Bub Marley

Mine was like that. The first time I had to force it and then it started spinning smoothly. It seems to be okay now. That initial turn still feels slightly stiff but after the first revolution, it seems to spin freely. Just out of interest, which bearings did you need to replace?

I thought about servicing the bike but then I figured I’d just do it after this race as this is my last off-road race for a while. If I had just spent R4k on my bike i would definitely not risk a mud fest again. Im hoping the weather changes though and we get some relief. The forecast for the weekend seemed better this morning compared to yesterday.

Any helmet has to pass certain safety standards. A R400 helmet is right at the bottom end, probably a makro helmet. Those helmets are obviously designed for different things but it’s still needs to meet certain safety standard. I was actually referring to R 1500 helmet vs R6000 helmet. You’re paying for aerodynamics and weight here.

I’m in the same boat but I’ve already paid for my entry. And I’m not going to just throw a way R1000. Not even sure why the entry is so expensive but it is what it is. If it’s going to rain all week, I wonder if the organisers might postpone the event. It seems like loads of events are getting postponed. I think the farms where all the start/finish is held will probably also have a say. That farm was pretty much destroyed after Old Hermon. Not sure these venues will want that to happen. But I suppose we’ll see how it plays out during the course of the week.

Buying an expensive helmet doesn’t actually make you safer. You’re paying more money for performance benefit i.e weight and aerodynamics. From a safety perspective though, there isn’t any difference as all helmets have to pass certain safety tests. That crash replacement policy is great though. I made use of it with Oakley and got a nice discount on a new helmet.

The terrain you do will determine how comfortable the ride will be. I have a hardtail and i use it for everything. On rockier trails, you will be sore afterwards i can tell you that. But for most of the trails here, it’s more than sifficient. It’s also great for use in gravel races. So if you’re looking to do more chilled out riding, you cant go wrong.

Im gonna do the road race instead. Been a while since we’ve had a proper road event so looking forward to this one.

Id love to be in the Jumbo team bus right now just to hear how they play this. Kuss is leading but he clearly has 2 stronger riders behind him. What’s the tactics now? Are the likes of Primoz and Jonas just going to allow Kuss to take a GC win when they are stronger? They probably want someone like Ayuso to attack sometime just to give a reason to shut it down and then hope Kuss can’t follow. Gonna be real fascinating to see how this plays out.

Any early weather predictions yet? Really not lus for another mudfest. Feels like every event I’ve done this year has been mud mud mud. Not sure my drivetrain can handle another one 🤦🏻‍♂️

You’ll be covered up to your insured amount. So if you adjusted your value to compensate for the upgrades and you proof of purchase for these parts then it should be fine. Otherwise they’ll pay you what you’re insured for.

Yeah I was just comparing it to road position tbh. I suppose with the hoods further forward you’re automatically increasing reach so perhaps not necessary tbh. I suppose or comes down to how you want to be set up? If you have an aggressive road position, and want to replicate this or if you want a more relaxed/endurance position for a gravel bike.

I’d have kept the suspension fork and rather swapped the bars for drop handle bars. This way you can run nice and wide tires and have the benefit of being more aero in position. Surely you would need to increase your stem length given how upright you normally sit on a Mtb? This way you are a bit more stretched out and more aero. Unless I have it all wrong?

This seems like a good starting point. If you’re very strong then they’ll probably be too slow for you though. Will you have a car? If you’re mobile then I would suggest you park at the Virgin Active in Greenpoint and ride from there. You’ll see plenty of cyclists on the road but I can send you a few routes if need be.

Where in Cape Town will you be based? And what dates will you be here?

I also checked the weather and it was rain for just Sunday but I see that’s changed now. The official reason they gave was they wanted it to be a camping experience and the weather would not allow this to happen. I do think they jumped the gun on the announcement as the weather actually looks good for the weekend. I also think having it the same weekend as Race to the Sea & Vines to Views was not the smartest idea so that could be the reason for the change.

Wow. You must really love these bibs to still bother repairing them given they’re 7 years old.

Event postpone till December.

Right, so anyone else doing this event? Hopefully the weather is decent in three weeks time 🤞

Just finished cleaning my bike now. Everything seems okay. Will probably need a second wash as well as there still mud stuck in some areas but I couldn’t be bothered anymore after 2 hours cleaning. Bearings will probably need replacing but will probably do it after the Boland Gravel monster race as that’s the last off road before focus on the DC.

Can I also just say that I am now over this Cape Town winter. I get that the rain was needed and everything but Im done with this now. Can summer just please come already.

Difficult to actually give a race report but I’ll try. I mean the conditions were pretty horrible. I rocked up at the start venue and the car guard tells me to park in this one spot. I look at the spot and tell him, if i park there i ain’t getting out. He tells me not to worry, they have a tractor there to pull any cars out that stuck in the mud. I thought that was pretty hilarious. That tractor was really put to work though. Literally pulling so many cars out all day. Anyway, as for the race. As bad as the conditions were, the entire course was rideable. Yes there was loads of mud but it definitely wasn’t that unbound level of mud. I think it was more just the accumulation of mud pretty much the entire route. There was not much dry sections anywhere bar the few km’s of tar. Bear in mind I rode a 29er hardtail, so maybe it was different for others but i could ride through/dodge everything mud related. The only 2 times I dismounted was for 2 streams which we had to cross. I did see plenty of people dismount though but for me personally it was all rideable. I was hesitant last night to ride it, but I’m glad I did. The first 60km I thoroughly enjoyed despite the mud but I went into the red the last 15 or so km’s and then it was pretty miserable and by then I was just fed up with the mud. I think the accumalation of constant mud took its toll today. My heart rate did not want to drop at all for some reason. I did have the flu earlier in the week so could be that but I also think we just had to work harder today through everything. There were no free miles at all today and because the ground was always wet, you’re constantly pushing harder than what you normally would do on dry gravel where the bike just rolls faster. Those last 15km were torture. Just constant rollers but I suppose that’s kinda expected in that region.

Im pretty much fed up with this rains now if I’m honest. I’m also in 2 minds now about this and it’s probably still gonna rain more this afternoon.

This tour will give us a pretty good idea as to how close Remco is to Vingegaard. Also curious to see how Jumbo plays this. On paper Vingegaard is by far the strongest rider out there, but Roglic will want to win as well. Should be nice and exciting. Pity Pogi wont be there but I guess he needs the rest. I’m sure he’ll throw everything into IlLombardia now to make it 3 on the bounce.

I got one email from them where they confirmed payment and details for registration etc. Im sure well get another email this week with start time details etc. Looks like its going to be a muddy one with the recent rainfalls.

Why would anyone suggest you stay away from that bike?