Mamil

I got 1350 on my Garmin and most people I know were in that ballpark. The trailseeker events are generally fairly accurate when it comes to accurate course descriptions. Also these elevation measurements do seem to vary wildly - two Garmin 520's riding the same route at the same time can measure very differently.

Tempted as I am to spend hard end dosh so I can watch your eponymous buttox on their saddle while spitting grit and mud as I try to keep up with you for 100 kilometers Thor, I think I will decline the invite.

Anyone else headed to Nabapeep for Spring day?

Ah Ferro I been there before - Mr T Buttox advised me to stop biting off more than I can chew and do the shorter events for a while - advice which I took for about 2 months. I also got a road bike which really gave my fitness a boost.

Dare we D batchers tackle Bosman on 5 August? It's the toughest of these trailseekers I believe.

I posted this under the news article but I didn't think anyone would read it so I'm reposting it here - I can't find a thread for the Grabouw trailseeker - (sorry admin but having written it I kinda want someone to read it - please move it if needed) ---------------------- The first thing I had to get my head around on Saturday was that, after my personal best performance at Tulbagh, I had been demoted from C batch to D. To be fair, I don't think there were too many behind me at Tulbagh but still, I have to say my ego was wounded and as I persuaded my frozen fingers to plak the D onto my board, my confidence was a little dented. The other D batchers and I stood in the chute eyeing each other out. "I reckon I can take this lot" I thought reassuringly to myself. Some of these guys looked like they enjoy a second helping of the pap and sous as much as I do and noting that the front row of the batch resembled the front row of a reserve league rugby side, acceptance of my lowly status in the hierarchy of speed started to seep in. The truth is, I've been in B and C batches at trailseekers before and they tend to take off from the start like sinners fleeing the truth and I struggle to keep up such a fast pace on cold legs. And my legs were freezing - 0,5 the commentator informed us with a note of glee as he hunkered down into his windbreaker and wrapped his scarf a little tighter - actually my Garmin went as low as minus 2 as we dropped into the valley. Then we were off - D and E batches lumped together for convenience and I was racing along 6th wheel and feeling like a real athlete and right at home in D when disaster struck - I cross chained myself at the first corner and popped the chain off. My fingers were blue and numb but I got it back on as the guy in the cow suit right at the back went past and I started stone last. All pretensions of competition aside my aim was to finish what I knew to be a very tough ride having had a good time rather than spend the last hour of the event just hanging on and praying for the end. I accomplished this. What a really lekker ride this is - I remembered the first half from the shorter distance I did last year. It was gratifying to climb up the old pass 4 minutes faster than I did last year and to reach the route split with an average speed almost 2 kilometers an hour faster than I did in the half marathon last year. Real progress. After the split, the real riding started. The Groenlandberg climb was a proper challenge but not insurmountable. The thing that stood out most for me though was the devastation wrought by the recent fires. The single track return journey from the furthest point above Steenbras was mud and blackened stumps and I imagined taking gritty and grainy black and white photographs - the gorgeous winter sunlight contrasting with the ochre and burnt stone. The hill at 62km was a nasty little surprise - I cannot imagine how anyone could ride up the washed out and steepest section. Of course they do but I'd really like to see it. I finished feeling tired but good and with a little bit left in the tank and 15 minutes slower than I said I'd be ecstatic with when chatting about the race with the guys from my LBS. A very well organised ride - plenty of porta-loos which is one of my biggest requirements at an event - give everyone enough time to have a good bowel movement and they will be happy - well marked routes with adequately stocked refreshment stations - the sliced oranges are fantastic and give a real boost. Looking forward to seeing the regrowth in the fire devastated sections next winter.

Shave? No way - it's going to be 1 degree in Elgin tomorrow and I can't afford to be distracted by a cold chin. I'm going to suggest to D batch that we have a group hug at the start - ok - maybe I'll see what D batch looks like before committing to that.

As a larger rider "stay wider ofbthe wider rider" i object to your assertion we don't care about strava. I care deeply about strava. I have many koms which i get by making private segments. I often sit munching a giant nougat bar dreaming about taking the kom up my street off the elderly gardner who uses it as his commute.

