Velouria

You mean WIND guru? www.yr.no has a bit of rain in the early hours of Sunday morning...

Even that is part of the myth of Lance. Apart from losing a testicle, cancer didn't physiologically change him at all. He never fell into the category of weight weenie skinny sub-70kg climbers. His post-cancer racing weight ranges from 74kgs to 79kgs, and for a guy that is 5'5 or 5'6 tall, that's quite heavy...

Here is an interview with the guy that developed the EPO test and homologous blood transfusion test. He doesn't have an axe to grind about Lance, but he does make some good points about doping in general and the myth of Lance in particular: http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2009/michael-ashenden

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Found this cool site: http://www.dutycalculator.com/

New year, same old Hub. MorewoodMad, you should have left your opening post at: If you have an issue with the teams you mention, take it up with them directly. The Anderson and CTM guys are quite approachable.

I used to be a roadie too, but am considering calling myself a mountain biker. A pansy mountain biker, but mountain biker none the less...

I thought I was the only one who rode around all the jumps, particularly near the top. I suddenly don't feel like working at all today!

Here is a a race report of "The Biggest Cyclist in the World" or The Beast as he is more commonly known. And here are some photos.

Liberte?

There's something that the organisers of Wines2Whales could learn from - posting medals to participants. (And while we are at it, how about throwing in a bike wash as part of the R4k entry fee, instead of charging R60 a wash)

As much as I like riding on my own - I think the team dynamic makes these races even more interesting. No solo option. Find a friend and enter...

Can you mail my boss and organise that I "work" from home tomorrow?

Most places down here are safe - the only place I would worry about is Table Mountain. I tend to prefer Lebanon too - a bit more of a technical rush, while Oak Valley is more a manicured red carpet kind of ride. You know we're spoiled for choice when you can fill a week with riding at a different place each day, and still have places left over.

You're missing out on some of the best riding - skip Contermans and go over the mountain to Grabouw and Oak Valley.

Conti don't do a 29er UST Race King. But that said, I rode on 29er Race Kings last year without any issues. Maybe have a look at the Geax range - some nice tubeless options there...

Sent by his personal assistant - Sue Masey (kinda obvious)...

I rode past the scene this morning just after the paramedics had arrived. By the way they were walking away from the cyclist towards the vehicle I realised that something was seriously wrong. The guys bike was totally mangled - the rear wheel was completely shredded, and had been knocked out of the frame (and it wasn't held in by quick releases - it was bolted in). The guy was also lying about ten meters from the edge of the road, so I think he was hit at quite a speed. The sun was up, and quite bright, but at that time of the morning (6h50) it is already quite high in the sky. I felt quite vulnerable after that and when I got cut off by a taxi on the R44 I almost sh@t myself! Very sad indeed - condolences to the family.

From Competitive Cyclist:

The Rules of the Cog Rule #33 Shave your guns. Legs are to be carefully shaved at all times. If, for some reason, your legs are to be left hairy, makesure you can dish out plenty of hurt to shaved riders, or be considered a hippie douche on your way to a Critical Mass. Whether you use a straight razor or a Bowie knife, use Baxter to keep them smooth.

I like this report on PBP - the author came to the same conclusion: 1200kms on a bike is shear madness. Other tips for long distance riding - settle into a rhythm. If you're feeling good, slow down - the next bad patch is just around the corner. Don't push heavy gears. Break the ride up into mentally manageable chunks - waterpoint to waterpoint or something similar.

My race report is here. Good to see Sarel from our team last year on the top step.

Would the girly crank have slowed him down at all? In comparison, my whole bike setup felt like a girly bike setup...

My race report is here, although to be fair it's a race report for 150kms, and then turned into an obituary for the last 50kms...

Trust me - grabbing a musette is not as easy as the pro's at the TDF make it look. While I haven't heard of any serious injuries (I saw one guy with his arm in a sling and nasty roasties) from this weekend, it would have been carnage if the less experienced teams were given the option of feeding from a musette. We weren't even that brave. Rather have a blanket rule and make a few exceptions for the top teams. As it is, there is no love lost between the top teams, and so any slight infringement is likely to bring about a protest. I doubt however that any of these perceived infringements really altered the overall outcome of the race.