GuyP

The truck driver's charges will relate to hit and run ... he had to be called back by the police somewhere near Delmas.

It was from the front. I was part of the group, 80km (not 8km) into the ride.

Quebec, like France, but somehow it's a more intense version

Nice write-up Mark, from a real person

Glad to hear you're ok though! FFS!

Bloody awesome job!

I'm very happy with mine. About three hours on full, but your can ride for about 6hrs on medium (medium side lights and medium-low middle) : bright enough to see where you're going most of the time on road, but that will be too dim for MTB. I carry spare batteries for MTB.

Yep, in my first bikejacking, there was no time to grab the pepperspray on my handlebars during the surprise attack. Even if you are alert, there are times when your concentration will wander to the ride itself, and perhaps even just battling to breathe during intervals or sucking on some gel. I now keep it on my shorts so that at least I have it on me even if I'm off the bike

Another story on the same day in a different part of the country. At least the chap got out alive! I'm going to look up those bonebreaker batons - probably better than being totally unarmed these days

Oh man, sincere condolences to Mad Dog - you just don't seem to be able to cycle anywhere alone in this God-forsaken place anymore, road or mountain

Nice one!!!

Maybe this holds for road race training, but I don't think so for ultra distance, say 400km+, 600Km+ etc. I don't think you would be able to do a 300Km comfortably on quality only. We had an ex pro with us on our 600Km audax last weekend. A strong man, even he BATTLED once we got over 450Km

+1 that's why it's called time in the saddle

They don't like South African heat while being in your tubby bag though - the adhesive 'melts' on the non-stick backing so what you could end up with is a big welded mess of patches when you come to needing them! Now I keep mine insulated in a bit of newspaper inside a small ziploc bag

I'm definitely in for when I'm available crasher. Tomorrow 10pm is the start of the last big PBP qualifier of 600Km, and then it should be great cross-training to pop out on the MTB for that 90Km spin! We should be done, physically and literally by Sunday. Luckily it's a long weekend! cheers

I wonder what the easiest way would be to determine the skill sets / experience sets and qualification sets of the currently unemployed hubbers. I was going to consider formal channels for an experienced B2B marketer (local or international), but thought I would start here to see what could happen. Without creating any expectations, please PM me!

Jeepers, leaving a woman alone, whether or not in club kit? I hope everyone at least asked if she needs help - to answer 'no' is her perogative and perhaps that's what happened?

France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Mauritius, Canada (Quebec is awesome), Seychelles (lots by boat!) ... all impulsive 'ride-where-the-day-takes-you' kind of stuff. Detailed tour planning cramps me - sometimes a route looks much better going left than going right according to the dumb plan! The only plan I have is to be sure to get back to the airport by due date! There is normally a broad plan though, something along the lines of e.g. "Land in Brussels, cycle south to the Mediterrannean, go west to the Pyrenees, and back to Brussels via Paris". I have never made accomm bookings in advance, and have always found space, whether camping, B&B or hotels, even if it's just the next one along. It helps to read a bit of history in advance to identify places you might want to see en route. It's also handy to read other tour books and country books before you go - it really fires you up! Spares - I fully service the bike myself before going - new cables, new chain, proper lube to limit the requirement for spares. Otherwise plenty of puncture kit, spare tubes, multi-tool plus pedal spanner, and a spare spoke or two. I would also recommend carrying the relevant chain link and derailleur hanger (where appropriate). Spares are plentiful in Europe anyway! I have a spare cyclocross bike I'm thinking of selling if you're interested.

I used my Bianchi road bike (on 700x25) on all my tours before it was bike-jacked, with the advantage then was that they were all made of steel, which was great for relative comfort. I would probably not take carbon because of how carefully airport staff handle them. I took my steel Ritchey to Mauritius, and am planning to take it on a visit to Canada in June. In essence, steel in my opinion is best for touring, with alloy second best. You're bound to get some bargains on some nice steel bikes (pricey new), but if you must go new, maybe go for an entry-level cyclocross bike. More and more seem to be making their way into our LBSs! They tend to have threads for panniers and sometimes even a third bottle cage, and are more than likely up to handling being fully laden. There are so many pannier options that you're bound to find one to fit, with an equally impressive array of bags out there. Depending on how fit and strong you are, you may want to change your gearing. I am generally happy with my 52/42 11-25, and have traversed the Massif Central range with them (central France), fully laden. While I use Dura Ace, Tiagra is not bad and I've even seen Sora cope with the demands of poor maintenance schedules while out on tour, so I wouldn't be too fussy there. Make sure your wheels are up to the task though. Some of the racing wheels out there simply won't cope.

That's what I see! We'll probably be waiting for a very long time before we see arrogant behaviour being changed by being arrogant in return. For me, after surviving 24 years on our roads, I'll stick to maintaining good manners on our roads. Hopefully this will all help keep me alive to enjoy this beautiful sport until I'm 80 and beyond.

This post is scary! Maybe I'm more of an expert at carefully chosen lines and preventative maintenance than I thought !

Being a proponent of road, marathon MTB, cyclocross and audax, I would say that road has the least need for TLC and intense cleaning, but the cost maintenance requirements are probably similar, depending on how well you clean your bikes. The chain though is probably replaced twice as frequently on an MTB and cx than on road or audax. The issue seems simple - clean your MTB well after every ride unless you're happy to pay unnecessary maintenance bills.

Afraid not on the MTB, unless you want to do a piece on road - I need a 230Km ride!

Very true, but I would still rather ride on my own than not ride at all!

Tjops!