rudi-h

I'm just a week behind... waiting for payday to enter too!!!

Ons almal het ons foute

I hope you're joking dude. The majority of SA benefits from the mines, maybe not directly though. A big chunk of the engineering and manufacturing industry only exist because of the "few people" you're talking about. Also, almost all of them are public companies, so as we speak they're probably busy boosting your retirement plan... And... if you've been underground before, you'd pray not to be one of the "few people" getting rich from working in the mines

I used to do breedsnek on my own quite often - and planning to do it again few times this summer, so unless I missed something it should be fine. Can also try out some riding in Mountain Sanctuary Park, I know there are trails, cause buffelspoort Xterra goes through there every year. Don't know too much about route markings, access etc. though. Bottom line - Take your bike with, ALLWAYS

Sounds like you eat reasonably well, so I'd guess that the problem is with over-training and will most likely not be solved with supplements. Cut a few hrs off the program and see how your recovery goes. That said, I'm also a guy that believes in eating real food (rice, meat, potato, veg etc.) and don't take well to the idea of living from USN powders...

THANKS!!!! Groenkloof will see me next week then!

Thanks. Do you ride "around there" or do you ride "inside there"? Just wondering, cause I'd like to do some MTB, and also don't know how to get inside. What time do the gates open @ groenkloof? How does the riding compare between groenkloof and voortrekker monument?

Every now and then I visit a factory in PTA west, so I leave JHB at 5:45 to mis the traffic. Generally only have to be there at 8 - 8:30, so I was thinking to start the day with a quick 1.5 hr cycle. Is it safe to ride early mornings in groenkloof / voortrekker monument / fonteine by yourself? Any ideas where I can catch a shower after a morning ride.

I reckon cyclocross is only big in europe, cause the weather is so SH!TT! in winter that they can't host proper MTB (or road) races, thus having to resort to short lap-races that they can snow-plow and clean. Never done it though, but despite all the reading I've done on cyclingnews about cyclocross it never got my heart racing...

i guess the bike jackers could be anyone, either locals or immigrants. However, as with car theft, I think the brains behind all the bike-jackings are some rich educated skelm donners living in places like northcliff and sandhurst...

no way to judge. Even guys that pretend to have a "feel" for it, would probably over or under tighten by 50% or more on average. Get a torque wrench or just guess like the rest of us. It's pretty hard to screw it up too bad, have only once stripped a seat post clamp, otherwise had pretty good luck by guessing so far

What's up with only being allowed 3 day licenses a year. In my mind, they should take your R35 bucks for the first two races and then automatically "upgrade" you to a year license for an additional R5... After all they know who you are and they know that you have payed don't they? The money is one thing, but the schlepp just to be cycling is off the top. That's one more thing to keep track of, pay and set up as a beneficiary on your bank account. Why can't we just enter races, pay, race and be left alone otherwise?

i want to start by saying this is a pretty "tall order" and don't think it's not possible to do anywhere locally. I work in the manufacturing business and have used quite a lot of coating procedures / techniques on stuff that we've build in the past. Then also I must say that all coating process I know of, are applied as electrochemical processes in baths of some sort. Thus if you do find somebody who can do the specific coating and you were able to clean you stanchions (remove ALL the existing coating), it should be possible to dip the stanchions in the bath without removing the crown? Most guys only do pretty straight forward plating around here though, like anodizing, (aluminium) chrome, nickel, silver and zinc plating.

looks cool. Is it actually a lot more fun than to cycle on an ordinary trainer. Reason I'm asking is cause when I sit on a trainer / spinning bike, the time passes at a rate of approximately 25% of what it normally does? Does this thing fix that problem?

Maxxis crossmark tubeless! No more to be said Bought 3 tyres for R1000 on a special at west rand cycles, so that solved my tire problems. Not too good in mud though...

