Voigts Park

This particular project has been a big learning curve for us. Things are not always as we would want it to be, neither was there a dummy’s guide to crèche building available. Every time we cycle through this village on Voigts Park, I could not stop thinking about these children. It just irked me that there was no sound of happy laughing children at this day-care centre on the farm. It really pressed heavily on my heart. By invitation from the farm owners, we regularly cycle through this area. The Maverick Cycling Club agreed that is a worthwhile course and made funds available for this project. Our initial thinking was to buy educational toys from Smile for these children, so that they could be more prepared when they join their older brothers and sisters at grade-R. We even had one of the care givers trained on the use of the toys. But as I stood there while painting the walls, with three layers of tracksuit on to keep the first winter cold out and listening to the coughing of sick, miserable children, I realised that the needs here were much more basic. So for now, we have changed the game-plan, used our funds for the following. All the old dusty pieces of foam has been destroyed and replaced with plastic-covered mattresses complete with new fleecy blankets in funky girl/boy colours. Painted all the walls in a friendly blue. Gave all furniture a good old scrub down. Made and installed 3 big black boards. Bought colouring books, crayons and pencils. Most paints and brushes were sponsored by Academy Brushed and Duram paints KZN. Mr. Honey from Hillcrest has custom made the most amazing kids toys in wood-a wonderful and gracious gift. Some trikes were sponsored for the little ones and the swing and slide will go up in the garden soon, another gift from a club member.

It is hard to capture those moments in words, I just wish you could have been there to see the tears in the old gogo’s eyes and the unbelief in the children’s’. Instead of silence, there is now laughter coming from the crèche..... music to God’s ears, no doubt.
The plan to give the trail-builders on the farm, some bikes in good working order, is also taking form. Now, every time you ride through this area, don't be surprised by waving happy children and parents. That is the purpose of these projects - everybody wins. Soon you will be invited to join a club ride from the crèche on Voigts Park farm, so that you can share in your contributions.
Once again thank you to each and every club member for making this a reality – You rock!

Hill2Hill 2007

A race full of riveting excitement to the last second Riders were quoted as “the hardest thing I have ever done”; and “having the best ride of my life” We are thrilled by the results and would like to thank our sponsors for making this race a success Sunday Tribune; JEEP; USN ultimate Sports Nutrition; Mondi Shanduka Newsprint; Mercedes-Benz; Umplemby Suzuki

On a mammoth marathon race, there has to be adequate water station support, to make sure that riders get hydrated on a long day in the KZN sun.

It has been a dream of Maverick Cycles to make a positive contribution, to not just the participants, but also to the communities that we ride through
Every year, as I look for community projects along the route, I am so very aware of the desperate need for involvement for corporate sponsors with these communities. We have to work together to make any difference at all. So the idea came to me to get a corporate sponsor and a community project to man a water station together. It has proven to be a great success and a very special thank you to the following corporate sponsors and community projects.

• ATLAS PLASTICS- moulding a better tomorrow. Rotomoulders and manufacture a wide range of products – refuse bins, water tanks, toilet huts, drums, kennels, composters, kids toys, play centers, etc. TEL: 031 569 2717. SPONSOR of water drums and wheely bins.


• Lily of the Valley Children's Villages. Caring for 85 orphans and starting with community based projects to uplift and activate the whole community at Mophela near Eston
  Website: http://www.lilyofthevalley.org.za/ Call (031) 765 1281. SPONSOR BUCKMAN LABORATORIES (PTY) LTD
  Buckman Laboratories is a manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of speciality chemicals and services to various industries including pulp and paper, industrial water treatment, sugar, leather and paint. Tel: +27 31 736 8800; Website: http://www.buckman.com/


• Kwa Ximba tribe, Mayibuye community trust
  SPONSOR: Johann Wykerd from MAVERICK CYCLES


