Myra

Hook, line, sinker... Hi-five Fand. Wasn't his world title also a sprint finish? That somehow rings a bell. SwissVan?

Neil Blender and Lance Mountain.

I don't get it. I like freewheeling downhill - that's the fun part.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

Why don't you get a neutral jersey instead? I've always thought matching one's kit with one's bike is a bit corny.

'Joy ride' ? I think you mean 'funride', which is what nearly all the races in South Africa are, and people are there to do exactly that - have fun! If you want to 'race', get a license, do the licensed races and start in the licensed or top-seeded groups. Then you can 'race' against fellow race snakes. But if you're so far down that you stuck behind funriders who are enjoying themselves tootling along (and it doesn't have anything to do with fancy bikes or sponsored kit etc etc) - you may need to get over yourself and resign yourself to just having fun. Tragedy. And regarding the OP - I think it has all already been said. Life's hard. You have a bike, a canoe, a car, you're at university - be grateful for what you have because its a helluva lot more than most people in SA.

I've bought a couple of things from both ebay.com and ebay.co.uk and never had any problems. Usually 'Buy now' because the prices for the items I was looking for were still much better than SA, including postage and possible VAT. Some sellers say that they will include all the required forms for customs, others don't. I once had a seller mark my purchase as a 'gift' (without me asking) and I didn't have to pay VAT. I have also bought jewellery (which I hate spending money on) and the seller marked the item as 'ornament - no commercial value'. I think some sellers just want good reviews.

Uh, don't you generally have two runs in downhill races? And qualifying runs?

Second this. Do we each get a box of smarties?

And there we have it - everything you need to do to be an expert on pro cycling.

I have one of these on my road bike and a very similar one on my mtb: http://www.cwcycles.co.za/product/selle-italia-sl-flow You also get similar shapes with more padding (like this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49778), although I think the flex is more important than the padding. I am fairly small and have narrow hips so I don't like a wide saddle (although they usually say that men's saddles are narrower and longer while women's saddles are shorter and wider). I had a Specialized women's Body Geometry saddle for a while - awful. Well, it was fine when I got it and was used to spending hours in the saddle but hated it when I started cycling again after a couple of years off the bike. Also bear that in mind - even with the most comfy saddle, I find it takes a while to get used to it again after a while off the bike. So don't buy a super expensive saddle until she's riding regularly.

If you don't have time to change your line or (hypothetically, if you did have a bell) put out a finger to ring it - you aren't in control of your bike. That's an accident waiting to happen. What would happen if a tree has fallen across/a rock has rolled into/your buddy has wiped out on the singletrack? The international norm is intended to keep everyone safe - even the 'rippers'. Another thought is that the people who are responsible for building/maintaining a lot of the trails in the Cape subscribe to the IMBA rules and this is what is taken into account when building/maintaining. Either way it is apparent that appropriate signage at Tokai is a must. How about a poster at the hut where people who don't have year permits buy them and a set of rules to be handed out with every new yearly permit issued?

I'd like to see someone ride up the new downhill in Jonkershoek. Or should I say 'try' to ride up the new downhill? I also subscribe to IMBA rules but I usually still move out of the way if I'm going up a singletrack and I see someone coming down because it's easy enough for me to do. I've been wondering though, if this is the wrong thing to do - should one rather stick to the rules and not let others get the wrong idea and think you're obliged to move?

Its easier to get going again when you're going downhill, as opposed to uphill. Yielding to ascenders is the IMBA norm (except where trails are marked in one direction).

If you've got nice legs, there's no better way to show them off. Shaved legs are sexy.

Don't you guys already have a 'Ladies & bikes' thread? And haven't these pics appeared on it and its predecessors a hundred times over already? You're almost as boringly repetitive as all the (31er minus 2er) threads...

As a sprinter in the team your role is not to get high up in the GC, it is to win stages AND THE OVERALL SPRINTERS JERSEY.

I think its great that in SA's funrider culture finishing is important and encouraged. Everyone should be out on their bikes having fun and, if they're enjoying themselves, completing a race even if it takes them all day. Its not the same with pro's. If domestiques have done their work and have dropped on a one day race, no-one cares if they don't finish. It makes more sense for them to pull out and recover for their next race. With tours its obviously different. What I don't understand is why certain sprinters are prioritising stage wins over the overall sprinters jersey. Surely a couple of stage wins AND the overall sprinters jersey should be everyone's goal and pulling out now is a cop out? In fact, its almost disrespectful to the tour and its organisers. How long can they get away with it in any case? Wasn't Mario Cipolini's team specifically not invited to the Tour de France one year because he had made it a habit of winning the early stages and then going home. If I was the organiser of the Giro, I'd be sorely tempted to tell HTC to jump in the lake next year.

Which other post?

Will take me longer to get home, but its hardly a hill, luckily, and it doesn't matter if I get home a bit sweaty. Just don't want to frighten off clients with helmet hair.

Exactly! But with a basket. Thanks guys, I didn't know Silverback had a range like that. Will look out for them.

Yup, everyone wants to make money out of Armstrong. Even years after his heyday, and after he made a fool of himself with his failed comeback, he's such a star people still want a piece of him.

Same old story, every time. More and more people are speaking out and that's all he can say. I suppose that's all he can say, he doesn't have any option but to carry on deceiving. It is really sad.