AfricaMike

Thanks - that makes Google a whole lot easier :-)

The commentators spoke about Gilbert now having 3 of the big 4, still needing to win Milan - San Remo. Along with Paris Roubaix what are the other two? Guessing that L-B-L must be one of them.....

Brilliant race as usual - loved every minute - but i was surprised at the lack of Astana presence at the finish considering their prominence at the start of the race - they must have had a plan of sorts....well done to PhilGil, a deserved winner....

Agree Rob....kind of following your 'footsteps'.....got a little speedhump called Munga 2019 to get over first (love your blog....)

Going to be my first Audax on 24 March - 200k's from Procycles out on the East Rand. I already have permission for LEL in August 2021 - 30 months to get ready for 1400k's.....plenty of time and lots of events listed on www.audaxsa.co.za. I never had the resources before but now with my boet living in London the cashflow works :-)

These worked for me - all kind of different flavours and they're cheap!

Giving up smoking was, without any hesitation at all, the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. Started during army days in the late 80's and eventually quit for good in December 2015. As a smoker I ran Comrades, rode the Epic a few times and did some other crazy endurance stuff and never thought that the smokes were affecting my performance (regardless of the event I'm always at the tail-end anyway). But to you guys that are considering stopping - DO IT!! I swapped the smokes for those rolls of butterscotch boiled sweets....you need to get past the third day, third week and then the third month....if you get this right you'll be able to convince yourself that you are an ex-smoker. If you're anything like me you're going to have issues with your temper when the nicotene withdrawal happens - recognise it for what it is and take a frikken chill-pill and relax. it's just your body freaking out. Stop smoking - you'll be amazed how much better you'll start feeling. Your loved ones will like you more because.....you'll probably put on some weight so there'll be more of you to like......but also you wont continually smell like an ashtray.... Good luck...it's worth it, I promise you......

I'm not even riding but every time I think there's only a week to go to Munga 2018 my stomach turns.....I don't even want to guess what you guys are going through right now.....

http://trackleaders.com/munga18

mmmmm............ First. Marco Martins Second. Kevin Benkenstein Third. Grant Usher

145 starters - AWESOME! Good luck and God bless to all of you. I'm really looking forward to watching the dots....tail-wind all the way

After reading through all 100 pages of the 2017 Munga and with only a month to go to the start of the 2018 edition all I can say is......fricken machines! WOW!.......seriously inspiring - and to all of you who are getting those last preparations done before the end of November - good luck and God bless! Dot watchers....on your marks, get-set,.........

I'm interested to hear which GPS units are most popular. Seems like the Audax guys prefer the Garmin Etrex as it uses normal penlight batteries - but looking at pic's of the Munga bikes it seems like the Edge is the one....any opinions?

I felt exactly the same in 2014 after 26 years of cycling. Finished my 15th 94.7 in 2013 with my Mrs on the tandem and had absolutely no enthusiasm for the bicycle come 2014. Started riding motorbikes and really enjoyed it until you realise that its also a consumer bling-shootout - who's got the biggest, flashiest, shiniest most expensive...blah, blah, blah. then you realise, after having put on a good few kilo's, that you miss the simplicity of the bicycle and nobody else really gives a toss about your seeding, average speed or your finishing position or how many medals lie in that shoebox under your bed...its about the joy of riding a bicycle. I tossed the HRM's, GPS's, training programs and all that bollocks and am absolutely loving being back on the bike after a 4 year break....just ride, its fun.

I really really enjoyed the ride yesterday. For me the only objective was to have a lekker day in the saddle with absolutely no intention to do anything other than reach the finish line. Last time I participated in this event was in 2009 where there were just over 5500 entrants. Good to be back on the bicycle again after a 4 year break, even if it means starting at the back :-)

Going to watch this thread with interest. My 4th and last epic was in 2011 - after burying ourselves in training for 6 months before the race my partner crashed on Stage 1 and i rode the rest of the race on my own, starting each day at the back - I hated it. Hung my bike up after the race - absolutely no interest after that - until my daughter asked me to join her on the bike this past December......loved it, missed it, man it's good to be in the saddle again....now Im looking for the proverbial carrot to inspire the training.....Munga might be a bit out of my league but maybe something like Desert dash.....lets see.....

I see from the North West province's website that the Groot Marico MTB Classic is being held on 18 August 2012. I remember this being an awesome race in the past and am keen to do it again. Anybody have any idea who will be hosting online entries?

If you're still wanting to love cycling after the Epic then there's only one choice - full sus 29'er. i've done 4 Epics - the last two on a dual-sus 29'er and I still love my bike!

Thanks for all the input guys - going to be a work in progress.....finances permitting. You ask "Why Steel" i answer "Why not".....because I can....I've got an itch....then my LBS asked SS or gears, rigid or .......a work in progress..... Let the build begin......watch this space for progress.....

Thanks very much for the offer but unfortunately I'm in Jozi . Who supplies them locally? or did you buy yours online?

Wow, she sure is stunning!!!!

Thinking about a steel frame 29'er hardtail. I want to build with top-end components so I'm looking for a quality frame. I've seen a couple but they're all designed for singlespeed setup. Who manufactures high quality steel frame 29'ers these days? What would you buy?

In the 2007 Epic there was a team on rigid frame singlespeeds (team name was "1-Hit-Wonders" if memory serves correctly). They finished well - the one rider was an IT executive from New York who did all his training in Central Park!! His partner was a guy from Durban i think. On the DNF story - I've completed all four of the Epics I've started - and I really sympathise for the DNF's. Very often your body gets so run down over the 8 days that it cant cope with the stresses - the result is a lot of flu, torn muscles, broken bones and bikes, I've seen guys drop out with saddle sores so bad that even the medics are shocked.....it's a race like no other - despite all the training in the world things happen - and when it does it's ugly. Feel for the guys that DNF - that monkey sits on their backs for a LONG time.

These guys truly are in a league of their own.....awesome......40+kph over 143k's is insane. Big thanks to the Hubbers for all the updates - office firewalls prevent any access to the live streaming. Big thumbs up!!

Really feel for the guys - so much effort in preparation down the tubes with mechanical - but I suppose that's the nature of the beast.