Need more info: Do you spin with an HR monitor? What does it say? Higher, lower, the same as 3 weeks ago? Obviously effort on a spinning bike is relative - no way to know how much Watts you're cranking, so you can only judge effort through an HR monitor. Then also, having bad weeks and good weeks is part of life, so it might be diet, too hard / over-training, or maybe it's just a sh!tty and stressful week or two you're going through. I doubt if over-training (which does not seem likely given 3 training sessions a week) is the real issue here, so maybe you're underestimating your effort or you're not eating enough carbs before training. Doubt that supplements would be the answer though, that only comes into play when you really hit some good form!

go Rudy Project. Photochromic ImpactX lenses - these things are awesome and NEVER scratch

Don't have any suggestions, but if you / he buys a 2nd hand full-sus, just make sure not to buy a bike that did too much distance, especially if it has air shocks. Air shocks need seal replacements etc. every few thousand km's, and possibly even stanchion replacements after longer use. That can be very pricey!

posted some pics on a thread a while back just after I bought it, see the attached link! https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/74677-belt-drive-geared-hubs/page__hl__geared+hubs__st__20 The other stuff: Where did I buy it: Bruce Reynecke, it's quite important to order the right stuff if you've got a dual-sus, cause different frames require different axle plates etc. so unless you want to spend lots of time researching, I would just go local and they're the only distributors. Model: I've got the Disc brake version, with a chain tensioner and OEM2 axle plate. The reason for the chain tensioner is because the distance between the crank and rear sprocket changes on a duel-sus bike. Colour: RED!!! Price: R14000 -installed Cons: only the weight, and that's really not that bad - still loving it!!

Don't think there's a solid answer as different people, different ages and different genes take to training differently. I've been riding for more than that (18-20hrs) for the past month or two (mostly bike touring and commuting though, so it's way different to structured training). At times I've felt over-trained and weak, while other times I felt super strong after taking a few days easy. If I were you I'd ramp up the training for a week or two and see if your form / performance gets better. If yes, it's probably okay and if no, it's not. If you're this serious about your cycling it's probably worth while to either do a lot of research / reading or to go and see a biokineticist / coach.

I've been to all of the above, and I'll also recommend Westrand Cycles. It's true that Ruan at cycle lab is super good, but there's no way to ensure that he will actually be working on your bike if you take it there. I've been impressed by WestRand Cycles, mostly an MTB thing though, because Eben (owner) is one of the few accredited okes who can do a full service / seal replacements etc. on Fox shox without having to send it to the fox distributors (Omnico) in Cape Town. They're also allways willing to help you if you're in trouble to get your bike fixed on short notice before a race etc.

Thanks for the detailed posts. I have only read the replies now, but seeing that I'm a "very bad at maintenance" guy, it seems like I have made the right decision not to get one. Also seems that my fox shock has stopped squeaking at the crown all by itself. Amazing how even mechanical problems get sometimes get better with time...

There's a lot more interest than I thought, so I'll try to compile a tour report and send it through in the next few days. That should give a bit more perspective on the whole trip! As for GuyP, you've got some work to do there, but I hope you succeed with your wife-convincing act!!!

It's a lot to say in a short post, but I'll try to give you some idea. Pricing: Food, restaurants and general supplies are roughly 2x SA price Hotel / B&B lodging is about 3x SA price Camping is comparable to SA prices (+- $10 / night), but you don't get showers at most of them With that said, camping is legal anywhere in Alaska's public land (96%), so if you're touring, you can just jump off the road and camp in the rough for free. You just have to be "bear aware" and hang up your food in trees You can pick up Airplane tickets for about R12k if you buy them for the less popular flights Transport is expensive, but that's why I cycled everywhere. Taxi's within cities are very expensive and probably charge about $2 / mile, where trains and busses go at about $100 / 500km All in all, it is pretty expensive, but if you're willing to camp out, cycle your way around and eat some canned food it's not too bad. Logistics. I stayed on trails, park roads and highways all of the time, which means that you are never more than I'd say 100km from civilization, and in most parts you get towns or small establishments every say 40 - 50km. It does however feel pretty remote, cause there might be hours where nobody else passes by. Water is available at most parts, and if you've got a water pump / chlorine tablets, you can get water anywhere from millions of glacier streams and rivers. Food is not hard to get by, only had to carry food for 3 days when I was cycling in Denali. Trains, boats and busses also make it easy to pass the long "boring" stretches of road between places, and they take bikes and other extra's for a marginal extra cost. So I guess to conclude, it is more expensive than a holiday closer to home, but with a bit of saving it's possible. It's pretty easy to get by once you're there and you can get pretty much anything in the towns. Even the smallest towns / establishments have grocery stores which tend to carry everything from food to bike tube patches. One BIG bonus when traveling to the States, is that you can take 2 pieces of checked luggage. That means you can fly over your bike for free!!! I keep saying this, but it really is a beautiful and worthwhile destination!

And then there's the new "carbon tax" too, now that's gonna screw you...