Speed Devil

I like this bit: What to bring All you have to bring is your bike. You can bring a helmet if you prefer. A marshal will give it the once-over to make sure it's road worthy.

I second that. Very badly designed. The banner that is' date=' not the girl. [/quote'] I agree. They got to think of the older generation with ailing eyesight.

Having that half naked chic there with the words "Lowest prices' does give other meaning to the add. Then they just disguise it with their sponsor's logos Speed Devil2009-08-18 01:13:02

Does any have the profile for the 103km route please.

who cares Did you have a bad day? seems like somebody pissed in your porage. But the roadies are known for there stupid actions... Draghtting behind trucks' date=' riding 3 abreast on a single road. swearing at drivers when the cyclist is riding in the midle of the road talking *** to his mate...[/quote'] What's wrong with draughting behind a truck or bus? I do it often and haven't yet heard any motorist complain. As for this whole roadie vs mtb issue. People can complain and moan till they are blue in the face.....and nothing will change. it is in the human nature. Humans have been waging war, killing each other etc etc for centuries with not much or no reason. So why should cyclists start riding in single file all of a sudden just because one or 2 people complain? I have been cycling for over 23 years, and have given up on preaching to other cyslists. When I'm out alone (or in a bunch) I stick to the rules of the road. When in a bunch I sit at the back and shout when a car approaches from behind. More than that I cannot do. If a cyclist does not want to use that info to his advantage and move over, then it's over to him/her to accept the consequences from their actions. Another gripe of mine is cyclists who have mp3 players/ipods stuck so deep in their ears that they are oblivious to the world around them. I have given up on them too. When I hear about a cyclist being ridden over/killed I wait for the facts to come out before criticising anybody. there are always 2 sides to every story.

The best way is to join a club and go out with them on weekend training rides. If you go out training during the week see if you can join a group along the way. You will quickly learn the ropes of bunch riding. But be warned, there are some cyclists who have their own ideas of bunch riding. Where are you in GP?Speed Devil2009-08-15 13:31:32

Ja Samma' date=' it's one thing to wheelsuck and another to hold up the bunch. This guy was purposefully coming to the front and then practically hitting the brakes and holding up the bunch.[/quote'] That is called giving a "dead wheel"... slows the bunch and gives the bunch ahead time to get away.. the only thing that helps is to go past on the right and then to swerve left..... grass and racing do not go together.. who was your partner today? I felt like adding some grass to his training racing ride, but fortunately for him I'm not that type of rider. My cousin rode with me, but after the dual with TCS he was not feeling too well and we had to back off. He's still recovering from the flu. I just hope we will be ready for the Lost City next weekend.

Ja Samma, it's one thing to wheelsuck and another to hold up the bunch. This guy was purposefully coming to the front and then practically hitting the brakes and holding up the bunch.

This morning I took part in the GNC league race at Rooiwal. Their was no seperate start group for the tandems so we started with the under 40's group. On the way out to the stables the bunch had broken up and my patner and I were caught in the third group. Everytime we tried to go to the front of the bunch to do some pacing a TCS rider (Race no. 19) would come past us and sit on the front and slow down the pace. The first time he came past he passed us on the left and before going completely past us he started to drift across our line forcing the tandem across the white line. The second time he came past on our right, sat next to the tandem and then started to drift into us until I shouted at him to move over When I started to complain about his inconsiderate way of riding he first said that we were interfering with his bunch. I don't see how we could have been doing that as we started with them and there was no seperate tandem bunch. After his second attempt to drift into us he said that he had a team mate up the road and was protecting him.... I mean.... WTF!!!!! This was no professional race. Some of us were there for a good hard ride/workout, and he was expecting everybody to sit on his tale while he holds up the entire bunch. The last time I looked, if a rider was protecting his rider further up the road then he rides at the back of the bunch and does not contribute to setting the pace....HE DOES NOT SLOW THE PELOTON DOWN!!!!!! If he wants to ride like a pro then maybe he must give up his fulltime job and train fulltime so that he can ride professionally and not take part in these micky mouse races and spoil things for everybody else.Speed Devil2009-08-15 12:52:01

I got a little wedgie. it holds exactly 2 tubes and 2 tubby sticks. That's all I need to get in there and it doesn't rattle

Do a road test. Go for a ride without a saddle bag and when you get a puncture then decide if a) It is embarrassing to have one or b) is embarrassing not to have one I don't go anywhere without my saddlebag. besides, it frees up my pockets for my gels, food, keys etc

A while back there were a few sets going here for between R900 - R1300

The finish looked like a war zone yesterday with so many people walking around half dressed with slings and bandages all over.

