HdB

Not just at traffic lights, sadly! I regularly see people, especially younger drivers, looking down at the phone held somewhere for seconds WHILE DRIVING... Seriously?! "Oh no, driving while talking on the phone is illegal, let's do something even more dangerous" - you can LOL at your BFF when you've stopped, kiddie!

I assume it is the Ermelo TT one? If I can make it home from spinning in time, I'll join.

What if you run them because you've found them to be very very good at not getting punctures, and getting home safely is more important to you than saving 2W? Probably going to jinx it now, but its been a few years with no punctures. I know there are faster tyres, and no doubt other brands have tyres that are very puncture resistant as well. But the faster ones are even more expensive than the steadily increasing price of Gatorskins, and the other brands' puncture resistant ones cost pretty much the same. Some day when I can afford new wheels, I'll try out tubeless and test the tyre options available. Until then I'll stick with what has served me well. (I cracked a set of Open Pro's once, hitting a pothole at 70km/h on a downhill in a bunch. I doubt tyre pressure would have made much difference)

Four or five minutes late, but at least I made it! Of course the car's immobilizer remote's battery would choose today of all days, when I'm in a rush to get home from spinning in time for the race, to be flat! Anyway, thanks for posting the race

Sigh... some day I am going to win something other than a water bottle, I'm sure of it... Congrats to the winner

Will try my best to make it home in time for this one

Shouldn't safety actually be about highlighting the things the cyclists/pedestrians AND motorists do that transgress the law? If both groups knew and followed the rules of the road, it would be a safer place for everyone and both groups would be less pissed off at each other all the time. I ride mostly road, so I absolutely agree with you about the attitude that we are intruders on THEIR road, it is nonsense, we do have the right to be there. All of the things in the press release are obvious things that NO cyclist should be doing because DUH! The fact that they even sent out this kind of press release means that there are still the few idiots doing these kinds of things. I still see riders without helmets, on the wrong side of the road, skipping traffic lights, riding two abreast on busy roads... some of those might not endanger anyone but the perpetrator, and yes it is less dangerous than a motorist skipping the same traffic light, but it is still illegal.

I see they are asking for witnesses of the hit and run, on FB:

Also received the mail, and my reply sent. I'm not bothering with the refund. Sure, it was the most expensive 30km I've ever ridden, but I still enjoyed the part I did get to ride. I can understand that people from out of town are less impressed, but even then the entry fee would be less than the cost to travel and stay somewhere. I did give some feedback, and I hope next year's events are bigger and better (and preferably no heatwave).

It was MTN that dropped them if I remember correctly - they were the title sponsor for the last few years before the event almost disappeared. I think the Free State PPA can use some more experience - get some more experienced people from the Western Cape to join for the lessons learned meeting, to help with the initial planning, tips etc. Perhaps get some of the people who were involved with the old OFM Classic to help as well (although from my experience there is probably some politics involved).

Are the prescription inserts an optional extra? And roughly how much did it cost for the lenses?

Hopefully there are no road works on the N1 and other roads in the area, then perhaps the race route can avoid that stretch. As long as the organisers take the lessons learnt from this year's rides to improve next year. We won't get route closure without more riders, more sponsors, etc, so it will probably take some time. A problem with the old routes that had more on the N1 was that the tail end of the 40-ish km got tangled with the faster groups of the 100 km race, which was quite dangerous and not fun for the fast or slow riders.

Well, the MTB ride was a bit of a mess due an issue at the entrance of the botanical gardens. Some of the earlier riders were allowed through, but when we got there they had obstructed the entrance with a small truck. So my 75km turned into a 30km. Hopefully we are provided with more information eventually regarding which party decided to not play ball and why. The road race went much better, haven't yet heard of people missing the route (unlike last year). The speed allowed in the neutral zone was a bit high, and that combined with some loose gravel and speed bumps to end some riders' race early on. Overall, not a bad weekend of riding, hopefully the event can improve even further next year.

I received my start time for Sunday's road race, AL starting at 6:15. Nothing yet for the MTB ride, doing the 75km. Anyone else doing the double? Edit: MTB info also received, AL at 7:45.

Can you imagine the backlash if it is not just free smoothies, but your bank charges (for example) that depend on your Garmin or whatever syncing? Or if certain devices stop being supported, like this year?

I would like some indication of how technical a route is, though not for myself. I've started riding MTB more often with my wife, and sections I would previously not have given any thought at all are suddenly super-technical now that I'm trying to NOT scare her away from mountainbiking for life... something a recent race very nearly accomplished (miracle that I'm still married, one fall and lots of getting off and pushing the bike later) No idea how it could be done consistently.

Just finish your training rides up that first one from the Amashova, and ride hard down The Argus has Suikerbossie closer to the finish, and apparently the 94.7 also has the climbs at the end. For me, the hard part of the Argus is AFTER Suikerbossie - keeping up on the climb is fine, but almost every time my legs are buggered at that point so I struggle to keep up on the run in to the finish.

I don't see anything on mine either yet.

Thankfully I was way over on the right when it happened, as I was worried something would go pear shaped with the close calls with slower riders. I think it was just the guys winding up for the all-important sprint for 243rd place. I saw one guy wobble, touch of wheels or handlebars I guess, then he lost it in the middle of the group over in the left most lane.

Currently Cadence's Marathon, and given how long each tub lasts me it will be the same for the foreseeable future.

Finished my first one safely, with a 2:46 in AL. The organisation was quite good, with the bus to the start and the bike transport going very smoothly, and the route is very nice. Not set in stone yet, but I'll probably be back for more next year. Thanks also to the two guys who gave me a quick push when my chain dropped (twice by John according to his number, didn't spot the other rider's name)! The only negative for me from the race was how some of the riders were shouting at slower riders from the 65km being passed. Shouting "keep left" and other more nasty stuff, when you have up to two lanes to safely pass, is just rude and kinda ruins it for the less experienced people. Most of the last few KMs had THREE lanes, yet you choose to fly past within inches of slow riders in the left lane...

Mail them and ask if they know about a service like that, even if not official? You don't want an unplanned Double Century. info@amashova.co.za I'm using the transport from DBN to PMB before the race.

Edited. I shouldn't rant while annoyed

I don't think the entry-level bikes have increased that much in price, and kids certainly do NOT need R40k carbon-everything bikes to be able to ride/race. My first road bike, in standard 6, was a second-hand Alpina with pipe-shifters and toe-straps, and cost something like R1200. I didn't know many kids riding at provincial level at that stage who had brand new bikes. But we raced, and for no prize money. The cost of a new entry-level bike isn't much more than the cost of a PS4, and just as the kids outgrow the bike, the PS4 gets outdated. The event entry fees, that is a problem I think; not because of old toppies fuelling overpriced events, but simply because the cost to run an event has ballooned, thanks to insurance, traffic department costs, etc. Subsidising it for kids might be a good idea, but that probably means the adults will have to pay more - people complain about the entry fees enough as it is. And then, tied to the event cost, due to events being so much more expensive, there are less events (at least here). There used to be some church or similar presenting a race pretty much every weekend, now they are quite scarce. Which means less racing against each other. Somehow, even if it is via hillclimbs or criteriums which might require significantly less money, we need to have more events where kids can compete locally and then against other schools/provinces.

I sent the mail to this email: bloem@pedalpower.org.za