Sean Badenhorst

Hey Mark, keep fighting man. Your attitude remains defiant, which is essential. Be strong.

Oh dear, a competitive club. Well, there's certainly a proliferation of Type A-personality roadies in Gauteng so it might not be a bad idea. Besides, by the end of the year there's usually a few that fall out with their existing club/pro-vets team and need somewhere to go to...

What kind of club? MTB, road, gentleman's?

Sounds quite advanced. Sad. I like Fignon. Had a few beers with him a few years back in Cape Town and found out what a down-to-earth guy he is. I wish him the best.

Evans won from Bassingthwaighte and Heymans (not sure of the order of those two). George 4th. Knox had a big lead by half way but had mechancial problems so finished outside the top 5. Women: Speedy raced the ultra, De Villiers didn't race. Ischen Stopforth won 75km from Oosthuizen.

In my experience, a shock pump is a shock pump. I use a Ryder which is relatively cheap and works just fine.

I heard about a microchip that can be inserted inside the seatpost. Can't remember it's available or still in the making.

Let's be honest' date=' this week wasn't exactly great in jhb either. Do you still ride the Spruit in the mornings? I'd be interested to join 2 days a week from next month. [/quote'] Hog, we ride The Spruit a few mornings a week. Definitely join us! I've also started riding a time trail ? 1 lap of the provincial XC course at the Bike Park every Friday morning at about 08h30.

Thanks Bushie. We already have a column called Celeb Rated in TREAD which this relates to.

I'll organise he meets Kevin, don't think Burry is racing Hazyview. Will let you know details later.

Fisher - no 'C'. Sorry, just seen it too often to let it go again. Maybe this will be Trek's way of exploring new road technology (with no pressure), which they can then introduce to the Trek brand at a later stage...

Yeah, not really possible to pass on the Angle Grinder, but it's only about 40 seconds long with wide track before and after where you can pass. Sometimes you just have to wait for the right opportunity. This can mean riding a bit slower than you want to behind someone, but that's when you should take a quick drink and prepare for your big passing effort at the next possible opportunity. Green Mile is wide enough to zip past on a few sections.

You didn't need to say it directly, but you implied it by trying to downgrade XC riding/riders. Sure, it's your opinion, but it's not attractive. We all know DH riding is uber cool and wish we could descend with such speed and skill. DH riders are actually more easy going, friendly, accepting and accessible than the riders in every other bicycle racing discipline (trust me, I know); but you just began muddying that up with some barbed jibes... Maybe you just had a bad day today.

How do we know you're as good as you say you are then?

Rampant rampage, how'd you finish up in the 09 national DH series?

Because pros ride faster - often much faster - than us mortals, they leave the singletrack (or beaten track) more often and pick up thorns or hit rocks we probably wouldn't. It's a higher risk, higher reward game at the front and as a result they suffer more punctures.

This is sooooo funny! It's like a surfer listing the things he hates about riding a tube: When the sun is rising When the sun is setting When the wind blows too much spray in my face When there's a dolphin riding the tube just ahead of me When there's a dolphin riding the tube just behind me Keep riding singletrack lots, MJ loves MTB, eventually your list will get shorter. Promise!

I'm fortunate to live near enough to the park to ride there on weekdays when I have the trails virtually to myself. On weekends, I expect to have to be patient with the high volume of kids. I don't mind because I like to see kids on bikes. When you're 10 years old and riding with your buddies, a black route isn't something to be feared, it's something to be tried... It's how you learn your limits. It's how I learned my limits. And I became a bicycle rider for life.

Yep, it's a good supplement to take when training hard as it helps support your immune system which becomes vulnerable under such stress. There are different grades of Glutamine, so try and make sure it's the top grade before getting too excited about the price.

Cramping generally happens when you ride further or faster (or both) than your body/mind are accustomed to. Supplements are unlikely to make any difference. Just ride longer, more regularly and lower your expectations (don't aim for a certain time, just aim to finish comfortably). If you can't ride on your bike more regularly, try Spinning more regularly. Any kind of saddle time will help. Just do it as often as you can (4-5 times a week on average) with at least one longer bike ride per week.

I don't need more gears. I need more time to ride. When someone comes up with a solution for that, then I'll be smiling...

Cadence Nutrition make some of the best cycling-specific supplements I've ever used. http://www.cadencenutrition.co.za/

Ah, sorry to hear it, Noche. Be strong Daniel XT. May you have a speedy full recovery.