The expat cyclist

Just two posts and you are already starting crap? Nee man!

Sometimes I can not help but wonder how strange life can be. Many years ago a friend of mine, his wife, two kids and the maid were involved in a car accident. His wife and daughter and the maid died. His son broke his arm. He got out without a scratch. About 3 years ago when I arrived from Kby to Gauteng, I came across an accident near the Botha offramp here in Pta. I was the first guy on the scene. 4 kids in the car. No one wearing a seatbelt. 2 dead on impact, one critical and the driver got out, again without a scratch.

Ja, I know, just saying that it services easy anough. Their manuals are good and easy to follow.

I have a Manitou fork and although it is not as stiff as a Fox, it is easy as pie to service!

Haven't been to Groenies in a while. The reason being is that I don't think it is the ideal place to do training. Just to go for fun with a group of friends to ride, it is an awsome place. Catching slower riders on the single track, which there is plenty off, breaks my rhythem and speed. And even though I always ask nicely: "Track please" I can't help but think that the guy I just passed thinks I am a chop. You always get the one circus patato that refuses to "keep left" or "yield track" eventhough it is safe for him to do so. And then when you pass he will have some snotty remark as you do so. Depending on what kind off remark was made, and how the racing is going, I will either go back and tell him to go and f...you know what I mean, or I will just keep going and ignore him. This issue will always have two sides. The best thing to do is to keep your side CLEAN! TRACK PLEASE! Thanks!!!

The wife has the XCR dry on her bike and she has zero complaints. We did a race last weekend which had a muddy section which was alippery as hell on my bike which sports a GEAX front and rear...The crossmarx I had before was also slippery as hell... Horses for coarses. I chose tyres for dry, dusty, hardpack terrain and try to steer clear of wet muddy races. No tyre is perfect!

No pictures? Iesh. She's no good.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.

We just woke up...

Think of this: A magnet can hold between 1000 and 3000 liters of helium. Imagine the pressure build up if the helium starts boiling! Do the math - it scares me sometimes. There is a clip on youtube about a magnet blowing up - ice blocked the vent ports and the pressure had no where to go. Gooooooooood bye! Footnote: The chances of a magnet blowing up are really slim these days. It has more features than a remote...or a woman....

You are right sir. It is a bit more involved getting it there. Getting the helium into the magnet when that thing is at room temperature is another story. It takes 400 liters of gas to make 1 liter of liquid.

The magnetic field is always at the same strength. However, RF (radio frequency) is also part of the system. It gets transmitted by the machine to help create the image. Maybe the radiographer thought your implant can act as an antenna...But I doubt that. The machine has plenty safety features to stop you from getting hurt. Plenty. It is safer than x-rays and CT's!!! The only thing it can not control is what you take into it. Pacemakers are really the only thing that should be kept WELL away from MRI's. Don't really know of implants being made of anything else than Ti or stainless steel or chinese steel... Prosthetics is a different story.

It is called a quench button. It boils off the liquid helium inside the magnet which make the wires inside the magnet become resistive and thus the magnet is no longer a magnet. The cost involved is for the liquid helium to get put back into the magnet. Anywhere between R140k to R200K. So pushing the quench button for the fun of it - not a good idea.

How about a liquid Helium burn? -269 degrees C.

And that is where most people fail the test. These magnets are ALWAYS on. There is no on/off swich.

The same as these... Ok, ok. Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Or MRI machines are magnetic. Not slightly, highly (1.5 tesla the ones in the pictures.)

This has stopped being a debate loooooooooooooooooooooong ago! All this has become now is: "What 3" can do for your cycling life..." It is not how much you have, but how you use it.

I tink it is stuck.

Everytime I hear "29er", my eye starts to twitch funny. If someone comes up with another wheel size I am going to pop a vein! This whole debate, 29 vs 26 is stupid. For a gizillion years we have been riding 26 inch. NOT ONCE IN ALL MY 34 YEARS ON PLANET EARTH (PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF 29") HAVE I EVER BEEN IN A RACE WHERE ANYONE EVER SAID: "HELL I WISH I HAD BIGGER WHEELS!!!" Then some dope comes up with a 29 inch wheel and all of a sudden everyone claims to be Burry Stander! Why stop at a 29"? Why not a 30"? Or a 29.5"? If a 29 inch is the be all and end all to MTB, why did we have 26" in the first place? FFS, they send a man to the moon and cloned a sheep before they made bigger wheels!!! ENOUGH with 29 er's already!!!

I 2009 my wife crashed out of the Lionman. Fractured elbow - radial head. Took her eight weeks to get back to work!!! And the funny thing is, she is a physio so she knows all about it!!! PM me if you are in the PTA area and would like to talk to her. She works part time from home as well.

+1

Bla, bla, bla. Climbing is just like music. It is allllllllllllllllllllllllll abouth the rhythem. Find your own and keep to it. PS: Not evryone is a climber. Don't beat yourself up to much about it.

Jong, dit hang af wie die pompwerk doen!!!

Done right, you don't need a bomb or a compressor. I used a floor pump (Serfas) on a pair of Geax's (Am Classics) and a pair of Michelins (Mavic 317).

Ok, so we have been told a million times 29'rs roll better over big rocks. Bla, bla, bla. So, if you own a 26'er I want you to think about this next time you race someone on a 29'er: 26'ers accelerate A LOT FASTER OUT OF THE CORNERS THAN 29'ers!!! Let me say that again: 26'ers accelerate faster than 29'ers. Oh, and 26 inch wheels are stiffer than 29'ers. Which means better power transfer when accelerating out of a corner. Now I have planted a little seed in your head and you will now change your riding style because you know what the strengths are of your bike. Take advantage of what you have. Yes, 29'ers roll faster over the rocky stuff...So it will work well at Sabie but it will be a waste at Babbas.