CycleJunkie

Delgado, what has happened to this bike? I have one that looks almost identical.

I am mainly a roadie, but also a biker. Common sense and courtesy suggest that if you are being passed and you are safely able to, move over. If not and it is Single track those behind should wait until there is a suitable passing place. Do not rip up the rest of the terrein just to get past. What is the mountain biking ethos? Leave no sign of your passing? or something similar. If it is not a race, what is your hurry? Same as on the roads. We ALL share the trails and have equal rights. Just because you can ride faster than someone else does NOT give you any special privileges

I have both 26" and 29". Found the 29" more responsive on singletrack. May just be me, but go much faster in all conditions on the 'niner. My suggestion: test ride them all and make your own mind up.

Over-rated? This is mine after a tumble. Check out the dent in the centre. No helmet would have put that in my skull!

Hi Morwa, Knee pain is be caused by a multitude of factors. In my experience, the 2 most common causes for the type of pain you have are cleat position on your shoes and a musle imbalance between the Vastus Medialis Oblique (The muscle to the inside of your leg that bulges when you straighten your leg and pull your kneecap towards your body) and the Vastus Lateralis (to the outside of the leg, above the knee). As many of these conditions are caused by a combination of many factors, tke an holistic approach. First check cleats; then check muscle balance at a Bio-kineticist, Check saddle height and position relative to your new stem. Pain free cycling to you

Never mind for recovery, while doing the Satellite Challenge a guy on a battered hardtail passes me and he has what looks like chocolate milk in his bottle.... We get chatting and he tells me he is training for the Freedom Challenge and that is what he uses exclusively in his bottle/s. Then he ups and rides away from me. Have not had the courage to use it myself yet

I have been battling with this for a month now, and my biggest aggravator seems to me to be weak core along with poor flexibility (been recuperating from injury and have gone to pot a bit...) Too many pots too perhaps? Gym work is fine but I suggest a bio-kineticist to give you the specific execises and stretching which will address your particular issues. Either way, work on these and GET A BIKE SETUP done by a qualified/trained person.

Raisins are great to munch while riding and racing as they have quick energy and (according Joe Friel and his sources) reduce the acidity of your blood. Seems like a good thing to me. Add flour, sugar and brandy and you have a winner As for Low GI drinks, I have started using the 32GI that has just been launched and it woeks great for Base and faster rides, but I have not tried it for something as intense as a race. I found that the normal carb drinks give me a spike and then drop, never mind if I am drinking them early or late in the ride and prefer rather to eat something like raisins or an energy bar or take a slurp of gel if I need more. Will let you know how the 32GI works on harder faster rides. (Harder and faster by my standards )

AArrggh, If only the course dates were reversed. Johan, please post when next doing a course in Jhb.

Had the same issue on Ride for Sight. Spoke to the same dude 3 times. Won't Name and shame as I am not 100% sure of the number, but it was D group and he had a well known top. The one with red, black, yellow and white in a zigzag pattern. Lots of blue as well. Unfortunately I did not see the club name as his number covered it. Another guy dropped one, and when I spoke to him, he said sorry, he was not thinking. Then later I saw him put his gel wrapper in his pocket. So talking does work! Start off politely and voila! I have been using the little bottles you get with the whasp gel. Works perfectly and unless your gel is very thick, there is no reason why any gel cannot be decanted into these bottles. A suggestion for race pack goodie bags. Put one or two of these into them and give a message to put the gel into them?

Another way to stop it is to clamp your top tube between your knees. Has the same effect as what Bruce said.

Wow! Great start to the New Year. Your efforts have been much appreciated. Let's hope Nothing serious comes of this. As long as we (cyclists) keep cool heads, and stick to the laws, there is not much else we can do.

There is only one thing wrong with it! It is missing a couch!

Same problem with the intensity. Aspirations versus training.... When I cramped hammies and quads on the Shova, a very kind lady gave them a good rub. But not like our usual physio students who go in too hard. Finished strongly on that leg, while the other was a bit shaky. Bottom line, race like you train, and train like you race and cramps should not feature. Regular sports massge is a great way to get the extra stretching in.