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I was just reading some of the nutrition topics (looking for V12's post) and read a bit about the 32gi. I must check but I think I was drinking the endurance drink (I usually drink Cytomax). I suspect this may have had something to do with it as I see that for high intensity riding (yesterday was pretty intense) you should try their other drink - Accelerate.
OK, got my seeding and as it is my first big road race I just have a quick question on how it works.
My race number is D 3482. So I presume I am in batch D? So my wife is in CC. How does it work if I want to ride with her? My start time is 6:47 and her 8:23. Can I just go with her and start with her? I am not concerned with my time at all. I just want to enjoy this ride with my wife. Do I need to make arrangements with the race office or will it not matter if I start anytime later than my seeding?
You can start later than your group but not earlier. So you can happily start with your wife. Just know that you will be riding with the "riff raff" if you start at that time. I use that in the nicest way and knowing that I was in that group a few years back!
So yesterday I did the Midvaal Challenge and I hit SUCH a wall at 90km! WOW! I have done this a few times before when I first started racing (hit the wall I mean).
I thought I was a bit wiser now and know how to pace myself but I went too hard at the start and BAM! Payback time came along. First 90km average was around 31km/h. Last 10km average was 20km/hr odd. Eish! Feeling quite depressed to that I missed 3 hours by 30 minutes as well - not even close! I keep hoping it was just a bad day.
Thanks for teh responses. I have entered the Midvaal race. There is something about the intensity of riding in a race that riding on your own (eg at Suikerbosrand) won't give you. (or that's my experience).
Hey there guys and gals. I have just seen that it is 86km to Midvaal from my home to race in the midvaal cycle challenge this weekend! I live in Randburg (Randpark).
Anyone keen to either catch a lift with me and share petrol costs (got a double cab so can pop up to 3 bikes (maybe 4) bikes in the back plus have a rack that will take another 4 bikes at a squeeze).
Alternatively happy to catch a ride with someone and contribute to fuel.
ONLY thing is I have to be back by 12.15pm LATEST as I have to be somewhere by 1pm!
Anyone keen to help/be helped?
Something I have done a few times is to have the cable that controls the tension just lightly touching the rear wheel - result = burning rubber/plastic smell. Just ensure that your tensioning cable is placed so that it doesn't touch your rear wheel at all.
Hey - can anyone recommend any good road rides (or even MTB rides) to do before 94.7? Want to get in at least one more good road ride before the event and time is running out!
Another few pointers. Make sure you prepare early - ie not at 11.45pm the night before the race. Get out your racing kit, your sunblock, your bottles, your spare tubes, your cleats (if using), sunglasses etc. Check and DOUBLE check you have all you need (HELMET!!). Then pack what you will wear on race day out somewhere convenient for easy dressing in the morning. Ideally lay it out in the order you will dress (more or less).
Put the rest in a kit bag. Do NOT have 15 things lying around that you will need to remember at 4.45am on race day. Get out your breakfast and have it ready. Put your bike in/on the car. Treble the amount of time you think it might take you to get to the start. There is nothing worse than FREAKING yourself out as you sit in traffic and the start time is 3 minutes away. But if you do miss your start time, relax - you can start later.
On the race, as someone already said, TRY not to push too hard particularly those first 50km. You will SUFFER later if you do that. Hold a bit back. And try to find a bunch that is riding at a comfortable pace to ride with - if you can do that on your first ride you will find it MUCH easier.
Finally, you still have a few weeks - see if you cannot do at least 1 race beforehand. Nothing like a race to iron out the gremlins in your race plan! Good luck!
Firstly, that's not great to hear. Whilst it doesn't excuse this, perhaps the fact that you are NOT in a remote spot makes people think that they don't need to worry to help as much because you are within walking distance of the tar road and theoretically, a lift from "someone" else.
Another thing is people have no time, so if you have scheduled a 2 hour ride, to take 20 minutes sorting out someone else is an appreciable chunk of your ride time. Again, not saying it's cool but that's my 2c.
I had a kinda similar experience yesterday Riding my MTB home and on the LHS on a tar (regular) road. There was some rocks etc right next to the road that made it impossible for me to go "off piste" and a runner was coming down the hill towards me. He didn't move off the road at all. So I just stayed on the LHS and it was one of those "chicken" moments. I kept thinking that he would run on the side over the rocks (not that hard - I would have done that if I was running) but on my bike, it would have required me to ride over some rocks about 20cm high - not possible. He ended up moving out further into the road at the last moment and then he gave me this LOOK like I was the devil!
I was laughing a bit to myself about that!
Amazing that everybody just seem to take in that Armstrong doped! What about all the other guys? They all still had a choice you know! If we have to start taking titles away there will be no race with a winner the last 10 years (or more)
I think you are 100% right. Which is why it is very unfair that eg Contador had his title stripped and it was awarded to Schleck when there is a very high likelihood that Schleck ALSO doped. Fact is that it seems that in order to be competitive, you HAVE to dope and there was that article recently which showed that the performance of athletes has dropped in the last few years - almost certainly due to more stringent anti-doping efforts. But it also shows that ALL the top riders are riding faster for longer and that is highly unlikely due only to improved training, nutrition etc as why would performance now be dropping?
