kandui

DIck, you're actually right. I did the Pioneer last year without a mechanic's package (Wrenchworks were the only mechanics and I won't use them again). SJ and Calvin are sharing space with my wife who is doing Massage for 4 teams, so I have access when I need work done on the bike.

Stirling Junior and Calvin will look after us at the Epic. SJ owns Revolution Cycles (021 423 5191) and Calvin is a freelance mechanic. They have the right attitude, repair rather than replace. They want no more than 10 bikes. I recommend them highly.

Just saw this on the Epic home page: ".....as approximately 600 teams of two compete in this tough 8 day race." Looks like they know they have a small problem - overcharging.

F Group. 6:42am. Quite pleased with that.My Air 9 Carbon 29er with slicks and I will line up next to roadies and hope for some slipstreaming to get closer to 3 hours.

Entries are already going for under 20k, I think the Seller is no longer in the pound seat. What interests me, if someone would be honest enough to provide the info. Did the Epic in fact sell ALL of the 600 team entries in the first place? 35 odd entries have been given to the organisers to sell (that's just over 5% of the full field), there must be at least that number again for sale in the open market (another 5%). How many "No shows" will there be? If 10% of the field don't even start the race (very possible), does that get taken seriously by the organisers, or is this a standard number for any event and nothing to be concerned about? The money might be in the bank for a No show team, but there are still gaps in the field which are picked up by the riders and the media.

Same problem for me when I changed from 26 to 29 inch. I got Scott to bring some demo bikes to the last Awareness ride I organised on Table Mountain. In the howling gale and rain there will still enough "testers" that Joggie said he would come again. Perhaps I should look at another awareness ride with a Demo day attached. What brands would be preferable?

Didn't mean to boast. I have no clue how to put my total on the Endomondo ranking. I work off my Garmin and don't take a phone on my rides.

Done 1037,95km on my Mtb this month.

Enduren. Tastes faintly of sugar water. Price is good . Buy it through agents and some bike shops. I buy it in 2kg packets. Testimonial work (doesn't need to be a Pro. If a bunch riders I know swear by a product, I will try it). Get some tester sizes made up and put them out at the bikes shops for us to take home and try. Send me some. I will try it and if I like it I will put a blurb out on my Table Mountain Bikers website, Mailer , Facebook and Twitter.

Epic Office is sitting with around 35 entries they are trying to sell on behalf of others. They see no chance of selling them. The time has come to admit defeat and sell for whatever you can get.

I have a Jet 9 and I love it. Well worth paying more for the frame and getting it built up and in my opinion the Anthem 29er is not the right bike to compare it to. The price of the Anthem makes it so popular, but there is lateral rear end movement, so loss of direct power and a potential weak point. My training partner has an Anthem and he is going to sell it after the Epic. The Jet 9 as I have it is lighter than my partner's Anthem ( we both have Crest's , Fox Shocks, carbon bar .. ). The frame cost me R18500 from Epic Cycles and I used most of the parts from my HT 29er which saved me buying a new fork and other parts. The head angle of the Jet 9 is pretty agressive ,so I have a 100mm travel on the front. I have a 68,5cm handlebar which makes for great handling. The Jet climbs really well and it looks and feels like a race bike, more so than the Anthem. I prefer to have a bike which is not seen all over like the Anthem,so a bit of an emotional purchase as well. Niners are pure bred 29ers, while the Anthem is more like a 26 inch bike , modified to fit the 29 inch platform. My old school mate Olaf has a shop called Crosstown Cycles and he sells Niner too. He is a specialist mechanic and will advise you on the parts to use from a mechanic's point of view. 021 7610112. I got myself an Air Carbon frame the other day and he built that up for me, using parts from my Jet 9. The Air Carbon is a rocket, but he will re-build the Jet again for the Epic. Go with the Jet 9, you won't regret your choice. Unless you are a strong rider, go for 3-10 drive train on a FS bike. If you have to compare it with other Apples, then look at the Santa Cruz Tall Boy or the Specialized Epic.

great tip.

Don't want to sound mean, but you need to set your sights much, much lower. By now, entries are going for well under 20k and dropping.

I think it's time to dump your entry. Sell if for whatever you can get, a mate picked one up for R 19500 last week. Another mate is selling and wasted time by naively thinking he could get his money back. He had an offer for R25k the other day and by the time he had thought about it, the guy had moved on. Come mid Feb you will be lucky to get R 10000. Got my entry for half price in November 2011. In 2013 I will wait till the last day the organisers will accept rider changes and pay even less. Why not, if they're out there?

