Cacher

Wow....... This is my first Argus and maybe the last as I am then not sure if one will be able to get an entry again..... Cycling is definitely the new golf!!!!! How many entries were available when they opened it yesterday?

Phew, I could not be anywhere near a PC when the entries opened, but luckily my better half assisted. After waiting in the queue for more than an hour, I finally heard the good news : You are booked!!!! I reckon this was more hair raising than what the race will ever be. Good luck to those still trying to get an entry!!!

My Polar RS800cx (set to 5s interval timing) measured 1720m whilst the Blackburn cycling comp measured about 1800m, so I reckon we did 1750m of climbing.

Still sort of on the topic of both lessons learnt and the weather: Learned to cheat the wind by riding on sidewalks to get as close to buildings and boundary walls. Having a bell on the bike works wonders to get most peoples attention, that is now when they do not have earphones on. Why? August is extremely windy in PE, and yesterday I had a headwind of just over 50km/h. Phew, the legs feel like jelly this morning after timetrailing into that wind to be in time for an appointment. Maybe the legs are weak as the appiointment was an hour spinning class.... :-) Yip, definately warming up. At 5:30am yesterday, I was going like a rocket as there was no need for a jacket, buff and the like.... Come on summer!!!

Matching a vehicle's speed going down hill makes the cyclist and the "opposing" motorist in the lane next to you smile..... :-)

Almost took myself out cold this morning, whilst almost changing a car door opening from halfway to all the way to the bonnet........ Cars were parked parallel on the left of the road and to allow vehicles to pass me on the right, I am staying on the left of the lane. As I reached the boot of this vehicle, this guy swings open his door and literally jumps out. I VERY quickly swerved to the right whilst the guy almost jumps onto his roof from fright. Phew... close call for me. If he is a blood doner, he better go and update his details as his fright would have caused a change in blood group.... Lesson learnt : When cycling, be very careful of doors opening and when driving, have a extra look before opening my door....

That there is a silver lining to the roads that are cracked and has potholes when I remembered a slogan on a Merrell branded board : "That crack in the pavement is the earth smiling at you!"

Had a similar experience as Nathrix just now. On a super busy section of road with no shoulder or sidewalk, I had a car starting to move towards the right as I approach from the back to make space and let me pass on the left. Yay!! Yes, I have a magiclight, but being on the handlebar it does not help me much to see the watch and other goodies, and it is there that the 1 LED light on the helmet "shines" Other lessons I learnt from my first commute today: Having a very short cut hairstyle helps a lot in terms of quick cleaning and drying. To have a small oil fin heater in your office under your desk makes for a great "defrosting device", as well as to dry an item or two, whilst keeping the legs nice and toasty.. Keep in contact with the "rhythm" of the traffic. It is a living animal and can snatch and bite... but luckily no war wounds for me today. I LOVE my mtb as a commuter as I move with no effort from road to sidewalk to gravel where required... :-) Although the bike bell can be heard from a reasonable distance (if the person is not listen to music through headphones), I think I am rather going to get a whistle of some sorts to up the decibels. My track standing skills are going to be improving exponentially

Ok, so I have done it, but the day seems faaaaaar from over. What I have learned so far is: Read all the tips the Hubbers gave, remember it and implement it. That would have saved me going without deoderant, but luckily there is a shop across the road. Thinking you will have to go "commando" and then finding your underpants deeply tucked away in the backpack, results in a smile... Riding in jeans is not all that fun. I did not plan to put my foot out of the office today, but things changed since arriving at the office and then very urgently needed to see a contractor 5km from the office. Going into a meeting with lycra would not have worked, but I kept the cycling shoes on. Nobody noticed... :-) Only when I left I heard a comment : (gasp) Did you cycle to here (gasp) ?? At 5h30 in 7C with a strong wind at your back makes your mtb very easily cruize at speed greater than 30km/h. This gives me a smile the size of a 29er Layered clothing does not let you feel that 7C... :-) A single white LED strapped on top of the helmet makes seeing things in the dark much easier. Biggest lesson : I am having some serious fun!!!! :-)

Whilst I am a very serious Polar fan and despite the release of the new V800, I would still lean over to the 910xt, but only so very slightly. This being said that I do not have any personal experience of either of the units and only talking/typing from the reviews I have read on the Net. Once the V800 is being used and there are some reviews of it out, I am sure that it is going to give the 910xt a good run (or is it swim or maybe even cycle... ) for its money. What am I using? Well I used to use the Polar RCX5, but with the lack of altitude data, I am now using the Polar RS800 which has this feature and a few other I like, but unfortunately no swimming and direct on-board GPS tracking. Pity, otherwise it would have been perfect for me, but that is probably why they made the V800. As the other wrote, check out dcrainmaker. Happy choices!!!

Phew, "discovered" this thread Friday evening and now I have finally read all the post, albeit speed read through. Thanks to everybody with the tips, shared experiences and pics, as I felt so inspired that I am planning a commute or two this week. Went for a ride on the mtb to work and back this morning (just to check the time and possible routes) and no matter which one of two of the most direct routes I take, it is going to take all of about 25min at a very easy pace, so it is very doable (I raise my helmet 3 times in respect for those of you doing looong commutes!!) . One plus is the sharp decent on the second route where I measured just just over 60km/h, but that must have only lasted for a few seconds. Whilst short, it still puts a BIG smile on my face .

I am sure that it will be good as I have heard other members in the club saying good things about it. I actually wanted to try see if I can attend one of the sessions during next week, but with the holidays now upon us, I am not sure if it will be running. I attended 2 classes last night : 30min "Bums and Tums".... :-) and then went for the 60min "Power Pump" class. Whilst "Bums and Tums" sounds nice and cute, it was anything but the opposite. Basically inetrval sessions doing squats, lunges, jumps, up and down an aerobic stepper, sit-ups, etc. "Power Pump" was also about different variations of squats and lunges, but using free weights. Again there were sit-ups and the like. With all the squats and lunges that were done, my legs were SHATTERED. What was embarrisng about the whole saga was that I was the only man in both classes and I could not keep up with some of the ladies. More men definately need to attend these type of classes. A very good cross training session and I intend to include one or two of these classes in my programme per week. So, even if you are currently very cycling fit, do not be surprised if you discover some extra leg muscles with the 24 Class and the Killer Abs.

On Day 2 the medics were telling me they found a guy who had no brakes at all anymore and was braking by means of "foot to the tyre"... Desperate times call for deperate measures... On the event website, I see there is a link to the event photos. When I go the the site, I can not find anything. Any suggestions, or am I just too eager to see how I suffered during the race? :-)

Those burgers were just what I needed on day 2. My body "soaked" it up "like a dry sponge" so to speak.... :-) After giving the bike a good wash directly after the event, I yesterday took the chain and jockey wheels off, soaked in parafin and was schocked by the amount of gunk coming off...... Worse was when I ran a small magnet through it and saw the amount of stuff clinging to the magnet due to the metal shavings, which was most probably caused by the sand grinding away at the chain. Looks like a possile chain replacement now, as it definately stretched. Anybody had anymechanical problems? Luckily I only suffered a puncture on day 2. Would have been interresting to know how many bikes of each brand was there, as it was the first time I saw so many Giant bikes. It was tough race, for myself at least, and if I was asked if I will go back, then the answer is yes, 'cause I have a score to settle with that mountain...... :-)

Ok, so I have now packed for almost every eventuality, but I am not packing in the sunscreen...... Travel safe and see you at the start!!!