tombeej

It's not really viable at all to compare ave. speeds between people who are all on different routes. Way too many variables. When visiting family in JHB I might cruise around at average speed of 30 km/h over a 70+ km ride. But here in Westville, going to work in the mornings (which is where most of the climbing happens) I might break myself to reach 22 km/h for my 17km commute. But you see, I have to get over a lot of humps with 15 - 18% gradients on the way... You can only ask this question of others who do the same route that you do.

OK like I said earlier, as we get closer to the day, the weather forecast becomes more accurate. Looking at the weather this morning, the expected arrival of the front is now moving away to later in the day. Looks like wind shifting at 11am with possible light rain only in the early evening. Winds very light, so not an issue. For the early starters it will be a head wind going out and a tail wind coming back. For those still on the course at 11am it’s expecting to swing to a R-L gutter wind coming home. All in all, looking like a nice day out on the bike

Extended weather forecast for the dam shows a pretty wet cold front arriving around midday. Since we're still a relatively long way off for now, forecast accuracy isn't great. Entries close tomorrow so I'll leave it to the last minute before checking the weather again and making a call.

Quick, delete all reference to 'chain stretch' and then run for the hills fast as you can, before the lynch mob catches up and hangs you for uttering that phrase...

Ja, he had a helluva breakout year last year and folks really started to take notice with his Tour of Britain win. But his ride in the World Champs road race last year, where the only people who could hold onto his wheel on the Cauberg were Nibali, Valverde, etc..., well that was some seriously impressive riding for a relative no-name. But in this sport of 'marginal gains', whenever you hear the words "meteoric rise" you shouldn't be surprised when the talk starts, followed by questions, followed by questionable blood numbers.

This is a pretty old story now, from before the World Champs even. As others have said, some discrepancies that were picked up from before joining Sky. "Brailsford & Co" have commented and dealt with this some time back.

The M19 from Umgeni river to Blair Atholl rd offramp. 4km climb at ave. 9% gradient. All on a nice wide shoulder that can fit 2 riders abreast. But the really big stuff near DBN is on dirt roads outside Ballito. My favourite is a 35km climb with 1450m elevation gain, and some pitches over 20%.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Cheers.

Oh hang on, I think I just found it.

Dude, I know that. I'm asking what brand/model rigid fork (disc only) Like these ones

Anyone?

I've got a 2009 Mongoose Meteore Elite ali frame (26") that I'm considering turning into a snappy little monstercross commuter. Got most components sorted in my mind except for the fork. Need a straight steerer tho. Anyone got suggestions for the fork? I'm not looking for top of the range -- rather value for money.

Happy’s post does pose a valid question about some of the belief systems that the Paleo movement seems to be based on, and even though I say that I follow a Paleo diet, TBH I share similar concerns. For example, certain specific statements that people make about what people supposedly ate during the paleolithic period, and how we have evolved as a result, just don’t ring true for me. A lot of Paleo bloggers/writers/experts have come up with some fantastical statements about what our ancestors ate then, and I’m sure (as Happy was pointing out) that a lot of it is based less fact than it is, as I said, on a ‘belief system’. For example, a lot has been written about the Inuits in the Arctic north with their almost exclusive diet of fat and protein, but then there also examples of other hunter-gatherer people like the Hazda tribe in east Africa, who have a completely different diet composed mostly of plants and relatively little animal meat. And take a look at the venison we know in SA: you can’t get leaner meat than that (except maybe ostrich. Oh wait, that would also constitute a local food!). Wild meat is what we’d be eating if we truly lived the Paleo way. But if we were transported back in time to Paleolithic South Africa, exactly where would we find the thick fatty animal cuts that are supposedly what we were born to eat? The inconvenient answer that many Paleo ‘believers’ choose to ignore (hoping it just goes away) is that there are significant regional differences in diet between ancient hunter-gatherer tribes. It all depends on where a person comes from and what foods are available there. In some places, the venison is very fatty (the Arctic), while in other places (the African savannah) all the wild meat is very lean. Here’s an interesting article about that. In the interest of ensuring we always keep an open mind about LCHF/Paleo, and not fall victim to descending into a narrow-focused ‘belief system’, I encourage you to read it. And here's another one. Worth a read for sure. --------------- We have been seriously side-tracked these past few decades by a mistaken, misguided, dangerous and damaging fear of healthy fats (“saturated fats cause heart disease”), a belief that a healthy lifestyle is somehow based on sugary, starchy, processed, refined carbs, that wholegrain foods are somehow ‘healthy’, that cholesterol is something to fear, that all you need to do to stay healthy is continue to buy all those vitamin/diet pills that the drug peddlars (I mean pharmaceutical companies) have conned you into buying, and so it goes. So what exactly is the perfect human diet? Well I certainly can’t claim to know it. But I have to say that what the LCHF/Paleo movement has done in terms of getting people to start asking the right questions about what a healthy diet really is, well I think its positive contribution to us all has been immense. I personally believe that once this latest phase of our ‘evolution of understanding’ is complete in years to come, we might look back and recognise the immense good that LCHF/Paleo brought to our collective knowledge. Does it have all the answers? No, I certainly don’t think so. But I believe we are finally starting to head in the right direction. And in the absence of any other food philosophy worth a damn (in my opinion) right now, well that is all I need to know for now. So I will continue to actively practise the broad tenants of the Paleo diet as I understand it, and where it makes sense for me. Paleo FTW! Well that’s it from me. For this thread. For good. I guess I'm done here. Thank you to everyone who contributed so much to this amazing thread – by far the best on the Hub! Keep it up . Good bye, Tom

