flymango

A beer afterwards. You're on. I say it will be from the front and left coming home from Wellington, but no more than 15 km/h. I leave it to you to decide whether I owe you a beer or the other way round.

All weather sites I'm looking at suggest a slight breeze from the east, more than the south. Looks like the current gale will die down at sunrise. Will be a fast and hot one. First outing for me on the road bike since the Argus. 6.30 start in L. Damn it's an early wake-up call. Have fun and be safe.

Also hit that bend at speed on Sunday and had to brake hard whilst swerving into the traffic lane to avoid hitting the barrels. Thankfully there weren't any cars behind me.

Paste option isn't highlighted when I try save to desktop. Never mind. It was funny.

Will have to learn how to insert pictures from emails ...

I was just about to post the same thing. I think the poll result speaks for itself.

Wow, Ceres. That climb from km 33 - 40 km looks like a meneer. About 500 m in 7 km? Correct? And how much of that climb is single track?

Holiday or permanently?

If I'm here I'll be in. But might be leaving that Saturday for Garden Route.

And then when a rider buys a day board, they sign indemnity (another key aspect to consider), and pay say R150 for a day-board, of which R100 is refundable when returning the board. It will be inconvenient for the day rider but will still allow them the pleasure of enjoying the trails, and may even prompt them to take up membership. Half-year memberships should also be considered to address seasonanility and/or affordability. Not sure if this is on offer.

Interesting concept. So no honesty system. Buy your day permit at pre-determined outlets, display your board, and you're good to go. That way everybody on the trails must have a board on display - no exceptions. No board - no ride. Self-policing then by all paid-up members. Maybe the TBMTBC committee members will look into this.

Yip. Real problem that. An honesty-system will always be open to dishonesty. Given that we're talking about access to private property here, I fear that on balance the whole concept of members only for all trails and corridors might be the only solution. Many people will complain, but one can't design a sustainable model around non-members. The risk is very real that there won't be any trails to squabble about.

My reference to confrontation relates to when I see a rider without a board on the members only corridors. Members are empowered (obligated actually) to self-police the trails, and check whether riders without boards have actually paid to use the trail.

This event has also made me wonder if the business model of TBMTBC isn't possibly on a weak foundation in terms land access and land use rights? Given the financial size of the club, one would hope that land privileges are contractually secured, and that land owners cannot unilaterally terminate those privileges outside of agreed contractual terms. So if there is breach (or continued breach), the club has a mechanism (and obligation) to remedy that breach and only if it then fails to do so, does the land access and use right terminate. But if I were a land owners in the Tygerberg trails area, why would I put myself into such a contractual straight jacket without any real commercial upside?

Too many riders take the Tygerberg trails for granted and/or access them illegally (i.e. without valid member board displayed). And not enough members have the courage to self-police. I have to confess that sometimes I fall into the latter category, as I want to enjoy my ride and not confront riders without membership boards. The reason we can enjoy SECURE riding is because most of the trails and access corridors (90%+) are on private property. And on the landowners' terms and conditions. Their land - their rules. My concern is the potential domino effect, as all these land owners are neighbours and talk to each other. I hope the said rider was a member, and that he/she is named, shamed and banned. If he/she was not a member, it cannot bode well for regaining land access rights.

No disrespect to anybody, but I wouldn't be surprised if those who prefer heat are ectomorph and probably at their ideal body weight, whilst most recreational cyclists are either mesomorph or endomorph.

My question more relates to performance and the cycling experience, rather than the impact on your bike. The latter is of course very relevant from a cost perspective.

Having slogged through this year's W2W Adventure and the weekend's Hell and Back, I couldn't help thinking how different both events could have been with scorching heat, and how I far prefer cool conditions to hot conditions, notwithstanding the treacherous conditions associated with rain and mud. So, aside from the damage to your bike and overnight challenges if doing a stage race, which conditions do you prefer on the bike?

MODS PLEASE MERGE

My wife also rides. So two entries (1,800 - got a discount from a Hubber), plus accommodation night before and campsite 2 (350 + 200) plus two meals at campsite 2 (300). So that's 2,650 before I leave. Plus fuel. And then 2 X full bike services (AGAIN!!) when I'm back.

I'm soooo confused. Running out of time to decide. Common sense versus R3,000 already paid. mmmmmmmmmmm

I haven't even started packing. Shouldn't be difficult though. Goggles. Snorkel. Flippers. And lube ...

MODS - MERGE PLEASE I heard the event is going ahead for now, "come hell or high water". Organisers have two things to consider: 1. Rider safety (flash flooding of river crossings and ability of medical evacuation in any emergency). 2. Ability of support logistics to enter and leave "The Hell". The second consideration might be the bigger challenge no Sunday (so keep your car keys on your person!). We're going to have to call it by 11h00 today, but we won't be any the wiser as the rain only starts Friday night. I'm 51/49 GO at the moment.

I chose Goosen at 10 on the assumption that Steyn is out. I now hear he will be ready. Lambie is my first choice 15, so we need to look to the future at 10. If Steyn is fit, I'd play him with Goosen off the bench. Bismarck is the world's best. And Strauss is probably in the top 4. I chose Strauss ahead of Bismarck because I think we have a real talent at 12 in Serfontein which we need to nurture. JJ doesn't do it for me at 13. So I'd pick Serfontein at 12 and move JdV to 13. But at 13 he literally is far from the action, so I pick Strauss for his leadership qualities in the engine room.