DikBuffalo

What kind of test did you do...20 mins? If you have the data and have a couple of decent all out efforts in the last 60 days use, then calculate it via a CP model...a lot more accurate than a 20 min test.

The race lends itself to a huge amount of fear of the unknown, so yes, there are always going to be a number of people with backup batteries, and then backups of those. I had one backup, which was a small 150 lumen head lamp that runs on AAA batteries (very light and hence no neck ache). Good to see the garmin on low setting and if there really was trouble with the primary light, I could use this as backup - and to carry 3 small AAA batteries as spare is not much weight. This also lasted the entire way.

Hope Vettie doesn't mind me getting involved in answering this.....I ran with the Extreme light at 200 Lumens the entire way. You aren't looking at lighting up the Karoo, you just want to see whats ahead of you. At times you may switch to 750 Lumens, but that may be just for a short technical section. 200 lumens is more than enough.

Running XTR Di2 1 X 11 which also controls my Fox iCD. Absolutely love it and doubt I would go back. What i'm finding especially with the shock, i'm using it 50% more because of the ease of use, which obviously makes the ride a lot more enjoyable. For those worried about long rides, I rode Desert Dash in December 369km solo, with only one bar of the battery being used. The other benefit i find is changing gears under pressure or when standing and climbing, kt just works effortlessly.

Sorry Milky....but I don't care if DG kicks my butt 10/10, what I do care about is the young talented cyclist who is now sitting in an office running admin because of some doper who stole his future. There are limited funds with regards to sponsoring athletes, when you have a doper who fills one of those positions at the detriment of another, I have a problem. We cannot turn back time and rectify this, so the minimum sentence should be take what he stole - a cycling future.

So regards power and lchf.......all I can go on is my own experience (and I would believe it differs for everyone). I believe I'm fully fat adapted, maintaining between 30 - 50g carbs per day. First 4 weeks on lchf, I had no power on the bike, my power numbers (5sec, 1min, 5min, 20min) were all low. My numbers are all back to where they were before switching to lchf INCLUDING the 5sec and 1min, which was slightly unexpected (the fact that I've lost 8kg, changes my w/kg dramatically). To test how long I could ride without consuming carbs, I did an 8 hour ride in a fasted state (so last lchf meal was the night before) at an IF of 0.75 (so it wasn't a slow pedal in the park) - finished the ride with no craving for food etc. Raced Baviaans 2 weeks ago as well, I took energy bars and gels with, just in case (and to try out the train low/race high theory). Afterwards unpacking my pockets I realised I had one small energy bar the entire race - just didn't feel the need to have more (oh yes and an awesome cup of soup at the top of MAC!). We finished in 9h30, so again we were at the sharp end of the race, not a light pedal. There is still a lot I'm learning through this lifestyle, but often I think we don't trust what we are capable of due to past conditioning and the lack of "evidence" (which is gradually changing). I know it's going to be different for everyone, but I hate it when there is a generalization of "without carbs you cannot race".

CindiK, I would take a gel or two in your back pocket but only use them as emergency, keep your priority fuel source as nuts/nut butter if need be, but honestly if you are adapted you shouldn't need it at all for that distance. Using myself as an example, I'm 8 weeks into the LCHF lifestyle, although I've cycled on and off for the last year, but currently for the last 8 weeks, maintaining less than 30g of carbs per day. Had the same initial period of low power and feeling awful on the bike for about 4 weeks, my ftp power before was 389, during the first 4 weeks, I was battling to get it to 330, it's now back at 385 (with a 6 kilogram reduction in weight). So it does come back. I've raced 2 to 3 hour races/training sessions on water in the last 2 weeks with no adverse feelings at all. I'm riding up to 5 hours on water, at an intensity of about 75%. I would advise using an electrolyte if you are racing, with the lower sodium retention and higher effort/sweat I'd advise ensuring you have some electrolyte replacement. With a good LCHF breakfast I wouldn't worry too much....if in doubt an you have the luxury of a power meter on your bike I would limit the big efforts to around your ftp (which honestly is hard enough).

Follow link to Strava labs and enter your activity ID for that day......see who didn't wave at you, who threw that wrapper, who was riding the wrong way......or if you just want to increase your ability to stalk. http://labs.strava.com/flyby/

So seeing Sauser and Evans mixing it in the front at the Argus should we start a thread...... "Argus too easy?"

Rata Del Spruit, by any chance do you have any accommodation booked in Sutherland that you want taken off your hands, battling to find........

Enjoy! I have the 900, absolutely loving it. Had a Specialized Epic Carbon before that and would take the Scott over that any day......great bike!

