linnega

How else would you get home from work?

Latrinus doesn't have much to do - maybe he can vett calender entries? Seriously though perhaps CSA officials that are members could keep an eye on the official events in their area. The good thing about a Hub calender is that it could include church rides, charity events, "official" hub rides etc.

Oh boy. Another thread about what Schumacher is on.

Not sure that Giant intends the Anthem X as a trial bike. I would think more an XC/marathon bike with a leaning towards marathon.

I think his wife will get it for him

Porky- Have you been to the Tour. The vast majority of fans are not actually dedicated cycling fans, but dedicated Tour fans. The Giro is for conoisseurs, true Tifosi, but the Tour is for everyone. To watch the Tour on a normal mountain stage you need to be at your chosen mountain by 10am latest. Since everywhere is booked nearby, you probably need to stay 50-200km away from the mountains. To get to the top, you need to bring a bike or be willing to hike a fair distance, and the roads are closed about 2 hours before the peloton arrives. Somewhere like Peyresourde or the Aubisque takes an hour to get up, so you need to be on your bike three hours before the race comes through. Despite this, many non-cyclists can be seen riding their bikes to the top or camping on the mountains for days. The hillsides are packed with fans, and this seem to be increasing. I do however, agree about the P's. I tuned into Eurosport on my PC and watched the pictures on the TV yesterday. Kelly is definitely more insightful.

Because I can edit those' date=' but the default is Rookie. I changed the province because it had disappeared.[/quote'] sherbit, if the province has disappeared then this thread is pretty pointless, no?

Because I can edit those, but the default is Rookie. I changed the province because it had disappeared.

Count me in.

I believe they were indeed made by Gotty. In one of the musty old books I have about 70s bike builders - please don't ask me to dig it out, kills me with allergies. My 80s Peugeot Mirage had a Gotty sticker on the BB - not a proper decal though. Perhaps Gotty sold the rights to WF and they started importing Peugeots?

Two hours on a single hill is a bloody long time. I imagine I would have spent close to three hours on the Bonette alone!

Haven't looked at the worlds course but from what I remember it won't really suit JL. Perhaps he has a better chance at the Olympics? He will definitely be allowed into a break. The KOM is more concerned with GC and I think Lang is fried. look for JL and Tommy Voeckler too try and get away early today, and steal the KOM jersey.

Not tricky at all - it usually takes itself off and squirts all the sealant everywhere. Hopefully you never find out - the whole idea is to reduce the need to stop. You still carry a tube and simply insert tube after removing messy tubeless rim strip if you have a problem.

I imagine that advertising the 94.7 on TV is more about getting the sponsors brand out there than about attracting more entries. It is probably pretty reasonable advertising space (relatively speaking) and speaks directly to anyone with an interest in cycling ie the people that watch the Tour. Your R230 goes to funding the year activities of the organising committee. I don't think the route has anything to do with declining numbers. It is about as straightforward as a race of that distance can be, and it is shorter than the other classics. I am not sure that we will see much of a dcline in numbers at either the 94.7 or the Argus. The Argus will continue to be oversubscribed even if entries went to R500, and 94.7 has a local market that none of the other cities can draw on. The events that will probably feel the economic pinch are Amashova and the OFM Classic. The Jock has been impacted largely by poor organisation or poor perception of the organisation. The same applies to the Tour Durban and EP Herald.linnega2008-07-22 05:14:44

It's so much more fun riding with oil on your brake-pads though. Tried it after a lot of beach riding - meant wash and relube after every ride. The trip back home on the bike rack obviously shook oil on the rotors. Next ride was at Giba Gorge and I went straight out and up, so the first time I knew I had a problem was at the highest point overlooking Giba. Interesting ride down, especially since it started raining before I started the descent.

Eskom is a pretty good example. Bad business planning followed by cover-ups results in a national emergency!

In my book, that's the power of advertising, sponsorship and merchandising. PR is a very small part of this equation. However, I agree that shutting the gate after the horse has bolted is a bad decision. Getting into cycling sponsorship is something you do with eyes wide open. You know there is going to be a drug scandal and how you handle it is more important than whether the event happened or not. I questioned Barloworld's motives right from the start and I won't be surprised if there is an executive in that company somewhere with a very, very personal interest in cycling and Team Barloworld is an extension of his ego. It certainly isn't the best marketing ploy for the problem. However, now that they're in it, they should stay in it. Dealing with a druggie on the squad is easy - you push him out, you condemn his actions and you promote your stars (and pray that they're still clean). People won't remember Barloworld for drug abuse, they'll remember it for the cycling team. I also agree with you that the exercise was largely positive from an awareness point of view but I didn't see any follow-through. For instance, do you know that Plascon is a Barloworld company? Or Subaru? Or.... or. The only ones you may know about are the ones on Robbie Hunter's shoulders - Avis, I think. I think that's where the marketing was flawed. The campaign wasn't rounded enough and certainly not long enough. I agree with you, Johan. A number of us questioned exactly that. Barloworld don't use the Barloworld brand much in their various businesses and as a company managing numerous brands, they could have picked one of their brands to drive better awareness for their brand. Spectators don't care about corporate structures they just know the brand they see with the logo. My bet is that any of their motoring or consumer product brands would have been a better option. Of course, if the truth be told, as fans we don't actually give a damn about the sponsor's brand. All we want to see is the money being paid into the team.linnega2008-07-21 02:45:29

Well, it is good to see Hunter showing this type of attitude. His attitude towards Landis was far too forgiving and permissive.