mazambaan

Hats off to these boys. Not the best conditions with a new knee for GM; I'd be most fearful and good to see Hermida has retained his sense of humour; I'd be sulking and hoping the route got reduced. The life of a pro! They'll earn their money here by the looks of things.

An uplifting tale and hopefully with a happy ending. MTB'ers are generally great to others. I'm 60 odd and crashed properly in a small race in Feb (c/bone, ribs, punctured lung) and the other riders were great (10/10) and I am very appreciative. Two stopped immediately and stayed with me. A doc stopped to check. No ambulance, the sweep picked me up in a bakkie; not so lekker (2/10) but eventually got home and to hospital. Docs, nurses, family and friends were hugely supportive and positive. Now looking to Sani. All the best to your Dad

I'd go with Tim. I'm recovering from broken ribs, collarbone & punctured lung (pity no Stan's in it) trying to be ready for Sani. Physio treated the aches and pains after hospital then handed me to a biok for strengthening exercises and its back to the physio if these give rise to any persistent pains. All have been great; my body is just a bit slap gat.

Congrats Tank and to all the finishers. I'm respectful to all Epic finishers (even starters at R50 000 a team) .

This is tragic. RIP son. While investigating and bringing the possible offenders to justice won't bring him back it is one part of the process needed for motorists (particularly government officials) to respect cyclists (pedestrians and motorcyclists).

Aye Yumeya, I've noticed this disturbing trend. Regardless of bike wheel size I am *** slow. Very disappointing and puzzling, particularly when the salesmen and other demo riders were enthusing about how fast the new bikes were. I would not ride a 29'er on the Cascades XCO route. Too far to fall.

Good work Nige, I hope it's me you're giving the chance to; making a return after a gap of a few years. Was always a great ride, relatively chilled and well organised.

It would be interesting to know how the "course" is defined and what the tolerances are. Or is it just subjective in that one "gained an unfair advantage" so penalties can essentially be applied at the discretion of the disciplinary section of the race committee. Sound like F1 (or the Dakar); everyone races and the details get sorted out later, sometimes in court. Course cutting rears its ugly head in enduro's and offroad mbike racing now and again. I think they have width envelope along the course.. There's an idea; have waypoints like the Dakar. Go wherever you like but you must tick off the waypoints within a defined tolerance.

Good move Stretch and I had some theft recently and the assessor and PI suggested I mark all valuable (laptops, cameras etc etc) with some small mark; initials / sticker whatever in an unobtrusive spot to confirm identification as serial numbers get scratched off, etc.

Funnily enough I've also found that a really hot bath with bicarb seems to help but best the same night. Helped me survive the blasted Himeville Notts 100km.

and a punt for the LCHF diet (Noakes version) in Business Day. It seems that even the naughty Aussies have adopted it?? http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2014/01/20/thick-end-of-the-wedge-anc-to-get-a-mighty-fright

Very sorry for your loss, give you and your family the strength to take the blow and may it get a little easier each day. Picked up this late as I was riding - dirt bike Saturday and MTB Sunday. I don't know the circumstances of this accident but there are some mad and dangerous people in cages out there.

Destry Abbotts's KX500 and Kenny Robert's TZ 750 (I think even KR was scared of that). You choose the 2 stroke to snare the snot right out of you. For tame the Maico 700.

Thanks Cpt mayhem; excellent summary. Agree about the forks; my RS have been great. Saw them bikes yesterday and had to hold onto my credit card that seems to have a life of its own. That 27.5 Trance was fairly vacuuming it out of my pocket.

Thanks cpt armpies; I'm so sorely tempted by that Trance; heart says yes; bank balance, Mrs baas etc say nyet. Do you think it has a more relaxed geometry than a Stumpy; or similar? Why Google when experts are in the Hub house.

Great thread for me. Please can I ask: what are the weights, or relative difference in weight, between these 2 bikes? Then: both 650B or 29er?

Ah Tumbles, that's it; the ever watchful traffic police have swooped on the dastardly perpetrators, scooped them all up and made them disappear. Will be interesting to too see if the same happens in Jhb. Where do they take all the misbehaving cyclists? A massive re-education camp where they have to ride stationery bicycles that generate power for Eskom? Not a bad idea. Step away from the keyboard.

This is not new. I saw this type of disgraceful behaviour in Durban. One Sunday in October, also riding on the wrong side of the road! Haven't seen it since though. Authorities must have clamped down. Will keep a sharp lookout.

Harburn Bros. for the vision (and obviously owning the property) to start Giba Gorge

Ja nee, the kick and chase option seems high risk and a bit boring. Not only Lambiekins but Willie le Roux the exciting runner, hoofed the ball just about whenever he got it. I don't think we'll be beating the AB's anytime soon with this game. Still I also don't think Lambie had a bad game. The one time he ran instaed of kicking he got isolated; kind of sums up the Bok gameplan. If Lambie did, so did le Roux, Fourie and the rest of the backline pretty much. du Preez's try was a bit (maybe 2 bits) of refereeing good fortune - for once. I think Welsh errors, Bok defence and our tight 5, particularly Bissy and the loose forwards made the Bok game, despite Rolland's craziness. He was the best Welsh player by some distance despite conceding the du Preez try (he, he).

Actually I'm ambivalent between Lorenzo (mainly because of his comeback from the collarbone break) and Marquez but I feel for Pedrosa. One crash while leading and his team mate clipping him (that showed how vital electronic aids are) ruined his season when he could have become champion. That's racing. At least the electronics make it to the showroom bikes and maybe bicycles. How long before downhill bikes have a GPS module that automatically adjusts the suspension for different parts of the track?

I love these armchair expert cynics, obviously they know that the useless JduP has been pulling the wool over Sharks & Bok coaches eyes for years (or has something on them); the same cynics probably sneer at Robbie Hunter and Darryl Impey; beaten by skinny Chris Froome. Personally I'll stick with what the coaches say. Other players may be marginally better here and there; but JduP ain't a useless passenger methinks. But that is SA rugby "kenners" for you.

Great your got your bike back; well done. Maybe the lesson in the pc world is to make sure you can prove ownership. Serial number, photo's whatever.

Hmmmm, I see that at lea few people building lightweight dirt motorbikes (around 50kg) use what brakes...................Hope.

Ja and I think the Petersen Bros were saying that current WBSK bikes were 10sec quicker per lap round Jerez compared to the Raymond Roche (1st superbike champion?). The WBSK bikes are between 1 & 2s per lap slower than MotoGP bikes. Marquez is certainly a breath of fresh air; no tantrums; just smiling after a DQ compared to the somewhat Schumacher like Lorenzo & Pedrosa. Pity about Spies although his injuries and woes started at Yamaha, not Ducati.