Andymann agree with you, however....you either need a good coach or understanding of the demands of your specific event, so that your training is specific. I have both, indoor trainer and powermeter on my bike. Whats good about the powermeter on the bike, I can see, especially on races what exactly the power looks like (spikes beyond FTP, how many, how long etc) which enables to adjust my training to meet the race demands. I've noticed lot of people buy trainers, but never use them effectively, they become glorified "spinning bikes" - intervals on a trainer are hard, no distractions, no hiding from real data. If you're going to invest in a indoor trainer with an ergometer, use it effectively, the benefits are huge.

Sias, I actually met Dana the day after on Swakopmund beach. He told me about his missed turn. A real pity, I was expecting to see him on the podium.

A view from the front………. One of the toughest races I’ve done in a long time….with a belting headwind right from the start I knew we were in for a long day. Do not get fooled by the race profile, one big climb in the beginning and that’s it – fat chance! Stage 1 was obviously up Kupferberg Pass , windy and hot, but started at the back and set my own pace – Helpmytrap it’s always a gamble, go out in the front and hang on, or start at the back and you’re forced to find your own pace (or hunt those in front of you!) Stage 2 would on a nice windless day be a great ride, but with the headwind (which in my opinion was stronger than last year), it became a battle just trying to keep momentum. Caught up with the solo front runners one by one, and eventually had a group of 5 solo riders out front (that’s the negative side of starting at the back, you going to drag the filed with you as you pass, but totally worth the company). The water table at 100km, end of stage 2, is a welcome site, big hats off to the organisers, cannot praise them enough for a well-organized race with great water tables throughout the entire race. After a short 5 minute break, re-lubing of the chain off we went again. Stage 3 is a killer, especially when you have 100km in your legs already. Undulating, corrugated and thick river sand at the river crossings, anyone getting to the end of this stage with a sense of humour, hats off to you. By the time we reached the end of Stage 3, all solo riders were looking for their support vehicles, and probably a healthy dose of encouragement to continue. At the start of Stage 4, landed up on my own again, had a look at the sign out table and saw all the solo leaders had left already. Damn, some hard work ahead. Stage 4 is “flat”, so managed to catch up with the guys up ahead and once gain form a small group. This stage suits the power riders with high FTP’s, so upped the pace and tried to apply a little hurt (as much as one can at this stage). Slowly but surely the group started whittling down. The jeep track leading into checkpoint 4, thick sand and rutted as hell, has got to be one of the hardest sections of the race. This was where the rest of the lead group split. Stage 5 started all alone into the mist and saw blinking lights ahead, put the head down and used that as the “rabbit”, eventually caught them at the infamous pipeline, 2 riders in the 2 man event looking for a podium place. Going back onto the mine roads was a killer, the ruts were unbearable, so you just land up surviving at this point (still have limited feeling in my hands almost a week later). Stage 6, for me is the highlight, through the moon landscape, makes the ride absolutely worth it, just a pity we only get to see half of it as the sun hasn’t risen yet (yes I know, ride slower!). Those last couple of climbs through there saps everything you have left to give, leaving you to suffer on the way into Swakopmund. Finished in 16h02, wanted to go under 16h (makes me question starting at the back of the field!). Asked afterwards if I’m coming back – NO, never again, today, almost a week later – yes, maybe, definitely. This race is brutal; don’t be fooled by the route profile thinking it’s a light pedal down to the coast. Helpmytrap, well done, you were incredibly strong out there, for your first Dash it’s a brilliant achievement!

Personally, no - the Bushido "measures" power whilst the powercal calculates it by correlating it to heart rate. I have both the Bushido and powercal, plus a Power2Max powermeter, the Bushido is closer to my powermeter that the powercal - with a good calibration of the brake motor after a warmup it tracks within 5% to 8% of the Power2max powermeter. Interestingly enough the powercal for me is totally off - I've read on a couple of reviews that this does occur with some users, on average I find the powercal 40 to 50 Watts (20%+) lower than the powermeter. However at the same time I've seen a lot of reviews where it performs well for other people.

I have a power2max on my MTB - no issues with it to date. Accurate, reliable, taken some knocks and still functions well.

Just want to say huge thanks to power2max/Andrew Smith for some excellent service! Last year I contacted Andrew to purchase a powermeter. The specific one that I wanted was out of stock and needed to be brought in. Problem was I wanted to train with one for the Desert Dash as well as race with it. Andrew suggested that I borrow his personal one and race and train with that until mine arrived, which he overnighted. Been using it for the last couple of months and got to say its a great powermeter. Andrew, thanks a milllion once again!

"Honk if your religious beliefs make you an a**hole"....obviously the Hub has no sense of humour unless you conform to the "Hub model" (non "homo" that is)..ok, back to the original topic of the post "Comebacks that didn't really work....." where we can judge others on their failures.....

The previous one was Odion, only reason I'm using Buffalo is because I cannot get the original account up and going, if you really need to know.

When did this become personal?

Jesus