Yang

Here's my cleaning equipment. I only use the parafin once in a while since it strips all the grease completely. I spray the chain, let it soak for 10 minutes. Then I spray the cleen green, let it soak for 10 minutes. Then I wash it off with a gentle spray from the hosepipe or from the spray bottle. No scrubbing or brushes needed. I learnt this from the LBS when I told them that the normal cleaning stuff was too expensive, and they let me into their secret. Then I take my bike inside after drying and spray Mr Min. I use Mr Min because my bikes are female (I don't mount male bikes) and they like to smell nice, except for my MTB which is on the butch side and doesn't like smelling nice. Just be careful where you clean with the parafin. I put braai logs under the groupset to catch most of it. Then as Stewie says, lube your chain properly afterwards.

. I'm at a sugar estate north of Maputo. On a sad note, I came across this puffie this morning, after nearly riding over a snout nosed cobra. I saw the cobra on my side of the track going into some grass and my mate was heading straight for it. I shouted and he did an endo, nearly landing on it. It cleared his sinus- really funny. Then about 500m on we saw this chap, head crushed in. A few k's later we came across a Mozambican cobra which had been decapitated. Really sad. I haven't seen so many snakes in one ride- all over the place.

.... the little green grass snake. Brought in by my cat. I took Bertha out today and set her free in bush far away from human habitation.

Every training ride I go out with the boys turns into a race. I'm NOT complaining- I am one of the boys.

Get yourself a TacX Fortius. Its not cheap, but it makes such a difference to the quality of your indoor training, and it will last you for years. Avoid hooking up your carbon bike to an IDT. Rather get a second hand chromoly frame stuck in a dusty corner in one of the bike shops or off the Hub, set it up the same as your racer, and then you can sweat on it and cycle out of the saddle, without worrying about damaging the frame. I use an old chromoly Trek 470 with old RSX groupset, with a 7 cog cassette, and I get a workout on it going through the TacX routes that are better that the quivalent time spent on the road- not as enjoyable, but a solid workout- helping me to a couple of PB's over the past year. I use my old tyres on it with no problems. If you can't get yourself a computer based system, you'll need a fair amount of discipline to climb onto a static IDT 2 or 3 times a week. Its best to use IDT programmes that take you through aerobic, power, strength and speed exercises agaist heart rate. Weekdays that's about all the training I did for about 6 or 7 years. PM me if you want me to email you the IDT programmes I have.

This will be VERY interesting. Having seen stolen bikes in my area in Mozambique, and having returned some to their owners, it will be interesting to see what is really happening. I haven't seen stolen bikes out my way now for some months.

Cycle Lab should have used a picture of Ali in the ad- she's better looking. Then at least if Ali sued it would have stayed in the family.

The best thing to do is to hook up with the local riders who do MTB routes in the area every weekend especially now leading up to the Jhb2C. I know that from Nelspruit Nico Bell from Bell's Cycling goes out every weekend on 40 and 70 to 80 k rides. There's also a bike shop in Sabie that should point you in the right direction.

Easy- just cough really loudly and clear your throat as you come up to overtake. The more sensitive guys are less likely to take this personally, unless you discharge from your nostrils as you go past.

Very good of you FW. You didn't consider auctioning them off?

Guys, for those of you who don't know.... You all know how Lance tweeted in Aussie and Ireland that he was going for a training ride and people were welcome to join him and 1000's did? Well, he wanted to do the same thing in Cape Town. Someone with influence warned him against it. Imagine the scene- thouands upon 1000's of cyclists coming out. The traffic chaos would have been worse. The scenes would have been apocalytic (for the Slow 1's who tend to be minus IQ'd, that means disastrous). So if it had not been for 1000's of fans, finite road space, and individuals on the ride who would be embarrassing to be associated with, especially the Slow 1's, we could have had the opportunity to ride with him. Congrats to all who rode with him. May you long cherish the experience, and share the story with many, of the day that you rode with an institution and a living legend.

I'm in.

Thats alot of upkeep. < id="gwProxy" ="">< ="jsCall;" id="jsProxy" =""> Yep, I'm a bit thin on the off-road stuff. And Peach, its actually less upkeep, because you spread the use, ear and tear between your bikes. My race bike Chorus 11 would wear a lot quicker if I used it on my IDT and for training. When it eventually wears out, I will transfer it to my training bike, whose gruppo will go onto my IDT, ..... A lot cheaper in the long run.

Every proper cyclist should have the following: 1 x road bike on an IDT, chromoly steel. 1 x road bike for training (your old racing bike) 1 x road bike for racing 1 x MTB hard tail (unless you've sold it for the DS) 1 x MTB DS for training 1 x MTB DS for racing. That makes 6 bikes. Repeat for each member of the family.

My conclusion - Suction kits make you feel good about yourselve (which might not be a bad thing, but could be false security), but do not influence your management of a snakebite, which is "get to hospital, quickly". I've used Aspivenin for years. Excellent to take the sting out of mozzie bites and there's no need to use that anti sting cream which always wipes off by accident. Also used it for a couple of infected bites caused by a little stinging insect out here which causes an infection within days and normally has to be drained out. Fortunately no snake bites yet. They try to slither away from me in panic (they aren't used to humans trying to catch them) as I run after them or pull them out of bushes so i can drop 'em off in unpopulated areas. Mainly Mozambican spitting cobras. The only thing I found about aspivenin is that the suction fittings eventually crack, and now the nozzle of the one I have now has also cracked. Will get a replacement asap tho'.Yang2010-03-05 12:28:21

Arrange for someone to tell her that after just a few days she's already getting a bigger bum. Sounds t?like your wife's a toughie- all the best to both of you for taking up riding together again.

Will you be at the Argus expo? I need some bombs and lube, cheaper than anywhere else (that's why I stock up with you and noone else, so don't go doing anything silly with your prices) Take some Conti Gator Skins as well as their ultralights, otherwise I'll have to buy from someone else at higher prices. Please. Thanks.

Yep, sounds like the same problem as mine. Mine is with the left arm, and while I am riding I feel no pain....except for when I pull up to jump the front wheel. Then I get home and park off and the arm starts to hurt when I've cooled off. Its hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain is, but its from the elbow half way down the lower arm. But the weird thing is that after the Sabie this weekend my arm has been fine!? I'm relieved but don't know how long this will last pain free.

The Chelsea supporters Garmin stayed fixed- it was another Englishman mate of ours. Otherwise IC did the 75km and came in at 4:05, 33rd in his group. I checked an email from him this morning and he's already trying to talk us into the KalChal in July.

A mate of mine was riding so hard at the Sabie that his Garmin 705 had enough and jumped out of its bracket. He went back to look for it but couldn't find it. If you came across it, please pm me.

One of the biggest myths ever, perpetrated by some lazy fat old fart years ago who didn't want to change, it got written down and passed down through generations, finally to be believed and used by people like you, thereby perpeatring a lie, which has become truth in the heads of millions of sad little people, by the power of the self fulfilling prohecy.

One of my books talks about ribose, but it says that for it to have a significant effect (eg, up to 9% more power in comparison to placebo subjects), the exercise has to be very intense, long, and must have anaerobic bouts. If you are a routine exercise you will not see a benefit. So if you're training intensely to move to a higher level of fitness or in competition, you will be running your ribose stores down enough to benefit from it. Rooney just scored! 2-1

For those who have done the Panorama, would you recommend a change to compact if you're doing the event? I can choose to modify a bike that has the conventional Campag Chorus 11, or a bike with Record 10.