HappyMartin

What an awesome finish. Qhubeka looked the business

Haven't done this race. Going to put it on my must do for next year. As it is I think the Amashova a much better race than the CTCT. No hurricanes and it never burns totally down.

Love Landies actually. Always notice them on the road. Particularly the Defenders. They are stunning looking vehicles. Last week I was driving and in front of me there was a 110 with a sticker that said " I would rather push a Landrover than drive a Land Cruiser". Had a good chuckle over that. Never had the guts to buy a Landrover myself. I drive a Landcruiser.

I used post here quite a lot. Tried the LCHF diet a number of times. As a vegetarian and as a meat eater. Reasons have mostly been to lose weight and ride well. At the moment I am eating carbs again. Last year I slipped badly with my diet and stopped riding. My weight went up 10 kg to 84 kg, half way back to my fattest of 94kg. Depressing really. So in January I got back on the bike, it was painful, and I made dietary changes. I was tired of craving carbs and of being fat. I was tired of being unfit. I was looking for a sustainable lifestyle. What I learnt is I am most likely not carb intolerant. I know the good professor says the vast majority of people benefit from the diet but I seem to be able to reach my goals in other ways. I have chucked out all sugars unless I am actually on the bike. I eat carbs but in moderation. The earlier in the day the more likely I am to eat carbs. Breakfast is mostly porridge with lots of butter or coconut oil. Lunch is a little brown rice, lentils and quite a bit of protein. Supper is an oily salad or nothing at all. Fruit is snacked on in the morning only. Make sure I get 8 hours sleep a day. Lost 8kg so far this year. Cycling well. 12 to 16 hours a week. Yoga three times a week. No mad food cravings at all. Easily cycle 4 to 5 hours at moderate intensity. Recover well. No injuries or illness. Level tempered. Digestion great. Like so many smart people have said on this thread, you must find your own way. Experiment. Be honest with yourself. Fat is not the enemy. I learnt that much as least.

Nice looking. Hope it comes to market

Told my wife my grinder cost about ZAR1200. Actually cost about 8 times that. Oh well. This coffee thing has been loads of fun and now and then I even make progress. I have always struggled with a particular bean. Yirgachef from Ethiopia. Had a very good cup of this coffee from Origin in Capetown but it always came up a little thin and sour for me. Well today I tried it again and I nailed it. Purged the very hot water in in my Oscar before pulling the shot. Then the moment it blonded I stopped it and it was at about 25 seconds. I was making a capuchino and decided to keep the milk towards the cool end of the range to keep it real sweet.. It was heaven. Best cup I have made ever. Just had to share that.

What a sad thing to happen to this great event. I would be so disappointed if I had entered. Its just one of those things though. Sympathy to all the disappointed people. Having toiled through this thread one thing bothers me a little. If someone is upset at the organization, or feels a better alternative could have been found, it doesn't follow that the person complaining doesn't care about an old lady whose house burnt down. Or doesn't care about burnt animals, or about hardworking fireman. It's a different issue. It reminds of of the days of PW Botha. If you dared to criticize him or his stupid policies you were automatically a communist. Well same thing here. You have a right to not like the shortened route. It doesn't make you a hater of fire victims. Different things. Logic.

For the sake of those riding this weekend I sincerely hope the wind doesn't blow. That would make it very unpleasant. I'm holding thumbs for everyone. Awful that this happens at any time but I really feel for the people that have prepared and planned and are all excited for the weekend. The CTCT is organized by top people and if anyone can pull a success out of a potential disaster it is them. Last Argus I did was that very very windy one and that was well handled. Best wishes to all involved.

Don't get me wrong. I think DSTV is flipping expensive and there is little worth watching. However what I do like to watch I will pay whatever is asked. I would not be happy if I couldn't watch worlds for example. Or the Roubaix( are we still allowed to use that word or can I be sued?). I wish there was an alternative but it needs to be simple, reliable and top picture quality. At the moment I don't see it so I have to pay.

Would love to give up DSTV but one question. I am watching the Proteas smash the windies around the ground. Live in full HD. How easy would that be to do without DSTV. For me that's the acid test. Can I do that and can I do it with the press of two buttons?

