Velouria

The one with all the antennas on top of it

The only difference I could tell was that in the race the stage winner get prizes, fame, glory, podium girls etc, while the stage winners of the adventure get given doughnuts and forced to eat them on stage as clearly they climb too fast and need to be weight down.

For a small town I'm always amazed at the cycling dynamics in Hermanus. If you ride with rider A, then you can't ride with Rider C, and if you wear Company X's kit then the morning group Y doesn't want anything to do with you. Buy a bike part from shop I, and mention you saw the same thing in shop J and you get a death look...

ummm - Minty is a Hermanus local. And PPA have the info up on their site about the trails: http://www.pedalpowe...ese-mtb-trails/ Back to the original topic - you can also do some dirt road riding along the Karwyders road, or head up the Valley towards Caledon - not terribly exciting, but a good enough work out. Perhaps the best thing to do is get a lift up the valley with the kids, and then freewheel all the way down to the Engen...

Euodia developed those trails with funding from PPA. You can also try the Urban Assault at the other end of town

Or the Maties rider in the A bunch who tossed his bottle going down Chappies. I think he's been watching the pro's too much...

I am keen to hear too. I know you can head off on the N2 towards Jeffery's, and then ride into Patensie and up Berg Plaas - but that is a long way to drive for a ride...

Then you missed about 19999999999 crashes 1. UCT 2. Edinburgh drive 3. Blue Route 4. Boyes (at the bottom) 5. Past Simon's Town, going up to Smits 6. Fast section after Smits 7. Bottom of chappies 8. Just before Blues in Camps Bay 9. Famous left hander before circle onto Beach road in Sea Point Granted - I do sat at the very back of the bunch, so I get a good view of all the action

It was Vets and Masters in the same group as the ladies. Sub Vets had to ride with the Elite riders. The real solution would be to do away with age based racing and introduce categories based on ability. People of equal skill and ability get to race each other, and the guys who ride a road bike once a year get relegated to the seeded bunches.

My Pick n' Pay only has banana, and it's the one flavour I don't like. The Crunch is also quite nice, but also rare as hen's teeth. FutureLife will be introducing a strawberry flavour in April.

And your partner (and he will break you too)

There is not a single piece of flat road in Mpumalanga - it's either up or down. That said, it is a fantastic event, well organised, beautiful scenery, a challenging but doing route, and great bike racing. The two man team idea on the road works well - adds a new dynamic. I "raced" with a mate, while our wives had more of a fun ride. Show me a water point at any other race that serves vodka shooters and pizza. My race report from 2011 is here

Don't worry - it's just talk. I know he is going to be carrying 3 tubes, 4 bombs, half a banana tree, and 6 PVM bars taped to his top tube. He has a standing duel with his brother, and should his brother happen to beat him because of a puncture, Foe Fighter might be forced to give up cycling for good! I also might not be able to ever speak to him again should that happen. Oh, and to stay slightly on topic: Tube Levers Pump Bomb 2 Gu's Two bottles of Game Beer money

Get as many people to do as much for you as possible - budget dependent. Mechanic, massage, lunch etc. Try to spend as much time off the bike doing nothing. Always eat all your meals, even if you don't feel like it. Eat as much as you can. Communicate with your partner - have the same goals and objectives, and let him know how you are feeling. Slowest rider sets the pace. Sun protection for your lips Ear plugs Avoid taking a tent anywhere near the toilets Take a camera along - stop and use it. Duct tape and cable ties can solve most emergencies Get into a routine as soon as possible - wake up, toilet, breakfast, toilet, pack bag, get to start chute, have 6-8 hours of fantastic riding, bike wash, lunch, showers, massage, afternoon nap, mix bottles, dinner, bed. Repeat x 8 Enjoy the Epic experience - hanging with the foreigners, chilling in the chill zone, the views, the scenery, the riders around you - everything that makes the Epic such a special event.

What the heck is a hand up? The A bunch is agro enough - you swerve sideways 3mm while taking your bottle out and 176 riders k@k all over you, while the other 143 grab brakes and lock wheels. Do this hand up thingy from the back of the bunch, out of sight of all the grumpy riders who didn't make Elite/VA/VB and you should be fine. I'll be near the back to check it out - keen to know what a hand up is... I'm hoping the A bunch can make it onto N2 before we have our first crash...

Then a 29er dual it is (as much as that pains me to say).

How tall are you? How long will Trans Karoo take you? Will this be the same bike you'll use for cross country and marathons and ultra enduro's? I think you have two options - a 26inch dual, or a 29er hard tail, depending on your answers to the above questions.

Err - watch out for trains?

Cool podium pictures - in a parking garage??

I think you missed my point - I only wanted a time based challenge when lumping all sports together - making it easier to compare the effort people are putting into different sports. If you only ride on the road - please ignore this conversation... Anyway, all my training is time based (and yours should be too). If the program says do 4 hours, I do 4 hours, even if it means riding around the block 5 times to get the extra 3 minutes.

One of those mysteries that no one knows. Up there with JFK, missing socks, and belly button lint... Do what I did - mail them a ranting raving letter about this same problem. They'll ignore you outright, but you'll feel better for having vented. Then carry on with your life.

But I am busy peaking for Fun Ride World Champs - perhaps next month when I have a free weekend

Thanks DisyLizzy - I think this makes it more of a challenge, the big winners both being mountain bikers. And it's good to see new faces on the board as well. (Didn't help my cause at all, but closed the gap to CVANC a little)

My point exactly - but only when comparing different sports. I did 330km in 24hrs on a mountain bike, which I can do in 9 hours on a road bike (or six hours on the rollers). Overall should be about time spent exercising, in any form, and the only way to compare is to use a common unit. The Overall challenge is the only challenge where people who do different sports can be competitive. I'll never be able to compete with the guys who do just one sport as I split my time up into several sports. Just saying.

I see the Tour de Langkawi is on at the moment. Where is the SA team? Seems like we've gone from having GC contenders to not even putting in a team. And I bet CSA will blame this on Pedal Power, Cell C and anyone else they can think of...