Joe Low

Agreed. But, for me, its good enough to get me training 3 times a week midweek, that I wouldnt do otherwise. There's enough interest to keep me at it, mostly through racing against myself from previous rides. I like it, but it cant be the centrepiece of a training programme.

You create enough defecate and you will lose heaps of weight. Accepted wisdom is: If you train at high intensity you wont burn as much fat as you will at moderate intensity; your body cant convert it fast enough. Then there's the trade off ie you have to be out there a lot longer at moderate intensity. I've found its a lot easier to lose weight by not putting stuff in your gob in the first place, rather than try to work it off after the event.

Yes it is.

These things are super heavy, so the younger guy gets out and pushes on the hills.

Actually its getting to the stage where i'm more concerned that it means kids cant tow parents

Means parents cant tow kids

Bicycle ambulances we donated in Malawi

Yes they are, the service was really good, bought an MJ872.

Paid for the light 6pm Thurs and it was here 8:30am Monday from Cape Town, great service.

Modderfontein R40 Rietvlei R25 Thaba - cant remember The problems arent the price they are location and attraction. You havent given anything that makes me think "ooh yeah, would like to go there". Travel costs over R1/km so the entrance fee is secondary. Its cheaper for me to go to Modderfontein than Rietvlei.

Doesnt look like it is for professionals but you and me will be ok. How long do the effects last? "Disclaimer CONTAINS METHYLHEXANAMINE*. DO NOT USE IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE OR SUBJECT TO A SPORTS BODY DRUG TEST." *Topical - the Comrade fella and the rugby players had this stuff in them

And why a month's notice?

Hey Scotty - I did a stoopid thing and now I've got to see it through - am not saying I like it (am not saying I dont). But if I gotta ride at night I gotta have a light....and special socks.....and....and.... Goin to Rietvlei tomorrow after work, looks like scorched earth there from (ns)BBs photo.

I went with Magic Shine MJ872 and 2 x 6 cell batteries, came to R1700.

Thanks a lot for the responses. Am getting that brain-soggy feeling again, but will plough through and come up with something from what's been said. Dynamo - i remember that as some serious drag with it spring-loaded against the rim.

Thanks - thats what I'd heard, I just didnt want to believe it. Looks like it was a waste of money getting the jaccuzi fitted in the back of the 4x4 now.

How many checkpoints can the support vehicles meet us at?

Ok, am extremely confused trying to find lights to ride TransBaviaans. Whats the best light thats going to give me 10 hours of reasonable visibility on jeep track? I did do a Hub search but this along with various shop and manufacturer websites did my head in - too much jargon and non-comparability. Nancy says Exposure Tora - but its 275 quid - I'd be happier to get away with under R2,500 if possible. What do you say?

They did prepacked a couple of years recently & was fine. Widening the debate from wind and lunch - there was a definite step up in organization this year with the tourist village active on the friday night, and the venue being really nicely set up for saturday. Its a win to do no. collection away from the shopping centre. Also, announcements with Johnny Koen before each stage were a big improvement on whats gone before. Had the feeling in previous years that the announcer didnt like cyclists at all. Overall, not setting up chutes at each stage and letting ourselves sort it out seemed to work fine and was less fuss. Traffic control was great though i feel sorry for the hold-ups we caused. The motorcycle marshalls are really good, keeping us in line(ish) and dealing with motor vehicles. Its a great event and this year was noticeably better - the lunch venue was a big improvement. The massage tents at each stop and the large no. of staff was great. Next year though provide toilet roll at the end of the tunnels. If the dark didnt get you, the big crosswinds on the fast descent would have.

The fortius motor is stronger so there's a better range of resistance and the downhill freewheeling works better. You just have to work out whether thats worth the price difference. On the I-magic the hills can easily get me into 90%+ heart rate so its fine. I guess dropping a couple of gears does the trick too. You dont "feel the limit" as such, you just go faster up the hill than you'd expect to in real life.

Got an I-Magic in 2007 and i'm on it 2 or 3 times a week at the moment. I like it a lot, and prefer it to walking 5 mins to the gym for spinning. Couldnt see me sticking with a regular trainer.

Agreed - done six and at least 3 have had headwind on stage 2. Was going to point it out to the magazine people.

Caught sight of Cervelo in the beer tent - I was watching rugby by the door for a quick exit. He looked a bit cross, truth be told. Come on Championchip wheres the results? Two years ago me Waterbottle and Scotty sat in Maxxis north of Polokwane on the N1 for Sunday morning brekkie and the results were up. Whats up - someone shoot your carrier pigeon?

Nice one Azi, I agree with you. This is a brutal and brutalized society. The main thing to bear in mind for me is that the great majority of all people here are decent ordinary folk trying to get by under incredible pressure - whoever they are. And there are enough really bad people out there to make everyone's life a misery. The reason why they are bad isnt so important when you're cornered by them; and i dont see anyone here supporting anyone acting this way.

Doesnt sound like it. And condolences to the family esp the poor kid - there's not much getting over an event like that. I hope he's got some good support.