• Makaphutu Children’s Home – Non-profit organisation whose mission is to provide LOVE, CARE and SUPPORT for children orphaned or abandoned. Their ultimate goal is to teach both life skills and craft skills
  44 children ranging from 6 to 20 calls Makaphutu home. Contact Wade Woods on 031 - 777 1239, 082 889 5416 or heart4africa@xsinet.co.za
  SPONSOR: Johann Wykerd from MAVERICK CYCLES


• ARAUNA ARK MINISTRIES – Run by pastor Gary Purchase
  People come here to rehabilitate and learn skills and crafts like steel works, gardening, wood work, pottery and even a electrical department. Pastor Gary’s dream is to accommodate 200 individuals. Stop at the Homestead Garden Centre and have a cold coldrink while nibbling on a pizza. Website: http://www.arauna.givengain.org/ Tel: (031) 736 1166
  SPONSOR – MOMENTUM HEALTH Making a success of Life
  http://www.health.momentum.co.za/

Maverick Post - September 2007

September 2007

Another 2 weeks and then I would lose the Moonboot and then another 2 weeks (hopefully) and I will be back on my bike. This has been 1 very hectic month nevertheless. Mike has taken a well deserved holiday with the boss lady, Erica, and is in Scotland with our SA team at the world XC champs as I type this. I was on Skype to him just a moment ago... is technology not just unbelievable!

HLLCREST SHOP
The Hillcrest shop move is nearly complete ... If we can only get Telkom to play ball. We will send an invitation to you all for our grand opening soon.

In the meantime we are looking forward to receiving you at Shop1B, Lilies Quarter, Old Main Rd, Hillcrest. It’s behind Oscar, below RJ’s.

Craig Day has joined the team in Hillcrest on a fulltime basis. This allows us to lift our game in terms of service to our most valuable asset – you, our customer. The full team is: The King – Alex, Hit the Trails – Craig, The quiet one – Len and the man with the eina muscles – Ska.

HILTON SHOP
With Craig in Hillcrest, we have had a couple of worried Hilton customers. Please don’t worry. We will still continue to look after your bike well. This is how it’s going to happen. There is a Maverick vehicle going between Hilton and Hillcrest daily, so all tricky suspension and hydraulic stuff will be sent down to Hillcrest for Alex and Craig to look at and will be back in Hilton the next day ... this is the short term solution. From sometime next month, I will be in Hilton and will be responsible for your prized possessions myself. And I can promise you that between Gordon, China and me, we can fix everything that is worth fixing ... and tune everything that is worth tuning.

Herewith our new telephone number: 086 111 2058. Going forward this is the only number you need to remember to speak to any of our shops.

OUTRIDES
086 111 2058 (put it into your phone!!) is also the number you need to phone to find out where we will be riding on the following Saturday. As we have notified you before, we will be changing the format of our outride and from Saturday 15 September we will be hitting the road. Please note that we will be trying to keep the area that we will be travelling to within 60km of either Hillcrest or Hilton and we have some very exiting venues planned.

Those of you who don’t want to travel can continue to ride from the Ark, or from Crossway in Hilton.
PLEASE WATCH YOUR E-MAIL AND CONTACT 086 111 2058 TO FIND OUT WHERE WE WILL BE RIDING FROM SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER.

TONGAAT
Let me tell you what is happening with Tongaat. It has been Tongaats’ request that entry onto their land needs to be very well regulated and monitored. In short this is what is going to happen (please note, going to happen. We will let you know when the effective date will be, soon)

1. You will have to join the Ethekweni Mountain Bike Association (EMBA) via a registered club. You won’t be able to join them directly.
2. You will take out an annual “Tongaat license”
3. This “license will allow you to ride on Tongaat property, BUT only certain times of the day and on certain marked routes. (We will let you know the routes and times as soon as it has been finalised). 4. The fee will be approximately R200 and this will give you access until 31 December 2008. Thereafter roughly R150 per annum with special rates for the rest of the family.
5. The biggest issue is how non-compliers will be managed and what the impact of these individuals’ activities will be on how Tongaat will treat the club as a whole. Tongaat land is a very, very sensitive issue and talk is that people who do not comply with the rules of the EMBA will not be allowed back onto Tongaat property again.
6. Visitors will be able to take out a day-license to ride on Tongaat land.

