kandui

2 Water Bottles will get you through each stage, take a third if you can fit it, but don't stick in your back pocket. It will drive you mad. There is no real need for a Camelbak, water points come at the right intervals. If you lose a bottle there are plenty lying on the trail. Don't duplicate stuff with your partner, one of each is fine , except tubes and bombs. Remember a spare derailleur hanger for your bike. 2, maybe 3 cycling tops and bibs are enough.

Unless you are a Racing Snake and have podium ambitions, ride Day 1 below your normal riding ability. discipline yourself to ride a little slower than you know you can handle. When Day 1 is over it's not like you can go home and relax as after a Day Race. You need to do the same another 6 times! If you're feeling good after Day 4 , then you can consider upping the pace.By that time you'll have plenty of teams coming back at you and you will make up lots of places by doing nothing other than riding at a your pace. Beware of the last day, it's not just a homeward cruise. There were some steep climbs last year and by now you are gatvol and tired.

I have been riding the Cycle Path from Town to the Bayside Centre and back and it's 40km round trip from my place in Gardens. Easy out in SE wind conditions and a bit harder on the way back into the wind. I can't say that I have had any safety concerns when riding around 7am in the morning. I would rather take my chances through Paarden Eiland than ride on Marine Drive.

Thanks, will put it on the Table Mountain Bikers website and include it on the soon to be released Table Mountain Mtb Trail Map.

If it's part of the Epic FInale, then the race is organised by Grandstand Management. Hence the price.

I have one of those massive Dis-Chem Magnesium tubs. They last and last. The next ride I want to do at pace is the Argus, albeit on a mountain bike. But I will give it horns and see how I feel after. Then the big test will be the Epic.

I went to Dis-Chem yesterday, armed with a list of products: USN Crampblock, Salt Tablets,Hammer Endurolite and Antillac. Antillac was not available , so I can't comment on it. In the end I bought the Biogen Anti-Cramp pills. The Hammer product is an Electrolyte replacement product and cost R 250 for 120 tabs. The USN cost about R 65 for 30 tabs. Biogen has virtually the identical composition as the USN product but cost the same for 60 tabs. A lot of what was in the Hammer product was also in the Biogen product. The Salt Tablets are plain old tabs, but I think useful for me who sweats a lot when exercising. I think that even if I trained exactly right for the intensity I wanted to ride at, there is no guarantee that I won't cramp again. Too many outside factors I can't control. I don't take GU's when I ride and try and stick to natural foods. I just wanted something to carry with me in case of cramp to see whether I could make them ease up a little.

Will put on my loin cloth, grab my executioners club and go and find myself a cow. Skin it , cut out the heart and eat it raw. Then take a bite out of the liver for some extra iron. Take home some chunks of meat and on the way back find an old saltworks and chop out a piece. Make fire with a flint, cover myself with a bear skin and dream of the simple life where nature provides everything I need and a world free of snake oil merchants. Sounds like Planet Zug.

Makes sense. I sweat a lot and thought along the same lines as you have. Will give the Salt tablets a try as well. Looking back at my original post, I thought I had made it quite clear what I was asking.

I'll just go with Crampblock, because it sounds nice and I can't remember the names of the other stuff. Thanks for the advice.

Training: On average 15 hours per week. Have reduced that to around 8-12 per week now with 2 interval sessions per week for the last month. Average riding is done at close to 70% of Max Heart Rate for long durations. I think I may be riding too hard when I should be taking it really easy. Did over 1000km in January and include lots of climbing, living at the foot of Table Mountain. Perhaps my intensity over the weekend was too hard for my current level of fitness, but i do consider myself to be fit. Make your assumptions from there.

Used 32Gi on Day 3 instead of my usual Enduren. Can't say that staved off the cramps , but if the grey matter between the ears wants to believe it, who am I to argue?

