MDJ

I've been tracking the forecast on windguru for most of the week, hoping for a change as we get closer. It has at least improved from the earlier gale force wind prediction (60kph), to less wind - but heavy rain predicted at the moment. It makes sense to postpone it imho - at least we have one-tonner next weekend. Saturday looks good for a nice long DC training ride

I weight 83 atm and I run around 80 psi, feels great! I've gone as low as 60 psi on the tubeless setup. 60 psi does start feeling a bit flat when your climbing, but very cushy on poor road surfaces - sadly becoming more common around part of the Cape Peninsula ...

Just double check the type before your convert, there is a difference between the normal GP5000 and the tubeless version. The tubeless version is GP5000TL (for tubeless), its a slightly thicker+heavier tyre with more of a raised hook profile to fit into tubeless compatible rims. It actually has a slightly lower rolling resistance than the normal GP5000 from what I recall. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews/continental-grand-prix-5000-tl-2018

I tried the Giant Gavia's - they originally came with my bike, they were a disaster for me too. I remember a late Thursday evening being stuck in a dodgy part of Woodstock cursing and covered in sealant. There is a Gavia version 2 out now from what I've seen on a friend's new bike - not sure if its any better. Try the GP5000 TLs - and no I don't work for continental or a bikeshop .

I've been running Continental GP5000 TL since December last year when they were launched - I'm using Continental revosealant and I fitted them myself at home with a floor pump. So far looking at Strava I've done around 8,000 kms over 9 months with zero punctures. I'm running 25c tyres at around 80psi - makes for a smooth ride. I've tried a set of Schwalbe's and they didn't work for me, they both got cut badly by glass in the space of a month. There is always some luck involved - but I've recommended the GP5000's to two other guys and the one has been ridding a month since switching also without any issues. So yeah I would go as so far as to highly recommend GP5000TL with revosealant - its working well for me so far

Always a fun fast one at 78 kms . Looking forward to lining up on Sunday, seems like it might get a bit windy.

Rode home yesterday, FTP into the wind - luckily I have a short commute. Today is IDT weather, looking forward to a nice long ride tomorrow, conditions for Sunday are looking great!

Very sad, more so that its the area so close to the SAPS ... points to a serious failure in the ability to protect. Surely it should be possible to run patrols.

Congrats David! Thanks for sharing the video - gives some nice insights into the features and a bit of a deeper understanding about some of your assumptions. Thank you once again for a really awesome tool

Awesome event, the sticker system with roaming ladies seemed to work very well! I started in C-E, which is becoming less intimidating each time I line up. The starting pace was quite moderate with the only thing exploding seeming to be people's bikes! I saw three bikes self destruct in the first few km's, one poor lady's drive train literally exploded at about 3kms - I got hit by one of the flying bits, followed by the obligatory cursing you'd expect, luckily no injuries. The Simonsvlei sportif route is definitely one of my favorites, especially the section through Stellenbosch over Helshoogte through Pniel and into Franschoek, I could ride that road every weekend . My race was great overall, I went in with tired legs from the previous day's riding so was merely looking to enjoy the event and have a 'fun ride'. Thanks to PPA and everyone for organizing. The bike marshal for our group did a really great job - keeping cyclist safe and also waving cars to pass, thus avoiding frustration. Looking forward to the next one .

Broke my right clavicle about two years back - went OTB going down a MTB trail with a cyclo-cross bike in the rain. I still remember the loud crack during the wipe-out thinking that I'd probably broken something on the bike and cursing ... only to get up and find I was unable to lift up my right hand - at least the bike was fine Headed to the ER, X-Ray showed the bone fractured in three, but luckily the ligament was still holding on. It was too fractured for a plate so they opted to wait and see vs. putting a hook contraption into the shoulder joint. It worked out ok in the end - I was careful for two weeks, even sleeping with the sling. Then bought myself an indoor exercise bike, had to get a friend to come over and assemble it for me. Anyways getting to your questions. Yes my left hand/arm took strain for the first week, but it got better/stronger over the two months - I still use it way more today than I used to before. My left-hand writing improved to the point where other people can almost read it . I was on the indoor bike after about 2 weeks, but taking it easy. Other than getting on the bike before the 'advised' time - I did all the exercises. My physio was really awesome - she inflicted pain during our sessions, but it made sure I did the exercises. I was back on a road bike after 8 weeks. The shoulder healed quite well in the end - I have still have a slight bump on the shoulder, but its fine in terms of mobility strength etc. So yeah hang in there, invest in an IDT just to get your legs moving again and avoid a huge fitness drop off, it will also help you fight the urge to go out to soon. I'm sure your doc told that the main thing to avoid is another fall while its still healing in those first 6 weeks. It feels like ages, but its worth following the advice imho

So you might want to open and check your race number at the collection point - else you might just be called "Valentino" for the day ... true story . Seems at least for me in 1C they got the envelope vs the contents off by one! Damn I should know better than this by now . Possibly a sign that I should rather be on a motorbike given the current forecast!