The thing is though - the top guy gets the most attention. That's how it always goes. So LA gets a lot of heat because:
But I agree - he is NOT alone.
Wonder what the wife will say if i came home with this?
Where are the wheels? 
OK, now that you've tried everything and blistered your paint, cracked the frame, bust a gut and cursed a bit, do it the right way.
Aluminium oxide is the culprit. The post was probably greased before inserted. Water gets in there, forms an emulsion with the grease and then proceeds to corrode the alu. Aluminium oxide is a larger molecule than an alu molecule and therefore the alu oxide crystals expanded inwards, trapping the post. No chemical process will reverse this and no penetrant will work. Force may or may not work.
Saw the seatpost off, about 25mm above the top of the seat tube.
Now insert a hacksaw blade with the one end wrapped around a cloth and proceed to saw the seatpost lengthwise until you touch the frame. It is a long, laborious job but gets shorter with beer. Be patient, do a decent job and don't inhale that horrible carbon dust and don't get carbon splinters in your fingers.
Quality answer! Nice! The other answers were logical but this is the kind of answer you get from someone who has clearly got experience!
Price is the same
Then probably best to buy from the local dude for support reasons?
Why not complain about motorist continually breaking the law!
Never well maybe .ooo1% of the time overtaking cyclist properly and then probably tourist from Germany or Switzerland.
Motorist cause accidents by bad driving! When did you ever see an accident be caused by a cyclist going through a red robot?
Off topic. I would say most of us agree that driving in SA is risky and that many motorists are very poor. That's a separate topic.
I have myself seen an accident caused by a cyclist going through a red robot that caused a motorist to swerve and clip another car. So it does happen. Of course there are many instances of cars colliding with a cyclist that deliberately went through a red light. Car 1 - Cyclist 0.
Note how the thread was about stopping/riding/yielding at red robots
anyways... the point I was making, and which you've assisted with is that the judgementals here insist
1.) Stopping at a red light is an absolute
2.) Riding at a green light is discrentianary
Double standards? I'd say!
cheers
Yep - that's what happens when the rule of law isn't respected by all. Most people do still stop at a red robot but there are a reasonable number (a growing number) that don't. So as a person heading through an intersection with a green light, it is SENSIBLE to look left and right to ensure some *&^*&^ isn't going to shoot the light and T-Bone your car or bike and maim or kill you.
Its 6:00 AM, seems like a quite road and no cars from the front, hence you can pass them easily. I mean if I'm with you that cyclists should be considerate and its a completely different story on busy roads when traffic is bad, but I don't think that based on the picture alone this is the worlds greatest crime.
Zigackly!
I also get pissed off when guys ride inconsiderately but really, it's gotta be a bit of give and take. They were visible (ok the one guy seems not to have a light) but you can go around guys like that really easily. I don't think it's that bad.
OP - I totally get you so this is not a dig at you! I too can sometimes get annoyed with people who are inconsiderate.
BUT I think it's one of those cases where you should just take a moment to reflect that life's too short and in the big scheme of things - is it so bad? If you get upset at every little "transgression" you end up so uptight. I learned to recognise this trait in me and just chose now to NOT let it bother me. Much happier!
Interesting! Does put it into perspective. Those guys are strong!
I have seen quite a bit of debate about group riding, wheelsuckers etc and people get quite uptight about this whole thing.
As someone who is "self-taught" on many of these things, I thought I would do a bit of research on how to ride in groups, because as I see it, if you are in a group, the leader must pull over when he/she gets tired. But there seem to be some that think if you are in a group, you must "take" the lead - ie overtake and sit at the front every so often. Otherwise you are a 
wheelsucker !! 
This is how I have always understood it should work. Let's say you are in a bunch and are leading the group. You start to feel tired so you pull over out of the paceline and let the next person take the lead right? If you do this, unless the person behind you actually FOLLOWS your wheel, those behind you are forced to take a bit of time at the front? Surely this way you deal with wheelsuckers and everyone (or just about) in the group has a chance to take the front?
It seems to me that some people seem to feel that if they are at the front and just ride and ride (and don't pull over) then those behind them are classified "wheelsuckers" which is nonsense as far as I am concerned. If the guy at the front is tired, MOVE OVER! If you don't move over, then you are:
Please feel free to correct me - if I am mistaken in this I am happy to be educated.
I found a few useful videos online that may be of benefit on this topic:
Slip Streaming:
Rolling Turns/pacelines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S129pCsN-YU&feature=related
Pros doing a classic paceline:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbqZCrqV_wE&feature=related
Then just for laughs and those that take themselves a little too seriously
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJAsUHsmJAo&feature=player_detailpage
2
Apology accepted. Let's move on..."I'm sorry, I'm wrong/did not understand" works better!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasmshame man. rather stay anonymous. coz after agreeing with that nobody would want you in the peloton/their bunch!
(Exits rapidly)
Fueling on long rides
in Training, Health & Nutrition
Posted
WHAT?!!
400km! Are you on a motorbike?