Chunky

Anton is an OK guy. Tells it like it is, holds nothing back, and super super strong. Why all the anamosity now?

Was an excellent ride, I think we made our point !!!! Big thanks to Ian, he was the main organiser of the event. Also a big thank you to all the riders who participated.

Hi Daisy Yes it is correct. The guys from the towing service gave Jorge Faria a call while we were at the circus yesterday. They said he was being rrested for drunken driving.

Goofs, Yes that was the acident I was talking about. Both accidents now involve a cyclist being hit while well within the yellow line. Chatting to the guys after the ride, one of them know the tow truck guys very well. Apparantly the legal limit is something like 0.06 whatever per ml. This Idiot was at 0.8. Now, I bet my life on it that by tomorrow morning this prick has got his hands on the docket and will be out and free to kill again next week. Perhaps we should put the driver on a bike which I will gladly donate, and we all take turns in seeing how many times we can miss him at 200kmh while drunk.

Bikemax, perhaps you need to be a little more adaptable. Austin has managed to produce top results at elite level. I know a few guys that are coached by you, but none at Elite Level. (Dont use David George as he in all honesty does his own thing). Perhaps being able to deviate from the scientific approach is the next step. I have seen many people stick to the book per say. But when they deviate just a little and find what actually works for them they really step it up a notch or two.

It gets even worse..... This morning I got up and decided to go for the usual sunday ride with the Lido group. I put my helmet on for a change and make my way down to our usual meeting place. 4 km into my ride I come across the unthinkable. Another cyclist dead on the side of the road. The guy had been hit by a drunk Black man in a BMW. The car was 200m away from the accident with the bike still stuck under the body of the vehicle. This is absolutely rediculous. So many accidents and so many cyclists getting injured or killed. The worst thing of all i the fact that the driver was way over the legal limit. By tomorrow he will be out on bail. Another R1000 and he will buy the docket from a corrupt cop and he will be free as a bird.

In a bit of a battle at the moment to get my licence, and with thing like this happening I am really confused at the moment and wondering if it is worth the fight. With so many people getting hit off their bikes lately, and so many uneccessary accidents involving cyclists I just wonder if its all worth it. Unfortunately I have chosen to do sports and hobbies that are considered dangerous. I also fly microlights and have witnessed people crashing there too. At one stage I actually stopped flying for that exact reason. I am now feeling the same way about cycling. I know that I always complain about wearing a helmet, and from now on I am going to make a serious effort to always wear one. The thing that scares me is the fact that even a helmet is no help against a 10 ton truck with a kamikaze driver behind the wheel, or a citi golf going 180kmh with a drunk teenager behind the wheel. People cant live their lives worrying about what is going to happen to them the next day but this accident has really struck a nerve today. Not to sure if I am going to wake up tomorrow and be so enthusiastic about riding my bike.

Today was another black day for cycling...... Graham Cooper was knocked off his bike coming up the steps this afternoon by a truck. I was unfortunately one of the first gus on the scene.The paramedics tried their best to get him back but the injuries were to severe. I can remeber chatting to him during the week. He was very excited about the fact that he had just won his first race last week. Condolences to His friends and family. Chunky

I think Chriss is very clever guy if that is what he is doing. At the end of the day, cycling will cost most people more than what they will ever earn from it. There is no reason why you cannot compete at the top level in South Africa withot having a 'full' time job. At the end of the day, Chriss will be sitting back racking in the money while most of the 'pros' will be scraping cents together to buy parts of his website.....

I havent had any problems as yet, but I have been doing that for years so I suppose my knee's are used to it. When we do those sessions that not actually very hard, just roll along at very low cadence.

Craig, what we used to do for power besides the gym was standing starts as mentioned. 3 sets 8 by 100 meters 1 set 3 by 250 meters But the one that gave us the best results was 3 hours twice a week in 53x11. Dont have to do it hard at all, just never come out of that gear. Even on the hills stay seated and just stay in that gear. You will be amazed at how much strength yopu get from 5 weeks of that.

Never get to the finish to use it....

That 500 watts dont last to long dont worry....

Bikemax, I know how to analize power data for the track, but using an SRM on the road is greek to me. Can you tell me if that calculation of power / body weight ratio is maintained even if you weigh over say 100 kg's. I can remember going to Eastern Transvaal and riding up one of those passes. I had recorded an interval up one of the climbs. I can recall that it took me around 25 min to climb, and my average power was about 500 watts, but my weight was also around 118 kg. I managed that but it was like torture, and I probably took a good 5 - 8 minutes longer than the guys I was with. I was wondering if the ratio is a bit optomistic at that weight. I know that when I used to do max efforts at the track, I could get around 2200 watts but could only maintain that for a few sec. When I used to do 30 sec efforts just before CG, I used to max at 2200 watts, but was below 300 watts by the time I got to 20 sec.

They have been here to race all the big races, they dont even finish in the bunch.

They need to get to Gauteng and race, thats where they can prove themselves, not in Cape Town.

[quote name=Manbat....Trust me if you had to work with some of the idiots he had to make do with you would have given up long ago' date=' it's a miracle he got done what he did.... [/quote] Manbat, I am sure you have some fellow workers who feel the same way about you !!!!

Ewep dont get me wrong, Chriss is a talented rider and I am sure there are a few others in Cape Town but they have never been able to make an impression. Racing speeds are just not the same down there.

Talking about Idiots, Manbat comes to mind immediately.... Groot Lem is quite an accomplished rider if you knew anything about cycling Manbat . As far as Tony is concerned, it is quite a loss to see him go. I think he was one of the very few national managers who knew what they were doing. We seem to send many people over as managers and helpers, doctors, wheel carriers but none of them have a clue as to what they are doing. Love him or hate him he has been able to get results for SA as far as road cycling is concerned. He has laso made his fair share of stuff ups, and taken the wrap for them. Lem, your comment about overlooking the cape riders..... I dont think you have any Cape riders capable of making the national team. It sounds a bit harsh but its a reality. All the racing happens in Gauteng except for the Giro unfortunately and if you need to prove yourself thats where you have to do it. I can remember that if you had to show your face on the track, it had to and still has to be done in Cape town. Even though the racing on a Sat afternoon at Hector Norris park is twice as hard as Paarl Boxing day. Unfortunatley that is the way cycling has unfolded in SA and the riders who have to perform often have to travel to do so.

A few ?????? I think most of the guys who are just able to stay in the bunch are doing that.