Li Mu Bai

my 5c worth: didnt need any crap soaps and flyers in a goodie bag - the T shirt was great, neat design, not bad, plenty of sizes if you got there early. Organization was very good. the race was delayed by 30mins to accommodate cyclists on their way to the event, trapped by an accident on the highway. They sent up the race helicoper to go and physically see what the accident impact was prior to making the delay anouncement. The route - Fantastic, the bear runs were terrifying, hectic drop offs at times - best rode on a 150mm travel bike. Awesome single track, better than Sani2C (or on par), took lots of concentration, roller coaster up and down, berms - just great. very little flat farm road to take a breather on, but very enjoyable physical ride. The KZN vibe is chilled, enjoyed the whole event. .

bargain!

ok, better word than shear - tear, snap, fail, crack apart?

how dare they...

if you havent fallen on a rock and broken your spoke, then usually its the nipples that shear through metal fatigue from usage. this often happens with alloy nipples. brass nipples are heavier but last longer. once your second spoke breaks, get all the nipples changed to brass, as the rest should start breaking in the near future. Its irrelevant if its a custom wheelset, or a factory built one.

some races the medal feels earned if its tough. you dont have to take one. I like a medal especially for a new race out of town

Powerbar gels are excellent. these gels contain more electrolyte/carb value than Hammer or Gu (Pace&Power-Megan can advise further megan@paceandpower.co.za ). very good sustained energy. you could also consider EnduraPower, same thing but in a drink form, doing away with gel wrappers/litter hassle, neutral flavour works great.

yup, different tactics, different experience, different strength requirement.

Should have got the Spark...

closed....

where do you enter? (considering next year...)

yup, enjoy mine too, nice thick padding and very comfortable fit. If you dont use a good chamois cream, then dont be surprised that your skin will be chaffed. also, it takes several rides (using chamois cream) to 'toughen up' the skin in your nut area...

well, depends on the bike and where you buy. A Scott Spark pro with its fancy 12mm 142 through axle will cost R445 (Cycletech) - R380(Linden) for the derailleur hanger. Crazy for what it is considering how easy it was to bend in last sundays Suikerbosrand Route42 race. one slip and it costs! biker-boarder.de cost 9 euros for the same derailleur hanger. excl postage. Still a rediculous premium we have to pay in SA for this vital spare part (and the LBS's know it) apparently a hanger for a Volcan costs up to R1000 as it has 2 parts, one on each side. nuts.

Royal Mail carries no tracking number. (it is a cheap standard service and takes 2 weeks). if you pay more for parcelforce or UPS you get your parcel quicker with a tracking number. This is clearly communicated on the CRC website under shipping options.

I would not really say CRC service has slipped, but rather its a change in their free shipping policy. In the past we would gather enough items to reach the R3000 free shipping rule, and they would send it over via parcelforce with a tracking number. we would place our order on a monday or tuesday, and go and collect it at the counter at ORT on friday lunchtime. Now if your R3000 order weighs less than 2kg, they send it via Royal standard mail that takes a full 2 weeks and no tracking number. this costs them 5 pounds rather than 25. heavier bulkier items are sent via parcelforce and arrive within 4 days. It has become an excercise in economics for them, which in the current climate makes sense from their popint of view. shipping is still free for the customer, but they have the option of controlling what this free shipping costs them. Buycycle and CWC would do themselves a HUGE favour in terms of gaining more business, if they negotiated with their courier, and offered us the option of free shipping for a certain amount of spend. How hard can this be? CRC, Evans, Totalcycling, High on Bikes, Wiggle, Planet-X all have a HUGE variety of items and small hard to get spare parts, which immediately makes them more attractive than buying locally. For example, I needed a rear derailleur hanger for my mtb bike. LBS A price was R445, and LBS B price was R380. www.Biker-boarder.de is asking 9 euro for this part. Does this make sense buying locally? not when you can almost get 4 for the price of one here. In certain ways we are really being ripped off horribly.

lol, going to have to wait till next year to put the screws on 'sometime' and pinch his crown.

you guys are just getting fat....

Wow, that sounds horrible. at least you have used up all your bad luck for the whole year, so the rest of your races should be fine!

Well I enjoyed it, had lots of energy and improved on my 2010 time and overall placement. Rode with a strong group in the centre of the race, one master with a handlebar moustache was really strong, and another very tall guy on a SantaCruz tallboy too. I thought the gel wrappers littering the route was quite a poor show, especially from the 18 guys who finished ahead of me. Very dusty but good training, route markings could improve. Happy with the 2nd on the Strava 'Route 42 climb' haha.

This is what we usually take with, no problem for the black boxes: use it, dont use it... Sani2C Kit Sleeping Bag 1, Bicycle 1, Brake pad sets 2 Pillow 1, Helmet 1, Spare Chain 1 Towel 1, Shorts + Shirts 3, Cleats 1 head Torch 1, Wind Breaker 1, Cleat screws 2 Personal Toiletries 1, Gloves 2, powerlink 2 Drugs - imodium, panado 1, Shades 2 , Cable ties - packet 1 disprin etc, Socks 3, Duct tape 1 Sun Block 1, Lube wet 1 Camelbak 1, Lube dry 1 Shoes 1, Washing cloth 1, Casual Clothes 1, 1st aid kit 1, cleangreen 1 Slops 1, Bike computer/HR monitor 1, Casette 1 Takkies 1, Multi tool with chainbreaker 1, Front Derallieur 1 Chainring bolts set, parafin 1 Bombs 4, Rear Derallieur 1 Tubes+patches+tyre levers 2, BB 1 Ear Plugs 1, riding pump 1, Spare Saddle 1 Race guide and Rules 1, deraileur hanger 2, Chain rings (set) 1 Matress cover 1, Mud Guard 1, spare Tyre 2 Zipplock bags (smelly kit) 5, Gels, carb mix, sweets plenty, Spokes 2 Antichaffe/chamois cream 1, Water bottle 1, Pedals 1 Cell phone 1, Super Glue 1, Spoke Spanner 1 Hat 1, Sense of humour 3, Forgiving partner 1 Lip Ice 1, derailleur cables (F&R) 2, tubeless plug kit 1, pedal spanner 1 allen key set 1, beer 5 floor pump 1, tubeless sealent 2 torque wrench 1

Raceface dues. nice and light full finger. no point in using half finger gloves on mtb, if you come off... dirt, muck and ouch

um, i dont see where you find racetec or championchip on the online entry? what it does say there is that spectrumsport is involved (timing and results), which probably means we may well be able to use our mtn/nissan sas boards.

would you rather have none at all?

cant wait cant wait cant wait cant wait.

yup, looking forward to it. was fun 2 years ago, tiring towards the end.