If there are any of you who believe that the Maverick Cycling Club should not associate itself with the EMBA, please drop me an e-mail to

johann@maverickworld.co.za with your concerns so that I can get the EMBA to respond to you.

CYCLING SOUTH AFRICA
The licensing to CSA will also be changing for next year and will be much more simplified. CSA will also be making licensing compulsory. If you want to take part in any cycling event you will have to have at least a cyclosport license going forward.

MAVERICK CYCLING CLUB – LOOKING TOWARDS 2008
So for 2008 you will have the following options:
· MCC membership only (For the person who wants to be part of the family but don’t participate in events at all)
· MCC membership + EMBA membership (This person don’t participate in any events, but want to ride on Tongaat property)
· MCC membership + CSA license (This person wants to participate, but don’t want to ride on Tongaat land)
· MCC membership + EMBA membership + CSA license (this person wants access to events and Tongaat land)
· There will also be other combinations: I.e. MCC + CSA + Mondi ... as an example.

We are waiting for CSA to confirm the cost of the various 2008 licenses and the MCC committee will then confirm all the costs for 2008. Looking at this all, there is going to be a cost increase for most, especially for those of us who want to ride on Tongaat property again. But, I think the total cost will still be very competitive if compared to most other sports.

We are also working very hard to simplify the process of renewing your club membership and CSA license as much as possible. Watch this space; we should have the whole story by the time the next edition of the fabulously exciting glamorous world famous Maverick Post hits your pc.

HILL2HILL
The 2007 Hill2Hill route has changed quite a bit. There are less open roads and more single and jeep track. We have more than 700 entries for the 105 km race and more than 400 for the 40 km race. The 105 km races will start at Worldsview again, but the short race is starting at the Cato Ridge Golf club. PLEASE NOTE THAT BOTH THE 105KM RAE AND THE 40KM RACE STARTS AT 6H00!! AND THERE WILL BE NO REGISTRATION ON THE DAY. We had to do this to stop the front-end of the long race catching the back-end of the short race. And the reason for starting so early is to get the race through PMB before everyone wakes up.
For the 105km entrants we have a nice surprise waiting for you at Vriesland hill ...
We have eliminated the dangerous road crossing at Eston Rd, we will be going underneath this road and the same applies to the railroad after Cato. Then we have also met with all the relevant traffic departments this week and they have assured us of a large traffic presence at all major road crossings. We have also moved the road crossings to saver areas where we can see further up the road. For those of you who suffered big-time going through Manfred’s Playground last year towards the end, we have taken this out and the last 7km is now mostly downhill, except for 6-pack hill. Last year the Hill2Hill was voted as one of the best events for 2006 and we plan on taking that title this year.
If you think 105 km is too far, enter the 40km event. We have really tried our best to make the 40km event great ... there is lots of great single-track. When you get to Bartlett’s, you will still have the Bull and Woodcutters has been extended. The hill up to Hammersdale is not as steep as last year and once you cross the Hammersdale Road you will have even more single track ... and for the novices, it’s not scary single track ... So go to www.hill2hill.co.za and enter now!!
Enough of the serious stuff, let’s get back to the 2008 hardware story
The 2008 stock is slowly but surely finds their way onto our shop floors and there are some beauties.

MAVERICK AMERICAN
Paul Turner's company showed up with a big surprise at Eurobike- a new 36mm stanchion fork. The final specifications of the new DUC 36 remain uncertain, but it will definitely feature 36mm alloy lowers and a carbon-fibre upper assembly. The upper is rumoured to be three times strong as the alloy version. The larger chassis allows for more travel, and Maverick has plans to provide three models with 165, 180 and 200mm of travel. The weight of the fork is targeted at around 4 pounds. The company has yet to establish a price or a release date.
Do you guys and girls know what this mean? A 200mm travel fork at 1,8kg!!! There are very few 100mm travel forks that weigh this little. We will have the pricing of these super forks soon, but don’t expect it to cost much more than the existing DUC’s and expect them to be available around April 2008.
This is what it looks like: Ma!!! Ek wil een hê!!

