ccc2

so entry fees of R1.2m don't cover the cost of running the DC.

i'm refering to the DC sponsors ie Coronation

i did the very 1st dc from Charles Milners farm just outside Stellies, it went over Fhoek pass, Bainskloof and then the R45 back to stellies. gale force s-easters all the way to franschoek forced us to ride on the wrong side of the pass and then again all the way to worcester and till the bottom of Bainskloof. then we hit the heat in bains kloof. riders were dropping like flies. then they had 2 out and back dc's over fh pass because of the cheats taking short cuts in the 1st one. then we had the longest one at 228k's in the 4th year which first made a detour thru Paarl and past the VV prison before tackling FH Pass and then Bains kloof. the ceres route was the toughest and this latest one the easiest imho just a thought - what do the sponsors sponsor, the entry fees should cover costs if it doesn't then can someone explain why it doesn't.

imo , the old school riders left in the sport havn't embraced modern training methods and maybe they relied too much on old trainin regimes (ie race yourself into form) with a little bit of synthetic help. the brits are now dominating on the track and road becos their governing body has poured a lot of money into the sport and employed sports scientists to get the best out of their athletes. my biggest concern though is that they head hunted a lot of aussie coaches who weren't shy to experiment with PED's.

the rain is predicted to clear on saturday avie. just in time for some racing

if Froome "bonked" or had a "bad day" in the mountains, what about all the other riders in the tour who trailed him up the mountain. i don't have the answer, just asking the question in response to the anal commentary from P&P.

the circuit is 2.9 kms

my prediction was a few stages out

i noticed that the Sky team was missing in action and left the yellow jersey to fend for himself in the last few k's.

maybe Movistar will try and get Rui da Costa in a move on the flat stages - see if Sky can defend the yellow. it should also benefit the sprinters teams if Sky have to chase all day.

they knew they were going to lose the yellow. more importantly is to ask where was most of the team on stage 7.

what is the latest with this case?

find friends and routes where you can ride 2 abreast and just ride,talk,joke,laugh,sing and enjoy your health. if that doesn't work it's time to find another passion.

very nice route - be sure to have a plan B for any mechanical failure - a bit tedius to push the bike back from Wolesly if you run out of bombs,tubes or break a chain.

i've read it - i'll pull it apart in less than 5 minutes.

yes, the ppa have sponsored the wp schools association to send kids to the youth festivals. in previous years the ppa and wpca have worked together, more recently the ppa/wpca ran the 2012 spring league. yes, ppa will help any club, even if it is affiliated to wpca, if they apply for funding. ppa have been excellent in this regard. they only pay out on receipt of an invoice for hardware so you don't get cash if you are successful. i am not that close to the politics to feel how cold the 'cold war' has got but i do know that neither side will back down.

this is a more accurate: the csa is my legal father but i live in my step father's house owned by the ppa. every time i ask my father for money he tells me he has 8 other mouths to feed and i must rather ask my rich step father as he only has one mouth to feed. iow most cyclists in the wpca an affiliate of the csa are also members of the ppa

just isolate the west cape for a minute. in other provinces, cycles events are organized by a promotor, they pay R7 levy per rider to csa who then pays R4 of the R7 to the local region. in the WP, the PPA are the promotors. they have never paid over the levy hence the WP are not rolling in money. whatever we have have done has been self funded (just like the recently completed winter league). ppa have helped with the wp schools academy which draws its members from the clubs. wpca clubs and its members coach the youngsters - kinetic, Mohammedeyah, City must be commended for its youth policy. CT Giants,Cedar, Siphiwo have recently joined wpca with a large contingent of youngsters. equipment is an ongoing headache - hand me downs take on another meaning i been to 3 youth festivals with my son and the wp look like paupers compared to other provinces. we take the biggest contingent of youth but provinces like ep, fs , nam are like pro teams, their youngster warm up under gazebos on idt's, it's an eye opener. but we'll carry on, regardless of the issues with csa / ppa i know where competitive cycling is going with or without ppa. keep an eye on the events page

just to bring some reality to the picture. i'm familiar with most of these clubs as they want to race in the wpca winter league and have shot a wp champs etc etc and maybe win some cash BUT their riders aren't licensed. some are and rode and joined the wpca as a fully fledged club - well done to the ppa i only allow csa licensed cyclists to race - they are NOT top end pro's just ordinary cyclists like you and me racing their bikes. a lot of the belowmentioned clubs want to race but can't even afford the entry fee. a sad reality. and unlike the ppa i don't have the money to subsidise them. PPA PROJECTS SUPPORTED IN 2012-2013 Cape Town Giants, Southern Suburbs Cedar High, Mitchells Plain Fairmount Secondary School, Lotus River Freewheelers Cycling Club, Steenberg Genesis BMX Club Heinz Park, Heinz Park Hex valley Secondary School, De Doorns Hout Bay Cycling Club, Hout Bay Kinetic Cycling Club, Bishop Lavis Lavendar Hill Secondary School Muhammadeyeh Cycling Club, Wynberg Rhadsport Cycling Club, Paarl Southern Cape Cycling Club, Oudtshoorn Southern Most Foundation Bredasdorp Steenberg High School, Steenberg Suburbs Cycling Club, southern Suburbs Yep Clan, Khayelitsha

we had to leave early , so this what we got along the route http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200130785133214&set=a.10200130667490273.1073741855.1258252442&type=1&theater

i certainly hope so. the route was clockwise from paarl almost the opposite to boulkert sonen which is a challenge in itself, which means most turn were across oncoming traffic hence our helping out along the route with marshaling. traffic services were tops. cyclelab and ASG really came to the party wrt the cash prizes and spot prizes. route was challenging, nowhere to hide. some of the stragglers should of tackled the 80 k event instead but hats off to them for trying.

Stefan Ihlenfeldt won the elites and a trip to italy. don't know the other placings or 80 k results. i certainly hope that this will become a feature on the wpca calendar. over 200 entrants - couldn't judge the nr of entrants in various categories but the 110 k race had a bigger field than the 80 k.

a fantastic event by Cyclelab & ASG we arrived at 7 bells in chilly conditions the 80 k's left at 9.30am followed by the 110 km race at 10.30am. here are a few pics from along the route and the marshaling point where i helped out at. unable to get any finish pics as i had to be back at home at 2 pm for a family braai or else my wife would have moer'ed me

ag sorry man.let me stop teasing you 2004 they amalgamated 2008 - sunset clause in constitution - do ppa stay in or withdraw from csa (basically if csa isn't working then ppa have the option to pull out). after very passionate speeches by various ppa exco committee members to withdraw from csa, the members present at the 2008 AGM unanimously voted to stay in CSA. that was 5 years ago. draw your own conclusions why ppa don't put it to their members now but would rather approach the courts.

20?? ....... no , i'm not going to reveal the answer. stew in your ignorance a bit longer