GLuvsMtb

Rule of thumb... start at 50% of what the new price is and work your way down from there.

Imagine every golf cart and mobility scooter applying for a license. The queue at the local municipal office would be longer than the one at home affairs or the SASSA queue.

If only his "international backers" assisted him with refunding the people he allegedly defrauded... the wheels of justice turns slowly, but they do turn. His day will come... oh and if lady justice doesn't get you, Karma will.

I'll just leave this here... the free market is a wonderful thing.

Thanks for getting the conversation going D&D. I've done a fair bit of extreme cycling events are here are my 2c: Training - Book your training sessions out in your diary and say "no" if other factors try to interfere with your appointment with yourself as much as is practically possible. I have too often cancelled with myself for things that were not business critical / major crises. - Have specific training goals. This will ensure that you spend your training time productively. Whether with the help of a coach or on your own, pen these down and hold yourself accountable. - Cross train. Going for a run and doing some Yoga / Pilates does wonders to achieve your training goals. Cross-fit is no longer a thing, but good old fashioned functional body weight training never goes out of style and has significant benefits if done regularly Events - I try to line up a few events before the big day / days. These do not have to be expensive or involve extensive travel. A 100 miler on your MTB is good prep and keeps you honest in terms of training - If your event is a stage race, try and get consecutive days in. Take off the Friday and Monday and ride 4 days for 3 to 4 hours a day at level 2 - Use the public holidays to good effect when planning your blocks of consecutive training rides - If your goal involves a partner, try to do an event or 2 together. It helps with communication and getting a mutual understanding Equipment - cheap, light and strong: Pick 2. - I have been on my current mtb for 12 years and it still goes very well. Saying that, I am going to replace her for my next extreme event that I am planning for early 2026. - I will be replacing my Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon Expert with a Titan Cypher Dash. I chose cheap and strong. Reliability is key for me and the Cypher Dash components are both of these - If budget allows, I will indulge in an upgraded wheelset. Historically this has been the biggest game changer for me After a torn meniscus at the end of 2019 I have been on my E Bike often. I will continue to use the E Bike in my training opposed to the indoor trainer to try and stick to my training zones. I intend to gradually increase my mtb time provided my knee holds up. I elected for non-surgical remedies and after just over 5 years I think I have rehabilitated and strengthened the knee sufficiently to get onto my normal bike more often. The event I have decided to challenge myself with is Attakwas. I have done 4 in the years from 2009 to 2017 with a 100% success rate, and would love to get my ratel next year. I have done a number of stage races on the E Bike and tbh, will probably continue to stage race on the e bike where practically possible, but lets see how I feel after Attakwas...

Generally with these people they see themselves as honourable on some level and they tell themselves and those around them that their intentions are honourable, and when it does not work out, its someone else's fault and it ends up being a justification for not repaying what innocent people paid him. Using a pseudonem or fake ID would be a firm indicator that their intentions were never honourable and would make justification later nearly impossible when things inevitably do not work out. I am glad to read that proper legal recourse is being sought, but perplexed at some of the comments on here wishing him physical harm.

I wouldn't touch Bolhuis with a barge pole after his alleged involvement with Louis Liebenberg. The type of money Liebenberg allegedly defrauded makes Brewster look like a kindergarten bully in Pollsmoor

Well said D&D. My own experience and ambitions to one day do the ride of all rides was buried many moons ago. I opted for more user friendly events ,i.e. smaller events that is more budget-friendly and affords me the opportunity to go for a clamping / guest house option to enable me to get the maximum return for my training and money spent. I also prefer solo events to team events as the team dynamic adds little to improve my race. The only time I'll even consider doing a W2W or S2C is if the entry is free, and most importantly, my racing partner understands that it's a team event. For ACE money I'll rather go and do 4 islands, or go do another BCBR and have a decent break for a week or so with the change. My thoughts go out to the rider who passed away. Hopefully the event learns from this. While we can't stick warning labels on everything, event orginisers have a big responsibility to factor extreme conditions and make pro active changes to mitigate these risks. There will always be the keyboard ninjas claiming that they've gone "soft" (these comments are ageing like milk right now), but these views are irrelevant when rider safety is concerned. There were many good things at this year's event. Media coverage was superb, the racing was out of this world and using so much existing trails gives the Western Cape so much exposure. Finally a big shout out to all that participated this year. You all have earned that medal and T Shirt, so wear them proudly.

