Tim Brink

Nice bike, it is: http://fullsus.co.za/fuelling-the-fire/

Damn, those disc brakes are dangerous.

The stage suited him, too...

I ride it just about daily, during the week. Have heard about one bike jacking and two runner/pedestrian muggings, all three at or near the bridge out of the plantation onto the tar track in the last four years or so, none for a while though. I rarely feel unsafe.

Not any more.

Man, was that fun or what? And the hospitality in the town, was amazing. Thank you John and Arno and everyone else. The 171km bit was unnecessary, my legs are still telling me, but we would do it again tomorrow, right? Loved the roadie start (my riding buddies allowed me to have some fun, and wait for them later). Climbing up through the mist, having waved the racing snakes good bye and at a pace that was sensible, was lovely. Meiringspoort by bike is just too beautiful, after years of driving it and dreaming. Muragie road - what a joy to ride it during the day, and up, not blinking dusky dust at silly speeds with small lights. The tar climb to Kobus se Gat: the devil's work. Knowing the main Swartberg climb was a life-saver - the difference between the viewpoint that looks like the top (and has to be, surely!) and Die Top is an alarming 3km, for the uninitiated. And yet, the sense of humour failure rate was so low. Gravel bikers are lekker people, Lekker. The descent into town was worth every shred of kneecap-restructuring on the way up. The beers at the finish: nectar. My highlight? I got my whole table at our Friday night carboload to Google what a Prince Albert is. Mighty proud of that. It may have affected the dessert order, though. See you all next year.

How. The. F*ck.

Uncle Sven knows...

https://www.hotchillee.com/event/rainmaker-rollercoaster/

That'll show 'em...

Burning the midnight oil, now?

Calling BS on this. No self-respecting child leaves a quarter box. If they can't finish it, they hide it.

Too busy burning his beds.

12.7 GPS Data. No rider may distribute any GPS co-ordinates in respect of the Race route at any time (including but not limited to, uploads onto online platforms such as Strava), unless expressly authorized in writing by the Organisers.

You should see the damage Headshot did to the trails on his 26er in his early Epics.

Main Road Wynberg is scary enough hanging onto the UCT whippersnappers on a normal bike, thank you.

I shall keep the beard, then.

Which category would gravel bikes qualify for?

90 days in... how's it going, y'all?

Locked to a tree outside Cavendish Square... gonna buy me a saw.

Um.... No. No ambiguity, at all. Human-powered extra juice is called a tandem.

And both of them finished second overall on normal bikes when they weren't aero-is-everything-ing.

Lloyd won outright four times, Wimpie van der Merwe holds the any-course average speed record at 2:16.40 over 105km in 1993, 46km/h.

1992 - Richard Chesterton and Chris van Zyl

So. The Cycle Tour Trust uses 364 days of the year to think through all the possibilities that have been chucked into this whinge-pot, amongst other things. It does so, continually, and has for 40-something years now (I know, it wasn't the Trust in the early days, you get what I am saying). Each and every suggestion here - even the really silly ones - has been discussed in the past, along with a whole lot Hubland hasn't even dreamt up yet. And many continue to be discussed. The way it is right now is the most sensible and safe for all of the riders, and inconveniences the rest of Cape Town the least. The birdies are whispering that there are some lekker new Cycle Tour things on the horizon, some that might have been broached here, some that have not, some major changes, some minor tweaks, which will address a number of the challenges the event faces. Until then, maybe we should just trust the Trust, its collective expertise and its drive to make each event better than the last, which it has done for so long.