Witkop

remember a decent ride will be closer to triple digits..... I find that I can get used to a bike after about 30km. However, small things like handlebar width, make of shifters ($hitmano are bigger and longer than campy), crank length and bike length irritate me the most. The bigger things like saddle, saddle-handle bar height ext normally get absorbed by the body. ALu bikes are hard and suck big time. If it is not steel then at least half of the bike should be carbon.

Oh, the SANDF still does fitness tests. the battery includes: 2.4km run sit ups push ups shuttle runs and a 4km march You need 60% overall to pass. (in the old days it was a minimum of 60% for each catergory and pull-ups were included?!) This is all done in PT kit. At this stage I can still muster a 9 min for a 2.4km, (60% for my age is some where around 11 minutes) which is a bit slow but still gives me about 120% which means I can sit out one of the other exercises completely if I chose to do so. There is also the fitest soldier competition in October each year that is done in full battle dress.

results may vary. The only way to determine the effect of smoking on fitness is to a. start smoking b. exercise. c. quit smoking d. exercise. e. measure the results. I know that some guys (training partners) only quit smoking and partying when it became clear to them that they had hit the fitness ceiling and a change of lifestyle was the only way to get better. (I am withholding names to protect the guilty). but as I said "results may vary".

technology takes the fun out of Suffering.

ride without a "speedometer", even better race without it. One less thing to clutter your concentration. Like why do you need to know how fast you are travelling? get to know your bike and body without all the technogeekrap.

chain reaction cycles?

exclusive I hope you are just trying to be funny, as you come across as a selfish git. The R25 you pay is for access to the nature reserve, which just happens to have a bicycling route. Groenkloof is NOT a cycle park, it is a NATURE RESERVE and PUBLIC PROPERTY, which means that we ALL are responsible to keep the area pristeen, so that future generations can experience the joy of nature. Your attitude seriously sucks, maybe you should stick to road cycling and leave the tree huggers on mountain bike alone, as you have no humility and no appreciation of nature. It is the mtbkers code to constantly improve trails and maintain them where necessary. Moving glass, nails and wire out of the trail is good practice and good Kharma. If you cannot swallow that go the the MTN bikepark, where you pay them to build and maintain trails and keep the wildlife out of your way. However the contact details for groenkloof are as follows: Call 012 440 8316 or 012 341 5204 Fax: 012 341 0483 Email: davidb@tshwane.gov.za (management) groenkloofnaturereserve@tshwane.gov.za (bookings)

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use the lockout when you are going to get hectic and stand and pedal. If you hammer like that the terrain probably does not need suspension anyway. Just remember to release the lock out at the top of the climb.

nope, but tastes horrid (that is the epson salts) , so don't do it often. Also we were in the middle of the Karoo so there were no spectators to witness any negative effects.

Neg VT the major problem is that most manufacturers just havn't got their heads around the conditions in South Africa (we are the only nation that has totally embraced tubeless tyres at all levels -except in East London, where they have very sharp rocks) and also the size of the average cyclist here. We also don't make their lives easier as we all insist on buying the latest and lightest racing (xc) equipment, regardless of any weight warnings. (I think Campagnola and Tommissini has evetually published a maximum weight limit on their products). A freeride (all mountain) fork may be a solution. Travel is a matter of personal preference and geometry of the frame. Some frames are designed for 80mm-100mm travel (xc), where others can handle 100-140mm travel. Here South African importers are also a bit behind the likes of Canada, UK and USA as we tend to import only stock (XC)frames and not All-mountain frames nor do we support the "botique" manufacturers. You can consider on-one, Coptic ext for bikes with more forgiving geometry.

I recommend that you get a copy of Tim Noakes "Lore of Running" if you want the science behind dehydration, bonking and overhydration. In most cases you will feel the bonk coming about ten minutes before it arrives, then you must eat everything in sight and wash it down with any liquid you can find, and if you can afford it sit in the shade for a few minutes to give your body time to process all that energy. Or else that wall, she is going to hit you.

A friend and I have used epson salts and game, as an emergency drink. Someone else recommends coke and milk.

