Sean Badenhorst

That's the problem, Bruce. Not many of us with jobs and famlies can devote the kind of time and money to getting into our best possible race condition. Something suffers and it's usually the family... I'm thoroughly enjoying spending more time with my family and less time on my bike at the moment. But maybe that's just me. Some days we're all on the bikes and that for me is a good result!

MTB race numbers have definitely increased over the past few years, especially the 35-45km distance races. Most major road races have a 10% (on average) non-start figure. People enter early but something comes up (or goes down) and they don't get to the start line. Road cycling experienced an unusually big growth curve for a few years (mostly the last five LA years) but is probably returning to normal now. I believe that safety is still the biggest limiting factor to the growth of road cycling/races. Full-road closure races (the handful of them!) should be commended and supported for what they have achieved.

Read frensch's post carefully. They were Trek track bikes. Not road bikes.

Looks like Oliver Munnik in the Corsa TV ad, rising MTB star - think he was top 15 at 07 Absa Cape Epic.

Congratulations Craig! Welcome to the 'hood... parenthood! Expect: some dramatically altered sleep patterns, missed training rides, below-par race results, 3pm work slumps, being late for almost everything, carrying 10 times the baby's weight/volume in your car (even just for a simple outing to the mall), having considerably less expendable income for at least the next two decades, discovering that you aren't smarter than a 5th Grader, being taken for granted, being able to identify all bodily fluids within seconds, biting your tongue at school sports events, reluctantly accepting that other children might just be better looking, more intelligent, more talented than yours, and discovering yourself singing all the words to Barney's 'I love you..." one day in the shower. Of course having said all that, there's nothing better than being a parent. The joy she'll bring to you will completely overwhelm you like nothing else can... Promise! Sean Designation: Father Experience: 1 x 10-year-old and 1 x 2-year-old - both boys PS. If she grows up to be a looker (and plays her cards right), my highly-intelligent, extremely-talented, incredibly good-looking two-year-old might show an interest... Sean Badenhorst2008-02-18 03:24:14

Felt, read these posts carefully. Only sernoche1 needs to apologise to Barry, the rest of us were defending him! Well done Barry!

Worthless? And exactly what were you expecting? Assume you are aware that there was a 19-rider break that gained more than 20 minutes on the field on Stage 1 which pretty much ended any hopes of there being a traditional stage-race battle. At least SA had Ian McLeod in that break and he finished 9th overall in the end. Add to the that fact that the organisers took the mountain stage out (with less than 3 weeks to go) and replaced it with a molehill stage which cancelled out the hopes of any top climbers from making a major impact on the event. Nolan Hoffman got a few top-10 places in the sprints which is very encouraging. Now, here's the question, did Italy, France, Germany, Australia etc send any national teams? No. You know why? Because their best riders race for trade teams that have their own racing schedules. South Africa's national teams at international events should be used to develop young riders. Four of this country's pro teams are now classified as UCI Continental teams and Barloworld is classified as Pro Continental. This means that we can only really expect to send our top riders on a national team to the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Olympic Games, not the Tour de Langkawi. This also means that our expectations of the performances of our national team should be adjusted accordingly.

Here's a spanner ? why do women shave their legs?

If it's for road rash reasons, then why don't cyclists shave their arms too? Sean Badenhorst2008-02-15 03:28:28

http://www.bicycling.co.za/articles_archive/spin//2904/

Sean ............... the "irate" Toll Officials are angry only because a bicycle does activate the magnetic coil under the asphalt and records you as a vehicle. The poor "irate" official has to pay in the difference. Thanks for this Big H. Like I said, I was young and knew everything! I definitely feel remorse now. However thinking back, while those rides were risky, they were actually priceless.

Reminds me of a time long, long ago when I lived in Pinetown (near Durban). Would join the Westville Cycling Club crowd for the early morning weekday rides. Thursday mornings was a ride to Hillcrest but not up the M13 highway, rather up the N3 freeway! We'd join the N3 from a few km before the Marianhill Toll Plaza and then begin what I think was about a 9km climb. We'd ride through the toll gate, taking the (sometimes irate) toll attendants by surprise and then race to the top of the Assegay/Shongweni offramp. Damn good training! There'd usually be a couple of cars but we'd ride in the wide emergency lane and always felt safe. Of course that was when I was very young and knew everything. Sean Badenhorst2008-02-14 06:45:24

Like I said, I don't condone him riding on a freeway, but I do kind of envy his free thinking...

I'm not in any way condoning him riding on a freeway but I reckon he got home a lot quicker than those in cars. And probably entered his house with sweat on his brow and a smile on his face... Pity more people don't use bicycles for daily transport...

