walkerr

Nice, I like your style - that idea will definitely go in the mix

Respect! My first was 2008, and said I wouldn't miss one as long as I could get on a bike - count is 5 now and hoping I'll stay fit enough to see it reach 25. I won't be getting close to those times though.

... and then ride it, .... lots!

All this talk of coffee machines has made me lust for another - trouble is with only 1 coffee drinker in the house (me), and many ways to brew a cup already, justification is always hard to sell to my SO. So how about this .... our home office is getting too small and may need to become a spare guest room again anyhow which means we have no office so we extend the house above our lounge, creating space for a new office to keep house resale good, we make it usable as separate flatlet too, which means it gets kitchenette an empty kitchenette is no use, so we put a fridge and kettle in and because it's separate to house, it also needs a coffee machine .... ... tada! Plus a 10K cost for a machine will seem tiny and easy to hide then How about that for the most expensive way to buy a coffee machine ...

Eat the chocolate cake before you drink the cappuccino

Ah cool, that does seem better feedback than I read

Looks like a nice machine for the price, good feedback

I was in market for a machine and also considered that one - but I read a few poor reviews on it, forget exactly where but vaguely recall it being an Aussie site. Also the Krups that DIon sell, and DeLonghi at Boardmans (I think) around the same price didn't get great reviews on Amazon I ended up with Saeco which Dion sell (picture and link earlier in this thread). Similar price to the above, but had more favourable reviews on Amazon. Been pretty good so far for me.

Bizarrely, as I was catching up on this thread my g/f forwarded me an email on coffee stuff: http://yuppiechefonlineptyltd.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/y/3A0780A3BB226F66/FF8874DB776FBADF9780B6D0B3F3FC10 Just passing on, don't shoot me if the prices/kit aren't the best

No child deserves that!

Or .... Get out of bed, get dressed, get on your bike, wake up! It works just as well

Ta, will take a look.

Cool - will be interesting how it works out

Fair comment Go for it - worst case is it'll force you to train, and "crazy" is often the start of some of the best adventures

Darn it - also big fear that my 3yo won't grow up to like cycling. My better half has banned me from piping TdeF commentary into his room whilst he sleeps ....

Get a tandem, stick him on the back and make him pedal for his supper ...

No answer from them to my stock enquiry email 24 hours later, guessing I may not be shopping with them - shame, some of the stuff they stocked looked good.

I heard one piece of advice - if a cold is in your head/throat, it's ok to go train, when it hits your chest rather take it easy and rest. I generally follow this although I have sometimes gone training when I had a chest cough just to give the legs a spin, but then I pay close attention to my HR and won't push it anywhere close to the red line - just take it easy and enjoy a nice LSD ride. Overall - listen to your body, if you feel too sick to train, don't. If you feel ok, get out there and ride - but if you do skip a few days because of low motivation, don't beat yourself up. Use it to toughen your resolve for the next session.

Very welcome - good luck, and hope you come right and enjoy a great DC

Anyone used these guys and got experiences to share: http://www.bikebits.co.za/ Just waiting for stock feedback from them, but haven't dealt with them myself before.

+1 to entering a challenging/expensive event, buying some good warm/wet gear, and HTFU. At 7am when it's cold and p*ssing down, any or all of those may help .... or you may just toss the alarm and go back to sleep like I did today

On a serious note - as well as agreeing with the other guys comments above: When I asked William from William's Bikes about how they do support vehicle, his advice as well as the point about being both mechanics and cyclists is that 1 person is not enough. You need a minimum of two. A driver cannot be a spotter at the same time without risking accidents, even more so if he/she has to take phone calls from team riders needing help. No one wants a moving car in teh midst of cycling teams and a driver who is on the phone. Better to make it safe and have a co-driver. Also remember you are responsible for your entire team's sag wagon - so worst case you might need space to sweep multiple cycles. You also need a plan what to do if you allow your team to split-up, the support vehicle may then have to shuttle back to pick up a dropped rider who is in trouble leaving your main team without support. Might be worth your driver getting to know other team drivers, so they can have a buddy system and help each others stragglers out. Just passing on advice I've been giving - I'm not pretending to be an expert on this stuff myself, others may have better/different advice.

Brilliant - thanks for the smiles!

I really enjoy a good Friday flame - and I see others have already lit one. So I'll just say good luck instead BTW - I wanted a commonly used bag for Audaxing, but doesn't look like anyone in SA imports them so had to order from UK: http://www.carradice.co.uk/ Food for thought, might be worth you seeing if they want a local agent

My routine FWIW - Make 2x sarnies night before: 1 peanut butter; 1 nutella. Eat at least one in car on way to event - usually both, but if I have any left they go in cool bag for after ride A snack about 30 mins+ before start - generally an oats bar of some kind or banana, sometimes go with a caffeinated Gel if I need a kick start bottle 1 - Hammer Perpetuem, mix depending on event - generally a 3 or 4 hour mix, less for short events bottle 2 - plain water jersey pockets - usually carry an oats bar or two, maybe a gel in case I'm struggling. Most often I finish with these untouched. post ride - eat something within an hour Not perfect - but best model I've found so far. On long/hot events I feel Perpetuem doesn't replenish enough electrolytes and have been pondering carrying some electrolyte-only tabs that I can put in plain bottle. Cool winter rides though, I don't have seem to have any issues