Velouria

Doesn't count if you didn't buy it new in the 80s. My oldest piece of equipment still in daily use is my Avenir bike knife that I bought at Flandria in 1997. I've also got some Flandria tops from that era that I haven't worn in ages.

Slicks? That one rocky section at the end of Stage Two might be a bit tricky though. Slime tubes and liners will be fine - no need to do a tubeless conversion if you don't have to. Your only concern at Sani is mud, otherwise it's a pretty forgiving course with few thorns or rocky, technical sections.

Dude, it's the Argus - not some local church fun ride. It's not called the Fun Ride World Champs for nothing. Save the "lekker jol" for those small regional races like the 94.7. I'm pretty sure my missus would be keen to race your missus and you - if she wins the South gets two points! Foe Fighter - race two of the 3D loser competition happens this Sunday, and I think CrashTestDummy is eager to hand back the floating trophy - beware...

I thought the North had given up trying to beat the South. Glad to see this *might* be on again. South; A group ('cause apparently I suck at being a SubVet - thanks CycleTour); As fast as possible

Give these guys a call ( http://capecycletours.com/). I know they are putting on a 4 day self sufficient tour in the Overberg in 2 weeks time...

Just like at the 2009 Epic when Burry pretzelled his front wheel. Who do you think complained to the UCI about Max Knoxx getting a lift on a quad after giving Burry his wheel?

You got cow troubles? Could be more cleat related than saddle height related. Check your shoes, cleats, pedal float. Or it could be a muscle strain. Time for some rest and stretching?

Dude - this is a public forum. You shouldn't be sharing such info. Your reputation will never recover. Took me 3 years to get over being destroyed by the most unlikely looking woman at the Epic in 2009...

You're the pink guy I almost switched going up Fisantekraal hill after realising that I wasn't going to hook on to Fourie's wheel.... sorry

I was on my bike - it's quicker to get to work by bike than by car

I did miss a turn every now and then - it was either that or wave good bye. And each turn came so quickly. I made sure not to ride behind the C rider int he pink - it always looked like a massive effort go through after his turn

The only cops I saw this morning were setting up a speed trap on a downhill, ignoring the complete gridlock at the robots a few kilometers back. I'll certainly swap my cops for your cops...

Yeah - and boy did I regret it. 6 of us from Fruit Sellers all the way to Spier before the tandems caught us. Was a good work out though - the kind where you ask yourself what the hell you were thinking and where you are "recovering" at 170bpm...

Can't really call anyone before Hels a wheelsucker. They only appeared after Hels. It was that small climb past Fair View that got rid of the passengers, as well as the Fisantekraal climb.

Saw a guy at yesterday's race with "Jesus Saves" on his bike. I wanted to ask him if Jesus was going to pick up the Gu packet he'd just dropped...

Alphabet racing is very serious stuff - finishing 243rd rather than 242nd is hugely embarrassing. All those hours spent training, practicing how to wheel suck and avoid the front of the bunch would have been wasted if you hadn't emailed them. That and the fact that being classified as a Star is something you probably don't want on you palmarès. The front front guys of A-D stayed away the whole day

Might have some Argus entries for you...

Cost per kilo essentially means nothing - cost per hour of riding time would make more sense. A ride where it takes the winners 5 hours to do 70kms is going to have to provide more backup services (I would hope) than a ride where the winners do 70km in 3 hours. These graphs look like an actuary's way of reducing a person's life down to a set of numbers - the essence and spirit that make each event is stripped away. I hope no-one chooses which event to do based solely on these graphs.

I think the 3x10 gives you the best of both world - bigger big blade for cruising the flats (Baviaans/100 Miler style racing) and the insurance of a granny should your legs suffer complete failure on the hills. If you are keen to fit the correct blades for each ride that you're going to do, go for the 2x10, but if you're a lazy ass like me - 3x10 covers all the options.

Grape Escape 2011 - Stage 1. I think we must gone through 5 bombs, 6 tubes, a tyre and two rolls of duct tape. The only thing that made us feel any better was that Christoph Sauser was having an equally *** day with punctures. I lost count of the number of punctures I watched my partner fix The race report is here

It's times like these that I really miss Marius on the Hub. These seeding threads aren't quite the same without him...

Time to head over to Der Kaiser's blog (http://www.myspace.com/kaiserjan/blog) and relive the good days: "And lo, when the Jan passes by, there will be a mighty rumble, as though a thousand elephants were falling down a hill. And the sun will be blotted from the sky by the wings of a thousand ravens, and the hearts of men shall quail, and the hearts of women shall flutter (and then quail), and even the hearts of quail shall quail, and the souls of the weak shall be snuffed out like candles in the wailing wind that follows his passing. Then shall be the time of the Jan, when he rises from the earth and takes his two thrones, one for each thigh. And then the world shall weep." - From the Book of Jan. Also known as the NecronomiJan. Ivan Basso is getting those finishes not because of the Ivan Basso. He is getting those finishes not because of his team, the CSC. He is getting those finishes because of the Great Yellow UniBalled One. I am being saying to you, how much time do you think I will gain on the Basso in the time trials this year? 2 minutes? 3 minutes? Oh, it is to say please. CSC is not the Discovery, and Basso is not the Lance. I will be time-trialing that little spaghetti-legged hairball into the dirt. I will be cleaning marinara sauce out of my spokes for weeks. Let the Heras have his Veulta, and let the Basso and the Salvodelli have their Giro. But the Tour? The Tour is mine. Q. Oh the Jan, you are dark and evil and blah, blah, etc., etc. So. What was with "The Look" everyone talks about that the Lance was being giving you in the 2001 Tour? Shoe - from, oh, let's say, Closet A. Yes, well, it may be being hard for to you to be believing, but even with one ball, that guy is still a massive d!ck.

I don't think I am skilled enough to be able to feel the flex. My lack of technical ability probably masks any flex there might be.

Been riding an inverted shock for 5 years now. Quite sad that Maverick have stopped making the SC32. http://www.maverickbike.com/user_files/file_29.jpg http://www.maverickbike.com/user_files/file_132.jpg

Please do