Bub Marley

Totally against this. I think the fact that women’s racing generally is shorter (stage lengths and stages) compared to mens, makes the whole event more exciting. I dont wanna get into the whole men vs women debate and don’t really wanna hit some nerves. But physiologically, men are stronger and faster than women in general. I don’t see what benefit a longer tour will make. Stages will become more boring and the winners will be more predictable.

Honestly, the forecast during the week seems pretty clear besides wednesday. If stays like that, I’ll happily take a bit of rain on Saturday. Last year it poured the entire week leading up which completely flooded everything. So fingers crossed, but everything looks good for now.

Wow what a race. We spoke about earlier about how SD works poor tactics could cost Vollering and obviously it played a part but looking back now, Vollering took so much time to sort herself out and at the end we’re talking about 4 seconds. I know it’s difficult to put yourself in their shoes but I just think she lacked so much urgency to get back on the bike and it’s cost her a grand tour now

Ashleigh called them a complex team. I think they’re right up there with the dumbest team ever. She was just being nice. If your leader in the yellow jersey is not next to you, you stop and wait for her and protect the jersey. Plain and simple. You don’t need a radio for that. Wiebes literally says she saw the yellow jersey fall. So is that queue for her to go and sprint for 10th? I have never seen a team as clueless tactically as this team.

That’s the convenient excuse.

Bike24 are German based. So the DHL is the local post office service they make use of. It’s not DHL Express which is what you want. I’m pretty sure that if you order from Bike24 it’s going to come via post office.

Yeah then just take it easy down there. It’s not really the steepness that’s the issue. The road surface is bad so very uneven and like jbr said will be very rutted. Regardless, it’s just a small section of the race and any time you lose to the mtb’ers there will be made up quite quickly on the rest of the course.

Which brand TPU you get?

Okay I think it’s a bit deceptive then as I don’t recall it being that steep but maybe my memory eludes me. That downhill stretch is a bit uneven and bumpy though and if you’re on a gravel bike then depending on your skill level or can be a bit sketchy. If you’re on a mountain bike you can fly down there but definitely take caution. i will say though that bar that small section, nothing else on the route was remotely technical in any way. So yeah, just take caution for that 1km and after that is smooth sailing again.

Where do you see this?

I don’t recall seeing this option when I entered.

So anyone entered for this event? Hopefully better conditions this year after the mud fest last year. Forecast looks decent for now the next 10 days but it can change quickly. This event was pretty well attended last year despite the horrid conditions so hopefully we get a similar turnout again. I am surprised at the lack of promotion for some of these events. Bar 1 facebook post, there’s nothing else about it.

I have no words anymore wrt taxi’s. They have no respect for any laws or anyone for that matter. They don’t wait at robots, jump stop streets, drive in the yellow lane, stop wherever they please, drive on the wrong side of the road. It is getting so out of control now to the point where lives are being put in danger. It’s no longer reckless. It is dangerous driving. When they tried putting a stop to it and impounded vehicles, we had everything disrupted with strikes. Seriously, what is gonna take for these guys to obey laws?

Finally back on the trails this weekend…and new bike day as well which probably wasn’t a good idea. Tbh I thought the trails would be drier but was clearly wrong.

Im always weary of this coming into camps bay and sea point. Honestly becoming so dangerous and mainly because it gets busy so quickly and drivers take chances because they can’t wait. People might hate on this but when there is no shoulder i never ride all the way to the side. I will ride more towards the middle even if the cars have to wait a bit and then pull over when it’s clear for them to pass. If you ride all the way to the left, you have cars trying to pass you when it’s not safe and you have the risk of parked cars opening a door or pulling out of the bay.

Till what age do downhill racers normally compete? Greg is 42 years old so perhaps that came into their thinking. It does leave a sour taste but perhaps they offered him a different role but he was insistent he still wanted to compete?

I know this is marketed as a gravel groupset. But honestly with 13 gears, I would happily throw this on a roadbike. The argument with 1X on a roadbike has always been big jumps in gears going back to when we had 11 speed. But now with 2 additional cogs, surely that eliminates most of that issue. Just give us a 48T & 50T chainring option and you’re sorted.

For gravel events, I personally dont think you need bigger than 46 cassette. But yeah it is a bit strange that they wouldnt just make it compatible and let people run as big as they want. I think you need to change your insurer. I’ve never heard of an insurance company refusing to insure something that’s not in rands. That sounds ridiculous.

If anyone can provide some insight in terms of logistics it would be appreciated. This would be my first time so just thinking of where would be best to stay. If I stay in Knysna, is the pass open in the morning of the race? And would it be feasible to use the pass or is the better option to drive back to George and go that route? Its quite a distance from Knysna to Uniondale so any advice on how people have done it in past events would be appreciated. Secondly, are there like shuttles available that can transport you and your bike from knysna the morning of the race? I looked at the website but a lot of the options are drivers from Uniondale. Nothing really about knysna to Uniondale. Alternatively, would it make most sense to rather stay in George as its shorter distance to Uniondale. I’m obviously assuming that accommodation in Uniondale is booked out already?

They can boo and cry and moan all they want. Pidcock did nothing wrong. If you watch the replay again, he takes the inside line and just goes straight. If anything it was Koretsky that was at fault as he cut across the track once he realised Pidcock was gonna pass him.

Agreed. Not gonna lie, when I saw him take the inside line the only thing going through my mind was hoping both of them crash each other out and Alan comes flying past for gold. Regardless, a bronze medal is a phenomenal achievement escpecially in that race. I couldn’t believe how long he held Pidcock’s wheel.

I dont think he did much wrong. The gap was there to be taken.

I also did this last year. Was a lekker route but there was like 10 of us in total. Hopefully more interest this year.

If someone has all the dates and times of the cycling events, perhaps we can pin it to the opening post for easy access.

It’s honestly all relative tbh. What works for some might not work for others. I also think the type of riding you do and also your own body type (weight, height) etc play a big role. As an example, I am 1.65m and weigh 60kg. When I purchased a dropper post, I was advised to take the maximum drop i could get. However, upon testing I actually found that I preferred less drop and hardly ever utilised the full drop. For me, I liked the smaller drop just to get over the saddle and that was more than enough. I personally wouldn’t get anything more than 100mm. I could even go lower to be frank. However, a taller person might need more drop so it’s all relative. Wrt suspension at my weight, I am more than happy with just 100mm travel. It’s also lighter and makes it a better all rounder imo. Obviously if someone weighs 90 or 100kg, then that’s a lot af extra weight so for that person, more travel will probably be better. Your stanchions are also thicker and stronger to cope with that. So again all relative.