Bub Marley

It’s no longer 50%.

Mechanical brakes are fine for the odd road ride. Spending 30k for an indoor bike is stupid.

Try some faster rolling mtb tyres. I have the Vittorria Terreno XC’s. They come in 2.25” and 2.1”.

Where do we see the list of races part of the series?

I’d say this is applicable across all forms of cycling. The women’s sport is still developing whereas the mens is developed. As an example for road cycling, the men are definitely more evenly matched across the peleton whereas the women I feel the variability is higher. Case in point, I have found that the ladies for instance find it much harder to control a breakaway because the strength of team is not the same. And this will ofcourse improve every year but I dont think there’s anything wrong is saying that as it stands, the mens game is far more developed.

Late afternoon spin with perfect weather and perfect terrain. You know when it rains just enough so that there is no dust and loose sand but at the same time no mud but so much traction. That’s what today was.

This looks like a hardtail with drop bars. However the fact that it’s factory standard like this intrigue me. You don’t have that hideous looking rigid fork that most people put on where they do a drop bar hardtail conversion. I’m curious as to how this thing actually rides and what is the goal of the bike. Looks like a full on race bike but the geometry looks more adventure type.

That lead out as they approached the cipressa was so hard even Pog was further down than expected. Honestly just think that if your positioning is not right, it was curtains for you and i assumed that’s what happened. That’s why having a proper team in play is so important to protect you.

Ok. Did not know that. Good on Gerald then.

Why does Gerald keep saying Langveld?

In saying this though, I have watched this guy perform at the Lifetime Grand Prix and against Matt as well and he’s absolutely dominated everyone there. So if there is any team than can pull something out of the hat, its these 2. But they will need to do it from tomorrow. Otherwise it’s done.

9 mins will be nigh on impossible to claw back just on being stronger than the rest. They gonna need some luck as well and hope one of the front runners suffer some sort of mechanical. Tomorrow it’s close to 40 in Paarl. The elite guys will most likely miss the brunt of the heat as they should be done before so I don’t think the heat is the factor here. I think he’s probably just underestimated the race or the competition couple with the fact that he hasn’t really acclimatised. Or he’s not well at all.

Tomorrow is a 66km time trial😂. Going to be huge gaps I feel.

Also just shows you how different it is to ride somewhere foreign. You need to adapt and so far doesn’t look like keegan has. Let’s see if he gets stronger as the days go by.

Tbh. Every year the xco specialists come out full guns blazing the first few stages and then fade out completely towards the end so wouldn’t surprise me to see the same thing happen again. I’ve seen so many of Ninos partners look great initially but can’t keep that intensity going for the full week.

If this is by the missing link, then that particular incline is pretty brutal. Not surprised to see people walk it. The picture doesn’t do it justice tbh. It’s ridiculously steep.

So after being dead against this idea in the past, I’ve slowly come full circle on this. Hardtail has been standing for the last 6 months after i purchased my full sus. Did not really want to invest in a full carbon gravel bike and also didn’t want to just get a cheaper one just for the sake of it. And I love this frame which also quite rare so opted to go down this route. Did a quick spin around the block just to get a feel, and it’s different tbh. Will go for a proper spin today but my first thought is perhaps look at a more steeper negative angled stem as the position is a bit high. I feel like i can get lower. Also perhaps need a road derailleur as i cant shift into my lightest gear. Mechanic says its the older style mtb derailleur is the issue.

I know they’ve done it in PPA events so assuming the same will happen for the Argus.

What’s the point of this? They’re just gonna get disqualified.

All of their products are linked to vitality in some way. Even though this is a health thing I’m certain you will probably need vitality as well but 100% sure. This is something new that they launched this year though. Last year they had that wealth fund which gave you a once off access to R 2500 per member after you did your health test. This year it seems to be more ongoing targets based on your health I assume. So far for me, they haven’t asked me to do anything just yet so I assume I am good health wise.

People complain every time but I get so much back honestly. Even this year, they’ve introduced personal health pathways and are giving you money if you do certain things. Between me and my wife the’ve given me R 7,000 back already to use for medications or consultations. I don’t have an MSA but it’s almost like I do now. The only thing my wife was asked to do was visit the dentist for a check up. I’ve had to nothing.

Is Candice choosing to go the privateer route? I find it hard to believe that not one team picked her up after all her performances last year.

I was amped as well. But lets be honest here, if you’re not at the elite level its gonna be a pretty miserable day in the saddle. And honestly 35 degrees in Wellington, out in the trails, it’s gonna feel like 40plus. If my initial target is 7 hours, that takes me to 1:30pm in the baking sun. If it’s 35 degrees, I’m probably looking at 8 hours in the saddle in the baking sun.

I see they allowing you to carry over your entry to next year as well. Seriously considering taking up that option.

Im still not convinced on the shorter cranks off road thing. Longer cranks give you better leverage and for really steep and rough trails i feel like you need that extra leverage for traction. This is not based on any scientific analysis. This is just what my brain is telling me.