slowpoke

If you are not used to eating mid-way on a ride then stick to things like the soup and maybe bring some shakes in your tog bag. The top 1/3 of the first climb, the end of stage 3 and the one little climb on the last stage are the places to keep your mind in check. Once you are over that last bump it's clear sailing to the finish line. Support from the locals in phenomenal and none of you first timers will ever regret the cost of travel, the accomodation, the time traveling etc. All of that effort and cost is nothing (repeat x10 "nothing") compared the the best cycling experience in SA.

That Cow is a Hubber... Best he come and explain himself ;-) Mooooowahahahahahahaha

Yes... Please push the girl wearing Cow kit (or maybe even a Cow suit) and her friend up the hill ;-) Take the first stage easy-ies and the rest will be a walk in the park. Stay hydrated because even though it's quite chilly you need those fluids. Eat something, even just a small something, at each of the rest stops. Don't forget the OBS table just before the tunnel on stage 1. Smile and enjoy the ride :-D

Less than 2 weeks to go. I am getting sooooo excited!

Almost counting the days... I can't wait!

I've read this with great interest. Well done on owning up Barry. I think that is what irks reasonable people the most about many who do wrong... If someone cuts you off in traffic and apologies you tend to let it go, it's the folk who don't apologise and those others who say "but we all do it so just let it be with no apology" that cause stores and tension. As such you have gone the first route of apologizing. You have taken it a whole step further by providing a lot of people with useable practical information so that hopefully they will not find themselves in a similar situation. Kudos and respect. Please do let us know, if your doc or someone can shed light, on how it showed in your system so long after the fact. I know that I spent the better part of 4 years on therapeutic doses of cortisone. Have fortunately not had to take any for just over a year now, but I know it is on the wada list. I, however, value my life over clean blood tests any day. I am sure there are other people with autoimmune disorders or who have had organ transplants who would be found positive too. To the folk firing flame throwers... The big difference here is that Barry has owned up to it instantly and is not asking for B sample to be tested even though it was 6 months after he took anything. To make a decision to go clean and change and stick to it and then find out that for whatever reason his past is still hanging around to drag him down must suck. It has nothing to do with double standards. I doubt anyone would be as angry and dissapointed in pros if said pros would just 'fess up when caught.

Please remember that there will be Rent-A-Cows available. For R150 (that goes to CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation) you can hire a Cow to ride the 10 or 20 km event with your child while you go do your race. Cows are limited so get there and rent your Cow before it's too late!

KC, none of us pays to use thehubsa and I'm sure there is something in the disclaimer that will protect Matt. His biggest issue right now are the people who have paid for advertising and the 36 hours that their adverts were down. The biggest problem for the hosting co is that this is not the first time thehubsa has had a problem so I wonder about their other paying customers. This is an incredibly poor show from them and if this type of situation happened wheee I work heads would roll. If they have only treated thehubsa with this lack of care then they have disgustingly poor ethics.

RIP :'(

Depending on the stand I'd buy one

It looks like some old databases and tables have been restored and others have been restored from newer backups. This would account for the random likes on comments. Also appears that any recent updates and/or customisations have also been "lost" so clearly there wasn't an image of the server from which to restore. The hosting company has clearly messed up big time, as has whoever was responsible for testing backups. In any commercial application backups should be checked for integrity on a daily basis.

It looks like there will be posts yet to come that people have already "liked"... Matt, could I suggest that you delete all data in the "like" table from the restore date (15 January) to stop these random "likes" showing. It appears that I have liked a whole lot of comments when I wasn't even online!!!

The RTA is available at www.acts.co.za As with all legislation you need to read the whole thing as ignorance is no excuse. During daylight hours and provided the road is clear and you are not on a blind rise or corner you may legally move into the emergency lane in order to allow another vehicle to pass.

In a taxi drivers' opinion they are in the right and entitled to drive the way they do. This does not make it right.

I think the OP was perfectly in his rights - he was riding legally and the tonsil riding illegally refused to either stop and get off the road or to move out so that the OP could continue. Faced with the same situation I would have done as he did. If you choose to break the law and endanger a person they have every right to self defense.

"never has"??? I seemto recall seeing some components in the back of a car once... ;-P

I went on the yellow saddle course and now I diy. Only if I can't get it right will I take it in, and then 1st choice will be JB and next option Linden Cycles. Definitely worth it.

If the tow bar is bolted to the body work instead of the chassis you could well end up with it tearing off. Some figment centers will try fob you off with a gooseneck bar that is bolted onto the spare wheel "bucket". Then you pop on a bike rack with 2 bikes on it, or try to pull a trailer with heavy furniture and you wonder why the tow bar is "bending" down. Rather contact the vehicle manufacturer and ask what they recommend. (ps many years ago I worked in short term insurance and this damage is NOT covered by your policy and if it can in any way contribute to any other damages that won't be covered either...)

Just a general thought in terms of the cost of entries... Medical tent at start/finish Ambulance/s on the route Petrol for the sweep vehicles Water tables Printing of race numbers Food and compensation (if applicable) to foot marshals Motorbike marshals Fees to CSA Fees to traffic department/s Medal at finish Venue hire There are one or two others that I know I've forgotten to mention, but the above does add up. Now to put on an event, cover all the above costs and have something left for the chosen charity does, unfortunately, add up to the fees we pay. This does does mean that we can't all afford to race every weekend (some of us are down to max 4 events a year). Such is life.

RIP, condolences to his family and friends.

Heal up soon

Petatodd, I hope you never complain about any taxi or motorized vehicle that does anything wrong because if you can use the roads as you see fit then so can they. Same applies to all others who say it's fine to break the law - if it's fine for you it is fine for every other road user, after all the roads are public and belong to us all.

What I truly struggle to understand about some people here is that they seem to think that because some of us are asking our fellow cyclists to adhere to the law, we are by default saying it's cyclists own fault they are dying at the hands of reckless drivers. This is simply not true. What is being said is that if we adhere to the law we will face less (not "no") aggression from motorized vehicles. We will improve our chances, not eliminate all risk. Also, the habit of abiding by the law will filter through to all aspects of life - if you are in the habit of stopping at red lights on your bike you are more likely to stop at them in your car. When the bulk of road users start abiding but he law the law breakers will become the ones who stick out like a sore thumb. Peer pressure might then get some more to adhere to the law. If we can reduce the reckless drivers by even one half our roads will be safer. We will never eliminate all reckless drivers. There will also always be the "poena gp"s around whose parents do not teach them responsibility or accountability or how to be a decent member of society. The most we can hope for is to minimize our risks, but I would still prefer to minimize than to maximize this.

Suiper, you have clearly suiped a bit much over the festive season. Pedal cycles are by law (RTA, part one, chapter 1) vehicles. By law all vehicles must stop at a red light. When the light changes green you may proceed through the intersection provided it is safe to do so. It is only at a stop street where you may proceed as soon as it is safe to do so. It is only at a yield sign where you do not have to stop completely.

You must be reading some funny warped version of things because in part 1 in the section which defines motor vehicles bicycles are distinctly mentioned. Just remember that they are called "pedal cycles" and not bicycles as this is the legal term for them in SA