L46

On a serious note, they should try source Valverde for the next 15 years

Do both and you'll be in perfect shape at Race to the Sun

Just an honest question, why would you use the same route (in reverse) when you know there's a race in progress? I can only imagine the cars already on that road being pissed off by the many cycling groups and traffic delays, now you have another bunch coming in the opposite direction. Traffic marshals usually push the oncoming cars onto the gravel where possible, so I would guess they's do the same with oncoming bicycles. Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Nevertheless, just a question and thought, be safe out there

Super cool adventure and video... Those mountains are huge

You do what? One is never to old to learn new steering techniques I guess, I'm going to try this over the weekend

Don't use the scenery as any form of prep as you may be vastly disappointed coming back to the Vaal

A wooden spoon and an introduction to cycling handbook

Climbs R1.xlsx That's a real cool sheet, thanks I've added one or 2 major climbs that I've seen/done in and around Lesotho. Most significant; Sani Pass Border to Border comes in at 170.17 and Mafika Lisiu Pass in Lesotho comes in at 175.12. They both rate more than Alpe D'Huez, Tourmalet and Madelaine but Ventoux remains a monster. If you ever want to do a magnificent climb, go out to Katse Dam for a weekend and do Mafika Lisiu, it's smooth tar roads and traffic is very limited.

Yes yes, I wouldn't move from Trainerroad to Rouvy just for the routes, you get used to the video quite quickly.

Depends on how well the video was synced with the ride data and also smoothing (so that you're not riding 50kph on an uphill doing 100W for instance and not changing gears every second). Generally it's not an issue if you download routes that's well rated and not done by a complete rookie. I tend to find it's pretty close to the actual time/workout in terms of climbing a specific hill for instance, although I don't get out of the saddle on the trainer and you don't change body position so in that sense indoor can be tougher. There's also no stopping for red lights etc so the effort is constant. Smart trainer adjusts resistance automatically when the road grade changes and you need to change gear accordingly. Don't think ordinary trainers is that user friendly.

Hi, It works perfectly fine, lots of routes available to download and yes you can create your own. (Videos best recorded from a following vehicle). You can use google streetview as the video but I've tried that once before and it's not really smooth. Anyway lots of other HD Video's available. (The Team Cannondale Blend ride goes over chappies for instance). Cool thing is you download the video once and thereafter you don't need to be connected to the internet to ride it (For instance if you have weak wifi or no wifi at home). You can also create your own intervals and save it on your profile. Bad thing is there is no interaction with other riders like on zwift for instance. You can only see their dots if you join a race. If you get bored easily the user interaction of zwift adds another element to virtual riding that is determined by other riders which keeps it interesting. You can also turn where you want and turn around etc. For me Zwift is currently in the lead when it comes to sustainable progress. For Rouvy you'll look at the video for the first few times but thereafter it's only the numbers that's of interest. If you're looking for a training interval tool or riding the odd "real" video, Rouvy is perfect. If you want to race against others, join group rides, interact with others, do fun training intervals etc. I'd rather go for zwift.

Don't think he was referring to moving back from A to B or C for example. He referred to licensed groups (elite) vs the "complete noob alphabet soup" as he calls it. Yet some people have real jobs and/or other commitments and can't quite get to the level of the wannabee pro's that couldn't get to world tour level. Where does one draw the line then ($, VA, VB, A, B, C?) I'd say everyone knows what their own ambitions are but whichever group you start in there will always be a race within that group. I therefore fully agree with you that in the seeding bunches you should start where you're seeded to make it fair. For $, VA, VB etc you can just buy yourself a license and ride there, but you'll soon realize if your fit enough or not and move back to A if needs be. (I've never heard the front of A complain about licensed guys dropping back)

Imagine the lady at the Kulula check-in counter :-)

Each do their own I guess, but I'm with you 100% on this, if I have the legs I'll leave it all out there

Valid point and now that I think about it I agree with you, the egos are everywhere, my bad. Yes that crash was in A, luckily I punctured earlier so wasn't involved.

I had a real chuckle about this, you should've allowed them to go to the media so that they can name and shame themselves and we can put them in the gutter next time around or throw around some jokes. As a open rider it's quite funny to see the odd vets drop down (especially in flattish races and obviously races with prize money), then sit on the open riders' wheels and sprint for the finish as if they had a full 9 man lead out train around them. It sometimes gets real frustrating to be honest but I don't mind, racing is racing and each has their own strategy, although most of us is just having fun. There's usually the same bunch of open guys that can put down the hammer when needed to split the field and that shares the work equally. We race hard but I really don't mind any of them winning the race at the end. It's a bunch of chilled guys having some fun in open, if you want to call yourself a racer and boost your ego then buy a license and go ride vets. I'm glad you dropped the prize money G, as this will prevent some eco boosting in open.

