Dibles

Look out for the workshops run by Polar. They are free and you will learn a lot about how to train with a hr monitor. Included is a practical session. They also give you free training spreadsheets.

http://www.izimvo.com/geoff-brink/

They have now completed almost 600kms. They have been taking the rural route: "Elliot, Ngcobo, Ndabakaza, Mooiplaas (we love rural!), E Ldn and coast to CT". http://twitter.com/fredhatman http://twitter.com/The_Heartman

Wow! Awesome scenery!

I marshalled at an adventure race in that area in June a few years ago and I had to camp near a river at one of the camp sites. Teams mentioned that their Camelbaks froze while on their backs and it got down to -17C. Coldest night I've ever tried to sleep through. Okay, I'm keen. Will drive down for it.

But what better time to escape the city madness! We've declared Wartrail and New England a vuvuzela-free zone this winter and our whole marketing campaign is based upon escaping the crime' date=' people, hooligans and other madness. Why not get a group together and drive down? We are only 3.5 hours from Bloem, so it's not a majot schlep by SA standards. And then you can easily bring your bikes, fishing rods, gliders, whatever![/quote'] That means it is about 7.5 - 8 hrs drive for me. I love that part of the world though.

If you guys have it in June then us lot from far away provinces might battle to find cheap air tickets thanks to the world cup.

I think MTBjunky needs to define what type of race in order for us all to come even close to agreeing. My next race involves about about 6-12 hrs worth of mtb'ing each day and for that I cannot survive on just energy drinks and gels. For a 3 hr road ride I can.

"Full for longer" low GI bread from Woolies smeared with a bit of sugar-free peanut butter.

Keen to hear the answer to this. I work and live in Centurion - 5kms apart. It rained so hard near work that cars were pulling over as the visibility was too bad and the roads were flooding. Got home (closer to Groenies than work) and had no rain whatsoever.Dibles2010-01-13 02:02:59

http://fredhatman.co.za/?p=2333 Day 15 update. Keep it up guys!

Pleasure SteelyDan. Was good to meet you and Matic. Sorry the group got split up so early on. My colleague's bike's chain came off and then he felt dizzy up the first hill so a few of us stayed behind with him. I'm keen on organizing a regular weekend ride but will be away this weekend. There has been some interest shown in doing NF rides on Sunday mornings in future.

I didn't take many photos as I was too busy avoiding the mud puddles. Here's two pics of before the ride and one action shot of someone who didn't look as clean as this just a few hundred meters from here.

I've just returned from a ride at the Farm and was impressed by the additional security. We saw guys patrolling on foot, bikes and even one in a car. I had a chat to Simon (NF mtb representative) after the ride and he says that the guys will patrols non-stop from 06:30 to 16:00 Saturdays and Sundays.

Don't be too early tomorrow. Just got an email to say that the Farm will only open at 06:30 tomorrow morning to allow them to put the security measures into place so you probably won't be allowed through the gates before then.

Have added you both to the list. See you tomorrow.

PM me your address and I'll check on my Garmin software. Take note: you need to buy a ticket at the ticket office and then drive to the main gate. Check here for directions: https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=46916&KW=Northern+Farm+GPS&PID=730362#730362

In case any of you need it, my cell number is 071 682 55 66. See you all there.