Ratty

You are not being paranoid depending on the bike and how snuggly the arm fits. With the steep angles on the frame of my old bike the arm didn't fit flat so was only using a portion of it to grip the bike. On the way to Philidelphia we had hectic cross winds (was blowing the car sideways) and it blew my bike out of the clasp. Very luckily both front and rear straps were still in place so the bike was held onto the roof, just sideways instead of upright. Only damage was to my one disk brake. What we do now is secure the bike with an extra strap to ensure it stays in place.

A Merida MTB (can't remember which model) that I bought from Cycle Lab about 8 years ago. Paid R10500 which was a lot then for a hardtail.. First race I did I ended up having to walk 8km's back home due to issues. It was more the experience of their after sales service than the actual bike that was the issue, but it made me hate the bike. After taking it in 3 times I still didn't have a working bike.

See I disagree there slightly. While the Spez Camber is an awesome bike, IMO opinion the Specialized Stumpy 650 fattie kicks its backside :-) I rode the Camber, Stumpy 29er and Stumpy 650 at a test day and Stumpy 650 was my first choice, Camber 2nd and strangely I really didn't like the Stumpy 29er which was the bike everyone recommend I get.

You must get lady specific shorts. Also I would highly recommend getting a ladies specific saddle as well, makes a big difference. Give yourself some time. I was exactly where you are now. I was fit when I started cycling, but in different sports and really struggled the first few months. Keep it up, you will get better with each ride as long as you give your body a chance to recover in between.

I am finally in a team for this, super happy :-) We are a VERY social team called the CarrotCakers. Team meeting was all about what food we going to eat, when we will stop at Perrigrine for Springboks pies and then important things like making sure we have shade. Going to be a blast. Bring on the rain !!!

I put flat pedals on my new bike last month and the issues I've had so far are the following: (all due to bad habits / lack of skills). 1. Riding up switchbacks is proving to be difficult. I clearly relied on the up-stroke with cleats to get up switchbacks and am still trying to do it. 2. Bunny Hops - I learnt to do bunny hops with cleats so completely the incorrect technique. Just watch a few videos online and you will see how easily the guys to it. At this point I can now bunny hop a stick, just need to practice more and progress to a log. 3. Jumps / Drops. My feet keep leaving the pedals in the air. Also due to bad technique. After watching a few videos to learn the proper technique I can now do small jumps without my feet leaving the pedals. Other than that, I really am enjoying the flat pedals. Don't have the right shoes yet, but I do have a birthday coming up in 2 months and have already been throwing the hints :-) I feel that I am finally learning to ride a bike properly and am loving it. 1.

I lost weight last year by swimming. Was swimming twice a week and it has made my back / core stronger and I also dropped a few kg's (without changing my diet). Sadly mid-December I got whacked with a surf board and burst my ear drum. For 2 weeks I couldn't swim, run or cycle and of course with Xmas food I ended up putting them all back on.. Devastated... Unfortunately I am looking at another few months of no swimming :-( Really sad as I was really motivated. Had entered my 1st 1km swim. So, I need to find something else to motivate me to exercise. Am finding the Discovery Active Rewards is a good motivator as I don't want to let my friends down. Love the stories of everyone who has lost so much, really inspirational and helps.

What is the main difference between the Orca S4 and Orca S5 ladies wetsuit? I am interesting in getting one and the S5 fits perfectly, but is R1100 more expensive than the S4. Is it worth it spending the extra money to get the latest model?

Do you have any plans to allow day permits?

I've got two pairs. My specialized ones have been going strong for a few years and are great, but found they didn't have enough padding when hitting trees and / or getting jumps wrong. Got a pair of Oakley MX gloves at the Oakley sale and they are now my choice when tackling the more technical routes. Little bit hotter than the other gloves, but have loads of grip and protection.

I sadly can no longer make it :-( Had a little accident surfing yesterday and have a nice hole in my eardrum. Very frustrating. Hope you guys have a blast !!! MichyC, they are a really friendly bunch and its great fun.

A nice place to go if you want a little less technical ride to get used to the bike and gravel is Koeberg. Its a lovely 21km loop and great for people starting out with mtbing.

I am running out of water bottles as I haven't done the argus in more than 2 years. How many people do you see at races with the Hollard Water bottles, its been great advertising for them over more than just a few races. love the mini lubes as they fit so perfectly into my camelbak I like socks, they are something you need quite a few of. A nice race branded key ring would be nice. We got a bottle opener one as a Medal at one of the Nav challenges, love it.

Why did I not know about this thread.... Claire, one other thing is to ask someone to check your saddle height. Having it correct can make a big difference. I've seen a lot of beginners riding with it too low and it makes it harder when your knees are sticking out sideways. Good luck, enjoy and never be scared to ask someone for help or advice. We all were beginners once.

It starts off low, mine start off at 150 points, now I am on 300. The idea being that they slowly push you do to more. From what I understand, if you use a heart rate monitor or a garmin, you can get bonus points for being in a certain range (heart rate) or running / riding at a specific speed. Maybe look into that if you have a heart rate monitor.

I was trying to avoid anything that would cost me money :-) Found I hadn't done my mental health assessment online so all sorted now.

Who else is doing the Vitality Rewards? I am loving it. Getting 2 free smoothies on Wednesday. bonus is its actually motivating me to train more because if I don't I am not just letting myself down, but my Vitality friends can see that I've been lazy and will miss out on their bonus smoothie. One question, what is the easiest way to earn the bonus fitness points? I am at my max fitness points and need 1000 points to maintain Diamond.

My son loves this trail. Think we might have to venture out again this weekend

My first impressions of the Garmin Connect mobile app are not very good. I get an error on login. My garmin account details are correct as I am able to login to Garmin Express on my pc and the website.

Until you do a triathlon. I had a mechanical on the mtb leg and was shocked that at least 10 people passed me before a lady asked if I was ok. Made me realise how great the mtb community is.

I have a friend who got one, but sadly I didn't. It just wasn't meant to be.

Interesting topic. My dad at 60 had issues with cholesterol, blood pressure etc. Now at 71, everything is perfect. Only difference, he started cycling. Ok, so he doesn't race, although he often races youngsters up hills sometimes. Oh and never call him old... he gets very insulted.

So I never managed to get a practice swim in before Slanghoek, however I absolutely loved the swim. The dam is more a blue / green colour as apposed to the Brown/red colour of Grabouw. Almost feel like swimming in the ocean. What was great as well is that we were allowed to warm up in the dam before the actual race which gave me time to get used to it. There is a serious of races coming up at the Worcester Yacht club so excited to try my first 1km swim. Looking at their website, they allow day visitors to come and swim so if anyone is looking for somewhere to practice, this looks like a good option http://www.wyc.co.za/

Luckily its fine when riding so don't strap it anymore. Only gets a little sore if doing rocky trails. Hurts when I put too much pressure i.e lifting heavy objects etc. All manageable though.

In a way that's good news that you could still shift. With mine there was no way I could even attempt to shift as I had no power. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Oh and physio really helped once it started heeling to get strength and flexibility back (it was scary how little I had).