dave303e

R340 and R339 will be fun on a gravel bike

While I agree on swimming needing 100% hands on coach keeping your technique on point. MTB you can have a pedaling coach and a skills coach. They don't need to be the same person and you certainly don't need the skills one to train you daily.

We have a backup power source to charge battery for rainy days so it is covered.

will try get it, it is one of the approved installers through the bank/hohm energy

As direct customers with a 3phase line. Our line rental is around 4k a month before we use any power. So economically it actually is going to work out cheaper paying off the solar. We also have no more 3 phase need here it is just a house and office and personal workshop. The house and garage are surrounded by old trees. We have an old concrete dam that I am converting to a shed. Roof is on, busy finalising a lot to get it to lock up before early next month when they are coming to install. The shed gives a big north facing roof which gets a full day of sunlight at the angle the installer asked for. The field around it is grass and is ours so nothing will impede the light. The installation will go right below the panels in the shed with AC power to the house about 50m away. The drop off is a factor but the volume of light was a bigger factor.

My statement about people doing an online course was a bit blanket. Like in your case it is a more wholistic approach which is a different scenario. Like a student doing holiday work or an appy doing practical and theory and gaining experience. You didn't just do 10hours online, set up a website and start charging 1k a month for online training plans. One person I have seen did the course and website, approached mutual friends to train them for a lot of money. Meanwhile their own training was so badly set up they were injured or sick monthly, made 0 progress in terms of pace, strength and endurance and just massively over trained doing 20 junk hours a week. Overtraining someone is easy, hitting the sweet spot is the key. If you can't look at your program and see how blocks, weeks, days and even sessions in the day have a clear and logical goal as part of a bigger plan tailored to your body and race goals. Then you may as well just stick to doing zwift plans.

Few technical questions- 5kw invertor and 14kwh worth of batteries - I need to put up a wall frame for it to be mounted on. Given it is going into the new gym shed. The installer reckons one sheet of plywood is enough. I had bargained for 2. But I am not going to be able to just quickly add extra wall frame and plywood the days he will install. Should I add some extra space for the installation as a fail safe? How much extra? Long term I also want it out of sight somewhat, can I do a cupboard around it with louvre doors and a vent above? Then who has disconnected from eskom directly recently(not from a municipality)? We have heard there are fees to pay. Others have said you just send a cancellation letter and they pull the links and then come collect the transformer when they need it? But no one has a direct answer.

A coach doesn't have to be able to ride 50km to be a good coach. Take someone like Aldon Baker, many will call him the number one coach in motocross and supercross. He is an ex mtb rider and a personal trainer. Not a motocross racer at all. But between 2000 (when he started with training MX riders) to 2020, he trained 15 supercross and 14 AMA motocross championships. Alsco for the cyclists here- check out alcavi bikes... Closer to home - my coach has many times said you should never run more than 100km, but he got me to a 23hour 100miler. Shaving 4 hours off my pb and doing it in a way that I was running again 2 days after the race with no pain at all. So a proven record does not have to be their own achievements, it can be their athlete's achievements. You will soon see if their other athletes are excelling or improving. You also need a coach that aligns with your mindset and situation. A professional athlete's coach is one thing, where the athlete's prime focus is train rest and recover. But many of us want to race like Pro's and still have full time jobs, family and social lives. Some coaches can run that balance and understand that need for a bit of flexibility. Other's not so much.

Just had a coffee >>>> keyboard moment. My office looks out over the back camp where our teenage calfs graze. It is lovely just above ankle grass at the moment. I happened to look up as one of the staff was heading to the far corner to fix a fence when his post lunch stroll turned into a 20meter hurdle session. He nearly stepped on a rather large mole snake that is living in some old burrows in that field.

A lot about a coach is also how you get along/how their style works for you. Much the same way some kids get better results under certain teachers/teaching styles. Some people need softer encouraging coaches, others need someone blankly holding them accountable and being a little harsh. I have had a few coaches and when you find one that works with your style and aligns with your inputs you do get the results. Beyond what a parent or zwift program will do. You don't necessarily have to like your coach. Remember at times they need to hurt you and you will swear at them. But you still need to be able to communicate easily and comfortably with them so you can align goals and outcomes. Also be aware of 'fly by nighters'. 2020 turned a lot of people into 'certified coaches' through online courses. I have friends who fall into that category and I would rather my kid chose another sport than let them be coached by these types...

