the pooks

2013 RESULTS MTB Trail Run

Update: Buffet Olives 2012 trail Run results: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11809449/2012Buffet/BuffetOliveTrailRun2012Results1.pdf Buffet Olives 2012 MTB results: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11809449/2012Buffet/BuffetOlivesMTB2012Results1.pdf Buffet Olives 2012 Trail Run photos https://picasaweb.google.com/105115185718724242948/20121027BuffetOlivesTrail?authuser=0&feat=directlink Buffet Olives 2012 MTB photos https://picasaweb.google.com/105115185718724242948/20121028BuffetOlivesMTB?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Most pleased that things went pretty smoothly. It was quite hot, and waterpoint 1 could have done with more coke and water. @BBB: Point taken about the more marshals at the split. It is a tough race with a lot of climbing but the best bits are up the mountain - in the forest for the 25km route and the 42km riders really miss out on the best part of the whole route if they bail at the split. The views are stunning on the last section towards the tunnel. We could rather offer a bail option after the Ashanti dam, as the last climb to Hawekwa is pretty tiring for the backmarkers. I have lived in the area all my life but still am struck in awe when one gets to the water point amongst Giel's protea plantations.

I recall (and that was a couple of years ago) there was a lovely bike trail that started at Fernkloof nature reserve and went to the end of town in the direction of Stanford and then came back to the traffic circle all along the coast. One could easily do it in bits and pieces with small children, but it is relatively flat anyway.

It's a very small job. Makes sense just to take it to a shop with better equipment. Thanks so far for your input.

Any idea how to weld a broken front bracket? An employee came to me with a bottom of the range "cheap" bike - definitely not aluminium. One of the brackets to which the front axle clamps has cracked - no doubt after a weekend party accident. I tried welding it, but it does not like normal Afrox mild steel rods. I'll try some 316 stainless steel rods tomorrow. Any ideas as to how to weld? The bike was welded during manufacture, so it must be possible. PS: This is a seriously low-tech bike. The thing doesn't have any brakes! Maybe that explains the broken bracket!

Get a bike as quickly as possible. You get to all the small towns and places and back roads, away from the main drag. A bike is like an international passport in France - the French are super friendly to cyclists. You just start all conversations with Bonjour Monsieur or Bonjour Madame and the rest does not matter. We did a cycle tour there 6 months ago: Avignon - Pont du Gard - Arles - Camargue. What a jol.

Rode the white route today. It is my opinion that the Welvanpas trails are on top of the list when it comes to MTBing in the Western Cape - the miles of singletrack and varied scenery put it in a class of it's own. The route colour codes are a little puzzling - I would have gone White=easy, blue=moderate red/black=hard. In this case the White route is the hard one. Will also pester Dan so that he provides shower facilities - there are many stunning places in the Paarl/Wellington area to eat afterwards - provided you don't smell like a sweatshop. Do yourselves a favour and experience the naked (*) beauty of the Boland! (*) OK - I'm fantasizing

As said before, the test would require many repetitions and be done "blind". In the cycling scene having good kit must have a huge positive psychological influence on outcomes, and as we are humans and not machines, this influence becomes significant. I like the idea of a naked female tester - that would make it a lot more interesting1

That's exactly what happened to me jiggs. I actually took it in because the shifting was tight and sluggish - previous experience pointed me to believe that replacing the cable and sleeve does the trick. Then I said while you are at it replace the chain and when next I saw it was R1600 later: Chain, cluster + 2 chainrings. I'm going to monitor the chain more closely using the measurement in my post above and replace the chain sooner and hopefully avoid all the other costs. One can buy quite a few chains for R1600.

So what's the rule of thumb - how much allowable chain stretch/wear in order to get away with chain replacement only (ie no new casette or chainrings)? OK - to answer my own question - Sheldon Brown says 1/16" over 1ft - replace chain only, 1/8"per ft replace chain + gears