KONA
Hopefully our first batch of Kona’s will be in our shops by the time you read this Post. If not it will be in-store with 2 days of you reading this Post. The 1st batch of Kona’s will be hardtails and the 2nd batch, towards the end of September will be mostly dualies.

Some of the highlights include the Kona HOSS. This is the bike for the larger rider. Jip the guys who weighs more than 90 kg and want to ride a MTB for what it was intended for. This bike has a Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 4, 100mm Travel Fork this means you won’t be thrown over the handlebar when you go down a small drop-off. The Kona HOSS will have the new Hayes Stroker hydraulic brakes and stronger wheels. If you are big and want to ride like a much smaller guy, this is the bike for you. Estimated retail R9 990.
Next month I will tell you about the very exciting Coilair with the new “Magic 6+1” rear suspension and about the Four Lisa … a Kona lady specific dual-suspension for less than R14000!!!!

MERIDA
Merida came to show me their 2008 goodies today and their range is also very spectacular. Feast your eyes on this:
AM800: Retail at R14000

For 2008 Merida will also have a Mission 500 retailing at R10 000!! ... and this for a proper dualsus.

And for the lady who wants to start riding and want to look good and be comfortable, the Juliet 100V @ R3799 is a great buy and beautiful.

As I say cheers, let’s give a huge shout-out to Shawna who came 5th at the World Master Champs!!! WELL- DONE SHAWNA, YOU ROCK!!!

Next month a full race report of the achievements of all the MCC riders who have been competing overseas this month.


See you here soon:
This is Tim’s version of fun ... the Pure Adventure Wear Trail at Giba Gorge!!!
Ride hard!
Johann









Go to: www.maverickchick.blogspot.com or www.maverickcycles.blogspot.com

MASTER WORLD CHAMPS 2007 - FRANCE ALPS

By Shawna Thunder
After 40 hrs of travelling, we arrived in Pra Loup, a tiny ski village nestled in the French Alps. Wall to wall bikes and riders, downhill and XC. A group of S.A riders met for our first test lap, we almost packed for home!!!! Incredibly steep technical climbs, switchbacks, loose rocks, Giant roots and soft, dry sand…this was going to be tough. 3 days of practise laps helps us work out how to negotiate tricky technical sections. I have yet to find a race in S.A that can compare with these climbs. My race was going to be tough! 40 anxious racing snakes from every country under the sun lined up at the start. I had a great start and was lying 4th over the metal staircase onto tar then a steep loose decent onto an awesome flat dirt road covered in loose rocks. From there we flew down a very technical downhill, over streams, rocks and roots. This lead to a flat single-track through a magical forest and bang into our first climb. Switchbacks with huge rocks to negotiate are not easy!!!! Grany/grany was the preferred gear for everyone; the sand was loose so body positioning had to be perfect. I felt sick I was pushing so hard. After a fast downhill we had a drop-off over a huge root with an off camber landing, I miss judged my landing and endued off the edge!!!! 2 riders passed me!! Oh shucks, I’d cracked my helmet again(this is excusable for someone who’s only ridden for two years) Up I get and set chase, I passed one as I ran up a technical climb(quicker if you’re a runner) hopped back on and chased the next. More switchbacks and steep climbs. Italy passed me as I dropped my chain….NO WAY!!!! I chase her down on lap two. As I fly downhill a steam train flies passed me, but I soon catch her on the climbs as she gasps for air. The altitude is hectic on our lungs. I held my position and tried to gain ground. I came 5th in my category and 9th overall. What an awesome experience….I feel like I have fulfilled my dream this year…. I urge you to fulfil yours!!!!!! Come on ladies, show your strength.

Maverick's Rock Around the World - Results

These last couple of weeks have been great for a couple of Maverick's who are competing overseas.

At the World Master Champs Shawna came 5th!! and Simon Poole 37th. Well-done you two "ballies". You are making us very proud.

