Blackadder

They have been advertising this a lot on the Tour of Utah live feed. Looks really interesting.

Normally I disapprove of the mixing of religion and sport, but in this case I will make an exception. Pope Francis blesses the Maglia Rosa

According to the press release attached (I presume you read that) a scheduling conflict with a political march planned for the same day. Of course that raises numerous problems, but none that justify the postponement of an even that thousands of people have arranged to attend. If you want to run a major national even you cannot change dates at the last minute.

This is poor form, and a slap in the face to people who arranged to fly down for the date on the advertised date.

I must say, horrid mud aside, the race was very well organised. Unlike previous years, the parking worked out smoothly. The signage on the 55km route was exceptional.

727m of climbing, not too bad. Only 1 serious climb. http://www.strava.co...vities/50053704

I suspect the wind will have had a much more significant impact on the lower order groups, many (most?) of whom don't draft for any significant period

That was my experience too. Shocking marshalling

Sorry if I am missing something, but is there number collection on the day? There usually is at races (not late registration, just collection).

Thanks for sharing. I had an aortic dissection in 2010, and have a stent as a result. Took six months before I could start exercising, I now cycle 6-8 hours a week. Only advice I can offer is to take things one day at a time, and not to do anything that involves sudden bursts of energy or acute stress. Oddly enough, the one thing my cardio insisted I give up was skydiving, for much that reason. Also limited to no weight training. I have an stress-ECG every six months, which is quite reassuring. I know your CAD is different, but if it helps, this is a handy website run by a triathlete with a stent: http://athletewithstent.com/2011/08/30/hey-fit-old-dogs-do-you-want-to-do-an-ironman/

Top end bibs are worth their frankly frightening price.

Expo is a fleamarket indeed, and nothing wrong with that IMO. Fantastic deal on the Suunto Ambit 2 - R1,500 off the normal price.

I agree. This was my daughter's third 94.7 kids race, and the best organised by far.

Certainly, safety standards appear to be quite minimal. One article I read recently suggested they have actually fallen over the past decade: http://cyclehelmets.org/1081.html The point seems to be that the standards are imposed on all helmet manufacturers, and they do not much more than comply at the lowest level possible. I like POC as they seem to be trying to raise that bar.

All helmets have to pass the same safety standard checks, so from a safety perspective they are very similar. The main differences relate to the straps, adjustability, etc. The one difference on the safety side, in my view, is the length of the helmet at the back. A number of manufacturers have started to bring out helmets that extend further down the back of the head, and protect more. The POC Trabec is a good example of this, see: http://www.pocsports...rabec-race-mips

I am in N too. Hoping for an sub-3:30.

This is what you need, an airbag scarf: http://sub.garrytan.com/want-the-airbag-scarf-that-replaces-a-bulky-bicycle-helmet-inflates-in-100ms-to-save-your-noggin

Nice trout, but is that a boga grip on a trout?

It's almost impossible to compare races accurately, I agree. Another difference though, is that whilst the total climbing is roughly the same on the Amashova and the 94.7, the decent's are completely different. On the Amashova you drop around 2,071 m, and only 1,259 on the 94.7. So there is a lot more fast downhill.

I use Mavic 721 rims with Hope 2 hubs. Works very well for me. To my mind, a better option than some of the more snazzy but lighter combinations available. Combo got a decent review on MTB UK: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/wheel-sets/product/review-hope-hoops-wheelset-10-37840/

Out of interest, if you compare the average speed for the winner, the 200th, and the median rider in each race over the past two years in which the race was held, the Amashova is consistently a bit faster than the Momentum 94.7. Amashova 2013: Winner (45.76), 200th (38.18), Median (26.88) Amashova 2012: Winner (45.39), 200th (38.76), Median (27.78) Momentum 2012: Winner (43.61), 200th (37.41), Median (24.11) Momentum 2011: Winner (44.35), 200th (38.35), Median (24.49) I would not read much into the median rider. The 94.7 attracts a lot more "once a year" riders and a much bigger field of under-prepared participants. The winning time is also less representative, as it is influenced by the teams participating and their tactics. I included the 200th rider as an hopefully more representative example of a very quick time in each race. Edit: Tried to post as a table, but it would not display correctly.

WebUpdater works fine on Safari and Google Crome

No

Strange. I have no problems loading graphs onto Garmin Connect via my Edge.

They are still [28 Oct] accepting late entry's on their website. Late entry fee is R400.