I train using a HR monitor. Have done so for years. It can get a bit complicated and I still don't understand it all When training base I was told to keep my HR below 150 and to aim for 140 most of the time. Then I move onto speed endurance training and push my HR to just below my threshold. This is around 174. One thing I have never used in any way while training is my maximum HR. I think it's aroung 195 to 200, well I have seen numbers like that on occasion when racing but so what? Never had anyone tell me to push to my Maximum HR. Most important number is my threshold and that was determined by testing. Not as an arb percentage of my max.

Way cool.

Quite different to the article I read. We will have to wait and see when the guidelines are released.

Read an article on the net last night, can't remember where, that claims the U.S. Drug and Food administration is about to release me w dietary guidelines admitting no link between dietary cholesterol and heart disease. Basically allowing as much saturated fats in your diet as you wish Going to be interesting watching those that attacked Noakes running for cover. We have been lied to and manipulated for decades to the detriment of our health Sugar not fat the enemy.

Jeez!!!! Not what I was expecting. I meant a latte selfie. But funny anyway. Was the milk sour?

That's great Hairy. Way better than my efforts but can you do a selfie.

Great!! Hope he wins on the road as well

Hahahaha. I feel your pain. First time I tried it I ended up with burns all over my hand. Flipping unpleasant. Pretty much have it nailed now. V12 can give you better advice than I can but perhaps a noob will have insights V12 won't have since for him it's most likely second nature by now. On that assumption here is my 2cents The important thing is to keep the tip just under the surface of the milk. It creates a kind is swirling whirlpool effect and that sucks some air down and into the milk. Too low and it doesn't suck the air down. Too high and it takes big gulps of air which makes the bubbles too large and you don't get the silky smooth foam you are looking for. Once the stretch is about 30 to 40 % push the wand in further and keep it in motion basically just heating the milk I'm sure others will have better technique but anyway that's my take.

Yep they do taste sweet. My girlfriend makes cheese and we end up with quite a lot of waste whey. It is sweetish but nowhere near as sweet as the commercial powders. I keep it and drink it. When I don't have any natural whey I have a dried wors or biltong snack rather.

This is how I camp

I can beat that. It went like this Person " so you're a cyclist" Me " Yes" Person. "So why don't you do the Tour de France?" Me. "Because I'm 54 and rubbish" Seriously good news about Cav in Argus. Hope it doesn't blow like about 1000 Km h

I heard on the radio his morning that a 10 year study was done on coffee drinkers. It was found that those drinking at least 4 cups of coffee a day had a 20% reduction in skin cancer rates. Drink up before the change their minds folks.

I was at the game today. Very special.

Yes The Climb is the book I was referring to. Co written by David Walsh I think. Froome is dyslexic so I guess writing a book would be tough. He seems like a bright guy for sure but writing a book is a whole other skill

I'm backwards and forwards on this dam LCHF thing. Gave it a good go as a vegetarian about 18 months back and near starved to death. Didn't perform at all well so bailed on it. I did drop 20 kg on a vegetarian carb diet so you can lose weight while eating carbs. That's number one. Then I gave up my very long term vege diet and started eating meat. Tried the LCHF thing again. It worked pretty well this time and my riding was better but I didn't lose any weight. What was great was my ability to ride for hours on just water. As long as I didn't hammer it that is. Next I well off the LCHF thing and put on 9kg. Quick quick. Very annoying. Stopped cycling and everything. Life pressure. Decided it must change so cut sugars and snacking and started riding again. Popped off 4 kg in three weeks. I eat porridge for breakfast and rice with chicken for lunch. No carbs in the evening. Not much fat. I'm sick of fat. So I really don't know now. Honestly I don't think anyone does. I find it easy to lose weight no matter what I eat. Cut portions and up activity. Old fashioned diet. I read loads of books about how you cannot lose weight on a carb diet because it locks the fat away and makes you very hungry and all that. It's nonsense. Well it is for me. I eat everything now. Bread, rice, potato, fruit, fat, meat you name it. Still losing weight. Cut down on quantity. Up the activity. Simple really