SeaBee

Whooo-hoo, ek gaan een gesiggie ken! Mads, ek dog jy gaan op 'n lang trap Sondag?!

When I shopped around, neither the Merida XT or the Scott 940 was withing the 15K budget... It may have been because they just came out then and prices have since tamed, but just saying... (Both were touching 17, fwiw)

Cool, will come by motorised transport and join you at 7! BTW, you should my number (in the list) upside down... You had to get the semi-superstitious guy down between 12 and 14!

Okay, if brekkies is part of the plan, esp somewhere within (and not after) the ride, I may alter my plans and not come through with the bakkie. I may ride through with the bike and join up and then peel off when we pass Paarl again. Will watch the thread and confirm my plans - but will be there unless something major rocks up.

Jeez, if there's one thing I'm hoping for, it is Nico giving the Hamster a real hard time next year... Okay, I'm all for "it's not clever to swear in front of the World's media". But not spraying champagne on the girls?! Seriously....?! Get a life, that's what the podium is about! Do they prefer the Senna-Prost "though shalt not smile" podiums?

Absolutely. Hammies, quads and glutes. I am guilty of not doing it every time, but try to remember, esp after hard or long sessions.

The fast okes can go up and over to Pniel side, back up and over to Stellies side. Then up again to wait for us mere mortals. This may tame their pace for the rest of the ride as well! (Disclaimer: this was said with tongue firmly inserted in cheek, do not get excited! Well, unless Hels repeats excites you...) Back to something resembling seriousness - Wannabe, I'll most likely see you there! And great idea, thanks for organising the ride!

Slightly OT: My other hobby is building model cars... and as a Ferrari fan I sure as héll hope they mess up this one like it seems they're trying to! Well, added - ole grumpy was ably assisted into early (1st-corner) retirement twice now through no fault of his own or the team's, which would have left him muuuch better placed in the championship. I'd hate to build that butt-ugly nosed car. Was looking at somebody starting a build of a F10 last week - and maaannn, that nose looked good! Once you get used (by repition) to the new look, you forgot just how ugly it is till you see something proper again. Captain, you obviously weren't a Ferrari fan in the 80's and 90's, then... talk about seriously hard times. And - while we're on the topic! - some awesome looking cars! Skinny wings, wide wheels, turbo's.... aaahhhh!

Wannabe, okay if I join you guys this weekend (maybe) instead of going on Puncheur's outing of next weekend? The inevitable happened and it looks like I'm unavailable next week. That is if I manage to win the battle with the spiders that surely by this time took posession of my road bike!

Even as a Ferrari fan, that was a championship-deserving drive! From the back to 3rd, awesome. Also not impressed with Alonso keeping to himself before heading out to the podium - get a life! Seems good I missed the post-race interviews, then... McLaren must be wondering what the heck is going on with Perez since they signed him! And after that race, I think Webber will want to get bump-guards added - or tranferred to Nascar - last I saw they have RB sponsored cars running there as well.... But undoubtedly happy with Kimi's win - the Iceman cometh again and Lotus wins! Not to mention his radio "chatter" - classic. "Leave me alone"...

I've said it before - but "queue silently" just has not found it's way into the Whinelands. Not a day passes where I see (at least) one person simply deciding to overtake a slower vehicle regardless of oncoming traffic, white lines, being visible, whatever on my daily trip into work. Just an attitude of "the bloke from the front will simply have to pull off into his yellow line to make space for my (often illegal) overtake". Oh, and if you don't move over fast enough to their liking, you get flashed at... Just yesterday a guy simply overtook a car on a blindish crest, the guy coming from the front fortunately was awake and saw him and had time to jump into his yellow lane. I was just wondering what would've happened if that guy was in his lane with a pedestrian/cyclist in the yellow lane - or a lorry yielding - leaving him nowhere to go. If people feel that little for themselves, how much will they care for a anonymous cyclist?!

What's the odds of an outsider joining? Ehhhrrr... and it'll most likely be hanging off the back as well! I suspect a 33 ave won't quite see me. I did it in about a 32 last year, and then I was road fit (but suffered a bit with headache). So Wannabe, if you're looking for company there may be more! Haven't been on my road bike... basically since my 2 min's of Argus, just a short ride or two in the winter. And just came from leave, so will only get back on the mtb properly tonight. So I have no idea what my shape is like (the one who says "round" won't win a prize... ), esp on the road bike. Setup has changed a bit, so comfort may become an issue... who knows?! That all said, I am free at this stage for the 17th, but it's Nov, so all kinds of craziness may still appear on the calendar before then.

I use the same method, just with Friar's balsam. Burns the living héll out of anything - and then it's over and done with. Blisters are too scared to appear on the same place ever again.