No problem . TBH I realise that didn't explain myself well (from typing on a smart phone, I guess. I'll take more time to phrase my words next time). What I was referring to - because I was thinking of oats at the time of writing - was the fact that we've only been eating these things as modern breakfast cereals, etc in the last 100 years. Since Mr. Kellogg appeared on the scene. I'm of course very familiar with the fact that humans have been cultivating grains for at least the last 10,000 years. And that there have been finds in southern Africa, for example, showing early people growing and eating sorghum as far back as 100,000 years ago. I am also aware that people have been eating oat porridge for centuries, very likely at breakfast time as well! I'm also very familiar with the history of milled wheat and the culture of making bread, from the ancient Greeks & Romans, etc., and into the Middle Ages (e.g. in 168BC the first Bakers Guild was formed in the Roman Empire, and by the time of Christ there were more than 300 specialist pastry chefs in Rome). Anyway, it still doesn't change the fact that grains contain varying amounts of gluten (+ glutenin), phytates and lectin. And the knowledge we have about the effects that these proteins/chemicals have on our bodies is certainly based on hard science, not on emotion. There are bucket loads of scientific studies, research papers, etc. widely available on the subject online and in scientific journals. Type 'lectins' into the Google search engine and start reading. Do the same for the other two. Interesting stuff. Besides that, those ancient strains that our ancestors harvested are vastly different to the modern mutations we're cultivating today. They're even very different to what people were eating just 100 years ago. For example, modern wheat really isn't wheat at all. This is fact, not opinion. We've taken a group of plants that at best were never designed to be eaten by us, and then made them worse! And 100 years ago, people hadn't yet been told that the 'healthy food pyramid' involves a diet built on a foundation of grains (6 - 11 servings a day) and 'fat free' everything. They were lucky; they didn't have any concept then of the various health epidemics we 'modern folks' are having to deal with today. Again, fact, not opinion. I've read the science. I also believe I've seen past the emotional responses - from both sides of the grains argument. And it is my considered opinion that grains have no place in my life. Happily for me, my family are finally also of the same opinion, having watched first-hand my own transformation over the past 2 years. And our health is so much better for it. Lastly, I'm very much with you on your point that diet is only part of the problem. A big part of the problem lies in our sedentary lifestyles, the portion sizes of our meals, and other factors. A healthy lifestyle cannot happen if one only focuses on diet. Agreed. But since this thread is about diet specifically, I'm sure that's why the posts on this thread (including mine) tend to focus on that. cheers, Tom

Grains (wheat, barley, rye, oats, sorghum, millet, etc) are not the nice wholesome foods we have (only relatively recently) been told is good for us. 100 years ago they were considered good enough only to feed livestock to fatten them up, certainly not fit for human consumption. We need to get back to that. Good old Mark Sisson on the subject of grains: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz2jgduR254. Gets himself quite worked up about it in the process Another one: http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/

