sluiper

Sure, I agree, it sucks. I'd like to know too. Would it stop me from entering the event as the OP intimated? No. I think that paying R235 is ridiculously good value for money when you take into consideration what you're getting for that amount of money.

All this moaning and gnashing of teeth about R35? Or even a yearly R75 membership fee? Look, I get it, life's expensive, inflation, kids car, etc. etc. But seriously? R35? How much did you pay for your last set of tyres? How much did you spend on Gu/GI32/(insert supplement) here last week? Every sport has costs associated with it. In my mind, after you've paid for your bike and gear, cycling's costs are minimal when compared to some other sports. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think that in terms of value for money most of the cycling events (whether CSA or PPA) rate pretty well. Full disclosure: I'm a CSA and PPA member and I've already entered

Well, I had beer from Windhoek the night before, and my times were so much better than a few months ago when I was drinking Black Label. So, even though I still love me some Black Label, I'm giving a big up to Windhoek for their excellent product!

Are you guys getting paid by 32GI or something? I'm glad if it works for you, but I honestly can't believe that a supplement could be the main reason behind your success. I'm pretty sure your training and conditioning have a hell of a lot more to do with your results than what you ate a few days before or during the event.

2:30ish.

Well, that was fun Anyone know if someone got seriously hurt in that pile-up 10km from the end in A group? Saw some pretty bad crashes into the guys lying on the ground. Looked like it hurt a lot.

A for me

I ride with it. I kind of see it as a consumable, i.e. something that needs to be replaced quite regularly. I usually replace mine every month and give the tape a good scrub with a brush when I wash the bike. All brands get dirty, I've tried most and there's very little difference between bartape that costs R80 and R250.

No, wrong again. American and South African law could not be further apart. I'm not even going to go to the effort of explaining the differing roots of the legal systems.

Quoting the definition of murder from Wikipedia just shows you have no knowledge of South African law. Murder is defined differently from country to country and our definition of murder includes the concept of dolus eventualis. If you don't like the law or the definition, go get your LLB, practice for many years, write a few textbooks on criminal law, become a judge and then try to change it. Don't come to a cycling forum and try and defend someone by pretending to have knowledge of something you don't.

No wonder you has such a fast time, you took a shortcut

Guess what Strava says...

There are a few reasons for this (IMO): I'm guessing you started with a lower seeding as you were on a MTB. Most guys/girls on road bikes you rode with probably aren't the fittest/strongest bunch in the world. As a road bike has a lower gear ratio than an MTB, their cadence would be lower and they would automatically be slower up the hills. Had you been seeded in A/B/C groups, you would probably not have had the same experience. Most roadies in that class have the power and endurance to keep a high cadence up the hills, and you probably would have been left behind. So, in essence, one word: gears.

My opinion: go 2nd hand. For 4K you can buy something decent in the 2nd hand market, but for that price you'll be buying at the absolute bottom of the range when buying new. Find a friend who knows something about bikes and take him/her with to check out a bike you're interested in.

Custom black and white spesh here, going for 2:45. See you at the front.

Michael Weiss, 2010 Ironman St. George winner, http://en.wikipedia....ss_(triathlete) Nina Kraft, Multiple Ironman winner, http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Nina_Kraft Mark Fretta, former ITU world no. 1 ranked triathlete, http://www.slowtwitc...retta_3219.html Lisa Huetthaler, 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Miami, http://grg51.typepad...ave-to-lie.html Sergio Silva, Gold Medal in ITU Duathlon World Champs, http://www.slowtwitc...oping_2580.html Stephan Vuckovic, Olympic silver medalist and Ironman Florida winner, http://www.slowtwitc...e_EPO__689.html Brigitte McMahon, 2000 Olympic Gold Medal, http://en.wikipedia....rigitte_McMahon I could go on, but I think the above names kind of make my point.

Calories in vs calories out. Nothing else. There is no way that you could not lose weight if you're expending more calories than you're taking in. Some other tips I can recommend: Training on an empty stomach, i.e. not eating an hour or less before starting your training. Lose the energy drink in your bottle holder and replace it with water. Cross train (as already said) two or more times a week, either swimming or running. Reduce alcohol intake to an absolute minimum Make sure you're not training at low intensity (heart rate monitor + zones) In the end, it will be a combination of what you're already doing and some of the stuff people say here. Nothing works for everybody.

Yip, was awesome

Afternoon ride on the way to Camps Bay...

Agree with most of the above. Dura Ace gets really finicky and needs lots of love and attention but shifts and feels like a dream when correctly tuned. If your budget can handle it and you want something that will keep you until you decide to turn pro, get Ultegra. If you're on a reasonable budget but want value for money and something that will last, get 105 or Tiagra. If you're on a very restricted budget and don't care about weight, looks or performance, Sora will do the job just fine too. If you want to feel European and want to look down your nose at all the Shimano boys, get Campagnolo. If you want to be cool and edgy, get SRAM.

I can't speak as to how far forward you should be sitting as that seems to be more of a personal preference, but I do know that the first few times in the aero position hurts. I've had stomach, rib, neck and back pain from sitting in the aero position for long periods of time, but it does get better after a while. You could try alternating from aero to a normal position and extending the time spent in the aero over time, e.g. 3 minutes aero, 3 minutes normal, 4 minutes in the drops, repeat. The above works for me on the trainer, not always possible on the road.

I contacted him and saw the bike. He wants R1500. In my opinion the bike isn't worth that. Definitely not stolen.

Finished stripping my bike. This is my training bike, so the final product doesn't really look awesome, but the stripper does work wonderfully. I had to put on 3 applications, with about 3-4 hours wait between each application. Afterwards I had a clear coat applied by a guy here in Cape Town. Here are some before and after pics:

Wow that was unpleasant.

Lots of triathletes have been caught and banned. I think most, if not all, of the pros are doping. I just assume everyone is doping: it's easier than having to deal with the disappointment when they eventually get caught.