Hennie VR

Ok that explains it.Well dont put to much pressure on yourself to become pro. It must stay fun. And set realistic goals for yourself because if you set unrealistic ones you will not achieve them and that will demotivate you. Aim to do well in 40-50km races by end of next year, then 70km races by the year after and then become pro the year after. 3 years with the correct training. As for gym exercises. Yes they work, but dont go and build monster muscles because that = weight. Weight that you will need to carry uphill. Focus on strength and stability. Plenty core (abs + lower back). For my legs I only use body weight and phisio ball.

Excuse my ignorance but do you want to become a pro in 15-20km races or marathon/ultra marathon (70-110km) races? because the latter is a whole different story to 18km.

Sure. But for the amount of participants the races are catering for these days you will have a lot of jeep track and dirt roads and that is where they make up time lost in technical sections. It is also much easier for a roadie to learn to ride technical than for a mtb'er to go and train for 4-5h+ on his bike.

One cannot expect to be able to ride a race that lasts about 3h on 3h worth of training. For that you should be on the bike for at least 4-5h so that you can ride at race pace for 3h and not worry about your fitness letting you down. To be pro you will need a BIG fitness base and that means long hours in saddle. Yes you can surely use the gym for strength and I would suggest you do plenty of core and stability exercizes because it will help you al lot. But you wont get fit in a gym.

Only way to build good strong endurance is to get on your bike and go ride. The longer, the better! That is why roadies are so competitive in MTB these days.

Hahahaha! SIES!

Mega Lube perhaps? They are based in Somerset West

I just googled my registration number Seems it's clean. Hahaha

That's what happens when you dont tip the car guard!

Damm, I would have loved to be a SA Champ at that age! Come to think of it, I would love to be a SA Champ especially if it means I get a sponsored F Type

Congrats champ What age category is this for?

Never did those but sounds great. Had a look on their 2008 Dirty Double race profile and it might be the same route (part of) we did years back. As far as I can remember it was called the Groot Marico Mampoer Classic........ in fact I think it was part of the Drifter series then.

I rode the very first Marico race as well years back. Now that was an awesome route! You cross the Marico river about 9 times whilst going up and down the valley. Some spectacular views on top of the mountains on most of those farms. The Marico river is so clean in the valley that we filled up our water bottles with the fresh water. Later that same year we did like a fun ride (+- same route) and on that day we rode as a group and stopped at some of the water crossings to swim and enjoy the views. I would love to do that same route again.

Dont think it's flat! Here is a profile of the race we did. Not sure if it's going to be the same route though. http://app.strava.com/activities/57635249

Did the race earlier the year in Groot Marico. Great fun! Might just do this one as well.

The are posted on Photo Marx website. Link: http://www.photomarx.co.za/

I cannot see why they won't be allowed to ride. As long as they wear a helmet they should be allowed to ride. Is there a special category for kids riding single speed rigid bikes?

There is another Hubber that had his bike stolen and the police recovered his bike and another. He already fetched his bike. Maybe the other bike is yours. Contact him, maybe he saw the other bike or knows what bike it is. Here is the link to that post: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/128245-stolen-merida-matts-3000-lite-parklands/

Welcome to the Hub. Pity your first post isn't under different circumstances Hope you get your bike back. Keep an eye on Gumtree, OLX and Junkmail. They might try and sell it there.

I must be a total NOOB because I thought there is no way someone rides up there! But if I lose 10kg more it should make it easier Thanks for the feedback Tim and listening to all comments.

Hahaha EINA!!! Hope this was after the ride!

Wonder how the bachelor is feeling? See they had a whole search and rescue team on standby

I rode behind a High school boy (had his school cycling kit on) on the Tyger Vally College race. We got caught up in slower traffic in the single track in Rosemary Hill as well. He also asked to pass even though there was no space to give way. I eventually rode into the grass for him to pass. I kept up with him and he eventually got caught up behind two slower lady riders. His asking became shouting at the ladies and was border lining on verbal abuse later on. There was nowhere for the ladies to go and you could see that they started panicking. At this stage I lost my sense of humour with this guy spoiling what is supposed to be a fun event for everyone and told him to back off and wait for a section where it is safe for slower riders to give way. Slower riders is part of every race. DEAL WITH IT IN A PROPPER MANNER because it’s the same for everyone. See them as the same type of obstacles as rocks and roots etc. Every rider pays their entry fee and has as much right as the faster rider to be there. What I really don’t understand is that all the very TOP riders don’t shout at people and expect them to literally get off the track for them to pass. They calculate where they can safely pass even if it means going through a peace of felt. They will politely warn you that they will be passing and to keep your line. NOW THAT IS SKILL. Generally the top riders are a very nice bunch of guys and it’s the wannabe race snakes that spoil the image of other riders.

I enjoyed the race even though I need to replace my chain after all the sand mixed with the lube. I went for a sub 3h especially after I managed a 3:05 on Trailseeker1 and TS2 was classified as a flat&fast one as well. Well I did not manage to get the sub 3h but I did manage a sub 5h I just started to fast and had nothing left in the tank on the last 15km. Personally I don’t mind shorter distance riders on the route. I sommer pass them through the bush if I have to or I’ll pass left after politely informing them that I’ll be passing. One criticism/request I have thought is that organizers please make the climbs ride able. The climb at 60km was just not ride able. My legs were stuffed after walking up there and started cramping soon after. A possible solution to the shorter distance riders joining the longer distance is to host the race over two days like the MTN series. That way the racing snakes can race and the shorter distance riders can enjoy the scenery that the longer distance has to offer also they don’t have to worry about getting out the way of faster riders. This is not ideal and posses many other challenges.

It shows on the seeding email that you recieve.