tombeej

I'm on the same route every day, and obviously pretty much the same time each day, so I see the same faces - the same Comrades runners who eventually become so familiar we great each other every day, the same taxis who now give me a hoot if they see me, and I'm sure the same multitudes of car owners going to work and back each day (they recognise me, even if I don't notice them). With that in mind, I never show aggression (even if I'm cut off or nearly taken out), I am always happy/smiling and very polite in my actions when moving through traffic, and I always greet and thank people who give me room or wait for me to pass at an intersection. Besides the fact that I get home in a great mood, no matter what *** I had to deal with at the office, I am also making friends out there. And for a cyclist on our roads, that's golden.

Some time back I bought a suit from Edgars. The zip-up cover that came with that suit is what I use to keep all my clothes for the week at the office. I'm very lucky to have a shower room at the office that no-one uses except me. So I can keep a plastic container with all my cycling stuff, I've got a wooden bench where I can hang my stuff and my shoes go underneath. But the suit cover works like a charm. See if you can get your hands on one somewhere.

And here's Chris Kresser again (who gave us the above article in support of grain fed beef). Here he is confirming that grass-fed beef is still superior to grain-fed beef. Again, not because one has higher levels of omega 6 PUFAs than the other (they don't differ), but for other reasons. My takeaway is that if you're on a budget, grain-fed beef is still fine. But if you can afford it, stick to grass-fed beef. Either way, you still need to moderate your intake of chicken and pork fat.

Grain fed beef vs. grass fed beef... A quick search online reveals it's actually a grey area, it seems. Firstly, here's a good article that says: "There's no difference between the two". And then the opposing view (equally well argued): "Yes, there actually is a big difference between grass- and grain-fed beef". Clear as mud? Yes, I think so too.

Sorry, I have to correct myself here. Since cattle are ruminants, they don't accumulate omega 6 PUFAs in their fat like non-ruminants (chicken & pigs) do. So there's not really that much difference between grass-fed beef and factory-farmed grain-fed beef. In this respect, it's far better to eat cheap grain-feed beef fat than it is to eat chicken fat or pork fat. There is a lot of scaremongering these days about eating grain-fed beef, and I just fell into that trap. For me, the main reason between choosing meat from Checkers and a place like Hope Meats is more of a moral one. Factory reared cattle live a miserable and mistreated life in general, while cattle that graze out in the open grass fields where they belong have a very different life. That aside, the fact remains that cattle and sheep (ruminants) are are far healthier source of fat than fowl or pork. That applies to grain-fed beef too. The reason is because ruminants are genetically designed to process and break down omega 6's during digestion, whereas pigs and chickens are not. Neither are humans. In other words, omega 6's accumulate in pork/chicken/human fat. Moral of the story: eat lots of beef and lamb/mutton fat. As much as you like.

For folks living in the DBN/Highway area, Hope Meats are awesome.

The traditional biltong cut is silverside, but I don't really bother about cut type. I go to my local butcher and ask him for nice thick fatty cuts - he knows how I like it. I go to my local Foodlovers Market for decent grass-fed beef. If I'm feeling cheap and lazy I might find myself in the local supermarket browsing the beef section looking for really fatty cuts of whatever I can find - budget rump steak, silverside, topside, or whatever looks best for the job. But this is not something I really like to do. The relatively high concentrations of omega 6 PUFAs accumulated in the fat of grain-feed beef is something to always keep in mind (and to try and avoid as much as possible).

By making your own biltong you can get it as fat as you like. I generally use nice fatty cuts of beef for my biltong, then when it's cured I just cut away most of the fat with a bit of the actual meat for a bit of texture and flavour. Then all the lean meat I give to the rest of the family and I keep the good stuff

Kenda, then I'd say to you just keep going with water only for your training tides. It doesn't take long before you come through on the other side. The weak/achy legs thing goes away. What comes after that is a feeling that you can go forever without needing to refuel, a bulletproof diesel engine that can just go and go and go. That’s your end-goal. You’ll know it when it comes, very freeing. Then, when you occasionally need the engine to burn 'hot' when the intensity is high, carbs become the nitrox injection for that turbo boost.

