blondeonabike

Rocknrolla....you will be fine. I took chukky up there a few years ago and he survived. Granted the temp was 42 deg at the top of the bat that day. Looking forward to some feedback from you

I'd suggest doing some community work. Sometimes helping those less fortunate gives us an appreciation for what we have an a realistic perspective of our lives. Take stock of everything and refocus on the goals that are really achievable and important. We often are just unhappy because we keep comparing ourselves to others, and the stuff that used to bring us joy like being motivated to ride our bikes early in the morning are now a chore. Finding motivation will come when you find gratitude. Lots of good vibes for your journey.

Exactly. Plus it is a huge responsibility being a pet owner. You cannot leave your poor pups all cold early in the morning with nobody to cuddle with on the couch. That would just be selfish

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I find that when I ride and I'm comparing my strava times, counting mileage chasing qom and all that junk I put even more pressure on myself. For a while I have not raced and have not bothered with the structured intervals and all those things. To just get on a bike when and how I want to is wonderful. Humans are competitive things...we always compare ourselves to others and our past efforts.....so I've resisted the urge.....and not even bothered with strava for ages. A time will come when I set a race or event as a goal and I'll up my training then...but for now I'm just enjoying myself. To all the crazy folks freezing their asses off at 6am on a bike...good luck...I'm in bed with a coffee playing clash of clans. I'll ride later when the world defrosts!

And just like that the thread is resurrected! The evanesance song 'bring me back to life' came to mind. Damn.....now it's stuckin my head. Damn you shebeen ????????????

A good friend of mine has them. They are clever,energetic,loving and are very healthy. When the female was still a pup she was bloody naughty

I went to the shop today and saw the most disgusting small pineapples selling for 18.99 each. I guess that's what happens when something is in demand.

I'll raise you one bullet hole sticker. Problem fixed

We made a 2.2 km cross country track on the farm. Some singletrack in the gums and 100m of climbing for every loop. We ride down the stone steps and jump the terraces between the platforms and then ride over the dam wall. Its keeping me sane right now....but it's hard riding all these steep climbs. My butt is so stiff. I miss the long gravel rides riding next to friends and talking nonsense. But I'm grateful I can ride a bit, I see my friends posting strava maps that look like balls of wool where the ride around their houses and tennis courts.

***big hugs*** @ dizzy

Amazing how the right person understands that you need some space to heal. I was scared of putting someone in the hole where husband was instead of letting that space heal first. It would also not have been fair to that other person. So eventhough I also found someone soon I kept him at arms length and let things be casual for a long time. And that is why I also kept my own place. I think he may be the right one because he understands my independence freakoutmeter. Like when I tell him I need to go clean my house but I actually want to just watch crap on my laptop and eat a whole milk tart to myself.

For me it has really taken a while to trust again. I've been so defensive of my independence after being so financially dependent in my marriage. I've feared being vulnerable, thinking I could be taken for granted. All things heal with time and it has been a journey of getting my confidence back. I turned 40 a few days ago and now feel like I've 'come into myself' and ready to really share my life again now that I've got to know who I really am.

Welcome back dipsy. Things have not been the same without you. ????

Day one of a recce ride on the freedom challenge route through the umko valley....pepper ticks galore, plus golden orb weaver spiders. Add lots of acacia thorns scratching your arms and legs to pieces while you are carrying your bike through the bush. It was a long day. I found pepper ticks all over for days afterwards.

My polo is three years old an the windscreen wipers unit developed a fault. I could not switch the wipers off. R5000 grand later for a new unit and the problem is solved????

Good idea. I'll send him something special later

Happy happy birthday gummi! I'd post some boobs for you but nowadays we not allowed to. ????

We need admin to give us a section where we can have all our 'chats' with no moderation. We can call it 'take it outside boys', where we can just be poephols because we want to. Please?

Our puffies here in kzn are so dark. This boy was sunning himself in my grow tunnel among my aloe pots. Moved him out and released him a few kay's down the road in the forest. The staff still don't want to go weed there a week later. They call the puffies 'kaiser chiefs'

I'm in the business of growing indigenous plants. We cannot grow this fast enough. It is in such demand to plant along boundaries. The thorns are worse than bouganvillea but does not get need the pruning bouganvillea does. I feel sorry for any clown that tries to get through these! http://pza.sanbi.org/cassinopsis-ilicifolia And its evil sister... http://pza.sanbi.org/carissa-bispinosa

For me besides a great route, scenery and all the other things people have mentioned I want to add...is toilets! Honestly sharing this as a lady...a tiny portable toilet is not nice. Especially when smudgy and smelly...with no toilet paper. Any lady that needs to care for herself 'at that time of the month' in such a cubicle is horrible. There is often not even a basin to wash your hands. I sound like a real diva and Im sorry for that ....but a decent toilet makes all the difference. Those larger ones that are trailers are much better than the tiny cubicles.

I know some crazy okes that train for freedom with an old camelbak filled with sand. Around 8kg...And then go ride 100km with over 2000m climbing.