"When I've had enough of the heat and the dust and I need a break from those exact places you mention, thats when I dust the road bike off. First option is a ride around Cape Point. Simonstown, Smitswinkels, Scarborough, Misty Cliffs, Kommetjie, Black Hill, Simonstown. Sometimes from Kommetjie I go back over Oceanview, Misty Cliffs, Scarborough and then over Red Hill to Simonstown. Another beautiful one is from Bakoven, Suikerbossie, Hout Bay, Chapmans, Noordhoek (croissant and coffee at the Noordhoek Farm Village) then back the way you came. Either ride will energise me and make me love the Cape and my mountain again." I hear you. Thanks for the ride advice. I must admit that I have been doing the loops you mention as well, all part of Epic training. I have ridden the Peninsula flat. No wonder I can't see my regular ride spots anymore! We are going to do loops at Oak Valley tomorrow.

Tokai- no thanks. Table Mountain- need a break Tygerberg- rode it the other day Welvanpas- perhaps a bit too far for a morning training ride ? How about Jonkershoek? Give me some recommedantions for a 2-3 hour ride tomorrow.

I know that the Province / City were in a really crap contract with Entilini where they had to pay money to Entilini when the road was closed. Entilini could determine when the road was closed and rake in over 1 Million/month for doing zip. Road was maintained by the Province as their expense as well. While I appreciate that the MEC believes he has made it more onerous for Entilini to operate the concession by agreeing to these new conditions ( give land away for free and chip in R 25 mill to build a sweet piece of real estate) and in return the Province determines road closure and doesn't top up Entilini coffers when the road is closed. By the way, the estimations of vehicles passing through the toll gate every day/month/year by Entilini to determine the amount of compensation where grossly overestimated, which in itself is criminal, but glossed over by the MEC. The whole thing smells to high heaven if you ask me and the MEC basically blackmails the public to accept the deal or pay for access to picnic spots. All the picnic spots are located after the toll gate anyway, so at some point we will be made to pay anyway. Cyclists will most likely also end up coughing up to ride there. Now that Entilini has lost its "monthly retainer c/o the Province", cyclists are the obvious soft target. We shall see.....

will try that,thanks

Have been searching my Edge 500 for a setting where I can punch in my Heart Rate Max. Can only seem to find options for Age, Weight, Height, Can anyone offer advice?

Fact is that a "private company" has asked for the land and now a process to hive it off is happening. Conditions attached are completely irrelvant once the building has been completed. Do you see TMNP or the WC Government telling Entilini that they have acted against any of the set conditions and therefore the land will be taken back and the building torn down? Never. Too many people will "lose face" and that can never be allowed to happen. What I am saying is , take the process as MEC Carlisle explained and justified it (we are not party to the T&C's) and put it to TMNP why it was so easy and quick to hive off land when all mountain bikers want is some extra space to ride in. We would even be happy with access to existing paths (Cecilia, Constantia Nek for instance). Argue like the politicians, it doesn't always have to make sense, that's the point.

The one good thing for cyclists I potentially see coming from this is that if TMNP are indeed allowed to give land away for free to a private company, then we as mountain bikers who have been at loggerheads with TMNP about access to more land to ride on , should have a strong argument for extending Tokai (example) to alleviate pressure, or build trails in the Deer Park area. How will TMNP be able to justify their argument that they can't allow cycling on more of the mountain reserve, if land is cut away from the Park for a private company (at no cost) to build themselves a commercial building? Before you say, but it's an old quarry or it's a tiny bit of land, think about the principle and the precedent it sets. If Entilini get the land, then I want land to build single track on. Plus, we don't want the land to keep, we just want use and will maintain it.

According to the MEC, he has given the ok for work to start in the road reserve and not in the portion which TMNP is going to give away for free to Entilini. What is pissing everyone off is that Helen Zille spoke of a 30 day public participation process yet 5 days after the protest happened (last Sunday), the go ahead for construction has been given. This is going to court, but knowing the modus operandi of the politicians, they will keep building in the road reserve to the point where they will argue that there is no point in stopping now. The whole thing will happen, even if a million Capetonians are against it. Big toffee to all of us, but we are giving Entilini R 25 Million of our tax money.

Started with the dreaded intervals yesterday. 4 minutes at 90% of Heart Rate Max. Not fun, but if we can stick it out twice a week for 5 weeks ,it will stand us in good stead. Was doing 15 hours/ week , but we reduced that to 8-10 hours a week, concentrating on the speed work and intervals now.

Wouldn't we all just love to know what the organisers make from a race!? It's like asking someone you meet for the first time what they earn. It's a personal question and would make you feel uncomfortable if you were asked how much profit your company makes. I run my business (because it's my passion) to make a profit. Why should a race organiser (Day or Stage) do it for a loss? There are so many races to choose from, if the one is too expensive, skip a week and do the next one. So the Grape Escape exposes itself when you look at the Day race cost and put it into the Stage Race context. That's their dumb luck. So don't enter and move on. They will learn soon enough. The whole event almost doubled in price from last year, enough reason to give it a miss.

Replying to the opening post. If the race is still the same as 3 years ago, give it a miss. There are about 4000 riders who enter and there are bottlenecks within the first 5km (if memory serves). The guys don't know the etiquette and rather than make way for the faster riders who can cross the obstacle or climb the little hill, they block the path and swear at you. Unless you are riding right at the front, you are going to be pissed off.