much all of this has been downhill and so you're setting yourself up for a big climb (on all 3 of the routes you will top out at about 2,100m altitude at some point). At approximately kilometre 19 version 1 and 2 turn right while version 3 carries on straight. Version 3 continues on to Highland Gate Golf Estate where the gravel road becomes tar, and then you climb back up on the tar road (very nice, quiet tar road) and pop out on the other side of Dullstroom (1.5km on the Belfast side of town), come back through Dullstroom and then turn off to take the railway service road (gravel) to get you closer to Walkersons before you then have to use the tar road for the last 5km to get back to Walkersons. This version is the longest of the 3 but it lets you do most of the climbing on the tar road which makes it a bit easier. Version 1 and 2, turn off at approximately kilometre 19 as mentioned, and then take you up a gnarly gravel road climb. Its long and tough and steep in parts. A real test. It pops you out on the tar road between Dullstroom and Walkersons. From here you can take version 1 which goes straight back along the tar road for approximately 8km to Walkersons. Version 2, alternatively, takes you 2 kilometres into Dullstroom, and then loops back around on the railway service road (gravel), and drops you further up the tar road, only about 5km from Walkersons. For a completely different route, you can do this one: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1972814057 This will take you 5km towards Dullstroom on the tar road, turn right and go up into and through the Verloren Valei Nature Reserve as far as you can go until you get to another tar road, at this point turn around and head home the same way you came. This route takes you to a maximum elevation of over 2,200m. Its mostly uphill all the way there and downhill all the way back but its quite beautiful. Then, if you're staying at Walkersons, once you're back, load the family up in the Helicopter and head into town for a coffee or a pancake ;-) Hope its fun!

edit: duplicate post

How far do you want to go?