Ergofit is done at Cyclelab in SSet Mall and/or Paarl - close enough? I'm booked for my new bike to also get it Ergofitted tomorrow in Paarl.

Flippit, are all the nice races in my holiday time now?! Saw this on the poles in town... and my face fell flat when I saw the date. Good luck with this Hellwrap, great idea and I'll join in the fun next year! Does it utilise your Bottelary Hills tracks?

It's a PPA ride, so you can start where you're seeded (T) or lower. So you can join your dad in U, but you can't just start in G "because you want to". Your buddy in G can start with you, though. And esp at OneTonner this happens a lot where people drop down, because of all the teams training/riding together for DC. They bunch groups and it's difficult to tell how long between say G and T will expire, since it depends a lot on how many groups/"letters" they combine per start group on the day. Can't recall exact time intervals, but guessing arond 2-3 mins between groups...(?)

My feet only like Specialized shoes, so there's my advise... To me the Spez road shoes was more comfy than my original MTB shoes I had. And then I tried on Spez mtb shoes...

Roer, there's nothing to worry about profile-wise. Just rollers, roller, rollers and more rollers. And then a bit of a climb (Botmaspas) outside RiebeeckWes which you hit at about 110k's. The way back feature something entirely different, though. Rollers, rollers and more rollers. If it's anything like last year, or the Wellington ride, or anything that goes along that road back from Malmesbury, you'll be nailed by the SE a bit as well. Lekker slaap! Naah seriously, it's roller alley with one slight climb - I think Botmas peaks out at about 330m(?) Nice vibe and a great ride.

I still want to know how the heck they're going to sort out the titles! I mean, who are they going to award it to? Another doper? There's entire top 10's that's all been involved in doping - and that was even before yesterday's light reading material.

Mixed champs in a not-too-distant edition of the Epic...?

<--- for a road bike look no further! 'Dale has spoken wise words. Then again, as somebody who's done way way way more mtb'ing than road biking all of the sudden this year.... Wil6 also spoke very wise words... Sooo: why not get the CAAD10 and some real mtb tyres and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Apparently they're not bringing in the 930 - but that may only be LBS-BS... Peewee1: Syncros rims are not Syncros rims. You'll see (even on inspecting the bike itself, you don't even have to do much research!) that the 940 Syncros rims are Alex based. Think it says on the rim "Alex-wheels or made by Alex or something. Likewise, on the 920 it's quite clear the "syncros" rims are in fact DT Swiss.

I'm no expert, but just went through this - and the Scale 940 was one of the bikes I looked at. Not sure about your budget, though. But... the wheels are Alex based, so my 1st concern was that this would require upgrading some time. Also have a look at the GT Zaskars and the Giant XTC's. Silverback also has some super offerings, as does Merida. Then there's a Titan carbon, well specced but quite heavy from what I've heard. Then, the 920 is a carbon and slightly better specced and with DT Swiss-based wheels. In the end I opted for the (2013) Stumpy Comp 29er. It came in cheaper than the 920 (and, sadly the Flash), alu framed HT. Yes, it's more expensive than the 940, but less of a price diff than a wheelset upgrade. Just my process, you may have different preferences. I'm very happy with the two rides I've had thusfar and happy in the idea that i do not have to upgrade anything shortly.

Darnit, doubt whether I'll be in town to be able to do it. Hey Mads, you must please show me the route one day (if it's permitted to ride there any time). I think at least some sections are.

Jeez, talk about coincidence! I also just left my beloved Merida 96 (and btw, my current FB pic - not profile, that other wide one - is almost the same as your avatar!) Sounds like your remained FS - is that correct? I went to a Stumpy HT and all I can say is "Wow!" Yeah, the setup has not been done properly yet - going for it this weekend - so there is some niggles and don't quite feel bolted onto the bike yet, as I did with the 96. And it may be a HT vs DS thing, but I find my Stumpy can run a ring inside the 96. And the bigger wheels just gave me soooo much more confidence on the bit of descending I did that I commented to some friends I'll most likely be found wanting on talent one of these days due to overconfidence! The 29 HT is not the same comfort as the 26 DS, anybody telling you that is BS'ing. But for a lot, the extra volume in the tyre just makes it feels like a DS. But pedalling like crazy on some bumpy areas, the rear end does dance around a bit more. Maybe it's because I'm going faster?! (Because the front just does not try to shake out your eyeballs like the 26 does!) Mine just wants to climb and begs to be trapped harder. I can't wait for the ergofit treatment and going out again! While this may not be the answer to everybody's problems, it sure suits my riding. Can't be happier that I took that plunge.