Then Tania and Amy have been racing in Germany where Amy was 10th and Tania 12th. An awesome results from these to KZN Maverick chicks as well.

While these guys and girls are seriously racing we have some other mavericks who are just living their passion. Here is Duncan and Seldon Paterson just having fun on their mtb's in the Berg.

More US trip stuff

I am still waiting for my notebook to be fixed so that I can show you more pictures .... In the meantime Malan has send me some of the stuff that was on his camera and GPS.
I tried to upload the GPS image to the blog, but this was unsuccessful, so let me tell you that Porcupine Rim was 35 km of all downhill starting at 2200m and ending at 1200m ... hee haaa.This is New York (Times Square)

Where I bought this:
It's a super dooper Camcorder met helmet cam, but I think it might be a faulty camera ... battery life is very short and can't get the helmet lens to start ... so now Samsung needs to fix it 1st ... but one day it will be working and then I will have a lot of fun to take these type op photos from the top;

Well until next time .... Cheers

Maverick Post August 2007

August 2007

Here I am feeling sorry for myself, with my foot up and the notebook on my lap while my friends are out taking part in the Eston Marathon… But as they say in the classic s**&t happens. I have decided that it’s time for me to have the foot that’s being giving my some hassle lately, sorted out, so I will be of my bike for 6 weeks.

At least I had a fantastic 14 day holiday in the US with my boet where we rode something new and challenging everyday (www.maverickcycles.co.za … follow link to the Maverick Blog)

Specialized 2008
The reason for me going to the US in the first place was to attend the 2008 Specialized product launch in Salt Lake City, Utah. For those of you who are geographically challenged … this is in the area they call the Mid West of the US and it is basically a desert. It is now summer over there and it was unbelievably hot … between 35 and 40 degrees most of the time.

Specialized took over just about the whole city of Salt Lake and entertained nearly a 1000 participants over a 2-week period in style. For me it was an eye-popping experience. On arriving at the Salt Palace Convention Centre (about the size of the ICC) we each received a D2 Specialized helmet (this is their latest, most advanced helmet weighing only 182 grams and 6 of the teams in the Tour de France used them), a pair of Specialized classes, a postal delivery bag as well as a hugely thick 2008 Specialized Catalogue. Every day was kicked of with a buffet breakfast at the convention centre while watching the Tour on the big TV screens, then it was of to “class” for Specialized product presentations, followed by demo rides. The Demo rides were great, but the highlight for me at the week with Specialized was to get a better understanding for the passion they have for their product and brand. Specialized is a true “rags-to-riches” story. In 1974 Mike Sinyard sold his VW Kombi to start the company we now know as Specialized. Mike Sinyard was at the 2008 product launch as well, and a more humble person I have not met in a long time. The time and respect he has for his staff and family left me in awe.

The highlight of the 2008 Specialized range must be the S-Works Stumpjumper. When they presented this bike to us and told us it weighs in at 10,5kg, I though ja right … as you know I am very skeptical when someone tells me their dual suspension weighs less than 11 kg. But when I picked this bike up I thought they made a mistake … I am sure it is lighter… Malan and I both rode the S-Works Stumpy at Dear Valley in Salt Lake City and I found the bike extremely responsive. According to Specialized this is the best balanced bike they have made to date and it look totally different to the old Stumpy. The 2008 Stumpy has been designed from the ground up to give the rider a perfect balance between uphill capability and downhill riding. I was so confident in this bike’s ability that I tried to take it down a “double diamond” route (In the US this means … experienced downhillers with body armor only) … well as you could have guessed I had to get of here and there, but the bike managed well. The S-Works version is full carbon, has Specialized’s own “FlowControl Brian inertia suspension upfront and on the back (The fork is a Specialized Future Shock SJ120), XTR equipped and has Specialized’s own Roval Controle wheelset. 2008 Stumpies will have 120mm of travel front and back.

And they have a ladies version called a Safire … one stunning bike!

Yes, you will see many more Specialized Bikes on our shop floors come 2008!

