doman

I've done quite a bit of both and quite a lot depends on where you live. Presumably, you want to ride regularly and sometimes the simplicity of a roadbike is quite attractive cos you start riding from your door. Sometimes mtbking can require a little bit of a drive first which is a little more hassle. If you are in an area where mountain biking is popular and you can get there easily like tokai or stellenbosch or any other popular MTB spots, then to me its a no-brainer - go MTB. Also, the car-bike animosity on the road isn't getting any better. At least when you come home with bruises and scratches from MTB, its probably your own fault .

This is really bad news, I hope he has a speedy recovery and that the culprits are caught. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

I like to break the week up into 10 to 12 training sessions depending how much time you have. Swim 3 long swims a week of around an hour each if you want to make sure you'll get through the swim leg fine and make sure you do a few open water swims closer to the event. Remember, the biggest reason for people pulling out of the swim leg is due to sea sickness, so do a few rolling swims in the sea, to get your 'sea legs'. Spend plenty of time on the bike, because not only is this the longest discipline time wise, but it will also determine the quality of your legs during the marathon. Lots of very strong bikers who bike within themselves during the bike leg, prove to be the strongest runners too because they were still relatively fresh after the bike course. Also get your TT setup right, it will save you plenty of time. The marathon is simple. Run the whole thing. It sounds strange now, but less than 10% of all IM marathons are completed without walking at some stage. If you run the whole thing, you'll have a respectable time. So, swim 1.30, bike 6.00, run 4.30 - and there's your 12 hour IM - easy!