With your weight catergory, shouldn't you consider different sport like rugby, swimming, tug of war (toutrek) or sailing? (okay bad joke- I apologize) The reason the manufacturer has included a 90+ (especially the +) is because they don't believe that anyone heaver than 85 kgs would use a "race" catergory fork, let alone a guy over 90kgs. (the weight designation is a manufacturers joke, meaning "if you are over this you are too big") There is a catergory called "clydesdale" in the USA which caters well for RSA sized men. South African cycling is one major anomoly for product design for the mainly European dominated sport of cycling. Some manufacturers come to South Africa to see how we get to break things so well, and they go away totally amazed.

JB and TNT are absolutely correct. The body needs energy and liquids to work. Any energy, any liquids. However, the body needs to metabolise whatever rubbish/food ext you shove into your mouth. To do this it needs TIME and electrolytes (salts). On a hot day like we had this weekend, you sweat a lot which is electrolytes and water. A big problem with many energy drinks is that they do not have sufficient electolytes included, so in the end your gut has too much liquid and sugars and too little electolytes and you over hydrate or, in cases where you have sweated a lot, bonk on a full stomach. THen you have to rest, wait for the body to catch up and continue. One solution is to carry a rehydrate or similar product on you to mix, another is to train on water and solid (real foods), in this way your body will get more efficient. Finally, train in hot weather and take note of the effects of heat on your body and counter it in training.

As CSA is not really concerned about cyclists who believe you could actually use a bicycle as a means of transportation, I have been playing with the idea of creating a loose forum/ society/ association/ information clearing house to represent the needs of cyclo-commuters and cyclo-tourists. The initial idea is to share information regarding safety, routes, camping sites, accomodation, equipment ext. If we establih a centre of gravity, we can then move onto engaging CSA, government, SA Tourism ext for benefits, improvement of infrastructure, better rates and so forth. You comments and support for the idea will be appreciated.

Update: The burnt out bridge at fountains has been repaired. Due to the rain a tree has fallen over two single tracks in the forested section near the road. The low level river crossing in the forest has a lot of trees and drift wood on it making it unprortable. I did not see too much glass on the trails, however at the lapa there was a party and a lot of bottles and trash on the ground. THe staff at Groenkloof do send cleaners into the area to clean up the vegatiation regularly. About 4 weeks ago tehre was a team in there. THe single track past Mojo's has been straped and widened as well. My major complaint is with other mtbkers how insist on riding the down hill single track in fontains where it obviously beyond their ability and then lock and drag their wheels down over the rocks and sand. This rips up the hardened surface and dislodges the rocks, leaving a powdery mess and deap ruts. With the first rain there won't be any singe track left. Groenkloof also is suffering from too many ride and rip cyclists who will never have flow as they ride on their brakes the whole time.

Lets fix that: 4 times Xtra world champion vs one time road cycling world champion (and seven time tour de france winner)

ride loose, don't use the brakes, and let go quickly (of course this is impossible if you are not loose or are squeezing the brakes in terror). Buy the book Mastering Mountain Bike skills by Brian Lopes.

smaller can be better for Mtb. However, you will have to play with stem length, saddle set back ext. Remember the more technical the riding the shorter the stem and higher the handlebars. Also bike makes differ is sizes lots. THe most important is the length of the top tube, and in most cases with girls, with long legs, this is too long. Also common practice is to sell girls frames that are much too big (stand over height is irrelevant). If the seat extension is not at least too fists high on a sloped road frame then it is too short. (On a mountain bike it should be even higher). It is my opinion that the smaller frame should be okay

the book "Mastering Muntain Bike Skills" by Brian Lopes or after his first crash "the Lore of Running" by Tim Noakes

ethics on a online forum? you have to be kidding. Why would a total stranger show any thics when dealing with another total stranger? Annonimity allows the worst in people. If you don't know the guy and hav no personal references about his honesty, why would you deal with him? Just because he is on the hub does not make him/her all of a sudden a honest joe cyclist. Again, buyers and sellers beware, if you don't know the person you are dealing with, take extra caution, just like you would when you bought any other second hand stuff from a LBS or Gumtree or the classifieds.

Recovery: Rest Ice Compression Elevation and Diet Eat protein, chocolate, chilli sauce, with lots of carbs. Protein (biltong) for the muscles chocolate (Lint dark chocolate with chilli) for the antioxidants chilli (Tabasco on steaks) for the pain killing carbs (pasta) for the energy You can also add magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and loads of black tea, to effect relaxation of mood and muscles.

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