Barend de Arend

So what are you supposed to do on a tandem? Where do you put the second chip?

I went through this on Friday. Half the clicks (including pay) had a two minute wait. But the little spinny icon of the browser wasn't twirling. It must be some JavaScript without proper feedback. I had a problem (still do) with my address and couldn't find a "help" or "contact us" link. Mailed Carinus in frustration and filled in a bogus address. It's really not intuitive about what the process is that you're supposed to follow to get a license. With my luck I bought a fishing license instead. It's definitely not "next" -> "next" obvious. It's not helpful at all. (and yet another registration process... sigh... csa, myrace, cyclelab entries, championchip, winningtime, ... Then when you want to update your details you gotta go through all of it *again*. CSA spent some money to introduce another extra step for their customers. Backwards.)

Have a look at a Toyota Aygo, Peugoet 107 and Citroen C1. Then tell me again they're not working together. In SA, just sitting down together, for whatever reason, gets you into trouble. And I don't want to say if this is right or wrong, or competitive or not competitive, or legal or illegal. I just wanted to point out that it helps to know who's who.

In your own garage/carport you can put a simple plastic crate where you park your car whenever use the roof carrier. That'll remind you when you get back home. I'm not sure about parking lot / trees / low flying aeroplanes warnings.

You said... It's not sufficient for me. But I broke my back, so I'm taking it very, very seriously. When I do squats in the gym, correctly, I exercise my abs and back. When I do a bench-press correctly, I exercise my abs and back. But it's not "sufficient" for me.

Would it have helped? To know where it was dropped? In my experience the bottle stays nowhere close to the place it was dropped. It usually rolls a few meters away, and then causes havoc. Especially if it was frozen overnight. By far the largest cause (as in: 90%) of water bottles on the road comes from bottles jumping out of (possible bad) bottle cages when you hit a bump or pothole. I do the bum-slapping thing if other people are doing it because possibly they would ignore a pointed finger (because they expect a different gesture) I've got to take my hand of my handlebar anyway. In other words: when in Rome, do like the Romans do.

I didn't even race (I'd be ashamed to admit to racing, and a HR below 150 )

On Sunday? Me? I don't think I took my HR over 150 on Sunday. I kept slowing down to wait for J&J. What's more, the Corimas were on the bike on Sunday. Maybe it's a different oke, hey. Did he have teeth? I was suffering like hell on Saturday, which is why the last line of my post says I wanna buy new legs

I got some Corimas recently. I'm very happy with them so far. Definitely faster than my box and medium section wheels (shimano, easton, mavic.) when you hit 40 km/h. Very light. Sprinting feels great. Cross-winds affect them less than Mavics (but the ksyriums are just plain terrible in cross-winds) The Corimas are definitely more silent when changing gears than any other deep section, and when braking. Of that choice of wheels, Corima and Hed have a bulletproof reputation. Equinox not so much. Corima should be slightly lighter than the Heds. The Heds will be a bit more aero if it's 60s or 90s -- not if it's 50s. Some Hed rims fill up with water in the rain. Both Corima and Hed have slightly wider rims than other wheels. For both you might need to open your brakes a bit (funny that wider rims get used by aero companies, hey? Hed has a good write-up on the benefits) I'd get the Corimas again. Now if someone can sell me a new pair of legs...

It is trial and error. I've (okay medical aid) spend about R35 000 on trying to solve my knee problem. Only the left one. Out of desperation I went to a chiropractor and she "fixed" me in two sessions. Check number 4 on my list of things to do

Knee pain is almost always caused by foot or hip problems. Knee pain can be caused by not enough float. And certainly SPDs aren't the best for that. Time is definitely better for this. Knee pain can be caused by saddle height. And knee pain can definitely be caused by badly fitting shoes. I get knee pain when I don't do the straps on my shoes up snugly. (snug -- not blood constricting, but not loose) Knee pain can also be caused by foot tilt. What you do is: cheapest, and easiest, to most expensive. 1. Make sure your shoes are snug. If this isn't possible, swap shoes. 2. Make sure your saddle height is correct. Do not believe the LeMond (or any other) formula. Saddle height is also dependent on pedal stroke (toe or heel down) -- get decent help. 3. Check cleat position. (do together with 2.) 4. Have a chiro check your hips. If there is/was a problem re-do 2 and 3. 5. Swap shoes. 6. Swap pedals/cleats. Expensive if you've got more than one bike.

Littering was a fine-able offense on my last ride to Durban. You got named, shamed, and fined at the end of the ride. It's simply not acceptable. It's easy to avoid (it came out of a pocket -- it can go back in.)

I like the way that AFLD tested for CERA. Speak to the manufacturer.Do not announce you have a test until after you've tested. (next up: HGH and autologous doping)Do not announce whom you'll test until 30 minutes before the finish.Do targeted tests.Ban injections. (next: photograph arteries)Be independent. (important!) Re-test when you've found out what's popular.Hand them over to the police. If they can get Ricco, et al. to squeal on the supplier, it'll be great. That's up to the police. Other things to do: follow the money (a la Schleck) The alternative is to stick your head in the sand. I much prefer this. Catch 'em. Catch 'em, catch 'em, catch 'em. A few more years of this, and it'll get clean. But it needs to be done at all the races on the calendar. Relentlessly.

Lance has claimed he wants to return to prove he was clean (amongst other things). They offered to help him prove he was clean. He left himself wide open for that one. Ullrich, etc. isn't coming back, so not retested. Vino wants to come back. He might be retested. I hope he gets retested. There's also no point in re-testing the 60s champions, cos they openly admitted to doping. LA was the first major champion since they started taking it serious (Festina.) So he's going to get flack.

If you do pack clothes, rolling 'em keeps creases away (if you can't keep 'em neatly folded)Be very aware at dawn/dusk: the glare blinds cars. Watch out for turning cars. Especially oncoming traffic at robots. It's not a training ride. Don't get upset if you have to brake and upset your rhythm.Glass or car is the same as tire or hospital.

I've stitched one of those to my backpack.