Gansbay

Started this post with the photos below - but suddenly wondered if hubbers can help. I have posted some more photos of the track we have built to help local children to improve their bike skills. Quite a few township kids have come to ride - most without helmets. Can anybody help with small or medium helmets (they can be used, just not broken!) More photos of the track later in the thread. One for the photo experts: Took this photo with a camera mounted flash - but can'y figure why there is a shadow in front of the bike and a ghost effect at the back. Any ideas? The ghost effect is more noticable on the original. Below a pic of the beach ride at low tide - good training and not too hard on the bike maintainance. Gansbay2009-06-03 12:45:40

Yep - couldn't get no3 out of bed!

Morning ride in the Overberg - almost Gautengish with lightning, thunder and hopefully some rain!

Haven't read all the post yet - so don't know whether this has been raised. Some trails are uni directional (Lebanon) so no sympathy for cyclists going the wrong way. If the trail is so steep that you will struggle to get going I agree that the descending rider should stop, but maybe the climber shouldn't be there. When we visited Tokai a few weeks ago we came down the drop just before the camel jumps. Two were going up so we had to head for the bushes (you do need speed to make the jump). Both of them couldn't make the short climb and had to push - in my view a cardinal sin. If you can't make it up don't ride up - there are enough little sections to practice on before you ride the longer trails. Also when you ride down you generally are looking way ahead - so you often see the climber and can stop. The climbers are often grunting away looking at their front wheel - so can't see anyone coming. My solution - to have some trails marked as downhill only - so that you can have an uninterupted flow. The others you yield to the ascending rider (did I really say that!!)

Well' date=' it's REALLY sad for the up and coming kids who might have wanted to learn how to cross rivers. Tokai will never be the same again eh. [/quote'] Don't know Tokai so well anymore - but there is a little river crossing as you enter boulders riding up - good for children, and if we wait a little it might turn into the river crossing like fairy garden's once was. Maybe a skinnie accross that one?

Posted: Today at 9:55am By bustthesickness Hi Gansbay, I'm happy you are tickled. Since you brought up the issue of who does work on trails, would you care to share with us when last YOU built a trail or helped to maintain one please. Obviously, it stands that if you have not done any, you shouldnt be commenting. I worked with Cobus and the crowd while we lived in Cape Town. We have built a little jump track in Gansbaai, and are busy with a small XC track for the local children and those who like something a bit more interesting. We don't have bridges yet - but are looking into it!!

What tickels me is that of all the commentators on this issue, probably only a few work on the trails. The post of the history of the bridge was a good perspective - if you leave things it slides into disrepair. My wife and rode Lebanon about three weeks after the storm washed the bridge near the dam away - and although many people had ridden nobody thought of repairing it. It took us 20 miutes to find it and drag it back into position. A small price to pay for the priveledge to ride there. And this is my point - because we pay some money - it does not give us the right to own the place - we as a mountain biking community need to look after what we have - and sometimes that means a bit of physical graft. I don't know about recent developments, but when we were still in Cape Town only a few guys ever worked with Cobus, and when we visited Tokai a couple of weeks ago it was only the two of them (maybe more joined later?) So occasionally we have a team from Dirtopia to do major work, but generally it is the local volunteers who keep the track rideable for all. So let us respect their changes - and we feel they have made a mess - surely good communication will be more fruitful

Visited Tokai after a long abscence - so the bridge was a bit of a surprise! But we (my son, 12) and I really appreciated all the effort by amarider (we did quite a bit of building there before we left cape town - so have a good idea of the graft it takes to build and maintain trails.) They must have had their reasons for the bridge - would be good to hear them. But as Fairy Garden is a beginners trail I feel it should stay - a bit of mesh in winter will keep the tyres tracking without slipping. We enjoyed the jumps further up - so there is still a lot for the more experienced rider to have fun on and learn on!

Topic: Tire Choice.... Posted: Today at 12:21pm By Mother Goose MK's work great in mud. They will find grip in places you wont believe. Big traction when climbing muddy hills. Just make sure you have sufficient frame clearance on the rear if you run a 2.4. It tends to collect mud and start grinding away at your frame. Tie some cable ties where the tyre goes past the swingarm - prevents damage by mud or small stones flung up by the tyre

Race with Maxxis Crossmarks and have fun with Kenda Nevegals (been around for ever but offer amazing grip and last OK. Do quite a bit of rocky stuff and have never had side wall issues. (2.35 front and 2.1 back) Have used the Conti Vertical 2.3 (although it is not a true 2.3) and have cut the sidewall once hence the change back to Nevegal. The newer tyres with sidewall protection should be fine though

No - only the rebound has a weird sound - very different from the front fork. If I hear a squeak, it is normally a bearing and I pop it out immediately and replace it - otherwise you can damage those little lightweight shafts that Scott uses.

I have done over 1400km on my Scott MC - great bike. I was under the impression the warranty was 4 years if serviced regularly. I also blew the first shock within a few months, but since the service it has performed really well (better than the new! shock) I feel it is important to service it at least once a year and both the old Cape Town operations and now Pro Bike in PE do a great job. Straight forward service about 350 and the turn around is about 3 days from Cape Town. I also have heard that DT Swiss produces the shock for Scott hence their ability to service it. Once it did lose some air - while away in the Northern Cape (Extreme cold??). What I tried was to deflate the shock in full travel mode and lube the shaft with wet weather lube - pumped it a few times - repressurised it and it was OK for the rest of the trip (got the tip from TFT in the UK) Anyway - as it is a pull shock the shaft is protected for most of the ride, so mud is not really an issue and it seems to handle wet conditions fairly well.

He was ahead a few times - as it was my first baviaans and I was lugging a camera along so I thought I should stop and take some shots - then charge after the team again. Could only do that for the first 100k's then realised if I wanted to finish I should conserve some energy - hence the long stop at bergplaas!!

Been intrigued by the epic debate and the occasional reference to hardcore riding. I photographed this guy during the transbaviaans last year - yes, he did ride 230km on a rigid steel 24 speed (OK he did have semi slicks - maybe that did help!). Rode with an unwavering slow cadence and I remember seeing him coming into the bergplaas feeding stop when we were leaving - after he had done most of the tough climbing, and even though it had been wet (river crossings) and cold he was still going along as per the photo - HARDCORE!

Must have been a very tough ride without any suspension!!

No.s 18, 43 and 75

Wondered what will be a good way to upload photos of the lighthouse to light house - and seeing that most photos are of men I thought to post the ladies who rode this tough, corrugated and sandy race. Above are the first three past (I think 108 was the eventual winner of both days, 95 second and 93 third)

Thanks - will play around with the photos this weekend and then post some more

Leon said he knows of somebody who rode the route with a GPS - will post the details as soon as I get them

Leon at Hermanus cycles might know if anybody has the GPS co-ords. Will give him a shout tomorrow to see if he has. Else will try the local shop in Gansbaai. Logging off........ will reply tomorrow...

Thanks - will look into it

Thanks Ronelle BTW - enjoyed your George pics! You seem to be able to get a larger pic on the forum, maybe it is the programme you are using?? Tried 640 but had to settle for 350.

Pic for rider info