I did the RVR a few years back. Same organisers. I may give this one a go, but will look at weather forecasts closer to the event and then make a call.

Not a single sponsor... Facebook and Insta pages gone dark after 16 Jan... sorry for those who entered for this event. It sucks donkeyballs when you get scammed like this.

Buchu trail in Tulbagh. Tulbagh never disappoints.

Just heard that Willie passed away at age 62. Bought my first road bike from his shop in Durban Road in 2007. A Raleigh RC6000. Rest in Peace Willie.

Replaced my Spec Levo Turbo 2020 Comp Alloy last year with a Giant Trance E Advanced Pro 1 after riding my wife's Trance E +3 and coming to the conclusion that it handled better than my Levo. I changed out the 625 battery with a 800 battery and recently replaced the stock wheelset with Hope Pro 5 / WTB HTZ i30's. The LiveValve took a bit of time to get used to, but these days its very much set on race mode and I leave it there, unless I do a long ride on tar only, then I'll use the firm setting. Its an awesome bike at the price point, and although I've spent a fair bit on it after purchase, there is not much out there that beats it, even after adding the wheels and upgraded battery to the price.

A huge shout-out to the Urban Goat team for hosting such an awesome event. My wife and I had a splendid time. 3 days of perfect weather, the best glamping mtb village on the multi day circuit, all that Nieu Bethesta has to offer and great company made this a definite fixture for next year’s mtb calendar.

I had a nice easy ride with the missus out of V batch. Nearly had a run-in with the officials at the 80km water point when they suggested that the race was stopped. They allowed us to continue at our own risk citing the extreme heat. We were well hydrated and were riding well within my wife’s limits, so it was nice to be able to finish.

View from Botmaskop

I was also doing a bit of a discharge home. Essentially maxed the power setting from Stellies back to Somerset West. I do this about once a month

About 65% off road ride done on 31/12. We will be absolutely fine on our current setup.

Doing it with the missus. Both of us on E Bikes. I will use my 800w battery only, while the missus will use the 800w battery as well as the 250w range extender. I comfortably get over 1000m of elevation and 70kms on the 800w battery, most of it on trails. A slightly slower pace at lower setting will definitely help with having decent reserves (both battery and legs) for Suikerbossie and beyond.

Q: So what was the race like? A: My partner’s back wheel looked amazing from where I was riding Q: And the views? A: What views?

I am not sure if this is still relevant, but I recall Adrian (former chairman of TBMTBC) and TBMTBC parted ways around 10 years ago and that the parting was not that amicable. He then headed up Botlary at the time. I was a TBMTBC member until I moved to Somerset West. What I like about the Winelands setup is that day membership gives you access to ALL the trails on the network, not just one at a time and no access to the secret-special-members-only sections like the TBMTBC setup. Hence why I haven’t ridden TBMTBC since moving to SW.

Nice work here. I guess for me Winelands is a no-brainer. Living in Somerset West, so most of these are riding distance from home, so the travel cost becomes moot. PS Winelands day fees going to R100 a day from 2023, so you’ll want to update that one.

3 types of e bike riders out there. 1. The e bike stage racer - he wants the biggest battery to get him through W2W stage 1 without a battery change 2. The Enduro / Gravity rider - Big battery with maningi travel for as many runs as there are hours in the day 3. The lightweight - 50nmt motor with a small battery. Usually for mommy to ride with daddy, and when mommy rides alone she can actually lift the bike onto the bike rack. All 3 (and the combination of any of these) areas have seen tremendous growth in the last 3 years, and the bikes have all evolved at a staggering rate. A colleague from Durban is currently in Somerset West at our head office. I’ve shown him around on our locals and he said that he now understands why I have an e bike. Being able to get from SW to G Spot, do 2 or 3 runs and back home in under 2 hours makes way more sense than doing a 2 hour ride on the road to Stellies and back before work. And on weekends I easily ride from SW to Banhoek, over to Boshendal, have a light lunch and back to SW in 3 to 4 hours, with battery to spare. Its still work, but you can really decide how much work it is.

Thanks Chris, is the event E-Bike “friendly”, ie. Does the camping sites have electricity to charge batteries?

Looks tempting! What does the camping setup look like? Is the catered option worth it? Looking to do this one and rough it with the tent solo, so want to travel light