Rapunzel

Last time I did it, we clocked 2200m climbing. Definitely a proper mtb event.

For the record, the flow terra was built by the previous farm manager and not funded with club membership fees. Majik is public open space and the club does do some maintenance there with the blessing of the parks department. Lots of maintenance is scheduled this winter but we're at the mercy of the weather. We've tried community builds in the past but it a bit of a challenge to manage and I think most of us underestimate just how much soil needs to be moved and compacted to have an impact on the trails.

Agreed Skubarra. Conties, Hooggekraaland Meerendal manage their own day permit systems. In order to provide a day permit thatcovers all, we'd not only have to cover the full cost of each farm's permit, but also the cost of the transaction and subsequent distribution of fees to each land owner. Much as the club would LOVE to be able to have an inclusive day permit, we just cannot come up with a viable solution which everybody is happy with. Sorry :-(

Purchase your day permit from Bloemendal and then cross directly over the tar road at the Bloemendal exit, through the gate and Follow signage through Nitida and into Hillcrest

The farms surrounding the mast are divided like slices of a round cake. This means that it is impossible to cut a route between Hillcrest and Conties without crossing kliprug. I feel your pain and generally end up using the new oatlands corridor to Vissershok rd.

Some serious pistons there to do a 3:38 with David in tow! Well done and lekker to see people doing CTCC for more than themselves

That really doesn't cut it. He must be sleeping under a bush.

Steeper means straight down the hill which is an erosion problem and eroded trails are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate. I suggest if you want steeper that you stick to Conties black. That said, I did notice on a flight into cape town a few months back that it is a big scar on our tygerberg hills :-(

Out of interest sake, were any of you on fluoroquinilone (eg Ciprofloxacin) antibiotics prior to your ruptures?

Stayed a few days at Balie's Gat in the Cederberg. The road out is a bit rough and steep but the oasis at the bottom is a gem.

It really could have been so much more constructive if you had come to the SGM and had your say on the appropriate platform. As a fellow committee member, we deliberated long and hard with the decision to raise fees above inflation. The general feedback we've had from members is that the decision to further expand the trail network albeit with a higher membership fee is a good one and the SGM voting didn't indicate otherwise. We cannot equate comments on a forum such as the hub to the general sentiment amongst members. Please do attend general meetings if you feel the committee is not aligned with your interests. We don't promise to get everything right but we aim to please as many as we can, as often as possible.

Us ladies were definitely recognised before, arguably more than our fair share considering we are a far smaller portion of the field . The separate start group to me was not about recognition, but creating conditions for more objective racing in a group which was small, but certainly not lacking in quality. That said, I really missed just being "one of the guys" in previous events where we rode the race, but did not miss some of the overly aggressive riding of some of the teams who were racing for 100th position.

I had the privilege of riding in the ladies elite group in the event and thoroughly enjoyed the racing. there was a mutual respect amongst the leading men from group B when they came through which was normally between 45min and an hour into each day. I did not appreciate the whole women's lib thing thrown down our throats on the first evening, embarrassing for me and really not great for the guys - they must have felt like they were intruding in a women's only race. The trails were fantastic as always, with a bit of new ST thrown in each day. Route markings were not up to scratch in places and we took a wrong turn in Lourensford partly because one of the motorbikes had left a dust storm which together with the low sun, made visibility very bad.I can see a difference in value for money since Epic bought W2W out - no free T-Shirt, no-name jacket is not great quality and no burger at the finish was a real snub in the face and showed the lengths they would go to , to make a bit more money (I had it on good authority that the race organisers asked Spur to donate burgers to cyclists on the last day following all the complaints). Finish venue had NO facilities and minimal shade. The setting was very pretty but to put all facilities including bike park and ablutions nearly a km away didn't work. and no Grandstand management, a tidal pool does not suffice for a shower.This is an awesome event and I really do hope they find some solutions to these challenges before the race next weekend as for R14 500 for a 3 day event, riders deserve better.

There are postings on the Tygerberg facebook page regarding some of the changes but the lower section around the dam and vineyards is changing regularly as a result of building work. I'd suggest a 2nd loop of the upper portions and skip the lower parts in the interim. The trail entrance is as per the attached pic.

Louis Bresler-Knipe at Knipe Racing, Meerendal (tel 082 493 8597) Just rebuilt my rear stans wheel (rim replaced) and does all my bike maintenance - won't go anywhere else!

Probably going to cancel the multiply - can't be bothered spending R299 per month on some loyalty program that I have to invest so much time and effort into getting the max R400 benefits monthly. Also spoke to my broker and he said to get my status up, I must consider moving my short term and life insurance over to them and get my will changed so they will be executors of my estate. Yeah right

Doesn't work on my s4 mini nor does it work on my husband's J7 Not very impressed with the restructuring of the health saver benefits from Multiply - was scoring in a big way last year, up to R1400 off our premium. Since the restructure, max we can get back as a family is R400.

he's very serious about protecting his rear derailleur!

That was one seriously tough event! First half had some stunning trail through little known valleys at the back end of Rawsonville. The thick sand interspersed with river rock was heavy going with frequent portages when it got too boggy. Had a stretch with free miles on open dirt road with a tail wind after passing DuToitskloof Cellars at the halfway point but then with about 40km to go it got rather nasty with steep and loose climbs, sketchy descents and rapidly increasing temperatures. Great epic training and a well marked route. Do have to have one moan session re the singletrack between Slanghoek and Goudini - too sandy to try to build tight bermed trails and if epic goes through this part, there are going to be serious bottlenecks and lots of walking.

No woodworking skill required but a heck of a lot of elbow grease (4 rooms on hands and knees with a belt sander). First coat of Sabrethane looks awesome! (skirting boards still to be replaced)

Sowa pan at Makgadigadi - flattest ride ever with 4m vertical ascent in 20km . Took a while to get all the salt off the wheels afterwards but what an experience!

R44 outside stellies next to Cloetesville: one attack thursday last week where my riding partner was pulled off his bike. He needed some stitches and the bike needed some tlc afterwards but nothing was stolen (probably much thanks to the kind motorists that stopped immediately to assist us). and then an attempted attack on 2 cyclists by an armed person this morning. Thankfully the cyclists were able to avoid being pulled from their bikes.

Gotta say that when trying to grow a sport, posting pictures of almost every crash in the series is only appeal to complete masochists lol! So sad to not be joining in this year

bikers score out of this as the cost of bike specific trails can exceed R100 000 per km. Poor climbers / hikers and horseriders are having to fork out the same amount to access trails that cost far less to build and maintain.