No need to get upset about it, I just stated my reasoned opinion and I welcome other's opinions as well, that's what forums are for. A few fun facts, your seeding gets calculated from the difference between your time and the winner's time (which is not on an e-bike), not whether you were 40th 50th or 60th, so unless the e-bikes holds you up or something it does not affect your seeding. You can still work on your seeding and improving yourself. The truth of the matter is your position will depend on who else pitches up for the race, so unless your really racing for the win I'd rather suggest your start racing for time, or against that oke that you generally see in races. But as the majority of us agree on is that there is no place for e-bikes in this racing part of the field. You need to read the posts again. As for your own ambitions I fully understand

As much as I get a pain in my buttox when passed by an e-bike aunty even when out on a training ride, I totally agree with rudi-h's post. It happened the other day when I was doing a good interval session but couldn't catch up with the lady on a bicycle (e-bike) a few hundred meters in front. When she eventually slowed and I pulled alongside her she smiled and said "I'm sorry I'm cheating". I just joked along. Why am I bringing this up, because I'd much prefer her (and many others) to be out on an e-bike, enjoying nature and herself, than sitting in front of the telly watching series or whatever. It did not negatively impact my ride in any way, so why bother with the "cheating" argument. Now to bring this back into "racing". There is only a few of us really racing for top 10, podiums, prize money, sponsors etc. and I agree fully that there is no place for e-bikes in this part of the field (except for Stefan Sahm to bring us and the sponsors some much wanted race footage), as quite frankly it can become a dangerous situation when non-skilled riders mix it up here. But I don't have a problem with e-bikers starting in the non-racing groups or at the back and "ride" along and enjoy the event in a safe environment. We sometimes need to take a step back and see the bigger picture. If family members with different abilities can use e-bikes to ride together, or people with disabilities can enjoy a bit of freedom, it adds value. Yes I know most of us are competitive by nature, but to be honest, not many people will really care if one day, when retired or on your death bed, you tell them you placed 60th, 70th, 5283th in the Sani2C race or Cape Epic and you could've been 59th if it wasn't for the oke on the e-bike. I also see the problems with assuming everyone will use it in good faith and I can see why we want them banned as well. The problem is therefore not the e-bike, but the dof oke wanting to use it as part of mechanical doping to race with. The solution might be to allow them to ride, but don't give them a time, as I don't see any point in someone racing with it. In future some races might allow them and others not, it's really up to them which market they want to target. My personal feeling; E-bike racing: Absolutely not E-bike riding and adding value to life: With the correct rules and regulations and limitations, perhaps it may be possible, alternatively e-bike specific events.

Not saying I didn't enjoy it, just a bit different from previous years but the mix between day 1 and 2 was actually quite good Will always enjoy riding in Dullstroom and the other scenic areas where they host these events, that's why I go back.

I enjoyed the previous year's stage much more, doing the "kruisfontein" climb in particular, which is tough but very scenic and without the "gras polle". I think it might have been a case of not wanting to overlap half and full marathon distances this year as we did some of the "old" route on day 2. Also noticed that we didn't use much of Dunkeld's routes this year which we used for the latter part of last year's ultra. They were enjoyable but hitting that concrete climb early on might have created a lot of bottle necking. This year's first stage was a bit like a farm tour to be honest, lots of district and non-technical farm roads and the wind didn't help, but the second day brought the fun back a bit. Must be difficult to get land access, not overlapping race distances and find routes that suite everyone's taste, so all in all I take my hat of for Advendurance's efforts to still deliver top class cost-effective events in the limited time available. I've done Clarens, Champagne and Dullstroom this year and they were all good, although I must admit the first two suited my taste a bit more.

Or a plan B to deal with the protests

In cycling terms this would be like Greg Minnaar taking his downhill bike to the Tour de France. All that suspension and superb downhill speed, grip and skill will be useless in a calculated road bunch sprint.

Reply from Advendurance that the entries closes the morning of the event, unless sold out prior to that

Jip there's a lot of missing results, but you can log a query on the Racetec website and submit proof via garmin Fit files or whatever you were using. The guys are generally very helpful at Racetec. Also submitted my query just now.

Cav' youve beat me to it. BB go and buy a tent this week and go there straight after you've picked up your race number on Thursday already. You should be in the second or third row then.