tombeej

Anyone seen those Vooma's in the toothpaste tube in Dischem? Best dispensary format I've yet seen. So I bought one to see what it's like (chose the 'neutral' taste option). Wow, works like a charm. Since you don't have to gulp all of it down, you can choose to take in much smaller doses at a time and 1 toothpaste tube can last a long time.

Went past a guy early last Friday in the dark with no lights. So I said to him as I went past, "No lights? You got a death wish?" No response, because he had music blearing through his iPod and didn't hear a thing I said :o

Testing.. testing... 1 2 3... Ok the mic is on. MDW the floor is yours... I wait expectantly...

I understand where you are coming from in terms of the inappropriateness of the lynch mob reaction of "hang him in the town square". Fair enough. However, why is that our first instinct as South Africans is to always try see where the victim might be at fault and at the same time, try to 'understand' the perpetrator. This is something I cannot understand. The victim always has to prove their innocence, while there's a whole list of mitigating circumstances for the perp. In other words poor victim, but of course they must have done something to deserve it - the real victim is actually the person who committed the crime. What?!

Supersix 3 says, "What the hell is wrong with hit and run? You people are pathetic!" Edit: I meant to add my condolences to the poor person who was knocked down. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. For those of us who have lost friends and family on our roads, every time we read about another one, the old wounds start to hurt again.

For me, you've nicely summarised how this is playing out...

Eish, a lot of angry people in this world :P :P

I live 2km from the trail head, and besides long weekend rides, sometimes hit the trails before work too. There's so much variety - from easy flat rides for noobies, to small kiddie trails, to the big 85km route that the Golovan X-Plore race uses (http://www.golovane.co.za). It really is a special place for mtb. The routes all start out from Collisheen Estate, just outside Ballito. Here are the co-ordinates for Collisheen: 29° 29.501'S 31° 10.903'E

Now this has to be the thread winner!

I live 60km from work and been toying with the idea of commuting, at least just once a week to start with. With a 120-130km round trip, I've been thinking about driving in to the office, leaving the car there, cycling home in the evening and then return on my bike the next morning. Depending how it goes, I can up the weekly frequency. After reading this thread, I am now determined to stop the procrastinating and take the plunge. Weather permitting, Monday is the day! Love this thread!

Now why did you have to go and insult my family like that. I come from long line of clown warriors and I’m proud of it. Like that fellow clown Big Guy, I’m also interested to hear about the science around radial & cross on the same wheel. Edit: that bike really does look like perfection tho

Agree with SwissVan, unless you are chronically deficient in magnesium, this might be an expensive and unnecessary supplement to take. I also haven't read any research that say it has a major role to play in terms of muscle recovery. As I understand it, the main electrolytes that need replacing are sodium, potassium and calcium. Magnesium is sometimes referred to as 'the forgotten electrolyte'. Sure, if you are deficient then a full course of slow-mag (i.e. until you finish the bottle) should set you right. I'm also a swimmer. For a while last year I was cramping badly in the pool, especially once I went past 50 or 60 laps. Had a thought I may be magnesium deficient, so I went onto slow-mag for a while. By the time I finished the course, I was 100% again. I'm not taking any magnesium supplements now because I don't feel it's necessary. Again, for muscle recovery, I'd say the glycogen window, plus the proper protein (whey) & general electrolyte replenishment would be the best things to focus on. Here's a nice article I found on the subject: http://hammernutrition.co.za/knowledge/recover-well

Sure, magnesium and calcium are two important electrolytes that need to be replenished after exercise (the other main ones being sodium and potassium), and chronically low levels in the body will lead to increased chance of cramping during high intensity exercise (although some say Mag phos is better for that). However, as I understand it, that's just one small aspect of your recovery regimen. I would guess the most important things to deal with after a long session or race are: 1. Taking full advantage of the 'glycogen window' right after the session 2. Correct protein intake (esp. whey) for muscle repair

Wasn't a key objective of this tour to help put SA on the world cycling map? Also, I'm sure there are some barely healed wounds from SA's in PE, and now this palava. Fair enough, we should wait to hear from the tour organisers what forced them to stop the stage... now three times. In the mean time, Phil's question still needs to be answered: "How could the organisers not have managed to keep the roads open through Sandton - after all, they do it perfectly every year with the 94.7?"

And now a second stop, just 1:30 after the first one! Hear Phil Liggett trying to say, in that very professional and politically correct manner of his, how he's never seen this before in an international bike tour, and basically how disappointing (unprofessional) it is for the tour. Will be interesting if cyclejourno can get some first-hand comments from the riders about this - that second stop they looked really p1ssed.

X-7 for the Comp. Frame is the same for the Comp, Elite and Team as far as I'm aware. Road the Elite for over a year, really enjoyed it and had no problems at all. Typical steep steerer tube angle makes for twitchy handling (std for a hardtail), and great climber. Not going to win any prizes for DH or technical riding, but that's not what it's meant for. From my perspective a very nice entry level racing hardtail.

Apologies, I just assumed the hanger and derailleur are one unit. Still, guy did say it was brand new... I now retire with tail between legs.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/pain.html#knees

Thanks, that's what I thought. Another reason why I won't move to tubeless yet. Would rather continue saving for a new frame instead.

Griffith, is that you?! Haven't had a dive since 31st Dec. The ocean won't let me in - too many overflowing rivers sending their brown muck into the sea. Mtb is my other passion

OK but that's what I'm saying, I currently use slicks during the week and only switch to nobbies on Friday evening. My question is about whether you can buy tubeless slicks, or do I have to keep a whole separate wheelset for them if I decide to switch to tubeless nobbies...

I got a question: I'm still on tubes, haven't made the switch yet. My question relates to putting road slicks onto my wheels for road training during the week. Are there special tubeless road tyres too for mtb? Or do you have to keep a separate wheelset just for that?

cyfermaster, I'm sure you'll admit if I ask you, you've been training and racing like that for years. In other words, your body has been adapted over a long time to that regimen. As an example, if a noobie entering the epic for the first time tries your format, their wheels would likely fall off by the end of the first day and they'll struggle to get up for day 2. What I'm trying to say is that people should not read experienced cyclists stories about how they can ride all day, day after day, on water alone, and think they can emulate that. Take me for instance. I'm still trying to get back into this sport after a few years layoff. I know that if I tried to race past 2hrs on water alone, it will end badly for me. I need to know my own limitations and give my body the chance to adapt over time. I also think age has a role to play. I'm no longer in my twenties. My body does not bounce back from a bonk like it did before. I need to take more care in the fuel I race on (and the steps I need to take during recovery) especially if I want to get up the next day for another session.

Looks like a nice bike. Specs on the components?