Thanks for all the tips. I am not looking for the Silver Bullet as a replacement for hard work. I put in the "assumption" of adequate training to find out what's out there to take in the event of cramping,treating cramps as the exception rather than the norm. More training, less chance of cramps. I accept that and am training to ride at the intensity I want to attain. Increased Intensity does seem to play a role with my cramping as I saw at the Knysna 300. Day 1(100km, although I must confess that i got lost and rode and extra 10km): cramping in the last 10km. Day 2 (115km): cramping from about 60km onwards with heavy cramps about 5km from the end. Day 3 (78km): zero cramps and the legs felt absolutely fine. Average pace was on Day 1 and 2: 18,6km/h. Day 3: 19,8km/h.This is certainly a higher average speed than I have ridden at previous long races. The pattern of my cramping is never the same, that's my point. At the Argus I have cramped at less than 50km, while I have managed 146km at Epic without a twinge. Just trying to eliminate some factors .

Assuming my training is adequate, my nutrition and hydration are ok, what would you recommend against cramps? Sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't. I carry a blister pack of Rennies with me and eat 2 every 2 hours as a preventative measure on long races. I guess the increased intensity during a race increases the probability of cramping with me. Would appreciate some Product names you swear by. Thanks.

Can't open the results on my Mac.

Someone I spoke to at the start of Friday said he preferred the Knysna 300 to the Sani. And he is a "salt of the earth" back of the midfield rider,so he should have a fairly objective opinion.

Great event, really enjoyed it. Cruise Cafe was an excellent finish venue. Routes were varied and testing with lots of single track. Forgot my beach towel on Day 2 to enjoy the "beach" we rode through. Thanks to GGE for the useful gift we all got at the end.

Question to the road experts: I am starting in G on my 29er HT with Knobblies. DId a 3:34 last year on my 26 inch Full Suspension with slicks, starting in group M. What time can I aim for? Did a 3:02 at the Rollercoaster on the same 29er the other day.

My ass hurts enough with a HT frame, don't need to subject myself to more punishment! I am an old croc.

Thanks, I saw it. Being in Cape Town , I am a bit hesitant to eft a couple of grand for an unseen item. Ideally I would like to buy local and hold the thing before I part with my cash. I just prefer it that way.

How about starting in Somerset West and going over the Wagon Trail into Grabouw. Camp at the Country Club. Day 2 you ride to Bot River, through Oak Valley , Thandi, Lebanon and down the old Pass. Day 3 to Kleinmond, through the Elgin Valley. Get picked up at Kleinmond. If you want to start close to Cape Town and not venture too far , this might be an idea. You could also ride in the Elgin Valley on Day 2 and camp at Oak Lane Cottages, very nice spot. By the way, have a 29er Touring frame available, with panier mounts on the back.

Thanks for the Pictoral reference, but I do know what a torque wrench is and misred torque for torx in Niner_boy's response I own a torque wrench, but did not use it t his time. I rode the bike this morning and everything was fine. Another question: My chain keeps jumping off the lower jockey wheel when I ride across rough terrain. I think the chain may be too loose and needs to lose a link or two. I am riding an XX rear derailleur and can't think of anything else which may be wrong. The gear change is fine. Any other ideas?

Hi Niner_boy. Thanks for the advice. When I got home I saw that I could do it with an Allen key. Even the rings come off with a hex key, no Torx key required. Once I got the main crank bolt loosened it was a piece of cake. Another step closer to doing even more maintenance on my bike. Haven't had a chance to test the crank yet, but will go out later this afternoon and see whether I did a good job.

Bought 2 new chainrings for my XX crank and just want to know what tools I need to replace them. Maybe I can do the job myself. Do I need to remove the whole crank or just the crank arm on the drive side?

The event has so much potential. I didn't think the 2011 CPT was tougher than the 2010 route or the 2011 Epic. Perhaps there isn't a market for 2 "hardcore" Stage races over so many days? But then again, The Pioneer wants to add a Prologue.