For more on this awesome machine follow this link: www.specialized.com/bc/SBCWhatsNewDetail.jsp?article=6072

Oh, before I forget, Ned Overend also spend some time with us …

Moab
After our Specialized experience Malan and I hired a car (Dodge Nitro nogal) and took the road to Moab where we rode Sovereign, Porcupine Rim and Slickrock on rented Rocky Mountains (Malan had a BMC) … The bikes were not to bad, but definitely not great either. This was the 2nd time that I had the privilege of riding at Moab, but Malan’s 1st time. The 3 trails we rode were all very different from one another. Our favorite ride by a long shot is Porcupine Rim. I have not ridden a route that comes close to the exhilaration that this route offers yet. A shuttle drops you of high in the Rock Mountains and the you follow a singletrack/jeep track down the mountain all along the edge of the cliffs over technical rocky terrain with many small drop-offs until the trail spit you out 5 km from town next to the Colorado River … We did stop every now and again for photos, but it still took us 3h30 to get back to base. It is awesome!! Slickrock is where everything started for Moab trails … and is one of the very first recognized mountain bike trails … but it is hard, very hard. You follow white dots over barren, hot rock up and down STEEP hills until you get back to the car park totally exhausted. I have been there twice now and it is probably one of those places every “true mountainbiker” must visit, but I don’t think I will be back for more to soon.

Fruita
After Moab we went to Fruita where we rode twice. The first ride was Mary’s Loop, part of the Kokopelli trail system and the 2nd ride was at BookCliffs. Fruita’s trails are mostly man-made by mountainbikers for mountainbikers and are great! Pity about the food in Fruita though … it’s awful! After Fruita we headed to Boulder to meet our friends at Maverick America.

Boulder
We rode twice around Boulder as well and this time it was on Maverick’s thankfully … don’t think I could have handled another ride on a Rocky Mountain! We also spent some time with the guys from Maverick America.

Maverick America
Ethan showed us how to fine-tune the forks, rear-suspension and Speedball Seatpost and Ed told us what they have planned for the next 18 months. Yes Specialized was awesome and the effort they put into their product, packaging and presentation is amazing. But when you get to know the guys at Maverick America you realize again that this brand is a breed apart. Maverick America has a single obsession and that is to make the most effective trail bike in the world. Not the lightest or best seller… simply the best trail bike possible. Now for those of you who have been on a Maverick, you will understand that it is very hard to ride anything else after you have felt the effectiveness of the MonoLink Rear Suspension or the suppleness of the DUC32 fork. Well Maverick fans, it is going to get better. For the next 18 months (Maverick America don’t have year models) have loads of new and enhanced products coming to the market. One of their biggest challenges was to make a 27,2 mm Speedball Seatpost and this is now nearly ready. Talking of the Speedball… The initial problems with these Seatpost have been eliminated and the new version is just about bullet proof. I rode a “remote” (lever on the handle bar) Speedball for the 1st time last week and it is absolutely unbelievable. I mean, imagine this … you have just crested a steep hill and is starting to go down the other side. All of a sudden the trail becomes very steep. You press a lever on your handlebar and your seat drops down by about 10 cm allowing you to move your weight further back on your bike and to “gun” the downhill like never before. As you get to the bottom and start the climb again, you again press the lever and the seat come up to its original height allowing you to climb comfortably. And during all of this your hands did not let go of the handlebar once! Come and have a look, we have remote Speedballs in stock!

Well that’s enough about our overseas trip, now for something closer to home.

Maverick Cycles Hillcrest
Maverick Cycles Hillcrest will be moving to new, much larger (nearly double in size) premises in the Lillies Centre. Our new shop will be right behind Oscar’s (below RJ’s) and if everything goes according to plan, we will open our doors at the new premises on 14 August. We have put a lot of planning into making your Maverick experience at this new shop a positively unforgettable experience. So once you have visited us at our new shop and have any comments, please take the time to drop me a note at johann@maverickworld.co.za. I would really appreciate all comments … positive and negative. With the growth of our Hillcrest shop, we have another career opportunity for a positive, active lady as shop assistant in our Hillcrest shop. So if there are any ladies who think that Maverick could offer them a career opportunity in the outdoors, please drop me an e-mail to johann@maverickworld.co.za, or contact me on 082 857 3735.

