Sniffie

AFAIK the organizers use your SA seeding index to do the seeding: http://www.saseeding.co.za/seeding-search/ How SA seeding arrive at the index is all explained on their website. They use the lowest index of the 2 partners to do the seeding and not the average. As Squier said everything will be sorted after day 1.

Those long term forecasts normally changes quite a lot as the date draws nearer. Hopefully it will change towards better and not worse! Starting in I in the race the about 3500 cyclists ahead could churn up a lot of mud.

If they were racing for a podium or category prize I am sure they would have received some sort of penalty. Not sure about the exact rules. Might have even received a penalty, but what is one hour, over 9 days if you are competing for 200th or 300th place. Great story Mudsucker, and thanks for sharing. I think they have done themselves and their brand proud.

Like Ysterperd said. Just on a side note, not implying that you did it, but never use any high pressure water to clean a bike. Plays havoc with seals bearings etc.

Thanks will do.

Thanks, Fanie & Rouxtjie.

I learned to do everything on my bike EXCEPT fork and shock maintenance. Rouxtie which site would you recommend for learning basic and more advanced service? (Fox). Where do you buy consumables? (seal kits etc), LBS for me is not an option and omnico, the agents for fox in SA, does not sell directly to public. What oil should be used in the fork?

Dean I am by no means the boffin on this thread, but there is research that points to a higher incidence of prostate cancer in men with higher intake of ALA (the primary type of omega 3 oil in flaxseed) The following is from Mark's Daily Apple and the references and links to the scientific papers are included in the article. My advice would be to use fish oil as your primary omega-3 source and keep the ALA on the lower side. If you’re a man? Particularly an older man? I’d definitely suggest you make fish oil your principal source of omega-3s. Is it time to chuck the flax grinder all together? Based on the research, I’d at least put it into semi-retirement. (I’d suggest forgoing flax oil entirely.) Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flax-prostate-cancer-risk/#ixzz2zZyz1PEd Fish oil, on the other hand for me always begs the question: How safe can it be with all the mercury and other heavy metal pollution of the oceans? One thing that one must take into account with all omega 3 oils wether plant oil or fish oil is that it is pretty unstable and gets oxidized very easily. So you should buy very fresh oil from a reputable source, keep it in a dark cool place (fridge) and discard unused oils six weeks after opening the bottle. How fresh is the capsulated forms of fish oil available to us? I mean how fresh can it really be? The first prize obviously must be deep sea caught oily fish, but for most of us it is not an option. The problem with the westernized diet is the high ratio of omega 6 / omega 3. For me part of the solution lies in avoiding as much omega 6 as possible (grain oils in all their forms; cooking oil, margarine, salad dressing etc) and getting your omega 3 from natural fresh produce as far as possible. This should include lots of leafy greens, grass fed mutton, butter, cream, beef and free range chicken and eggs, and as a second prize, if you cannot lay your hands on the fresh fish, tinned oily fish 2 to 4 times per week. Hope this makes sense.

Bit of a drive, but Clarens is a must do, first weekend of May. You will love it! You can always make a weekend of it with the marathon on Saturday and the half on Sunday. Autumn in the eastern Freestate is something to behold. Beatiful this time of the year.

We must have been quite close at some stage as I did 3:11. The bit of single track at the start was a new addition to the route and it caught me off guard as I got held up by guys not willing to ride the 2 bridges over the fences. I had no one to work with on the flatter part after the single track and before the hills started. Had to play catch up for the rest of the time, but I had a good second half and passed a few guys towards the end. I spoke to the organizers (Danie and Elmarie), they are looking at developing some more single track outside the reserve next to the canal and hosting a monthly event. You were not by any chance the guy I chatted to in the parking area before the start with the Prado (if I remember correctly) with the GP registration?

Any mineral oil will do. Mineral oil is mineral oil after all. Much cheaper at motoring supply stores like midas etc.

Hi MrFine I did the race. According to goudveldmultisport's website the contact person for cycling is Hennie Geel. henniegeel@gmail.com 0832655821 If he does not respond try Danie Theron. danie@spinfit.co.za 0845620634 Let me know if you get the results somewhere please. You travelled a long way to do a flat non technical somewhat boring route? I do agree with you organizing, route marking and vibe were top notch.

Hope you get it right because the Tacx Bushido is a great trainer and a wonderful machine.

Go to settings, then brake, then calibrate and follow the instructions. Not sure if this will have anything to do with your problem though. Any one close to you that has a bushido to help you out? LBS perhaps?

There is a very nice free app for the ipad out that controls the bushido. It then replaces the head unit. With the app it is an absolute breeze to create a new training session. With the head unit of the bushido it was a nightmare if you were trying to write a program with a lot of intervals. The app also has virtual reality and comes loaded with one VR route. Others are available as downloads.

Ok Dips I know exactly what you are talking about. It felt the same for me when I got mine. I overestimated my power and started of with to high power or slope settings. Drop the power at least initially and maintain a smooth cadence. Also make sure that your tyre is not slipping on the axle of the bushido. When this happens the bushido just ups the watts and it becomes impossible to pedal. Make sure the tyre is not greasy and that the pressure between tyre and axle is adequate to prevent slipping. Hope this helps.BTW how is the knee?

Staying away from refined carbs and sugar is probably just as important as staying away from tobacco products. Slow poison both of them.

Ideal MTB tyre pressure depends on a few factors. Most important your weight. Other factors being front or back wheel, 29 or 26, tubed or tubeless, type of riding, experience level. Here is a cool calculator that takes every thing into consideration: http://mtb.ubiqyou.com/

Not good advice to take a NSAID before or during exercise! This is serious. You can end up with kidney damage or even worse complete failure. Plenty of info on the subject here on the hub. Ask any of our resident doctors like V 12 man. Enjoy the argus without any painkillers or NSAID's, it is far safer. Trust your body's endorphins to produce the pain killing!

Grrr!! Double post.

I have also read the book and it struck me as well that their is no specifics regarding load (quantity). The first thought that enters my mind wrt Maffetone training is that more is going to produce better results. Up to a certain point off course. The next thing to consider is your personal training goal. Is it just for fitness, completing a road race or competing in something strenuous like epic or similar. Thirdly I would consider how much time per week I would be able / willing to spend training. Lastly would be previous training and your current fitness. It would not be wise to kick off with a 14 hour week if you have never trained 14 hours before. Just one last thought, and I am not even sure why, but I would try to include one session on a weekend that is at least twice as long as my longest midweek session. I would be interested in your experiences on the Maff style training Dale, as I am considering it myself. Will have to wait till after Sani though.

Lots of roundup ready (gmo) soya produced in SA. Don't quote me, but I should think more than 50% already. I dont know much about canola as it is produced almost solely in the Western Cape, but I think they do have some gmo cultivars also. AFAIK all SA wheat and peanuts are gmo free. Sunflower used to be gmo free, but I think the first clearfield cultivars were introduced in SA about a season or two ago. At this stage they are not widely planted and I think for all practical purposes the SA sunflower crop can still be classed as gmo free.

New FS MTB series.

20 September, just a week after Crater. Our race form part of a FS MTB series this year and I think it is the last race in the series. We do our best to remove or miss as much of the sand as possible. The route is really a gem and a must do if you live close enough. Hoping to see you in September!