Where has your bike taken you today?

[DJR]

I challenged Mrs DJR to a race today. From home to gym! Me on the Cannibal, her in the go-cart. There was simply NO way on earth I could lose this one, it was peak hour traffic in the Southern Suburbs and she would be stuck in all that. She would be the crawling hare, I would be the racing tortoise. In fact, I was so confident that I even stopped to take a picture along the Liesbeek River..........and who do you think waved at me with a moerse grin when I walked into gym........yes, you guessed it, Mrs DJR! Damn, it turned out I was the hare.

[PhilipV]

I challenged Mrs DJR to a race today. From home to gym! Me on the Cannibal, her in the go-cart. There was simply NO way on earth I could lose this one, it was peak hour traffic in the Southern Suburbs and she would be stuck in all that. She would be the crawling hare, I would be the racing tortoise. In fact, I was so confident that I even stopped to take a picture along the Liesbeek River..........and who do you think waved at me with a moerse grin when I walked into gym........yes, you guessed it, Mrs DJR! Damn, it turned out I was the hare.

Skool vakansie. Test week at varsity.

Rookie mistake.

[Eddy Gordo]

Agreed, almost no traffic this eve compared to other times

[Grease_Monkey]

While I agree with that, getting your confidence back after a big crash can take some time. I'm still super nervous around tech obstacles after breaking my collarbone in Feb. Might be the combination of fear due to not wanting to put myself out of action for two months again and having switched to clipless shortly after returning to riding. Still struggling to get confident on them riding tech.

For sure, and I'm definitely not dismissing skills coaching at all. I had a fall a few years back (OTB on a jump where I hesitated) where I hurt my neck quite badly - took me a good 3 years to completely get my confidence back. It wasn't at the forefront of my mind for every ride, but the was always that niggling thought lingering in the back of my mind.

[DJR]

Skool vakansie. Test week at varsity.

Rookie mistake.

[Frosty]

I think there’s a difference between “pushing the limits” and doing something “stoopid”, like I did when I crashed last month.

[Twaatie]

Early loop of fair cape

[Skubarra]

On a guest farm near Anysberg in the Karoo this weekend

 

 

Turned out to be a bigger "adventure" than I had in mind. Thought I was doing a circular route. The small white dot on the right hand side of the pic was my end destination. Mostly downhill.  Only problem is few seconds after I took the pic I realised the road reached a dead end right where I was standing. 

 

Had 2 options, track back and look for the turn-off I missed or take a "short cut" close to this spot down a dry river bed to a district road I saw in the distance. Chose the latter, but ended up having to do a few km's of low level mountaineering and thrashing through forests of thorn trees when the river bed route turned out to have more obstacles than I expected. 

 

Finally reached the district road only to be blocked by a electrical fence (who the %^&& puts up electrical fences in the middle of the Karoo?!?) Managed to lift my bike over the fence but when I tried to to climb over I received a nasty electric shock (this is how I learned a sweaty cycling glove is not effective isolation against electrical currents). Now I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, no cell signal and separated from my bike & the road to freedom by an electrical fence. Had no choice to walk along the fence looking for some sort of gate or opening to let me through. Luckily I eventually found another small river bed where the bottom of the fence was held down by weights and not planted in the ground. Managed to make a small hole in the sand and crawl through underneath like a jackal (luckily bottom half of the fence not electrified) - not how I envisioned the rest of my ride when I took the pic above!

 

[RocknRolla]

For sure, and I'm definitely not dismissing skills coaching at all. I had a fall a few years back (OTB on a jump where I hesitated) where I hurt my neck quite badly - took me a good 3 years to completely get my confidence back. It wasn't at the forefront of my mind for every ride, but the was always that niggling thought lingering in the back of my mind.

 

3 years since the Surgeon had to stitch my face back together, and I am still noticeably riding more cautiously.

 

Also, I have recently learned that every concussion has an exponential effect. One big one, and one little one in two years. The last thing I want is another one.

[DJR]

..............Finally reached the district road only to be blocked by a electrical fence (who the %^&& puts up electrical fences in the middle of the Karoo?!?) Managed to lift my bike over the fence but when I tried to to climb over I received a nasty electric shock (this is how I learned a sweaty cycling glove is not effective isolation against electrical currents). Now I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, no cell signal and separated from my bike & the road to freedom by an electrical fence. Had no choice to walk along the fence looking for some sort of gate or opening to let me through. Luckily I eventually found another small river bed where the bottom of the fence was held down by weights and not planted in the ground. Managed to make a small hole in the sand and crawl through underneath like a jackal ................

  The Karoo is strictly for tough people. You gave me a good laugh     

 

It looks frightningly dry where you were. Hope they get early rain. Where I'm from, a bit further East, they are really in deep trouble.  

[Skubarra]

  The Karoo is strictly for tough people. You gave me a good laugh   

 

It looks frightningly dry where you were. Hope they get early rain. Where I'm from, a bit further East, they are really in deep trouble.

 

I visit the Karoo often, have never seen it so dry. Very depressing, got to feel for the farmers still battling to make a living there.

['Dale]

On a guest farm near Anysberg in the Karoo this weekend

 

IMG-20190926-WA0022.jpg

 

Turned out to be a bigger "adventure" than I had in mind. Thought I was doing a circular route. The small white dot on the right hand side of the pic was my end destination. Mostly downhill.  Only problem is few seconds after I took the pic I realised the road reached a dead end right where I was standing. 

 

Had 2 options, track back and look for the turn-off I missed or take a "short cut" close to this spot down a dry river bed to a district road I saw in the distance. Chose the latter, but ended up having to do a few km's of low level mountaineering and thrashing through forests of thorn trees when the river bed route turned out to have more obstacles than I expected. 

 

Finally reached the district road only to be blocked by a electrical fence (who the %^&& puts up electrical fences in the middle of the Karoo?!?) Managed to lift my bike over the fence but when I tried to to climb over I received a nasty electric shock (this is how I learned a sweaty cycling glove is not effective isolation against electrical currents). Now I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, no cell signal and separated from my bike & the road to freedom by an electrical fence. Had no choice to walk along the fence looking for some sort of gate or opening to let me through. Luckily I eventually found another small river bed where the bottom of the fence was held down by weights and not planted in the ground. Managed to make a small hole in the sand and crawl through underneath like a jackal (luckily bottom half of the fence not electrified) - not how I envisioned the rest of my ride when I took the pic above!

 

 

WTF

Glad you're okay, man. 

What a crazy adventure

[Eddy Gordo]

That is hectic indeed. Was that by those red mountains around anysberg?

[Skubarra]

WTF

Glad you're okay, man. 

What a crazy adventure

 

Tx Dale - was a reminder on how quickly a progression of small stupid decisions can turn a mundane ride into a disaster - but I was never in serious trouble.

[Skubarra]

That is hectic indeed. Was that by those red mountains around anysberg?

 

Yes - not sure but think it's called the Klein Swartberg mountain range

[NC_lurker]

Crossing the Gouritz