Mileage

Finished the upramp. Hop off to finish. Ill be on the spruit later bout 4ish. Navy Trance. Say hi as you go by!

Took a chainsaw to that tree up by Tana Rd and trimmed a bit off the top. Will finish the up ramp today. Have a piece of lumber that will work well. Question is whether to do a down ramp or just assume anyone that is keen to try would just hop off??

Event was really cool to watch!!

Patches better be right My Neutrons and Five 10's arrived from CRC this morning!!

The polarised model of training is only really applicable to elite athletes that do 600-1000 hrs per year. If you try to apply that model to recreational people (4-8hrs per week) the overall intensity is too low for successful training adaptations. There needs to be a sliding scale. The less time you have to train the higher the intensity, the more time the more low intensity, although you still need some HIT to ensure optimal adaptations. However there will be a limit to how far you get on low volumes of training even if done at high intensity. At the elite end there is strong evidence that the overall volume of training is closely related to the competitive performance. If you dont have much time and only do low intensity you dont place enough stress on the muscles as you dont have enough contractions to stumulate adaptations. On the other side if you do too much high intensity for high volumes you create too much stress leading to injury and burn out. I would suggest that the OP was trying to spread it out too much and that the overall intensity was too low hence reduced adaptations vs the current experiences. Its the Goldilocks theory of training!! Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. What is just right for you is the magic bullet.

Anyone know a place in the JHB northern suburbs that sells protective knee guards for cycling. A mate of mine had recontructive knee surgery and has pin and plates in his knee that you can feel through the skin and every now and then while riding knocks it against the frame which hurts like a MF It doesnt have to be anything too expensive just well padded. The neoprene and elastic braces are not really working

Oh and I have a few more plans for that stretch of trail. Coming back from emmerentia there are a few elevated manholes (30-40cm bricj structures) I assume for storm water. I think a little ramp leading up to them will allow for a bit of a launch off them. Ill see what soil is available from the building site and see what can be done. Will need to get a trailer load and move it further up the trail. Not wheeling a barrow all that way!

Yeah I also noticed that they wernt lined up when I went yesterday morning to ride. The three table tops work but I realised that I had to build the ramp off to the right so you didnt pin your head on the tree branch, which puts No3 out of line Ill go next week one mornig and move the 3rd jump a bit right. I think that I just need to move soil from one side to the other and that should fix it. Will let you all know when Im there if anyone can help out a bit

Ride to coast Follow beach???

Soil had been dumped in the park by someone else on 2 different occations as the 2 piles are quite different. After a few weeks of riding past it I thought Id put it to better use. Im no expert jumper so just made them the shape I felt would work. Get a bit of air and survive the landing. Im sure over time theyll be worn/eroded into better shape if thats what works better

There is a reasonable pile of soil left so they can be added to if they are not big enough. They are about 3 strides long. Let me know if you ride them and give some feedback. Can do a bit more on Friday morning

Some pichers of Sundays work

No sorry...was too knackered and hungry!

So I've spent a few hours moving soil from one area to another just off Rustenburg Rd past where they have been doing that new building. Someone had dumped a few loads in the park so I thought why not... 3 new table tops built so far. Wanted to start a line that is cool for beginners/novices to roll over and progress to small jumps as well as some fun for intermediate jumpers. DHL and Hurlingham are a bit hectic for newbies and normal XC bikes. Anyway they are there and fairly well packed down. Maybe a light rain will help. Feel free to give them a pat down if you have a go and find they are a bit loose. Ive angled the line away from the normal trail and as there is a fair amount of soil left in the one pile I'd like to finish it off with a ramp to jump the drainage ditch. I plan to try to finish it off and do a bit of sculpting on Sunday afternoon from about 2:30 so if there is anyone with some experience that could help finish them off and anyone who can bring a spade and wheelbarrow to help with the ditch jump that would be cool. If it's hot beer may be required to maintain morale but if its pissing with rain I won't be there !!

Play this game when you out riding or racing If you pass someone with a more expensive bike than you you get 1 point, an extra point for each R10k more than your bike If its a 29er you get 2 points. If you pass someone while airborne you get the points above plus 5 bonus. If you get passed by someone on a cheaper bike subtract 1 and 1 extra for each R10k less. If its a 26inch subtract 2 If their airborne subtract 5. See what you can add up to in a week. Anyone with negative points at the end of the week buys the beer for the rest. 80% of people on MTB should have stuck to the road

Search for "Ketogenic Diet" on google. if you want the science use the advanced search and set file type to PDF. That will come up with a lot of journal articles Basically a good idea for normal sedentary people but not good for high perfomance endurance athletes

Saw these tjops on Malibongwe on Sunday morning about 6:45. Heading out past Kya Sands. Was on the way to Van Gaalens. These guys were riding 4 abreast in the left lane until they went downhill and spread out a bit which is when the pic was taken Swerved twice but still missed them all.. Dammit

Hey Kanga Here's my 2c Dont get sucked into believing that you have to spend 50k to have a "real" bike. If you do your homework and shop around you can get some good deals. If you shop from July onwards you can get some awesome deals on older stock that shops are trying to get rid of. Frequently all that changes is the paint colour. I got a 2011 Giant Trance X3 for R13k which was better than the R19k they wanted for the upcoming 2013 model. Things to look for in a bike that will last you a while and provide enjoyable riding - Air fork - cheaper models are coils. Rock Shoxs, Fox etc - Hydraulic disc brakes - better in the mud than V brakes. - Good components - Shimano SLX or SRAM X7 or better. Actually the better you get the more you spend on maintenance as they are built lighter but wear out quicker. New bikes are 3 x 9, 3x 10 or 2 x 10 gearing. if the bike you are looking at is 3 x 8 its out of date. Depending on your riding style you have a huge choice of bikes. Marathon - Trail - Freeride - Downhill etc. Basically the steeper the hills you want to go down and the bigger the drops the more travel you will need. Also go a reputable bike shop in your area. Search here on the hub for comments on the varios shops. Look around and see what the guys around you on the trails are riding. Chat to people about what they think of their bikes. Take all the advise, sift through the BS and make the choice of the bike you want that suits your pocket, ambitions and style of riding.

IMO If you cant do anything below you are a novice If you can ride the spruit from Paulshof to Botanical Gardens only puting foot down at road crossings you are beginner If you can ride all the trails at Groenkloof and Fountains without putting a foot down you can happily call yourself intermediate If you can ride all the black trails at the Bike Park in Bryanston incl the gap jumps you can call yourself advanced If you think these trails above are for pussies and a waste of time you are expert

So whats the differnce between a Stumpy FSR 26 and Stumpy FSR 29. I was under the impression that trail bikes were mostly 26" as you could throw them around a bit more. Big wheels for the flat and fast and small wheels for crazy trails?? Anyone ridden the stumpy 26 & 29 back to back and compared them?

Training programs are useful to give structure to your preparation. However they need to be flexible to your life and the stresses that arise. If you are not meeting with your coach (or whoever writes the program) at least every second day, or at least picking up the phone for a decent chat you will more than likely not make the best possible gains on a program. Training should be optimal, not maximal

HI all Is there anywhere within 2ish hrs of jhb that you can ride in a nature reserve and be close to the animals? Needs to be dirt roads or easy riding for kids or novice mtbers. Similar vibe to groenies Thanks

WTF!!

Too much text...not enough pics!!!

Back to awesomeness!!! Best band ever!!