I tried most of the above, seat mounted, bar mounted, stuffed in feed bag. If you are riding terrain 'gnarly' enough or fast enough to warrant a dropper it will not hold a bottle properly. My final resolution was to sell the bike and buy a dual suspension with 2 bottle cage mounts in the front triangle. For XC a single bottle cage is perfect, but marathon and stage racing it is a deal breaker in my opinion. Regarding camelbak options. A trail running pack with 2 soft flasks. is usually very comfortable and practical.

apologies, my pricing was a little off, I just applied inflation from when I last did it. But you can get to Lodon for around 9k if you book in advance and time it right. Train to Inverness is around R1200-R1500, R650 a night in a backpackers. So R14000 is closer to the truth. But it is not as bad as you think. Still relatively well priced.

looks like a really fun tool to have around. I have been eyeing and ArcDroid out for months now for use with plasma cutter. For me to make gussets, flanges and brackets quick and neatly it will be rather useful. https://arcdroidcnc.com/products/pre-order-arcdroid™-cnc-table-top-plasma-robot-ships-from-asia-warehouse

Tour divide is also 4,4 times the distance. So your Rand per km is a lot easier on the eye. But if you consider like Highland 550 trail. I know what it costs to get a bike and race gear to Inverness incl accom for 3 days before and after and food. You will still be half the cost of just the entry fee. Remember Munga also has extra costs, flight back from CT, bike boxing in CT, travel to Bloem, accom after and before....

Malle moto entry fees are a small cost compared to the rest... Your bike will cost 2-4 times the entry. The training on it will costs another 100k. 14 sets of tyres, mousses and a few spare wheels will put you back an easy 50k-100k. Let alone the tyres you will burn through training. You also get a lot for that entry. All food, a tent, all your fuel, transport of spares and box. Tyre changes, engine oil analysis, daily bike wash, medical cover. They ship your bike to and from EU. They do all the temp import permits and admin stuff. In terms of support- 7 planes- 11 helicopters, 110 organisers backup vehicles and over 70 doctors. It is at a different scale. That is a doc for every 5 racers.

Honestly - it is a free market, they can charge whatever they want. You can also not enter if you don't want to. I have been bugged by this whole thing for many years. I am slowly coming to terms with it. Doesn't mean it is a bad event. Just means it may not be the right event for you. For a lot the distance alone is the major challenge and it is convenient, gives good bragging rights locally and it is a known entity. Lets be real prize money is only really relevant to people who are probably getting sponsored entries anyway. For the enthusiasts with limited budgets thankfully there are many many options. Again free market.

It is standard practice in general. I had a KX250 brand new out of a Kawasaki dealer that was nowhere near greased as much as I wanted. Thankfully I am pedantic with things like this. I hade Bike addict deliver a new bike a few months ago, I immediately went to strip and add grease only to be very pleasantly surprised. So it is not always the case, but it is always good practice to strip a brand new bike and top up the grease. It is also a good time to check if your multitool can do almost all of the work so you don't end up on trail without a key tool. I had team mate who only realised mid race he didn't have the allen key to remove his front wheel on his new bike- Major stuff up...

I would be pulling the place that sold the bike over the coals. Because 597km means that they never greased or assembled the bike correctly in the first place.

My new bike has AXS, I do a lot of adventure racing, with around 500km of relatively unsupported mtb due at world champs next year I have been doing the math around carrying extra batteries vs popping regular derailleur on. At this stage I am also thinking of carrying spares...

interesting to see AXS in the mix for such a long race.

I don't have all the ins and outs, but what I meant with my post, is that if she did go out the gate a bit hard. We are all human, it is in our nature to give it all. Somedays going out the gate hard brings in records, other days it doesn't. Can't hold it against her for trying her hardest.

Side note- this is actually an internationally accepted and promoted standard. Where there is no sidewalk you should walk or run facing oncoming traffic.

Comes back to what @Paul Ruinaard said, they are more concerned with getting out alive themselves than with hurting you. It could well have been a dry bite and hopefully it was. Like the experimentation done on puff adders. Think it was a wits professor ±2012 who would track them down and then 'step on' and tease them with gumboots to try get them to bite. They were very averse to biting and would usually try stay camouflaged or his and move away.

With all the hype and excitement and what not, it is easy to just run on vibe and go out the gate a bit hard. I think we have all done it at some stage.

Ask the Knsyna/Brenton locals how the rat/mice population grew after the 2017 fires.