Well yes and no. For example, dried apricots have a GI of 31 - that's very low. Goji berries around 29. And high GI fruit have their uses. I love mango, bananas, and pineapple. But I don't just snack on them in case the carb monster wakes up. So eating a banana first thing in the morning is probably not a great idea, but having one on the start line of a race just before the gun goes, or right after a hard ride, is great! There's nothing better than eating fresh ice cold grapes, or mango & pineapple slices straight out of the fridge after a long hot KZN summer ride. Man! Much, much better than trying to get your glycogen replacement from grains like oats (full of phytic acid).

My additions in red font...

Come on folks, we've been over the subject of seeds and grains so many times on this thread. Humans have no business eating them; I don't know how they can keep cropping up here.

For Gauteng people, I'm driving up to JHB for Xmas. I'm willing to bring up nuts for you then, if you want to buy from Mac Eden right now. Just need to make a call pretty soon tho...

What's their price? Almond butter in Dischem, etc is helluva expensive @ around R135 per 500g.

I buy from Mac-Eden Estates down the s.coast of KZN near Margate. While the majority of their harvest is reserved for export, you can still pick up large packs from them direct. Their 'snack style' (mostly whole) is R135.00/kg and their 'chip style' (mostly chopped pieces) is R125.00/kg. Right now they're busy wrapping up their last export shipment before they close for the year. So if you want to place an order, do so very soon . I'm not sure how it works for people in other provinces, but give Lee a call on 039 311-2570 and she'll help you out. I've just placed an order for 2kg @ R250.00, which should last me well into 2014 (need 1 cup of melted coconut oil per kg of nuts to make macnut butter). My missus is driving down to Margate this weekend to pick it up . This is the recipe I use for my macnut butter (except for the lucma powder... I use a minute dash of vanilla extract instead). My mouth is watering already!

Happy, one thing you probably picked up from taking a dollop of coconut oil is that it can take away hunger pangs like nothing else. Lauric acid (a key medium chain triglyceride) is the wonder ingredient in that respect. First, we need to understand how different MCTs are compared to any other member of the triglyceride family. MCTs can be absorbed directly from the gut (i.e. doesn't even go as far as your small intestine), straight to the liver, and from there be readily converted into ketone bodies and used for energy rather than for fat storage. People who use ketostix can see this in action for themselves. First take a reading and let's say the result it 'trace'. Then take a dollop of coconut oil and pretty soon afterwards watch your reading go deep purple. All because MCT oils have this unique ability to produce a lot of ketone bodies to burn readily as energy and not end up being stored as fat. Besides that benefit, research done on coconut oil shows how lauric acid both suppresses energy intake (reduces hunger) and in improves energy utilization. Here's another article along the same lines: 'Almost magical……coconut oil'.

All the time. Coconut oil is the king of all plant oils, especially for athletes. No better natural source of awesome MCT oil. I love a large tablespoon of it straight out of the blik. Second best is macadamia nut oil/butter. Third probably goes to almond oil/butter. A distant joint fourth place arguably goes to olive and avo oil (with respect to people posting on this thread that you should eat lots of this stuff, both of these oils have around 10% PUFAs, so really should only be taken in careful moderation). For me, the all-time best LCHF endurance food (besides pemmican) is homemade macnut butter with coconut oil. The top two plant oils together in one 'super food'.

Whatever brand you buy, just make sure it's always 'cold pressed virgin'.

For those people new to this thread and are wondering what the hell we're going on about re. polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), here's a good place to start: Article 1: 'Death by vegetable oil' - How too much Omega 6 is making us sick. Article 2: Mark Sisson on PUFAs. Article 3: Omega 6 Oils: The Burglars of Health -- A couple of points I disagree with in this particular article: (1) The belief that you can simply increase your intake of O3's to cancel out too much O6's in your system (no, you can't - too much PUFAs of any kind is too much), and (2) Flaxseed is a good source of O3's (no, it's not). Ok, I think that's enough spam from me for now. Bye