Sunblock

the only FSS medals are in girls cats, where the fields are smaller. there are hardly any FSS riders anywhere anyway

I notice the few Free Staters are mostly in the bottom third.

I'm also a cannondale freak. especially the Caad

Big H rather don't say anything.

Bikes also get stolen in South Korea, one of the most 'honest' countries when it comes to theft.

what's the best value for a carbon frame? cervelo's are beautiful but too expensive (R21 g frame only). Specialised is okay. Felt seemed like good value to me. Saw one at the Argus Expo for R13 g or in that ball park.

Looks like it might rain this weekend at SA champs. Anything can happen actually based on the weather. Anyone read a 5 day forecast?

Ja, and please don't abuse the name nick, since my nick name is Nick. Please don't take the Mickey either.

Widget, you've summed it up. Think we can use yours as a Mission Statement/Memo/Constitution for this site.

amen

GH, I don't know if I will be racing again (beyond the Argus), to be honest. Meanwhile, back to the topic here, I will be taking high quality 7MEGPixel pics at SA's, so if you would like photos of yourself looking cool (aka hot and sweaty) on the TT, email me your race number, time and pref. cell no: to nickvanderleek@gmail.com

But you do mean to offend Kona Fan.

Thanks KonaFan, but you don't have to moderate here.

it was a matter of using a racing bike for a trip to the shops, or university (you're in civvies, not cycling clothes). but i was hoping to hear comments on other cyclists worst crash scenarios, not on whether or not one should wear a helmet. Obviously one should at all times.

thanks for the image. he really got his wheel right in there. I once collided head on with a car on a steep downhill - the car suddenly turned left, and at the last minute I turned my wheel slightly left. If I'd hit the cockpit of the Toyota's roof I might have been decapitated. As it was I somersaulted over the bonnet and completed my somersault on the other side with no damage. Wheel was slightly out of true, but continued and finished my session for the day. In front of the now Constantia Virgin Active entrance I was less lucky. I truck rode over me, squashing my front fork into the tar. Was lucky to fall with both legs under the centreline of the truck. The driver said he just saw the tip of my cycling cap (was returning from a swim), as I wasn't even wearing a helmet.

I mentioned in an earlier post a Sunday Times article on this, and the legal issues at stake. I think it is worth revisiting them, but can't find the same article on the internet, it's not on www.sundaytimes.co.za I think in a basic way, people know on forums (just like the real world) when they are being mean. Hiding behind an avatar is not an excuse. The real world rules still apply. Treat people with a modicum of respect, and if you feel the need to insult, do so by providing facts that are correct. Forums should be about discussion, not namecalling, and nitpicking. Have we forgotten that it's actually about cycling - the Hub.

isn't it?

seems like you do want to be rude. I think you're not being very objective. Am I not making a valid point about discussing things in a civilised (non insulting, name calling) way?

