GLuvsMtb

The Aussies will clutch at anything right now to take the focus off their crumbling team. The Convenor of selectors stepped down, with more heads to roll surely...

JP has been playing well lately though. It would be a pity to drop him, but someone is going to miss out. It would mean that if JP is gone, that more reliance will be placed on the 5 bowler role by Elgar / Bavuma, who both are very part-time. If Amla / AB is willing to open with either Cook or Elgar, it leaves a gap for that 5th bowler.

Just entered for the 2 day trek. Staying at Mount Ceder with the missus opposed to camping though. Pitching tents for 1 night only is a las, particularly after a 80 odd km bike ride.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/44828.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting here are some other interesting stats: He averages 73 in Aus He averages 53 against the aussies His average for 2016 is 41 His average for 2015 is 16, which includes 8 innings on very questionable pitches (which skews it in my view, but not yours?) He averages 58 batting at 6.

If you take the results put from those shocker-pitches in India last year it reads very differently. Stats can be manipulated to tell the story you want it to. He compares very well against say Jonty Rhodes who only averaged in the mid 30's in Test cricket, and who is considered a cricketing hero in the SA game. Jonty batted 5 / 6 for most of his career.

I was actually talking about Faf's average.

And with an average of 42 in tests, he'll hold down a spot in any test side at present, captain or not.

I know it should be innocent until proven guilty, but I can't help to think that where there is smoke, there is fire.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1066029.html

Elgar and Cook are guarding their wickets very well. Aim would be to keep the wickets in tact and get into the lead before close of play, then surely to bat once only. Looking forward to the bowling highlights in the tea break. Vern looks like he was on fire.

Ok so a quick update: 1, 2 and 4 is being replaced by getting a quote from Rhapsody to do a Greywater system for us. I thought about trying to do a DIY jobbie, but decided to get someone that knows what they are doing out to do a design and quote for me rather. I'm expecting a quote for around R15k, if it is cheaper I can look at 2 and 4 again. Has anyone used Rhapsody before? Anyone else that specialises in this sort of thing?http://www.waterrhapsody.co.za/grey-water-systems/

Looking forward to your feedback then. I'm really interested to see if higher end 'boutique' events are sustainable (outside of the ACE of course).

Did you pay yourself or were you invited?

I fully agree with this sentiment, and its not at all a bad ploy to focus your event on the Corporate types out there, and to keep it small, which I think keeping it small is more a function of price than doing so by design. It is also a useful tool for ASG to "add value" by supplying merchandise from their range of cycling apparel. If my broker / banker / employer / dad is paying, I'd probably ride it as well, but for R5 000 for 2 people, I can think of way more ways to have fun, on and off the bike, for a weekend (when its my own money).

At R2500 a rider expect to get only the big corporates entering the event. Yes the swag looks nice, but I'm sure most of us have a nice pair of sunnies and a decent jacket somewhere.

A great come-back from SA, after being bowled out cheaply in the first innings and staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun with Aus at around 150 without loss on day 2... then we turned it on and from there it was one way traffic. We played so well, but what impressed me most of all was how Faf rallied his troops without his main weapon in the bowling attack. He managed to keep his quicks fresh, used the reviews very well and made sure that the fielders backed up the bowlers almost every time they had sight of the ball. Perhaps this is premature, but I think AB should consider letting Faf do the job full time going forward. It will allow him to focus on his batting.

Vern you beauty!

This was a great little event. It was nice to chat to riders who only recently started riding and appreciating the challenge with them. I told myself that I'll be taking it easy, only to find myself in a decent group halfway through day 1 and then just trying to hang on to the end. Day 2 started fast and furious with more hanging on while in the Bontebok National Park, and then hitting the second half hard. Route markings were awesome, I never stopped at the water points on either day, but they seemed well stocked and Gardenroute Events gets an A for their efforts. Some small glitches with the timing (manual timing) were ironed out with pro-active action from the orginisers. We did seem to by-pass many of the local bits of single track, which could have been incorporated, but it being labelled a non-technical ride, there are not too many groans from my side.

Using this race as an excuse to have a quick mini-break before the rush to get a mountain of work done by 15 December. Lets hope I'm not stone last as I'm in no way racing fit at present.

I've learned not to judge on appearance. I've been passed by ooms in PT shorts and those safari sandals before, and I've been dropped in the ST by a tannie 20 years older than me as well, who was riding a hardtail.

The STBB race this weekend was great! I assisted as a sweeper / roving mechanic on the 30km route, and it was clear that a lot of work goes into the trails. I am thinking of adding Bottelary to list of places to do a quick evening ride. How busy are the trails (i.e. is it safe). The thinking is to hit the trails at around 5:30pm and be done by 7pm in the summer months. I will also need to look at the best places to start / finish from as I work close to Tyger Valley. The TBMTB trails are nice and all, but I enjoyed the ride so much this weekend, that if I had to chose between TBMTB and Bottelary, it will have to be Bottelary.

Ok, so the wife and I decided to change over to Momentum next year. Discovery's Vitality thing has just left such a bad taste in our mouths (particularly my wife's) as changing the goal posts constantly not only leads to frustration, but confusion as well (my wife likes her free smoothies). At least now we are on a rewards programme that puts cash back into our medical savings if we stay fit and active. And we end up paying a lot less than on Discovery for very similar benefits (keeping in mind that we are not on chronic medication). Good luck to all the peeps on Discovery and particularly those who have to deal with Vitality.

These (almost) miraculous recoveries are great!

I have not done a test ride on this bike, but looking at the design, it seems a little 5-years-ago. The geometry contradicts the target market as well. A more relaxed geometry would appeal more to the target market. If it was my money, id get a mid-specced hardtail with decent wheels and fork for the same cash. The ride experience will be better.

Some people are just never satisfied. Beating the #1 ODI side in the world 5-0 (and each game convincingly) is about the same as taking the Rugby Championship 3 years in a row without losing a game (as we only play Aus roughly every 3 years or so). Unfortunately beating the top sides does not guarantee that we continue to play the top sides in the near future. This is something the ICC needs to address.