nuge

if you're under 65 kgs forget deep sections. you'll be blown off chappies. rather go for the lightest set of low-profile wheels you can afford to take maximum advantage of your superior power to weight ratio. if you're 75kgs and up like the dudes above (and myself) - go as deep as you feel comfortable.

haha, yeah, although i will need a supply of jube jubes

um, not necessarily. in sv there are about 5 full teams of 4 or 5 riders competing for overall honours - anderson, aurecon (a & b ), capestorm/complete cyclist, strandloper/pdit, then a couple of half-teams (two or three to a team) - brothers sport, cyclelab. that's only about 30 riders and the sv start group is 70 so most are riding individually.

just remember, racing is not about time, it's about getting on the podium. i don't recall anyone ever messing on cippo for not doing his time on the front. for advice on upping your seeding you may as well seek counsel from a sangoma. at the end of the day it's really a combination of: 1) getting into a good fast group while the ppa marshals group the seeding soup together as you're waiting to start a fun ride 2) hoping darren lill doesn't rock up for "training" and clean the floor with the elite bunch setting a ludicrous finishing time 3) trusting that whoever does the seeding has had a good morning coffee/shag/bm on the day they do the seeding run. anyway, don't get too hung up on the time - racing adds another layer to riding with others which you just don't get in the seeding soup team time trial.

i was in club100 kit, trying to do some damage on the front for the first 40km without any luck! pity though, felt strong, but that climb was just enough to put me back far enough that i didn't see the break again. bummer

got left on botmas as well - were you in the chase group who finished at around 3h18?

guys, if you get a small bunch together and keep rotating at the front i guarantee you will be able to drop them. yes, it will be hard work and yes it will hurt, that's the point - remember if you're in pain, they're most likely hurting as well if not more. it doesn't sound like these guys can keep a reasonably high tempo for long so keep up the pace. another strategy is go off in two's - two guys attack hard, make a break and the other two back in the bunch chase down the attacks/disrupt the rhythm on the front that come after to slow the group down and make the break stick. then after about 20mins or so the next two try to bridge the gap. hopefully by then noone will be keen or think they won't make it. meanwhile, these two group up with the two in front and you have a real chance. there are a ton of ways to outfox a group of wheelsuckers, pick one and stick to it to see if it works. that's racing! good luck on sunday!

whatever it says on the side of the tyre

only if you ride you bike, sorry.

also, there are different profiles for different road conditions so you'll need to adjust your "hop" angle and height accordingly - i.e. short ones you may be able to clear completely, long ones you may simply need to land on the top and roll down the other side. whatever you do, keep out the saddle and your weight back/over the bb, don't want to catch a "weighted" front wheel on a nasty shaped one.

aka "marshall" law, take the power back - it's in everyone's best interests. good luck.

converted my old 2.8 cannondale into a ss. didn't bother with a fancy chain tensioner, just left the rd on and turned the limit screw in as far as it could go. then lined the sprocket up on the freehub by using plastic spacers from old cassettes (btw i've heard of this done using pvc pipe over the freehub) and shortened the chain tight enough that the rd is at full extension (i.e. forward). been riding it for a year and a half like that with no worries (touch wood). oh, and the gear ratio is 39x15 - ridden up edinburgh drive like that with a backpack so it's good for me (ok , was a bit of a grunt)

oh yes, and don't worry, you are not alone!

check that the sensor is securely fastened, sounds like it's slipping while you ride. i wrapped electrical tape around the sensor unit on the fork to stop it from moving around as the little rubber bands they supply you with are pretty flimsy and in my opinion not sufficient. i recall that the gap between the sensor and magnet had to be pretty tight in order for them to read so they are fairly sensitive to movement.

although i applaud your entrepreneurial skill, just remember: the longer it takes, the longer you're employed! correct me if i'm wrong, but i think the original project timeline was about 2 years when they started. i presume as they began excavating and uncovering the extent of the degradation that had occurred under the road surface that they found that a lot more work was required than orginally envisioned.

you're suggesting sending everyone up the steep side of ou kaapse? watch the classifieds, there'll be a lot of people selling their entries!

2.06?! holy macaroni, he must have crushed those last few hills. mind you at 80km (or 85km depending on where you get your info) he was probably just warming up - i trust these guys are doing longer distances in training for when they hit europe. and hey, you're only promoting ronelle's pics because there's a nice shot of you crossing the line! shameless. ronelle's pics are always good though - worth a punt!

mmm, my two cents now: the "stars" concept, while great in theory, seems to be a bridge too far. Allowing seeded riders from D - I into one racing cat means grouping a bunch of riders with extreme variances in strengths, abilities and experience. i support one of the suggestions here to make it compulsory that these riders first attend a set number of PPA killarney sessions as these are invaluable to learning bunch riding tips/ettiquette/abuse (verbal, physical and otherwise) in a safer and more controlled environment rather than out on the road during a race.

cheers

much obliged!

hey k, so where's your mapmyride link for this one?

can't seem to find a route map for this one, anyone got a mapmyride link handy?

ok, you had me at "ip block" - i'm going back to drawing buildings...

maybe they're hosted by the same guys who host our server, some local crowd with cycling affiliations.

K, you do know you've got to go uphill first before you can fly downhill?