NGM

This guy can make make it right if he is mature enough. If he gives the lady and her daughter a heartfelt apology, admits his guilt (its there for everyone to see, as is his face) and pays double the damages to compensate for the window and all the unnecessary trauma and time wasting... We can do stupid things when there is a bit too much cortisol in the blood stream. But if you don't own it later once you've processed it then you are a coward and a chop.

Exactly. If I'm with a starting group where I'm able to decide when to take it easy and when to go hard, irrespective of what everyone else is doing, then I'm either gifted (not the case unfortunately) or I'm in a social group and not concerned about split times anyway. If I'm in a very fast group capable of a competitive time, my strategy is simple: "Don't get dropped". Splits merely tell me if I should be getting excited or not, there isn't much I can do about it.

HI All, Quick logistical question. I'll be staying in Rondebosch area (near to keurboom park) on the weekend of the CTCT. How do people in this part of the world normally make their way to the start? I'm starting earlyish (6:39). Its about 11km by bike so I'm happy to ride it. Should I make my way onto the M3 and ride the route in reverse down to the start? Or is Main road/M4 a safe option? Thanks

Have you ever said "Thank you" once to the wind though?

Yeah I know, and son-in-law to Raymond Poulidor, who apparently made the pie!

I see your pigeon pie and "raise" you ummm... ah just read the headline: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/mauro-santambrogio-testosterone-positive-due-fertility-erectile-treatment-150132

I think this is your best option for getting through it.... I don't know the person that posted this (and I don't know who Greg is), but I was very tempted to pop in for a champagne breakfast at Greg's house last year: Then there are several beers stops thereafter. Maybe it's on again this year. Worth a try.

I'll take your word for it, but that surprises me. Places like Eldoret in Kenya (2100m) are a conveyor belt of endurance athletes. And our biggest city is at 1800m.

If it's any consolation that's a great username.

To be fair, it's advertised in the "Frames" category so getting the wheel is a plus.

Looks far too windy to be riding outside anyway.

Gotta work on that 2min power.

Well organized and incredibly fun ride. I was in G and we caught F (or at least a huge bunch from F) just before halfway, making for a pretty massive group. Some riders seemed pretty keen on a game of chicken with the on-coming cars, but other than that it was plain sailing. Easy pace and I even had the energy to ride back home to stellies.

That looks easy enough, thanks!

So I've got a ride to the start. Can anyone recommend a safe cycling route back to stellenbosch? Once I'm on either Bottelary or Polkadraai I'm sorted, but a sensible route from the race end to there would be appreciated.

I've done little to no reading around this, but my partner started to do it and I joined her. Which in practical terms means that on days where I have not done a morning ride, I will not eat until 10am earliest. About 4 hours later than I normally would. It's been easier then I expected and my perception so far is definitely less fogginess and a sort of calm-but-alert feeling for the morning. This is all very "soft science" and nothing I've measured yet (although checking BP and heart rate wouldn't be hard at all). But my point is I've found it to be a net positive so far, and losing a few kilos was a nice side effect. I think a lot of our modern day eating and sleeping habits are unfortunate by-products of the industrial revolution.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Thanks Chris. Yeah I'm not TOO stressed, I was in two minds about doing this race so if it doesn't work out it's not the end of the world. I'm on the Somerset West side of Stellenbosch, Paradyskloof.

I didn't see them but speed wasn't my problem. I think it was the tears that blurred my vision.

So like a chump I thought this race was on sunday and domestic planning was done around this assumption, the end result being that I have no car on saturday morning. If anyone is passing through stellenbosch and is happy to give me a ride to the race start (and home), I'd appreciate it. Some info: I'm likely starting group D/E and don't mind getting there early/waiting late. I'm more than happy to pay for petrol I plan on picking up my number on friday, so could pick up yours too (if this is allowed at the 99er, I know people have done it for other races) and bring it to you the day before. DM me if you're happy to help. I'm expecting awkward silence.....

Side note: recent comments in this thread made my "engineer alert" radar start to ping.

I was thinking of laughing off the 99er because the last time I did it the beta was 0.94, which I naively chalked up to the fact that it's just a flat, fast course and will never have a high beta. I had also sort of counted my chickens with this race and was just about bang on your 3hr worked example; expected 28, got 33. But ok, I've actually bothered to read how they come up with that beta now, and its worth turning out for the 99er. edit: corrected historical 99er beta.

Valid - will take on board. 👍

yep, no worries. As I see it: A slow moving car/truck/bus is almost certainly not there for their own amusement though. So again, their hobby is not making someone else late for work or dropping kids off at school. So you can understand why people don't get as angry. A bus also doesn't have the option to ride single file. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy social group rides and wish cyclist were given a bit more leeway. I'm just surprised that this part of the problem never features in the discussion. Heck I personally wish cars didn't even exist, but in the absence of decent public transport a lot of people here are locked into cars for essential travel.

I agree with this sentiment, but for me there is a very important distinction between people riding because they are going to the shop/work/running errands/have no other option VS those riding for fun. One type of rider is replacing a car and deserves to be the highest priority on the road. As a driver I will never be irritated with this type of cyclist. But when somebody's hobby is making somebody else late for work, when I can very easily empathize with car drivers for hooting at people riding slowly and 2 abreast. It may seem trivial but to me the distinction between whether a cyclist is replacing a car or not makes all the difference. One is taking away from the problem (congestion), the other is adding to it. The people in this cartoon have long pants on so will give them the benefit of the doubt.