The_Break

You should join the "I can't afford the bike I really want so I will dis other guys who can" club. Membership is strong on the hub. Nice bike pornstar! All you need is an Adamo seat.

Putting your balls on the line there then hey if you don't even know what course you are riding. Are you a sprinter, a climber a breakaway specialist? Could have a big outcome on your race if you claim to be on the podium and you don't even know what kind of a race it is. No offense, man, but true champions don't make claims like that and not know all the facts. Unless of course I am truly ignorant and you have had podium finishes the past few years.

Podium at SA Champs next year hey? Where is the race and what type of course is it?

Generally speaking your body "develops capacity to strengthen/improve" when it is stressed, but only uses this capacity to strengthen/improve when it rests. So a training program will generally be a string of stress and rest phases. From base to peak it is about stressing the body and then strengthening it through rest. One great method of improving by increasing the stress your body sees over a series of 3 weeks (easy, medium, hard) and then having a rest week as you call it. Generally rest should be active rest and not passive rest, i.e. you still exercise but at a level that is low enought o actual still recover. None of the coaches I have ever had have had me rest totally for a week. It is normally a matter of easy rides with no high intensity. Were it gets interesting is how you progress from 4 week block to 4 week block. If you look over say a 12 or 16 week period you should continually be increasing the stress on your body. Slowly raising it and then resting to improve. As for tappering, a week is sufficient, but be carewful not to rest totally. Generally easy riding the week prior to an event with short sprint sessions just to keep the muscles activated is fine. There are many different methods one can employ, but the basics remain the same you need to stress the body to make it want to strengthen, but need to rest it so that it can strengthen.

Are you gay? Cause if you are then you won't have much of a problem taking up cycling. Will give yuo an excuse to keep those legs and arms shaved. Don't be ashamed, seriously, I would like to think our society has moved past discrimination.

I don't think I am hungry anymore!

There is something else I also like spreading.

First bit of advice. Get a road bike. Just kidding man! Welcome to the HUB. Unfortunately I cannot offer any advice on MTBs, but in general, find yourself someone who knows about bikes and ask them to help you pick out a bike in your budget. They will hopefully know what to look. Good luck and enjoy! Training, tip, get yourself a nice good long base before you start to crack up the races. Will help your progress loads.

Would you be willing to split it up?

Ask Burry that one. I have been on a mountain bike 4 times and it was certainly not art.

There is your problem, you have tits. Looks like you gave up years ago if you have this attitude. You may as well roll over and die if you have given up on being competitive (even in your age group) and are suggesting others do the same. It is easy to be negative and try and pass it on to others. I have come across many people like you in life who are negative toward those who try be the best they can. Guys like you don't deserve to be called sportsman because all you see are limitationsstead of possibilities. Are you by any chance over weight and getting on in age?

Nonsense, any sport is centered around competiveness. If yo are not competing in sport whether you are 18 or 80 then you are missing out. Sport is about winning or at least giving it you rbest to win. If you guys think sport is for fun, then I sure hope you didn't watch the Boks this morning and say, have fun guys, we will enjoy watching you have fun. Doesn't really matter who wins. If you wanna sit in the bunch and have fun then go ride with an old granny bunch who will stop for tea with you.

Fun is doing whatever you need to on a bike to put a smile on your face. That is training or being a fun rider who stops at all the stops and feeds on all the free goodies. I think the Hub as a whole would do well to put their jealousy aside for people who excel in the sports and are able to buy/afford or be sponsored nice equipment. Post like "Your a chop if your bike costs more than", etc are just stupid. Let everyone ride their bikes and have fun the way they want to so long as it does not cause others to be unsafe or feel insulted.

Giant TCR Advanced for sure! What a bike! When I was choosing between that and my Cervelo a while back I spoke to a few of the local pros. Giant was big on their list.

I would go for the fastest one. See if you can pull any tunnel stats from American magazines or websites. Also look at the components they are fitting and frame sections. A TT bike need to be aero (obviously) so deciding on a TT is a whole different ballgame than that of a road bike. Can you upload pics as well as a full breakdown of parts? Would be happy to advise from an aerodynamic point of view. That is part of my line of business.

How fast do you guys go?

Hi All Does anyone know of any group rides on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the Stellenbosch area. Lookiing for A-C bunch level guys to train with. Anything up to 4-5 hours. Cheers, The_Break

Hi M I don't disagree that low GI eating is good for you in general, but I am referring to high intensity racing here. If you are racing at an avergae of 900kCal for 3 hours, eating low GI is just not going to get the food digested as quickly as a higher GI food. You are basically going to run out of glycogen sooner than you need to. What I am getting at is that eating with low GI must not be confused with racing with low GI at high intensity. Would you mind sending me a link or a reference to the testing with low GI food at high intenisties. I assume this is the testing you mentioned. Tim's times most probably improved because he lost excess body fat and was generally healthier from the low GI nutirition during non high intensities, but unless he had seconds on route he most probably was not drinking low GI during his racing or am I wrong? If I am right, low GI was not used during high intensities. One more thing I must ask, is 32GI one of the major sponsors of todays elite athletes and are they specifically targeting the top guys mentioned here? Specialized won more stages in the TDF than any other this year. That does not make it the best bike, it was just sponsored to the team with the best sprinter and lead out guys. Anyway, I do believe that there is to be a lot more testing put into high intensity racing and for extended times over 2 hours to see the actual effects of high vs. low GI.

Great saddle. I am on my third one. They will take a bit of getting used to if you have a softer more padded saddle currently. Seat was designed to only make contact on your little sitting bones and so when the nerves in these area deaden after a few weeks they seat is ultra comfortable as it does not cause your shammy to compress everything else. In fact you can go nice and thin and minimal on your shammy with this saddle. Set it up so that you are at the rear of the saddle with knee knob over pedal axle and nose at least as high as rear high point of seat or else you may slip forward. Seat allows for upward tilt in order to keep effective leg length when moving to saddle tip in TT and break away position. Nice saddle. Enjoy!

R10000 and your nephew got given one of them in the USA. I can vouch though, they are one hell of a crankset and from powertap data there is about a 50W increase in peak sprinting power between the Vuma and the DA cranks. Put the Zipp SL HB and Zipp Stem on and you can add another 90W. Stiffness is incredible for the weight.

Na mate, useless information but CO2 is the main emissions component from a vehicle and has a direct relationship to fuel consumption. CO is dependent on the combustion process and its efficiency and a few other factors. CO is actually a very small component of emissions these days.

haha, luckily the actual amount I paid for this bike out of my pocket was under the 20k chop limit. Sponsors are great hey!

If you are a chop for having a >20k bike, what would you be called for ahaving a 20k wheelset? A Texas Steak? 20k is not a lot of cash for a fairly decent bike these days especially if cycling is your passion and you enjoy spending your hard earned money on it. Probably less than some people spend on new rims or sound systems for their cars.

Just an update, the wife has agreed to unfreeze my bank accounts on the condition that I allow her to join in on the fun on weekends. Still trying to convince the girlfriend of the extra company, but if she ever wants to be able to enter my house again she may just have to oblige.

Eugene, I think you are correct, but I must say, sometimes ignorance is bliss. At least for my bank account.