Henley

Probably another stooooopid question. All I need is some links to shops or sites that sell new and used bikes, preferably in and around Gauteng area. Size rougly to fit 6 ft male - ooooops, giving my age away, 1.83m Price in the mid band range

Dof question I can imagine. Well then, all I would need is the link to previous discussions please. It is too could to ride a bike outside. I need to buy an indoor trainer that can read power as well. It must be compatable with my brand new, best of all, top of the range, hot shot manne only, ... Garmen 910XT. The power meter should preferably be on the trainer and not on the bike, because I'll be using my old bike for these indoor training expeditions. How about a typical gym spin bike but with proper seat and handle bars such as the geometry of a TT bike? Where do I buy this stuff please - thanx guys

I am of the humble opinion that most triathletes start tapering unnecessarily soon. For IMSA I am planning on training normal until 4 days before 22 April. But what do the hotshots say? ….. listening carefully …..

With the eye on 22 April I am planning to do at least one 5 to 7 hour ride coming long weekend – preferably two. Ideal would be the safe back-roads of Meyerton/Heidelberg area, perhaps inclusive of a loop through the nature reserve. PM me if you are interested.

Since this year Comrades allows for late entry runners to take the place of early entrants. It is called substitutes. Well, I have decided to give this race one more go (after a 20 year lay-off). It will probably hurt but let's just do it. I have not entered. If you know of someone who entered before end Nov 2011 but had decided not to run anymore, please contact me. I shall obviously compensate him/her for the entry fee. This has to happen in the next few days though. Thanx

My goals were: • To finish in top 50% of the field. I made it to the top 30% • To go under 6 hrs. I failed by 13 min • To win my age cat (geriatrics 64-69). I did that Excuses (of course!): • Swam from buoy 1 halfway to buoy 3 before being herded back to the right by a surfboarder • Dropped a chain and had my highest gear pack up • Too conservative on bike and first half of run Swim: 55 Bike: 3:15 Run: 1:53 T1+T2 : 11 Total : 6:13:25 Eisch!! 22 April? Decision, decision, decisions …..

Compliment for your product, MDW: Before long endurance events I have the habit of freezing my water bottles days upfront. I then drink it as it melts to fluid (happens quickly on a bike), consequently enjoying the benefit of a faster gastric emptying rate because of the very low temperature. However, most powders of drinks dissolved in water will make nasty sediment when returning back to liquid state. These clog up the water bottle nozzle and you end up with needing an extra hand to unscrew the top in order to drink. On a bike that is a schlep, in a canoe it is impossible without letting go of the paddle. I experimented with 32Gi and found it to return to complete state of liquid – no sediments. Will use it on the bike (as well as the chews on the run) in 70.3

I am ready for this race – especially for the swim. Pity it’s a wetsuit swim though. I prefer a wetsuit illegal tri, cos I am a hot swimmer in any sea, any temperature

Thanx for this effort Garfield. Of course I shall vote for the pro-wetsuit thinkers. However interesting the outcome might be, it will not be statistically significant to represent the triathlon fraternity, because the people who frequent forums like this, are usually from the more experienced athletes – i.e. able to swim, cycle, run well. More reliable poll would be on the entry forms of triathlons of all lengths. Plus, even if the outcome indicates an adequate need for review of the wetsuit rules, it is doubtful that the administrators will take such initiative.

“trying to change the rules of the sport to suit your needs” – sounds like a typical sports administrator’s expression – scared that the sun might shine on others too. Around 1985 when I was serious about road running I asked the organizers of the Comrades Marathon to consider seeding at the chaotic race start. The chief referee main speed cop general-in-charge with the power of decision-making made a summersault in disgust. The reply was something like “never ever in the history of mankind will we consider giving one comrade an advantage over another comrade. This race is not about winning – it is about camaraderie …”. I shut up and went through the same stampeding start of the 11 hour rabbits the next year. Now, try to imagine the 2011 Comrades without seeding!!!! (It is therefore a pity that we cannot conclude on this discussion also some years into the future – to prove you so very wrong in your current thinking). I wish for vision for our TRI administrators. Shall we benchmark what the swim sport and the cycling sport and the running sport do and apply that to triathlon? Well, the open water swimming fraternity is far more flexible/creative/accommodative regarding wet suits. They welcome triathletes who want to practice in their wet suits at pure swimming event, provided they are not eligible for prizes, of course. Check this one example and wise up guys http://www.entrytime.com/index.asp?GoTo=EventInfo&EventID=3332

Miracle Waters is a scuba quarry lake near Brits. Don't know if they are open.

