Ratty

Yesterday was insane. if anyone asks me how I did I say I survived. Being a fairly light female on a light bike I was being blown around everywhere. I actually got off and walked for about 20 metres on the downhill going towards Camps Bay.

I like to wear good quality kit, some of it you just don't get over here especially for ladies. I am almost fully kitted out in specialized gear which I got from overseas. I make the name look bad because I'm so unfit, but I really don't care and don't see why anyone else should care what kit people are wearing. Maybe they just like the colours of the kit or it matches their bike etc?

Thanks for a fantastic ride. There was too much jeep track if you ask me ;-) I thought the singletrack was great. For me a ride is not complete if you don't have a couple of close calls and / or falls. I managed not to fall, which I think had a lot to do with me having the perfect bike for it, but I certainly had a few close calls. The turnout was good considering it is the middle of summer! I now can't wait to get back to Majik forest now that I know the track a bit. I enjoyed doing it twice because you get to go faster once you know whats coming.

Just want to make sure, if you are thinking of join outriders, its ok to come try it out first? I'd like to get an idea what pace etc you guys ride at! I know the Cycles Direct guys go too fast for me :-)

I've never won overall, but have been the first lady in a few of the shorter mtb and road races. Best one was the 30km road race in the Langebaan nature reserve, I got R300 in prize money :-) Oh and I'came 2nd in the Koringberg 50km mtb which I was quite proud of.

Specialized road and mtb, no problems! Had Olympics before and had lots of issued. Tried different cleat positions etc but didn't help. Wrong shoe for me.

Question still remains, why did it take the ambulance 30 minutes to get there (Obviously I wasn't there and I'm taking this from what was said). If there were +- 27 ambulances, surely one of them could have got there a little quicker? Especially as someone said it was 200m from the Sandton clinic? I just hope the wife doesn't blame herself for what happened. She knew him better than anyone else there and I'm sure if he was in real bad shape she wouldn't have let him continue.

Specialized!!! I've got the Avatar, great saddle.

I really liked the SA kit at the Olympic, road and bmx.

If you do borrow a demo bike, either borrow a womens saddle or buy one (doesn't have to be an expensive one). I think a lot of women are put off cycling because of the saddle being uncomfortable, us ladies like our comfort.

Did you go ride the downhill onto the runners track? We were there the same time as you! I'm surprised I never noticed you with all those scrapes :-) And its was the most perfect day at Jonkers!

I was also at Jonkers on Sat, what time were you there? Seems like it was a bad day for crashes there. We came across a 15 year old kid who had fallen badly on the jeep track on the way back to the gate. He was in a bad way, couldn't get up and was clearly in shock. Luckily we found someone who had a first aid kit and some knowledge.

Mine sits perfectly in place held by the twins and either a sports top or bra. Could also depend on the heart rate strap though. I find the Polar one works well, but I tried another one (can't remember what brand) and it didn't work at all well.

I'm not sure if it can be cycling related, but what I do know is that having the correct shoes for your feet is very important. I was playing action cricket which involves running on a hard surface 5 times a week and had days when I couldn't walk due to shin splints. I then got a new pair of shoes and since then haven't had any problems.

That Merida is UGLY!!!

You would ride it for about 1 minute in SA before getting hi-jacked

The wheels would look better on a Specialized :-)

Rookie, I might be keen to join you! I haven't been on my road bike except for rides under 30kms since last years Burger tour. I'm still deciding though whether I should do it though. I'm entered in the Argus so I need to get my butt into gear at some point. Not easy having a 4 month old baby in the house :-)

I can't decide, it would be between the following: Jonkershoek - Canary (up and down), especially the new section at the top. Knysna Red Route Eselfontein (Ceres)

Very pretty..... I'm jealous.

They do Great, in that case I'll be sending an email.

I know I asked on the other thread but just want to check if they could make a ladies shirt? Mens shirts just do not fit me :-)

Thats interesting. My first ride back after having a baby was at Harkerville in Knysna. Bit of a tough ride for a first ride in months and I was at my max heart rate for almost the whole ride. Afterwards I had a horribe dry cough and it felt like it was my chest and lungs were burning. Guess this answers my question as to why! Had the same thing yesterday after 6kms of uphill singletrack.

Big isn't always best! It depends on what you are looking to spend money on! My favourite mtb shop is Gecko cycles which is a small shop but with great service.