Talking of growth and so on … did you know that the Maverick Cycles group already employee more than 15 people! So, who’s who at Maverick: Johann – MD, Mike – FD, Malan - Technical Director and Somerset West Manager, Allegra – Marketing & Promotion Director, Gordon – Hilton Manager, Alex – Hillcrest Manager, Tania – PRO.

Outrides and Maverick Cycling Club
We will be changing our Saturday outride strategy soon. Within the next week or two we will be starting a roving venue. Roving, means Nomadic… We have so many landowners inviting us to come and ride on their land … from Eston to Bainsfield … that we though it a good idea to start this new concept. Not only will it provide us with a new experience every Saturday, but it will also appeal to a wider spectrum of riders. The Ark is great, but not ideal for novices … too many hills. Through organizing a roving outride and structuring it properly, we also hope to gain access to Tongaat land again and Mike and Aletta are doing their best to organize this for us. How will you know where the ride will be? Well you will have 3 ways of finding out: 1 – Read our weekly newsletter, 2 – Go to www.maverickworld.co.za and 3 – By dialing a 0861 number (this number will be finalized within the week) and to listen to the recorded message.

With regards the Maverick Cycling Club. Our club is now the largest mountain bike club in the country by far. Between the 3 shops we have around 500 members. With these numbers come many administrative challenges. As you know we don’t have a full-time club administrator and to process all the applications and queries takes quite a bit of time. We are therefore working very hard in designing an on-line solution so that come 2008 you will be able to join the Maverick Cycling Club on-line without having to complete any forms in the shop. Hopefully this will speed up the process greatly.

Maverick Club Members and Worlds
Tania and Amy-Jane left SA on Tuesday 7 August and will be racing overseas for a month. They start by going to the World Marathon Champs, then they will go to the World Cross Country Champs followed by couple more World Cup events. Shawna will also be going to the World Master Champs during this time. Ladies we are very proud of what you have achieved this year. Go and kick butt!!
Tania will have her own blog up soon and you will be able to follow her overseas activities by logging on the Maverick site and follow the link through to her blog.

More of my thoughts on what bike is the right bike for you
Whenever I am on duty in one of the shops I will have a gentleman coming into the shop who weighs, like me, more than 80kg’s wanting to start mountain biking. When they say they want to start mountainbiking they normally want so spend around R3 000 to R5 000 on a mountain bike that must give them a good ride and last a long time. Off-course they have discussed this with their buddies who have been riding for a long time. Some of them have been to have a look at bikes at other shops and when they get to us the first thing they do is to compare spec … “what derailleur does the bike have, what brakes does it have … but I can get so-and-so make with this-and-that components for Rxx”. Well gents, I have news for you. If you weigh more than 80 kg’s and want to buy a mountain bike, the first thing you have to look at is the fork. To buy a bike with a good spec, but with a skimpy spring and polymer fork is like throwing your money away. A “cheap fork” will not support your weight at all. You will blast through the full travel of the fork when you go down the smallest downhill. This will move your weight to far forward on the bike, resulting in a loss of control and a possible “wipe-out”. How many of the accidents we see at Giba are larger guys riding a bike with a cheap fork and them falling by going over the handlebars … many! So my advise to you, if you cannot afford a air-fork (with this kind of fork you can set the compression according to your weight), is to look at a fork with slightly thicker stanchions as this will make the fork much more stable (you will see the difference when you look for this the next time you are in a bike shop) and try to get a fork with lock-out. And now or the “good-bad” advice … when you get to a very steep drop-off and you want to ride it, put the lock-out on! Yes, put it on … it will stop your bike from nose-diving, throwing your weight forward and you over the handlebars! Grazy but effective … The best advice however for someone as big as me … save a bit more and get a bike with air forks.

Well that’s it from me this month.

See you all in our new shop soon.

Johann