Garfield2010

Another IM hopefull was ran over yesterday morning outside Bloemfontein by a citizen returning home from a night club. He broke his pelvis.

Good luck on Monday

I heard the route is flat with one short false flat in the middle

And how was it?

.this thread has served its purpose. In typical hub fashion it has changed into a i am better than you know it all yada yada.

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Does the cycle route still have that massive hill in the middle of each lap?

That sums it up JGR. I am fitting my new chain this weekend. My new tubbies will be fitted after next weekends last loooong ride. Then its a major service and hopefully I have done all I can to minimise my "mechanical incident chances". Davem can teach me how to fix a chain and Eldron how to quickly rebuild and truce a wheel the day before IM just in case I break 5 spokes and I should be good to go.

I was referring to this. But lets agree to disagree. My point was never that you should not be able to fix the basics. From the start my main concern was multiple flats, broken chains and spokes etc.

Eldron.......... The TDF began unsupported. Dirt roads with ZERO support. nowadays they change bikes midway through stages for heavens sake. In the Epic a lot of guys take mechanics along who can practically fix anything overnight when the athlete sleeps. Yes during a stage you are on your own but he can service it every night which does tend to help. Does this make him less of a finisher than you? Ironman has now started giving assistance as we saw in KONA and as we see today in the news update for IMSA. So yes Ironman will evolve along with all things to the good. No one will however force you to make use of the assistance but I definitely will in need so I guess that will make your medal heavier than mine.

Hahaha yes don't worry! So what do you take along for IM? Tubes, pump, chain tool? What if a spoke or two breaks?

Whats an allen key? We are not allowed to crawl in IM.

I am not expecting the organiser to go out of their way to help me. @ontheflywheelhire has actually offered to support the cyclists from their side so why the hell not? If the pros get support then so should we. And no not anyone can fix a bike. A tyre maybe but not a bike. Not everyone is hardcore bike mechanics in their spare time like you and the Davemeister. I am not a handyman - in fact I suck at anything with my hands. You being a MTB'er what do you think on MTB cross country series the teams have guys all lining the route with spare wheels etc? I will do everything in my power to make sure my bike is right (new chain tyres etc) but should anything unforeseen happen it would be nice to know there is support close by - not just one vehicle circling the route. Everything is evolving and so should IM.

So if your chain breaks at 5km or you break 2 spokes then you are not an Ironman or don't deserve to be one. Then 9 months of training and a R4,500 entry fee let alone fuel and accommodation is all moertoe cause you cant fix it man alleen?? What if you puncture 3 times and don't have any tubes left. Honestly if any of the above happens to me and I cant complete the race then I will quit the sport or at least my wife will force me. So many sacrifices from the families side as well..... A mechanical incident should not ruin 9 months of hard work in my opinion.

Never underestimate the power of idiots in large numbers. This thread defines exactly what is wrong with people in todays day and age. Not only the situation but also some of the responses too. So much anger and hate.

Do the Math.... say there is 3,000 guys doing a 70.3 race. Even with wave starts of 800 per wave most oke's swim say a 37min. If 400 of the 800 oke's start cycling within 5 minutes from one another they need effectively 4km of road and need to be evenly spread to be "legal". Saw the EL 70.3 on TV and the pros seemed to not draft at all. It is hard as well since you have to keep accelerating as well to pass certain guys within the allotted time which can be very tiring....

How does Visa's work for Germany? I need to go to Germany and France? Does the Shengen Visa cover both?

I still disagree. Batman has a mechanic so why can us Ironmen have the same?

Well in Kona there are vehicles carrying wheels for the pros. Crowie got one this year and Kienle got one last year. No changing tubes nada. Last year at IMSA the athlete stood next to his bike while the mechanic changed the tube or fixed his bike. The driver stood in the road and shouted when a ref was approaching and then the mechanic simply gave the bike back to the athlete for a few seconds. Dave punctures in my opinion has a lot to do with luck. Luck should not have an influence on the outcome. I will have my bike serviced and put new tyres on but if there are major issues I cannot fix it. I just ain't a handy man.

I wouldn't call them cheats. If the guy in front is 6m away from the guy in front of him then you will also ride 6m away. You participate within the laws of what the refs are allowing you. Last year at Abu Dhabi Tri the okes where 3 metres from one another. In fact Macca crashed and broke his wrist after colliding with another guy... I honestly thing having three cars with extra wheels etc is a good solution. Personally I will change my wheel myself and pay the LBS R300 "rent" for their wheel if it saves me 10 minutes and more importantly you lose momentum changing tubes and your body stiffens up and mentally you just don't recover. If you train for 9 months then this is not how you want it to end.

Yes but that was one vehicle. And that was done "secretly" - the refs did look the other way but still it sucked. Just legalise it and get it over with...

Ok so I have a few interesting points to ponder:- 1.) Drafting. In my opinion the pros are not close to 10 metres from one another (or a bus length). Last year I saw a group of 4 that was probably 5 metres apart. Just my observation. 2.) On IM Kona I see the pros gets followed around with vehicles with spare wheels. So if they flat they get a whole new wheel. So have the rules of not getting any support changed? Why cant IMSA also have 3 vehicles circling the route (30km apart) riding at 60km/hour or faster pace. This means worst case scenario you will be without support for 30 minutes. Should you puncture they can stop and either offer you a new wheel, or to fix your existing one. They can tell you the price right there and then and you can decide. If you agree they mark your number and you get billed afterwards. A company like action cycles can pay a levy to IMSA to get the "support contract" as they will make a lot of cash on the day as well and everybody wins. It sucks to train for 9 months and then get your race ruined by a blowout. What do you guys think?

Very highly paid doctors...... I wonder how much money Dr Ferrari made off US Postal alone.... I mean they flew to Italy for secret training camps with the good docter etc

Yes cuz the Garf will go in dry when he catches you okes