These little babies save so much time and effort. they just become very expensive if you are prone to punctures. I always carry one with my useless lifesaving mini pump when training. In races I take 2 bombs with. If I can't complete a race on 2 spare tubes then it's useless having a pump. Speed Devil2009-08-07 02:32:45

Speedy, why you using a road bike not on the road? 3 punctures in 10 minutes? Damn! I was on the tar. I just had some really bad luck. First I hit a fairly big chunk of something. Replaced the tube and went on my merry way. A few minutes later the tube popped and had to replace it again....repaeted the last step again. I think all the patches took their toll and it was a warning to get new tubes. At least I scored out of that episode. After the last puncture and running out of tubes I phoned th wife anf told to fetch me at the Steers. For her effort I bought her supperSpeed Devil2009-08-07 00:50:38

Is it the pump that's useless or your arms?

I have to agree with Tarmac here. I wouild happily pay half price for a top end gruupo and if a part fails then haul out the R500 or 1k to replace it. Afetrall, it will take me many many years to replace parts to to the value of 13k that have broken due o manufacturing faults. I currently ride on DA7800, and have never had a problem in the last 3 years. Actually, I have never had any warranty claims on any of my DA gruppos I've had through the years. It's like buying a set of wheels and saying you want something that is strong, light and durable....You just don't get it!!!! Same with gruppos, if you want it cheap then you you have sacrifice the warranty. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy gruppos or parts that don't come with a backup. So I don't see why everybody is bitching about Tarmac that can undercut everybody else and not offer a backup. Life is about taking a chance. If you don't you will never know. Tarmac if I had the cash I would support you.Speed Devil2009-08-06 23:52:30

I am planning on flying down to CT for the weekend of 4-7 Sept '09 and am going to take my bike with. I have a Shimano "papsak" (bikebag) but am a bit worried that my bike might still get damaged. I will be flying on the green mamba. Does anyone have any experience with flying on the green mamba and using a bike bag? Or will a bike box be better? What is the approximate weight of a bike box? Personally I would prefer to use a bike box. Next question....Is there someone who is willing to lend me a bike box for that weekend should the cosensus be that a bike box is a better call?

This reminds me of a joke: Shortly after breaking into a house a thief hears a soft voice calling out...."Jesus is watching you!" The thief stops dead in his tracks, listens in the dark, but doesn't hear anything or anyone. He proceeds further into the house and again hears the voice softly say..."Jesus is watching you!" The thief goes cold with fear and says..."Who is the there? The voice answers..."Moses" The thief asks..."Who are you?" The voice says..."I'm the The parrot" The thief switches on his torch and looks around. In the corner is an old grey parrot sitting in his cage. The thief asks..."Who calls their parrot Moses?" The parrot answers..."The same people who call their Rotweiller Jesus"Speed Devil2009-07-08 05:52:51

I did not do the 94,7 last year. The map on the cycle challenge website is not very clear and not much better when printed. Is the course going to be the same as last year?...except for the finish

That's great news. In financially tight times like this a lot of companies are steering away from corporate sponshorships. So it's good to know there are some companies out there who have faith in our sport and are willing to get involved. With such a big sponsor onboard I wonder if it will help keep entry fees down this year, as they have been sky-rocketing the last few years. I wonder if all participants will get complimentary life insurance from Momentum for the race where can a person view the official press release?Speed Devil2009-06-30 05:55:47

I used to have 175mm cranks on my old 9 spd gruppo. When I upgraded to 10spd I noticed only after a few months that the new cranks were 172,5mm. During that time I never noticed any changes/differences in my pedalling. If I was you I would stay with the 170mm crank and just put a 39T blade on. It's much cheaper than replacing the whole crank to gain 2,5mm. Besides, if you got an 11/21 at the back then a 39T up front would be a better option.

I really wish I could afford one of these Oh well, at least dreams are still free....I think I'm going to sleep well tonight