Fast Forward

I cherish my life and good health. Firstly I make sure that I not only comply with road rules (written & unwritten) but that I ride in a state of mind prepared for any possible eventuality. No use to hope that motorists, cyclists or pedestrians will value your life the same way you do. I came to realise that, whilst cycling, its most of the time impossible to hear a vehicle approaching from the back. Motorists assume that you hear them & will make way timeously so they need not reduce speed. Motorists (not familiar to cycling) class cyclists as pedestrians and pedestrians expect cyclist to stay of the pavement where they walk. We don't fit the transportation profile in SA and it's not going to change soon - we are an aggressive country - nothing we can do there. If the cyclist is the innocent party he could always open a reckless/negligent driving charge against the motorist. Once a docket is opened the police are at the very least compelled to obtain a warning statement from the perpetrator and a prosecutor has to make a decision on the charge. A fine could be issued to the driver or he could be summoned to appear in court depending on the seriousness of the offence. Just remember, if you open a docket you may be called upon to testify. If the transgression is that serious, then I think we as cyclist owe it to each other to go to the trouble to have reckless drivers prosecuted. All you need is the reg no. The road traffic act has a presumption that the owner of a vehicle is the driver thereof. It would be good if you have a witness or other form of evidence to corroborate your story but it's not a train smash if not. I can relate to 2 instances where vehicles crossed my line and drove right in front of me. I luckily anticipated what was going to happen and managed to brake in time. It's amazing how cycling shoes can scratch a car......

Do a check with the investigator and prosecutor every 2 - 3 weeks in order for the case not to 'slip'.

So we decided not to race but rather split it up into 2 days. On Saturday 6 mounties did the route to Wakkerstroom. It was 115km long and took us 5h03 to complete. We did not ride at race pace but kept a steady average at 23km/h. We climbed 1350m. Some found it difficult - I enjoyed it. Very nice scenery - I think the farmers in that region use aeroplanes to get to their farms.. On Sunday we did it again - this time with the roadies. We were 6 again, but only 3 of the previous day rode on Sunday. We went via Amersfoort & Volksrust to get to Wakkerstroom. I'm no roadie - I battled. With the tired legs from Saturday and with such a long route I did find it more difficult. All comes down to fitness. It was 125km long and took us 4h34 to complete. We averaged 28km/h. The profile was very much the same with 1320m in ascent. It was a great weekend and test run. The formula for a race would thus be a 35min time penalty for the roadies to even things out. Next time round we'll invite a few clubs and do an informal race. Bragging rights par none.

I'll be 'driving' the route this weekend to check the profiles. We are still tuning & tampering @ the formula. My thoughts are that a good average for relative fit mounties on a district road over 110km should be around 23km/h and for the roadies I would guess about 30km/h over 120km. (this is thumbsuck) Thus 110 / 23 = approx. 4h45 for the mounties and 120 / 30 = 4 hours for the roadies.Iit therefore seems fair to give the mounties a headstart of about 35 - 45 min.

This will only be a test run. Like I mentioned, the mounties will get a 10 km plus maybe 15 - 30 min headstart. Once we have the results we'll get an idea of how to improve on the formula. We thought of swopping bikes the next round and compare times. problem is all the variants - skills, fitness levels, how you feel on the day etc... Still - it's gonna be fun. We'll use Strava as our measuring tool.

I do not think our roadies have it in them, but if they should import someone we'll look at increasing the delay with 25 min. I was also told that 100km for a roadie compares to about 70km for a mounty. This would imply approx. 30 - 40 min difference.

In an informal challenge@ Ermelo club the roadies and mounties have challenged each other to race from Ermelo to Wakkerstroom and see who gets there first. Our roadies will go via Amersfoort and Volksrust whilst the mounties will use the backroads. The mounties have an approx. 10 km advantage and will probably be given another 10 min extra. Distances are approx. 110km and 120km. There is no exact formula (yet) to level the playing fields. We'll see how it pans out. Any suggestions to make it fair? Feel free to join us - nothing formal.

Nice man...awakens the memories...makes me proud.

Here we go... 1. Christopher Froome 2. Alberto Contador 3. Cadel Evans 4. Ryder Hesjedal 5. Peter Sagan 6. Tejay Van Garderen 7. Pierre Rolland 8. Joaquim Rodrigues 9. Jurgen Vd Broeck Teams: 1. Sky 2. Garmin-Sharp 3. Omega Pharma-Quickstep

Look, I'm rather new to cycling and am still learning. That said - I'm definately moving towards servicing my own bike. I had this particular bike for almost 18 months and felt it required a proper service. I'm not really in the name and shame game - does it really matter what bike it was, save to say it's a dual suspension 30K value. At least it rides like a charm now - I can most certainly feel the difference. Reason for posting this bill is that i think other newbies should not fall into the same pit and wanted to hear what others' experiences were. Yes, I know I f--ked up - I learn and move on from experiences like these - self service and no loyalty to any bike shop.... best price wins.

I had my MTB serviced after Sani - I asked for a major service. Turned out to cost me R3200.00. Parts from Scott dealers alone were R1300.00 (seals & bearings). So, what did your service cost you?

Where do I get hold of the Racetec guys? I'm one of the legit A7 guys who did the whole 55km. I would like my results to be acknowleged in order to get a better seeding for next year. Know they sit with a dilemma which probably will never be able to be resolved 100% and also probably not their fault but rather the officials who cut the route short but I travelled far to participate and paid my dues.

Started MTB in January. Great sport. Wish I started at younger age. This was my first 94.7, started in A7 batch but pushed hard. We were 4 that took of quite fast. Believe I may have ended among the first 3 of A7 batch with a time around 2h55. Found it difficult to ride much harder with all the slower riders to pass. It drained a lot of energy to pass a lot of those guys. Personally - very chapped with myself.