Just to confirm: you're not eating any high Gi carbs before the ride? I remember starting out on water and feeling great, not hungry on the bike, but no power in the legs (even very tired/aching quads). After a while it started coming back, but I wasn't adding carbs for the ride - just kept going with water during training rides. What has done me in since then is making the mistake of eating high Gi carbs before a ride. Doesn't work for me. Spikes my blood sugar and seems to switch my body right back into a carb-craving machine just before the ride starts. Which means if I'm not munching carbs all the way through the ride, the 'wheels' fall off inevitably. When racing, I will eat a banana on the start line just as the gun is about to go. That give my body the first hour to digest the banana and so I don't have to worry about food in the first 1.5hrs of racing. And it prevents the pre-ride blood sugar spike. I will then have a couple of gels in the back pocket for the last 1 hr (this is for my usual pace of 2h45 - 2h55 for 100km races).

Then I've read it all wrong. Sorry, Sacrosanct.

Then it is me who doesn't understand the scoring system (i.e. I am the flawed one). As I have understood your scoring, only stages 1, 20 and 21 score 19.8 for the winner, and all other stages score 0.990 for stage winner?

But the scoring system was advertised from day one (all very nicely laid out in the pdf). Based on that scoring system, you would have then picked your team to hopefully take full advantage of where the points are really found. So, since the scoring system came first and your team selection second, I dare say that your team picks are flawed?

I'm counting on young Yates to make it all the way to Paris. Seems his own team don't really expect him to, but I got faith in the lighty.

Good article deanbean, and an important message for all of us. I've also been watching with concern how people seem to be making all the same sort of mistakes that the fat-free 'heart healthy' bridge made. And that is by going to extremes, adopting an "us vs them" attitude and allowing the pendulum to swing way past equilibrium in the other direction. Like I've been trying to say for a while, not all carbs are bad and not all fats are good (suddenly whole fruit is now the enemy? Say what?). "In my opinion, low-carb zealots trolling the web scaring people away from whole foods like carrots and fruits, without any regard to context, are no better than militant vegans spreading fear mongering about meat and eggs." I couldn't agree more.

(Edit: text removed) Seems they've still got to learn the fundamental basic: a calorie is not a calorie.

It was my understanding that there's no lactose in cream or butter, but I may be wrong. There may well be very small amounts in commercial cream, I guess. Here's Mark Sisson's pretty comprehensive take on dairy. Edit: just done some quick reading to try educate myself. Seems there's definitely lactose in cream, just reduced amounts. However, I still rate my cream - luckily I don't have any tolerance issues.

You might find this little thread interesting. http://paleohacks.com/questions/103403/which-dairy-products-contain-almost-no-casein-and.html

I try not to have milk in my life but have lots of cream. That way you can avoid both the lactose (milk sugar) and casein found in milk.

I'm a woos. Spent yesterday cleaning and re-building my bike, so this morning I chicken out of going out on these cold wet roads. So I'm driving to work. Coz I don't want to dirty my sparkly bike, or coz it's frikking cold and dark or I failed rules no. 5 and 9? All of the above I reckon. I'm a woos.

Here's the link to sign up your team: Two Hub leagues have been opened - just join both of them. Here are the league codes: 18929198107995 and... 18986341132101 You've got just 3.5 hours before lock out, so get your team done pronto!

Ja, I know. I got too many young 'uns in my team. Hope they make it to Paris or I'm buggered.

Thanks Tubed and everyone else involved in bringing this race to life for the rest of us, and for lighting the little spark that's now got me off my arse and committed to doing the full monty next year. I've opened a new thread for Prepping for FC / R2R 2015. This is for those folks who are keen to do the race next year, and for the vets who've done it before who want to share their knowledge with us noobs.

Nope. The key is how the scoring works. Simply choosing the big GC and sprinters names is not going to get you anywhere with the scoring system Gerald has put in place. There's a secret to it - if you study it