Naushie

I use the chocolate flavoured 32GI Recovery mixed with half fat-free milk and half water. It tastes pretty good; if you use more milk and shake it enough it's like drinking a milkshake. I've been using it for about 5 months now, and it seems to have the same effect on me as the Biogen Recovergen, which I was using previously.

The problem with covering it is that if you don't use some form of moist gauze (like Jelonet) the bandages and dressings will most likely stick to the wound. Then when you take the dressings off you rip the wound open at the same time (been there, done that). Letting it dry leads to hard dry scabs, which itch like mad. In that case you either have to resist scratching them or scratch away and live with the scars (once again - been there, done that). Seeing as this was posted yesterday, I assume the area has already been cleaned. To be honest, if it was me, I'd just let them dry and keep an eye out for any smells or infection-like indications. I'd just clean the area everyday and use some Bactroban if it struggles to heal.

I ride the short distance races, but if I get into a group and I can stay with them, I will; wheelsucking all the way. If the guys at the front want to stay at the front and take us all the way to the finish, so be it. If they want the rest of the group to take a turn I'll gladly do my bit. Plus our finishes don't result in sprints, so there's no need to worry about that.

How does he find jeans?

Taken at Suikerbos: and... Taken at home: Canon EOS 600D f/5.6 1/400 sec. ISO-100 250mm focal length Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended

I guess I should now remove Frank from my TdF Fantasy League.

Suikerbosrand doesn't have traffic, besides staff vehicles (which go in the opposite direction to normal cars). Suikerbosrand is pretty safe, just be sure that you can ride the full distance and avoid getting stuck halfway without anyone to help you. Plus there are areas that don't have cellphone signal. I can't comment on the Cradle, because I've only ever ridden there once, and it was in a race.

Crunch was listed as a medium GI food on one website. I used to eat it, but only temporarily until Biogen started restocking their Energy Porridge. I think the Crunch tastes better than the original, but I wouldn't eat it if I had a choice.

I donated blood a couple of times last year, and I felt tired for about a week afterwards.

I lost my drinks bottle too. I lost it at 7kms in and had no other bottle, because I was only doing the 41km. Thankfully it was only 41km and there was a water point, so not having water didn't affect me. Reading the OPs post I reckon I got off pretty lightly with only a missing bottle.

I use strawberry flavoured Biogen Energy Bars. I just cut them into small pieces before the race, otherwise it takes forever to chew through the bar. Putting the pieces into a small plastic bag also helps, except if you'd prefer to spend the afternoon scraping sticky energy bar pieces out of your pockets.

I didn't even bother to watch it. The thought of Americans remaking a British show makes me want to cringe.

I was hit by snot during a race. Not a nice feeling. I make a point of checking behind me and moving away if necessary before blowing my nose.

I'm 17 and my resting heart rate is usually in the range of 50 - 55. 105 does seem quite high.

I did that with one of the High5 tablet things, but it was fortunately during training. I dropped it into the bottle, closed the lid, shook it around and put it into my bottle cage. I only realised that it was carbonated halfway around the track (Kyalami race track) when I pulled the lid open with my teeth and ended up with the stuff on my face, legs, shirt, shorts, bike and up my nose.

Everyone is bound to give you a different answer, because everyone prefers different things. I second HEman on the Game/Energade front. You can use the Energade concentrate and mix your own depending on how you like it diluted. I prefer Game because it isn't as sweet, which I find is much nicer than a sickly sweet drink. Otherwise try diluting other drinks, such as apple juice or flat Coke.

I used to eat FutureLife, but now I've switched to BioGen's Energy Porridge. I just find that it tastes better.

Where did it happen?

Were there more accidents in previous years compared to today's race?

I did the 62km, but entered late and ended up in FS. I really enjoyed the race, but the FS group was a bit erratic at the beginning until groups started to form. I really thankful for the group of 8 guys (I remember one guy being in greenOffice kit and another in yellow/green kit) or so who came past and let me in; without that group I would have ended up doing the first 30kms on my own. After the turnaround I lost the group and eventually joined up with a group being led by two guys on MTBs in green Get Amongst It (or something) shirts, and that group really helped. The roads were very well managed, as opposed to Emperors Palace. I didn't feel unsafe at any time and the presence of the marshalls was quite reassuring. There were quite a few accidents, though. I was speaking to a guy who had done the race a few times before and he commented that there weren't as many accidents in previous years. Fortunately all of the injured cyclists were being helped and looked alright. I'll definitely do it again next year.