Thanks for the reality check . I change my mind every 2 minutes on if I should ride or not - I'm going to at least go to the start and ride the first bit from town, if its howling in Fishhoek I'm turning back, would rather head out to Franshoek. That is the sane voice speaking before race adrenaline kicks in ... hopefully conditions or sanity prevail I've done most of the CPT races/rides this season and enjoyed them, so this wasn't my 'only event'. Tough for the out of town guys, but that's why we arranged a 5am ride tomorrow morning for the guys flying in today ... tomorrows conditions look picture perfect . If its definitely too hectic we'll probably drive out to Stellenbosch or Franschhoek on Sunday, flights and accommodation justified imho.

Cool, yes! That was the issue - seems the browser was caching the redirect to 2018. If I enter the full URL: http://seeding.cycletour.co.za/findme.aspx?ss=2&eid=2019 ... it shows the latest events and new seeding on the laptop. The latest two events aren't yet included, should be about the same seeding for me on those though.

Woooha, I can see the new seeding showing for my 2019 CTCT event on Racetec . I can also see the update if I use my phone to check (http://seeding.cycletour.co.za/riderseeding.aspx) - but using my laptop still shows the outdated 2018 seeding - weird. The update seems to exclude Tour De PPA and Cyclosportif #2 If the new Racetec seeding is correct I've moved up to 1C Time to start investigating drastic actions on how to stick with the bunch up the hills ... chopped seat-post, drilled crank arms, get my daughter to man the feedzone with the second water bottle. Going to be interesting 10 days

Thanks for sharing, very interesting to see all the numbers. You were so close! Possibly still some fatigue from the FTP session.

Yeah, I'm not stressed - just poking the bear . The weather and luck is probably going to have a bigger impact overall than moving up a group or two - at least for me that is!

Looking at my seeding results for cyclosportive #1 and #2 they were given a 5 point penalty. Is this like a take-a lot 'special' where they increase list price before the time .... also wondering, so if PPA members get re-seeded do the groups just get bigger?

Why not start in C and have more options after Vissershok . I made the mistake of dropping from A to B for the 99er and then landed up with a mechanical wishing I hadn't. Its all good fun though - see everyone at the start line

Thanks for sharing. Awesome weather, really enjoyed the ride overall. I nearly came unstuck at the start on the R44/R45 4-way stop. I was in C-E group and we were quite bunched up at that point - as luck would have it my line was directly over the heavily rubbled tar section. We were lucky with the roadworks after the Bothmeskloofpas climb, not sure if they actually stopped any cyclists at the stop n go?

I'm in - just picked up my sticker from PPA Kenilworth office. Conditions looking good, hoping to finish before it gets hot .

1F too - I'll see you at the start line

All of the above I'd say - its a bike a race and you have a group of people who do 70kph on skinny tires down hills, they aren't exactly risk averse. The Marshall's didn't try and stop the crossing over from what I saw. Riders would probably get frustrated if they did, but in some races I've had the bike marshal stop on/just inside the white line to force the group back into line - has its own risks. The Marshalls did try to keep things as safe as possible, by warning the approaching cars, requesting space from the riders when there were cars approaching etc. When the groups are really big and they have to pass slower riders from the shorter distance on a narrow road - its dangerously nearly becoming the norm in the last few 'non-road closure' events . Riding in two different groups due my mechanical, I found B group much better at sticking to the left, because it was a smaller, faster group. In my opinion they need smaller groups spaced further apart, or a lot more climbs - works even better imho. If I compare the sportif series where the numbers are generally below 500, crossing the white line is rare ... never-mind the yellow on the other side of the road! In general I enjoy the sportif's more, smaller groups, less braking, everything flows - much better work-out.

Well done on your result once again! It was an interesting route - that pot-holed section we were flying through as we approached Vissershok was actually quite fun. I kept drawing parallels in my mind with Paris-Roubaix, minus the mud, minus the cold ... ok maybe its nothing like PR - but it was still lots of fun imho and seemed to claim quite a victims in the form of flat tyres. The combined C-D group was a bit crazy when we hit the 57km join. I missed my B group where the pace was a lot more consistent, but hey it beats TT. With the combined C-D group being too big, the bike Marshall did really well by providing 'full rolling road closures' and warning oncoming traffic. Hope we didn't upset too many motorists The only thing that irritated me a bit was the 'support car' constantly passing part of the group and blocking off part of the road, I got blocked off twice, WTF is up with that?

Thanks for sharing! I felt your pain as you lost the group - we've all been there Really nice to see the race from a different perspective, visible suffering in $ group up Visserhok makes me feel better about my ride!