MTN Energade have three riders in Malaysia racing the Tour de Langkawi on the national team. Another five left for the Tour d' Egypt on Saturday. Neil MacDonald is injured after a crash at World's View Challenge and Nic White is mourning the loss of his Dad. The remaining riders - Lange, Kinnear and Potgieter raced the Emperor's Classic in Joburg yesterday, while the women's team rode and won the Kormorant Classic (Cherise) and the Emperor's Classic (Marissa), both in Joburg.

There's a cycling show called Pedal Talk on SABC 2 on Saturdays. Might be fortnightly. It's usually on just before the day's big soccer match. Johnny Koen is the host and it covers most major events in the country.

It's not my thing (too slow and mundane), but I've always admired Adventure Racers, especially the hardcore ones that do the big events. How do they get that much time off work?

So CSA releases a statement on why the 2008 Tour of South Africa is cancelled and everyone thinks that's the whole story? Case closed? No way! There's lot's more to this I'm sure. Be interesting to hear Sweet Spot's side of the story. Sweet Spot organises the Tour of Britain (http://www.thetour.co.uk/) and organised the Prologue and Stage 1 of the 2007 Tour de France in England. Think they're going to risk their good reputation by bungling a long overdue Tour of SA? I doubt it. Sponsors don't come on board for an event that only has a one-year guarantee. Big sponsors look at three years minimum for a major event. How on earth could Sweet Spot get a multi-million rand sponsorship from a South African company for a race that is only guaranteed to them for one year? Pity. We could have had some more new (long-term) sponsors in our sport, a great race to create local heroes and raise the profile of cycling in SA and, potentially, the start of an international success story to match the Cape Epic. How long will we have to wait now to get a big road stage race we can call the Tour of South Africa? Sean Badenhorst2008-02-01 08:20:46

Hey Wolverine, it rains like that in England... Considering this country's intermittent power supply, inability to repair potholed roads and faulty traffic lights (for weeks!), ongoing revelations of corrupt top cops, ridiculously high violent crime rate, and a president-in-waiting that thinks a shower can eradicate a pandemic virus, it might actually be worthwhile moving there... Sean Badenhorst2008-01-25 02:11:32

Don't understimate the South Africans who have been training solidly for weeks through the summer weather, while the Europeans have been doing limited base miles in the freezing cold. In February, Maritzburg can get to over 35 deg C easily which will suit the local riders.

I lived in Pmb in the early 1990s for a while and rode all these routes. They're pretty tough in terms of being very hilly. But as you know, the pace of the race is what determines how tough it is, no matter how flat or hilly... Euro pros are used to riding 'piano' for the first hour or two in many races and then putting the hammer down, but these short races are likely to be flat-out racing from the gun, so expect the South Africans to impress since that's what they're used to. Liquigas has some really big guns in their line-up, in particular Bennati, Bertagnolli, Pellizotti and Pozzato. Google them for their palmares. Wish I could be there to watch!

I did some research last year this time to buy a 24-inch mountain bike for my son (he is now 10). Found Giant to have the best range of kids bikes in terms of quality. You pay a bit more, but it's worth it. If a child can't stop a bike he/she won't have the confidence to ride it. Giant do bikes for kids with the old back-pedal brake system. Their hand-brake systems are also of a decent standard so the kids can actually reach and pull them effectively.

Many, many years ago, I used to be provincial level triathlete and duathlete and developed ITB from running. I tried all the regular suggestions which didn't help, then took a year off running and just did cycle races. Still didn't help. Had the snip and haven't ever had a problem since. Took up long distance triathlons with 32-42km runs after that. The snip basically reduces the tension in the ITB and leaves a very small scar on the outside of the knee. Although, I had my op back in 1993, so this may be different these days. I do know that because it is not an essential procedure, medical aids are unlikely or hesitant to cover the op these days. Good luck. I still remember how awful that pain was ? and how demoralising it was! Sean Badenhorst2007-12-03 03:55:47

I did all 10 events in the Mazda Series this year and can tell you that Crater Cruise was one of the tougher races. The new course with some testing, technical bits and the long distance are the keys to its difficulty. I rode Crater Cruise on my Old Faithful Raleigh RM7 aluminium hardtail. Toughest race in the Series overall was probably Koranna in the Free State. So glad I got to ride it on the Tomac Carbide XC dual susser! It comes down to conditioning. The top guys race most events on hardtails, but they're physically and mentally tuned to do so. (Quality) dual suspension is a great leveller when you're bringing age, weight and sub-par fitness levels to tough races... Sean Badenhorst2007-11-27 01:44:22

I have had Encephalitis before. Horrible! As far as I know it can be either viral or bacterial. Mine was bacterial which apparently meant that nobody else was at any risk of being infected by what I had. I was hospitalised for seven days and made a complete recovery. Three years later I got bacterial meningitis... but that's another story. Encourage your colleague to rest properly and not be in a hurry to return to work.