Musashi

I have the 29r Spark Elite and also went with Crest rims/Hope hubs.

+1. I'm not sure whether it is old unmaintained single track, or brand new single track that hasn't been ridden in and is invisible with the pine needles, but a few of us ended up lost and found and lost and found. Also, at some other places the route markings were not great and we ended up turning around when someone comes from the front telling us we all went wrong. And some really dangerous spots weren't indicated. Personally I don't mind the rocks and I enjoy the challenge, but the best bit of single track was the last bit up to the 25km point, nice and fast. As always, great fun!

The ascents aren't really that bad, just long. And the fast downhills make up for that. But that is mostly in the second half. The test in the first half is the technical terrain. I can't wait!

Entered for the 50km. This is always a fun event. Lots of rain predicted for tomorrow but Friday and Saturday looks dry and Grabouw drains very quickly so we should have lots of fun!

Well, I bent the rim on my brand new Scott Spark 29r within the first three weeks. And it wasn't a hard impact at all. Now I have Hope hubs and Crest rims and couldn't be happier. My personal experience, I hope it helps somehow.

I tried that, Tiny K. Doesn't work on the 500. Even the suggestion of copying it straight to the gps unit doesn't work.

Stilbaai. PM me if you're in the area and want to join.

My biggest problem with MapMyRide is that you can't download the routes in any useful manner anymore. Only gpx format with no elevation data. Pretty useless for a Garmin. Generally the website isn't too bad, but mapping a route can take a long time to load.

Both mine and my wife's CS200's gave similar issues after 1.5 to 2 years of use. Replacing the battery didn't help. Now I use a Garmin.

First press power and then up/down to zoom. I think this does the trick, but not 100% sure. Let us know!

I might be keen, but need to be back home at 10:30. Post the details and I'll see what I can do, but don't worry about accommodating me.

I have the Wacky Wine weekend as 9 June. That leaves 2 June available. But I guess it's one of those things, I cannot actually do every nice race there is. Great problem to have though!

Yes, it is on the same day as the 100 Miler. Did it two years ago and it really is a nice race. There is one part where you cycle through the old train tunnel by candle light. It's very cold early in the morning, but worth it! I'm sorry I'm missing it again this year. If they could just move it one week either way...

WW, I think there is a way. If you scroll through the pages while riding a course, you get to a map page. This is the one where you want to zoom. Press the power/light switch and then up and down. I came across this accidentally but it might help you.

I don't know whether there is a single continuous gravel road of 80km's, but you can link a few together: Spes Bona, Malanshoogte (useful if you stay in the Plattekloof area and surrounds), Occultdale, Slent. And quite a bit of the tar road has a nice gravel shoulder.

Gifberg (if anyone knows where that is! Hint: Western Cape)

SeaBee, I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Let me know where you have your fit done and what you think. I'm also due for a fine-tune.

Map most of your route and then as you get close to the start/finish point, click "loop". The lollipop is nearly the same, but will find the closest point along the mapped route and then track from there back to the startpoint. If you are mapping off road, you can get your route more accurate by clicking more points along the route but other than that it doesn't make that big a difference.

Take whichever you can get an entry for. There is already a waiting list for both for 2012.

I've used mapmyride to map off-road routes quite succesfully, but you need to know what you are looking for. A single track is very difficult to identify in the Google Earth interface (gravel roads are easier). Basically you turn off "Follow Roads" and then simply place a whole lot of markers on the route you want to take. Straight lines are drawn between the markers, but you can adjust that by dragging the marker it creates halfway between your markers. I used do download the courses (*.crs) on the classic website, but it seems that is no longer possible. Thanks Tankman for the alternative method. I will give it a try!

Oh, I thought it was called Moordenaarskop. If it is the same one, here are some photos.

Which one is Hanse Kop? The zigzag tar road to the top of the mountain, directly north of Sir Lowry's pass?

Almost exact same story here. 1.5 km's from the start a ripple goes through the bunch, guy next to me swerves my way (not really his fault) and somehow bumps into my rear wheel. Broken spoke, bent rim and derailleur. Waved the B group bye bye as I try to bend things back in shape. With a hectic wobble and gears all over the place I finished in 3:12. Visited the bike shop yesterday and the rear wheel is FUBAR. ("Ek kan nie glo jy het aan gery nie!"). Oh, what could have been...

Number 4 on the map, yes. It's a fairly relaxed ride, a few (really) short kickers with loose rocks, but not very technical. At the turning point there is a nice rock pool for a swim. Most people will do it under 4 hours.

Conditions and riders change. There is no average speed/ time for a group. In my opinion, try to hang on, but if you find yourself on your own, relax and wait for the next group to catch you. You might need the rest in order to hook up.