DroppedRider

Good day Anyone know how are the roads near the resort Midlands Saddle and Trout for Road bikes going inwards towards Giants Castle? I know there are a lot of trucks near mooi river so I’m trying to plot a safe route . Thank you

Okay I did some more research. Most of you probably know this already (still new to me). Honey and Golden Syrup is made up of mostly fructose. Fructose is not bad but has to go via your liver to get to your muscles. So takes longer to work. Maple Syrup and tried and tested Sugar water is made up of mostly Sucrose. Sucrose goes directly to your muscles. Also the sucrose:glucose ratio of Maple Syrup and Sugar is 1:1 which is where you need it to be on long hard rides. 2:1 is old school apparently. Back to sugar water it is

About 300km a week.

Looking for some cheap liquid fuel for my rides other than gels and endurance fuel. Have been reading on Trainerroad how many cyclists get tired of fueling with gels and turn to maple syrup in water to fuel their training. Even Lionel Sanders uses it for his Triathlons. That stuff is expensive here in SA. Would golden syrup be a good replacement? I see Illovo Golden Syrup it has 17grams of carbs per tablespoon. Normal Sugar (to be used in sugar water) has 12grams of carbs per tablespoon. I use honey in water (also 17grams) that works well but is double the price of golden syrup. 5 rides a week 2 bottles for 2 longer rides on the weekends those tablespoon costs start adding up. Apparently there needs to be a balance of fructose and glucose in your liquid fuel for it to be really effective but I am not sure of the ratio of Golden Syrup but I am not sure.

Why TF does SuperSport put 10minutes of Adverts in the last 10km 😪

Race on tubular they said. Tubby carbon wheelsets are cheap on bikehub they said. . . . . .!??

The costs of bicycle tyres are now almost the same as what it costs for my car tyres. Is there special material in them or more R&D? Someone help me understand.

The Merida Time Warp (Triathlon bike) is almost a carbon copy of the Merida Reacto with just the TT bars and aero top tube case.

This year I never do the CTCT because of costs. Before I could get a return flight for R1300 (what I paid in 2021). Now its like R3K! Bike transport and event fees went up too. As well as accommodation. R11K sounds about right. Works out to R110 per km of cycling the CTCT. I vote for sometime to develop a Garmin Connect IQ field that shows costs per Km as you riding. Many travellers will slow down and begin to enjoy the views more than worry about riding as fast as possible 😁

Possible opportunity for a race organiser to organise an event In Cape Town around September, October or November. The CTCT event in 2021 was amazing in October. It won't be the CTCT but maybe called something else. I mean if Durban can have two events with full road closure a year (Tour Durban and Amashova) surely Cape Town can. A lot of the open seeded riders do the 94.7 (19 November), Amashova (23 October) and CTCT as their main races every year and travel for these events. Having them all bunched up together towards the end of the year could open the opportunity for an Amateur Cycling "Race Season". Getting more Amateur cyclists training for a "season" means more business for the LBS, Bikehub and so on.

Why don't they have more IM at dam venues? I mean look at Durban. The amount of cancelled triathlons (70.3's) swims because of dirty water conditions, blue bottles and even wind conditions is getting ridiculous. The events should look at Midmar Dam as their permanent venue.

With more people driving with their mobile phones in their hands I just don't feel safe without a club follow car behind on long rides. There is also a safety aspect to it as well in terms of crime. Also most long rides are early in the morning on a Saturday and Sunday when those returning from the clubs, bars and shebeens hit the road. I do however feel that PPA need to have a simple handbook for support drivers

You are allowed to cycle on the m4 between Umhlanga and Balito. You can't ride on the m4 from Durban City to Umhlanga. Most Durban cycling clubs (would say 85% of them) ride the M4 route on the weekend for their long ride training. I agree that it's not for the faint hearted with cars flying past you at 100km/h. Many of the clubs have follow cars for safety. There are not many route options here in Durban. To go North you have to use the M4. To go South it's dodging trucks and punctures galore. To go West you up the M13 which when coming down is probably even more dangerous than the M4.

Pity because last years M7 climb was a good challenge for the 100km race and M4 loops is a bit boring. I think the M4 loops will be the permanent route going ahead. A good route would be going up the M4 and back and then up the M13 (maybe not all the way to Shongweni) and then down the M13 heading back to Moses. Not exactly exciting as it's still loops but a better challenge.

This happens quite a bit to me. Riding intervals trying to hold a certain power target and Mr Wheelsucker who you never even know is behind you decides he needs to take a turn to go pull. Now you have to pass him out of your power target or slow down. Interval ruined. Trying to explain to him but he thinks that you telling him to trade turns 😕

Indoor training like Zwift has helped many raise their fitness levels. These days if the wind is a bit high I am on the trainer. If there is even a small chance of rain I am on the trainer. If the club is doing a route I do not enjoy- I am on the trainer. It also lead me to be mentally burnt out after a while. Is there a possibility that Zwift and other indoor apps could be responsible for a small decline in race entries?

1. Just to get a faster batch 2. I am sure it won't be a problem. The family batch is the safest and best batch to swim in.

This is a brilliant idea. Team races are so much of fun.

Doubt it. It looks like more and more people are attending running races from what I have seen.

Recently the Tour Durban organisers have mentioned due to the low turnout they may reconsider hosting the event next year. If I am not mistaken the turnout at most road events have been down post Covid. Looking at overseas events this looks like a common trend globally. What strategy would you use to get more people at road events again? Put down even your bad ideas. Here are my (might be terrible) ideas. - A problem is that many possible entrants are too scared to train on the road. They also not that invested in the sport to get a R10K smart trainer. A possible solution is for event organisers to partner with gyms such as Virgin Active, Planet Fitness and encourage them to get Wattbike Atoms or cheap alternatives so more non cyclists can get into Zwift Racing and structured training. This will hopefully lure people into entering races. Spinning classes tailored for specific events could also be used - Another problem is what are the actual benefits of getting into Road Cycling considering the constraints (Roads are dangerous to train on, equipment is expensive, cyclists are perceived as not being very open to new comers). A possible solution is for Event Organisers, Local Bike Shops and Local clubs should sit down together with a marketing agency in a workshop to look at common strategic messaging to put out on social media in getting more people into cycling. - Lastly, and I know this might be a terrible idea. There are some very scenic roads around the country to do long ride training on the weekends. Could clubs not sit down on a WhatsApp group and pool their resources to say right this Sunday all clubs in a city are encouraged to do x,y,z route. We will have 5 follow cars for different average speeds once a weekend say on a Saturday. This way people might feels safer on the roads and be encouraged to take up cycling. What are your ideas?

So apparently this race is now happening on the 18th of December 2022 with road closures. Might take the family for a holiday down the South Coast somewhere. Also half the price of Amashova/Argus at R350. Seems like a win win. https://roag.org/events/event-info/3878

When I am pulling in a bunch I like to make sure that the speed does not increase/decrease when it's my turn.

There is a race coming in on the 18th of December from Durban to Port Shepstone for R350. Organised by Roag https://roag.org/events/event-info/3878

6.35am start as well. Think I am going to follow this advice thanks. Plan B is to move myself to sit on the front wheels to try and keep myself away from the dangers. That's if I am still with the bunch! Based in Durban and I find those permanently based high altitude Jozi riders have a great ability of killing my legs 😅.

Did a race Recon of the route on the weekend. The roads from Catoridge to Inchanga are a bit dodge with pot holes and some bad road sections. It is at a slight descent as well. As someone still new to the sport, what would be your race strategy in those sections if you aiming to stick with the bunch? I can already foresee a few punctures in that section.