B Active Sports If you are serious about safety and serious about promoting the sport amongst beginners and serious about promoting this specific race, then you have to think seriously, objectively and outside-the-box about the whole wetsuit issue. See my previous posting “Wetsuit illegal – to drown or not to drown” https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/110804-wetsuit-illegal-%e2%80%93-to-drown-or-not-to-drown/ The negative responses you see in that thread are not representative of the TRI fraternity – a well known fact that applies to all similar forums on the internet. Your Midmar race was wetsuit illegal in 2010. I did not enter for the 2011 race - because of the uncertainty. So I missed out on a wetsuit legal 2011 race. I shall not enter for the 2012 race either – because of the uncertainty. No! - it is not just me to think like this – do your research in a statistically significant way be surprised how Average Joe views the swim leg of a TRI. My January 2012 East London race is paid for upfront, complete with air tickets and guesthouse and car rental. Why? They go with 24.5C which is practically guaranteed. Us mediocre swimmers are not asking that the rules be changed so that we can cheat. We are merely asking to be allowed buoyancy devices such as wetsuits – and accepting a penalty/handicap according. Check this out please http://www.triaids.com/SwimSafe.htm For peace of mind. Once deployed, obviously disqualified. As a minimum alternative we would like upfront commitments by race organizers for wetsuit or no wetsuit rule before closing date of entries. ps. Now expect some rude, ill-informed comments on this posting - from the hottest of the main manne what count – non-representative of the TRI fraternity!

We should close this thread now. See you on Orient beach 22 Jan. Look out for the steel bike with the gear shifters down on the frame just above the water bottle. It will be the only bike left on the bike racks by the time I get to it

I need to respond to a few hasty, ill-informed assumptions. To those who think I am too lazy to work on my swimming: I am taking swimming classes and I practice swim on my own. It is paying dividends and soon I shall be able to swim without wetsuit. And will then still be concerned about the safety of others who can’t swim. Do you care about others too – or is it all about you, the ultimate swimmer!? There was a few sarcastic comments that imply I am not physically up to doing triathlons and should therefore rather stay at home: Well, once upon a time, long long ago, I completed at least 100 canoe triathlons (including the old canoe Ironman of the 1980s - 8 times in a row), completed the old Ultraman series around the time when you were born (8 times in a row), completed countless marathons, including Comrades - 10 times in a row, 100 miler run, 160 bike races, awarded Springbok Colours for canoe triathlon and cycle-run duathlon (SA squad to World Champs) .... You think I could finish a 600/20/5 TRI? If you know little about someone, rather be constructive than presumptuous. Back to the topic: On a bike ride or run you may actually stop moving and will still be OK. In a swim without a wetsuit you have to keep treading water or you will sink. With a wetsuit you can stop moving completely yet still keep you head above water – scientific fact. As a further positive contribution, here is another practical idea: When I swam Midmar without wetsuit in the early 80s the organizers allowed me formally to use a nifty little arm band equipped with CO2 bomb with neatly folded up inflatable round float – bought locally. My agreement with the officials was that I may swim with it, but once used, disqualified obviously. They welcomed the idea. Fair deal, so I finished the race with confidence - without a wetsuit! Here are some current similar products I found in the Internet, like this inflatable bag that you pull behind you http://ows.openwaterswimming.com/safety-products.html And this inflatable belt http://www.triaids.com/SwimSafe.htm Perhaps the TRI shops of SA might take an interest in these? If they can import and sell them to novice swimmers, and in turn put pressure on the race administrators to accept it in races? It seems to work in the USA, but of course South Africans are all hotshot swimmers by birth – judging by some posts below. Please forgive the serious tone of my postings, but it’s because I just happen to have a problem with arrogance. Now go and have fun with or without your wetsuit! And go flat-out!

To elite swimmers this might sound weird, but to all mediocre and weak swimmers dying during the swim stage of a triathlon is a real fear. Hotshot swimmers will not understand what it is like to pre-enter for a race, then drive 200 km to that race, just to drive home again without racing - because the water temperature happens to be 21.8C. Of course we understand that “TSA sanctioned” means ITU rules and of course athletes are disciplined people who are comfortable in an environment where rules have to be obeyed – especially safety rules. And of course we understand that the elite and age cat podium fraternity is made up of competitive individuals who want their opponents to play to the rules! All this is clear and to be supported. What is not clear to me and hundreds who think like I do is why race organizers do not make some sort of special provision for the use of wet suits purely for safety reasons. There are several potential solutions and combos of options to pursue, but without the passion by sports administrators to bring the sport safely to as many participants as possible, this will not work. Without getting into detail, here are some basic principles to consider: • That the longer races be allowed substantially higher temperatures (such as 70.3 that go with 24.5C). Why not 24.5C for all HIMs in SA – irrespective of water temp? • That athletes be allowed to use a wet suit in a non wetsuit race but accept pre-disqualification upfront • That athletes face an upfront time penalty of much more that the advantage obtainable from any wetsuit • That race organizers go by historical water temperature measures and state upfront whether a race will be wetsuit legal or not – then stick to that decision irrespective of the measured temperature on the morning of the race • That the race organizers measure the water a day before pre-entries cut-off date, announce whether wetsuit legal or not, and then stick to that decision – whatever the temp is on race day Dear triathlon administrators, if you are really serious about drawing large numbers of newcomers to the sport of triathlon, then consider some of the above. If you think the above is all nonsense, I challenge you to do a statistical survey amongst novice triahletes and beginners! If you still think the above hinges on paranoia, look back at the way newly added safety rules had found its way in all types of sport over the past decade. Extrapolate that tendency at the same rate as popularity of triathlons is increasing in SA, and see the safety shortfall. Then take it upon yourselves to be man enough to admit error when swimmers drown in triathlons. Thanx for reading this.