walkerr

Normal routine this week - gym session Monday, Tues and Thursday morning rides (Somerset west to Stellies and back). Then my normal ride prep - starch and couple of beers Thursday night, short and light loosener ride Saturday (maybe 30 or 40 mins to just spin the legs). The beers part is very important though - even if I miss the rest, I won't forget that ..

I'm also one of the minority who it gives chronic headaches too - shame, because the energy drinks I tried with it in worked well.

Damn shame man - hope you heal well and are out riding again soon. An Adams bus nearly took me out on the R44 near Stellenbosch on our ride Saturday - plenty of room on the road, but he decided he had to cut within millimeters of clipping me off the bike, I saw my whole season flash in front of me, not to mention my limbs - feel your pain.

Haven't got around to trying either. I'm finding the more work I'm starting to do on my bikes, the less I'm using my current paper books and the more I'm using online how-to pages. Still seems like a handy idea to have some quick tips with me on rides, so I may get around to checking them out at some stage.

Nice to be able to post a rave. Was absolutely gutted when broke my Easton rear wheel last Saturday. The guys at Helder Cycles (Eugene, Francois etc) and Omnico really came through for me though and I got them back today, fixed and serviced. One week turnaround not bad for this time of year. One happy camper that I get to do a loosener ride on them as well as having them for the Argus. Thanks guys

Thanks I have to give kudos to Eugene at Helder Cycles and the guys at Omnico - broke rear wheel last Saturday, got them back fixed this Saturday. Very impressed they pulled the stops out to get them fixed, especially at probably one of their busiest times.

Nice. Good luck on the Argus and Epic.

Cool - keep us posted how you go, always useful to compare notes. I've had a few sample packs of Hammer Endurolytes free from previous orders. Perpetuem works ok for me, even though it's pricey. I've tried the sample Endurolytes a few times and I can't honestly say they made any difference good or bad, certainly not on my race prep list. I suspect the energy drink and occasional gel are keeping my levels ok, and so there's nothing for the Endurolytes to do. I also sweat a lot - I'd say keep Magnesium in mind with your experimentation. If electrolyte depletion is your issue it seems that can be at least as big a factor as sodium if not more so. The Dischem bottles of it are cheap from memory (they have lots of pills and mine has lasted so long I can't remember what it cost), so it's also not a costly one to experiment with.

PVR and rip it to your iPod ... might be a bit odd though riding up Helshoogte listening to descriptions of the medieval churches in towns that the Tour goes through.

Oh yes ... I know that scenario very well indeed. Already expecting to have to trade Die Burger if I get a DC spot. Count me in for any teams forming with an 8.5 to 9.5 goal ...

I reckon 8 hrs might be a bit hot for me ... I'd happily take your vacated spot in that 9hrs team though ...

Will do. William mentioned the 6hr target when I was in on Monday. But then he also mentioned doing the Epic on a fixie. I think I saw the mental institution ambulance pull up as I was leaving. Hope they let him take his truing stand to work on my wheels whilst he's in there. Good luck - go for it, sure it'll be something you'll never forget

Make sure the marshals don't catch you filling your bottle, or you'll risk a DQ ....

Cheers good tips thanks. Funnily enough that is very much my plan, in fact I'll be "building up" my winter training bike over the next few weeks, with help from Wiiliam on wheels and maybe stuff I get stuck on. Hoping to get fit enough through winter to tackle my first DC come November, assuming I can find a a space in a team aiming just to finish rather than set a fast pace. Nice to have some dreams and plans beyond the Argus ...

Ah ... but ... will you also build your own bike wheels ....

Nice one - well done.

Kudos - good progress. Happy with my season, last 3 rides I've logged are all nicely clustered within my new P seeding. Optimistic that with some good training next season I can get a few groups faster.

Cool ta. Wellington ride on Sat was my best so far - not enough to change my seeding, but still very pleased as I really didn't have a strong ride

For anyone who's identified salt deficiency as a main cause, it's also worth looking at the make-up of any energy drink you use. The sodium levels can vary quite a lot, and quite a few brands have a much higher content (~200mg per serving) than what many gels and drinks do (~50 to 80mg). I'm not suggesting anyone should load up on salt without checking into whether it's the problem, and possible long term health effects. But drinks vary a lot on their content.

Very sad day. Strength and best wishes to his family and friends. Hoping there's some good cycling for him beyond those gates. Will stand and push a bit harder up Suikerbossie this year in his memory.

That may well have been same paper I read - I think I recall it was a properly conducted study, which had associated altered brain/neural activity with onset of cramps, but not proved conclusively the root cause. Hey - if it gives you an excuse to eat S&V crisps, go for it and enjoy! I might carry some droe wors on the same justification

Interesting one. Have you checked the pack to see what it might be including or doubling up over you race drink that may be helping?

:clap: ... ouch, nice!

Actually, just a comment to pass on re that. Mine were so bad at one stage I went to my GP for some tests. Nothing conclusive, but he did say magnesium could be a factor in some people. I asked about side effects or risk of over dosing on magnesium - his comment was that as long as it was just magnesium (nothing else in the mix), there weren't significant risk. Your tummy would start running way before you took enough to be an issue. Thought I'd pass on ... that's how I came to use Magnesium on it's own rather than in some other combo where I could risk Potassium or Sodium overload. I'm not medic - just passing on what I was told. YMMV.

Cool. Definitely interested in how you get on, so post back results. If the previous posts illustrate one thing, it is that Cramps are still a very poorly understood area.