sluiper

Then I'd have to start telling everyone I ride a fixie, and I'm already busy telling everyone I'm doing an Ironman.

How do you know someone rides a fixie? He tells you. And then makes a video about it.

I thought that was a pretty hard race. Boyes drive, Ou Kaapse Weg, Black Hill and then Smitswinkel :S Pretty much a climbers' race. Guys were going balls to the wall over OKW and lots of guys got dropped from the group I was in (including yours truly). There was chaos close to the end with cyclists having to dodge cars and weave between traffic to get through the course. The traffic officials were doing their best, but it didn't look like they were managing the situation well. Apart from the end, it was a pretty good race with almost windless conditions.

See, this is _exactly_ what happened last year and it put me off. Then you hear afterwards how everyone you know did two laps and no one got caught and you feel like a wimp for taking advice like the above seriously. You forgot to add that PPA will also destroy your bike, cut off your legs and come and sh!@t all over your lawn if they catch you.

Yes, you're right, you have the right to ride however you want and ignore people that are faster than you. In fact, you should probably just try and block them from passing. Who the hell are they to ask that you abide by the rules of road cycling? All kidding aside, by not keeping left you're being more of an idiot than people that ask you to move left.

I wanted to do it last year and was heavily discouraged by people saying the PPA would have me tarred, feathered and disqualified for life if I was caught, so I didn't. Then I heard about loads of people doing it, so this year the PPA moet maar catch me because I'll definitely be doing 2. I'll probably be in A/B, doing about 3:00 - 3:15 (weather depending) so PM me closer to the time and I'll ride along for the second lap. Editing for questions: 1. Is it legal to do 2 x loops? Against the law? No. Against the PPA's event rules? Yes. 2. What is the latest I can start the second loop (when do they open the roads again) 10:30ish, but you could start later as you'll be catching people very, very quickly. The people at the back-end are the bierboepens/MTB/RideOnceAYear brigade. I've seen people pushing their bikes up Hospital Bend. 3. Should I take my time chip off fro lap number 2? Yes 4. How do I get onto the route again for the second loop? Just join up wherever you like. It's pretty easy to find a spot just after the start. 5. What time do the last group go off at? 10:30ish

I'd set myself a budget and watch TheHub classifieds and Gumtree for a week or two to get a feel for what bike prices are like in that range. A bike's price is made up of more than just the brand (e.g. Giant, KTM, etc). The wheels, tyres, saddle, handlebars, condition and groupset play a large part in how much the bike is actually worth. You could put 2 near identical looking bikes next to each other and one could cost R5000 and the other R25000. Buying second hand from a shop isn't a bad idea, but know that you're probably paying R2-R3k more than what they got the bike for. On the bright side, most bike shops are pretty honest and they probably won't try to screw you over too hard. If you do decide to buy from someone else, make sure you take someone who knows bikes with so that he/she can give you an unbiased opinion of the bike.

Hmm, I don't know so much about that. Andy Potts (multiple IronMan & 70.3 champion) would probably disagree with you as he only rides outside for competition (http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/06/indoor-bicycling-training-%E2%80%A6-the-%22pros%22-outweigh-the-%22cons-%22.aspx#axzz2nMWvEQyL) Many other IronMan athletes promote indoor cycling as their schedule is much tighter than an average cyclist's.

I agree that spending time on the trainer is the most effective usage of your time. In my estimation, every hour on the trainer equates to 2 on the road. When you're on the trainer, you're so much more focused on the end goal, i.e. improving your performance, whereas when you're on the road you're spending a lot of time cruising downhill or slacking off. You can also work out a specific program with intervals that suit your fitness levels or goals. Apart from the performance benefits, you're safer than on the road, there's less wear on your bike, you're "at home", you can catch up on your favourite series, etc. etc. That said, most cyclists probably don't care that much about their performance and cycle for the enjoyment of it and to get out in the open air. You also lose out on the social side of cycling which a lot of people find important. I find I improve the most when I work in 1 or 2 trainer session during the week with longer rides on the bike over the weekend.

Actually, they used almost every race that wasn't a seeding race for me this year to determine my Argus starting group. You had the facility to see which races they used to determine your group and, if I remember correctly, they used Boeckaert Soenen, 99er and Tour de PPA for me. I think if you're a PPA member they take all PPA sanctioned races into consideration.

Why do you own more than a dozen FA items if you're so unhappy about the quality? One bad item puts me off for life. For what it's worth, I've had a few pieces of FA over the years and while they haven't been amazeballs, they haven't been utter shite either.

OMG!!!!!11!! We too crossed the white line!!!! I have no idea how I will continue to live if we lose our hard fought 189th place!

I never run marathons, but I do plenty half-marathons. I agree with the others: marathons are just too hard on your body and take too long to recover from to do you any good. After a 200km cycle/20km run/4km swim, I can still go swimming/running/cycling the next day, but after a marathon I'd be out for a few days. I've got Friel's Going Long and Triathlete's Training Bible. Both have some good stuff in, but triathlon is a very personal journey so you have to pick and choose what applies to you from his books.

The 16 hour program would do in a pinch, but I'd recommend a longer "long" ride and a few more days on which you do double sessions. Obviously, it all depends on your goal. If you just want to finish, the 13 hour/week program would probably also suffice. In my mind your level of fitness should be such that you should be able to do the following without any discomfort before the race: 3.5 - 4.0km pool swim 25km run 150km cycle

Nice report. Any more pics? I saw there was someone with a GoPro strapped to the bottom of his seat and a few pro looking guys snapping away. Awesome night (well, for the +1's in any case )

That was a very, very fast +1 group At one stage we were consistently catching the scratch group... Anyways, amazing ride by Uwe and the other boys who pulled us slackers along.

My standard route when I want to do some climbing: Ou Kaapse Weg -> Black Hill -> Red Hill -> Chappies -> SuikerBossie -> Constantia Neck (repeat until legs don't work any more).

Thanks for the update. Rocket make some great quality gear. The fact that their factory is literally right next door to my office also helps I've bought quite a few pairs of bibs from them and they've outlasted pretty much everything else I've bought. Will definitely look at buying from them if they bring something out.

Yip, definitely worth it. Great article on it here: http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273/ In terms of bang for your buck, aero bars are the cheapest and most efficient way to get more speed for less watts.

Cervelo, any day. A 2 year old bike has probably not been ridden much, so the components would be in good condition. Also, the Cervelo is prettier.

Perhaps a poor choice of phrase there?

Sure, that happens quite often. As there are only about 15-20 ladies in the Elite group, there's a lot less drafting.

Ha, yes, but it was all for nought When I got to the top most of the group were gone. And then we were forced to fall back behind the ladies, so a good time was kind of out the window... Anyways, was still good fun.

Jeez, I hate that stupid Bothmaskloof hill. Dropped my chain at the pump house, had to get off to put it on again, never saw the front of the group again. Ah, well, could have been worse. At least the wind wasn't too bad.

Sjoe, that would be nice!