That's the clincher for me - a non functional trainer is too big to be a paperweight. Of course it's all moot at the moment because I can't justify 20k for my bicycle riding addiction, in addition to all I am already spending on race entries and bike maintenance at the moment. Next winter perhaps.

It's our way as Saffers.... half of us believe the law doesn't apply to them and the other half is ready to commit violence to convince them it does.

Thule roof rack with proride 598 - very happy with mine

How's the rehab going for the walking wounded of the savage clan?

Rode the 55k on Saturday. Definitely a race of two halves - cold, very wet and still raining on and off for the first 24 - a long but gorgeous climb that everyone in mid pack where I was walked - view was spectacular and worth the muddy effort. Lots of expensive sounding crunching coming for everyone's drive train - chain suck all over the show. The second half was much faster - long, rocky and superfast downhills - a smattering of singletrack climb. An enjoyable ride. Good signage, adequate water points - a few baked patat or baby potatoes would have been a welcome addition to the fruit and coke on offer especially as it was so cold. The entryninja registration was a little chaotic and I'm not sure about the accuracy of the results. Someone in the youth category won the 55k event in 2:13 24, which is 30 minutes ahead of the second placed guy. Could it be that a number of people who signed up for the 55, got to the top of that huge hill in the wet and mud and when confronted with the devil on the left shoulder saying "Go downhill and do 45" and the angel on the right shoulder with his "keep climbing and do 55", sold their souls for the promise of a cappucino and a boerie roll? The entryninja system would rely on the rider to say he'd bailed. Of course if the youth in question did win at an average of 25kmph - I am in awe and retract my comments in embarrassment. The women in the family did the 15k trail run the next day and were less than pleased that it turned out to be 18k. That's fine if you're an experienced runner but for people who have trained up and are attempting the distance for the first time, that's 20% more distance than you're ready for. It makes a difference. They too loved the scenery and even though there are some sore limbs in the household, they enjoyed their run. Do it again? To be sure, particularly as we have family in that neck of the woods.

Rode from Stanford to Napier to meet the women in the family who called Naas names that would hurt his feelings for making the 15k trail run actually an 18km trail run on Sunday. Garmin recorded a temp of 0.

2 breakages in 2 machines would make me pretty skeptical about a brand. How us the kickr 7k cheaper. I see them consistently quoted at 20k. Or do you mean the tacx machine is 7k cheaper? I think they're 13k at cwcycles.

What have you heard about local support. CWcycles just told me there's a 1 year factory defect warranty on the Tacx they are selling. What do hubbers know about Tacx after sales support?

I feel guilty and out of sorts because I haven't ridden since Sunday - Monday it was raining properly, madness to ride, Tuesday less rain but I was lazy and stayed under the duvet and today I started work too early to fit a ride in before. This thread giving me GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

Putting the supposition in the ass-umption

Shady looking characters with trowels and plastic gloves hovering around the port-a-loos at the T de F? Black market poop rackateers claiming to have a scoop of Froome foeces? Holy ****.

One day when our children tell their children that we used to use fresh drinking water to flush the toilet and then throw that water away they are going to stare in disbelief. "What the f$55#" will be their response.

Wow! A ghastly moment indeed. It's quite a thing combining the unpredictable hazards of cross country mtb riding with the drafting and pace lining of road riding. I found it hellish trying to stck to a wheel on the dirt, scary because you can't see the obstacles and you're having all the mud and droll kicked up in your face. In the end I thought $&@ it I'd rather deal with the wind and rode in front. Only one oke returned the favour on the tar though. Great description of a ghastly fraction of a second cK. Thanks for posting all concerned, very useful and instructive to hear how these things happen. Sorry to be learning at your guy's expense though.

You all look a lot cleaner than I did when I crossed the line (only) 28 minutes behind you Savages. (Does it show how pleased I am with myself?) Nice report - again wishes for quick recovery to the two wounded savages

There was a Savage pulling A batch along the return lagoon run when the lazy C batchers who didn't want to help pull were still tootling towards the 16mile beach turnaround. Wasn't him who fell?

Eina - I have been smacked in the face by a cricket ball, bust teeth, smashed lip etc - and almost everywhere else on my body too and while it's far from pleasant, I think a cycling crash is worse. More points of contact and generally you're not expecting it. Wish you a quick recovery.

Oh no! Rapid healing to the two wounded Savages.