The Doping Confessions of Germany's Cyclists[Opinion] Situation calls for open discussion and a scaling down of drug useJosef Bordat (DrBordat) http://image.ohmynews.com/images/common/articlepage/i_email_10.gif http://image.ohmynews.com/images/articleview/i_email.gif Email Article http://image.ohmynews.com/images/articleview/i_printer.gif Print Article Published 2007-05-29 12:04 (KST) Germany is currently going through an important period in its sporting history. For the first time some of Germany's top athletes admit to having deceived competitors, the media and spectators by systematically using doping substances and applying forbidden methods. This too in a popular sport like cycling, which celebrates one of the greatest events in sport, the annual Tour de France. There were already suspicions about the cyclists of Team T-Mobile (formerly Team Telekom), whose rise began in 1996 with the first Tour triumph by Danish Bjarne Riis, followed by the victory of German Jan Ullrich just 12 month later. Now suspicion has become certainty, and it seems quite clear that without the help of drugs nobody could join the Pro Tour successfully. http://image.ohmynews.com/img2005/article/00.gif TODAY'S TOP STORIEShttp://image.ohmynews.com/img2005/article/00.gif http://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifThe Democrats on Iraq Withdrawalhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifJapan's New Tackhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifGerman Cycling and Dopinghttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifAFL Round 9 Reviewhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifThe Participatory Nature of OhmyNews http://image.ohmynews.com/img2005/article/00.gif FROM THE SECTIONhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img2005/article/00.gif http://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifThe Doping Confessions of Germany's Cyclistshttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifAFL Round 9 Reviewhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifSri Lanka Presents Victory to Departing Coachhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifRain Ends Lord's Testhttp://image.ohmynews.com/img_english/eng_dot1.gifAFL Round 8 Review Many Confessions, No Solution The wave of doping confessions from German cyclists run from A (like Aldag) to Z (like Zabel) and are a relief but at the same time a little bizarre because the whole event ends in a stand-off. The athletes admit to having taken drugs but under the immense pressure of functionaries. In turn these functionaries refer to the personal responsibility of the athletes who have partly made their doping deals on their own accounts. "Yes!" The athletes say. "Because we had to." "No!" The functionaries respond. "Because you wished to." In the end Tour-director Prudhomme had the brilliant idea to protect his baby Tour de France by blaming everybody and nobody at the same time. It is the "system" that causes the doping problem. So he calls all agents of this "system" guilty without having to draw any consequences, for they all are ensnared into the bad "system." Meanwhile the possibility to make an end to the criminal "system" as such, i.e. to cancel the next Tour de France, seems to be unthinkable. The show must go on. Prudhomme's intervention is quite clever but not helpful if and when the "system" wants to get rid of its corrosive problem. Instead of neglecting it there should be attempts to try to handle the problem in a constructive way, that gives consideration both to the athletes and the surrounding "system." Doping Is Like Arming Yourself With a Weapon The doping problem shows astonishing structural parallels to the arms race of the cold war: 1. Actually nobody really wants it. The confessing athletes emphasized again and again that they succumbed to a compulsion. The competitors take drugs, so I have to do it as well, in order not be taken off. 2. It is (self) destructive to the athlete's confidence, moral integrity and in the end the athlete's body. It guzzles resources and produces dependency. In the end, everyone loses, including the "winners." 3. It escalates with technological progress. Amphetamine, EPO, blood transfusion, genetic engineering .... The substances and methods are improved steadily, and so it is the case with this technology. Analogically, a possible solution could be found by learning from the history of disarmament. Instead of following up radical approaches like libertarian legalizing or pitiless fighting, the most realistic way to get rid of the problem will be taking small "disarmament steps" as the result of negotiations with those involved in the issue -- athletes, doctors, team-managers, sponsors, and the media. To ask for doping-free cycling sounds like the failed radical demand to ensure "peace without weapons." Not without but with less "weapons," this should be a passable way which will have to be followed in the future. A Fair Compromise? There are many critics towards this position. They ask whether there can and may be "some doping" and whether the athletes as modern idols do not have a special function as moral examples for the sports interested youth. That is fairly true, but banishing doping from public space, ostracizing it on every occasion and hushing up the topic completely, does not help either. It is this hypocrisy which corrupts young supporters because they see through this dirty work. It is also this hypocrisy which pushes the prices up because illegal substances cost a little more than those allowed. This hypocrisy promotes the abuse, because in a "system of silence" there can be no open discourse about positive and negative results and useful and not useful methods of application. The number of those who suffer from the long term effects of doping increases in the end with the sneakiness too. Clearing the mess up is the commandment of the moment, starting with an open discussion about the possibilities, side effects and risks of doping. A ban on the worst substances and methods has to be accompanied by permission for at least those substances and methods that come without a significant harm to health. The alternatives to this program are not really desirable: Keeping alive the "system of silence" or making an end to professional cycling. This would be a consequence that the irritated supporters have not deserved at all. Note the writer has been informed that his article has been placed here.

Isn't it reasonable that you can also supervise what's happening without just responding to alerts? I think the SUNBLOCK - LYK SOOS JOU RESULTATE was a persistent and deliberate attack. I've been on other forums where there is much more intervention. And there needs to be here. I don't think name calling is very useful/constructive or frankly the intentions you guys had setting up the Hub. It should be discouraged so that the people who had stuff to talk about can, otherwise it is a constant sidetracking and namecalling thing.

Ja, jy mis iets. Why do you say one thing in your PM's, and your attitude is completely different in a public space? There's a word for that.

my point is that Hannes is suddenly very quiet. and witrot will probably follow suit too.

Thanks moderator. But where were you when I was being personally attacked and my supposedly bad results posted everywhere?

don't I make sense. Ok, today go and swim and go and run. You'll find the one is MUCH harder than the other one.

are you being difficult on purpose? triathletes understand this, because triathletes (usually) can either run or swim. Perhaps I should add the word 'well' to that, but one assumes you get the general idea. The best triathletes are either naturally talented at both running and swimming, or learn to master the one they're not so good at, which is very difficult, because as I say, the body is designed a certain way. Cycling is different. You can have a big upper body, be tall or short, and you can still be a good cyclist if you just go and do your homework. Look at guys like Indurain and then you get tiny guys like Pantani also winning the Tour. However you are put together, you can then concentrate on what you're good at - whether it's sprinting, or climbing etc. and you'll find your niche in cycling. Hence, you don't need talent the way you do in swimming or running - TO DO WELL. It helps a lot more in those sports, though it's fair to say that if you work hard enough at anything, even where you have little natural talent, you can do well. In Lance's case, I'm really not sure what he wasn't good at. He swam well, and he ran well. He's one of those exceptional people.